finger feeding

we went to meet with the lactation consultant today.. eidan hasnt been latching ever since we took him home from the hospital.. he would take 2 sucks and then fall asleep or scream frantically while shaking his head..

i understand that it could be because he was mostly bottlefed pumped breastmilk while he was in the NICU.. however, even when we're feeding him through the bottle, the plastic nipple would sometimes collapse to the point where he can no longer suck any milk anymore..

the lactation consultant observed that eidan's tongue was flat rather than cupped when he tries to suck.. which makes it more difficult for him to take milk from the breast or the bottle.. given that, she taught us how to do finger feeding..

how is it done?

a very thin tube connected to a milk bottle (that's positioned like an IV bottle) is taped on the index finger.. the finger is then held, pad side up, into the baby's mouth.. this would eventually teach him to use his tongue better when feeding..