Drinking from a bottle

Orioles season is in full effect and Charlotte has been cheering them on from her crib. Charlotte has been given her own pretty, white crib. She has more space to keep her personal items and move around. The nurses have also given Charlotte her first official Orioles hat! The nurses moved Charlotte down to a private room on the 5th floor which is a combination of Pediatric and NICU. It is so nice to spend time as a family in a quieter area. Charlotte and Laura have been working with the occupational therapist every day so that she can start drinking from a bottle. One of the things that Charlotte has been working on is sitting up and maintaining her breathing, so that she can tolerate the correct position for drinking from a bottle. Charlotte has finally gotten strong enough to sit up and maintain her breathing, and so her occupational therapist has started to let Charlotte try drinking milk from a bottle. Because she is not used to eating food by mouth, it was a little startling at first. Also, premature babies have difficulty with the "suck, swallow, breathe" sequence. So, Charlotte only takes small sips at a time because she has a hard time breathing. She also gets reflux which is very uncomfortable. So, we started on medication to help make eating more enjoyable. Once she can drink an entire bottle, she will have to pass the carseat test, and then we can go home. Charlotte will have to tolerate sitting upright in a carseat for a certain period of time while maintaining her breathing. We are getting closer and closer to going home!