Our feeding experiences:

Right after birth:

Ethan immediately latched on despite the tight membrane & eclabium.  He latched on several times before being transferred to Brenner's.

In NICU after sedation:

Because they weren't sure if Ethan was in pain, he was placed under sedation.  He did not want to nurse or take a bottle.  He was given ng tube feedings (no tape).  I would strongly suggest no sedation for collodian babies to help with breastfeeding or bottlefeeding, unless your child shows signs of discomfort.

In NICU after sedation wore off:

Ethan did not do well with a bottle & much dribbled out the side of his mouth.  He did do well with breastfeeding.  He wanted to nurse all the time!

Newborn-2 months:

Ethan nursed every hour.  He would sometimes sleep for a 4 or 5 hour stretch at night. 

2 months-5 1/2 months:

We encouraged Ethan to stretch out feedings to every 2 hours with a pacifier (which he took only occasionally)  He still slept for a 4-5 hour stretch at night sometimes.  At 4 months, we gave him a sippy cup with water to play with (tried the gerber with rubber spout).

5 1/2 months-8 1/2 months:

We started to introduce solids at this time, but he only thought of food as a toy & had trouble swallowing food/ liquids.  He continued to nurse every 2 hours.  He began nursing every 2-3 hours at night. Sippy cup tried: gerber rubber spout, nuby, playtex

8 1/2 months-10 months:

Ethan is finally starting to get better with solids & his sippy cup.  He is doing best with the nuby straw cup.  Acidic foods cause his chin to become red & we try to avoid sweet foods (which he doesn't mind) to help control yeast.  He is starting to go 5-6 hours during the day on just solids/sippy most days.  At night, he usually still nurses every 2 hours.  I tried to stretch this out with a pacifier & his stomach growled... so he really is hungry this often! 

10 1/2 months:

Ethan has been weaned & eats as much as an adult (sometimes more!)  Ethan now sleeps 12 hours most nights without waking.  He is ravenous when he first wakes up & he eats a cereal bowl full of oatmeal along with fruit on the side.  Sometimes foods stain his skin, so we apply aquaphor to his face before eating foods that stain (carrots, sweet potatoes, pasta sauce)

2 years:

We are constantly amazed by how much Ethan eats.  We've kept several food diaries over the last year for our nutritionists & found that he consumes between 2,000-4,000 calories a day.  We've been able to help him go longer between meals by adding carnation instant breakfast and half&half to his milk.  By "sneaking" in those calories, he has finally reached the 50th percentile weight for height (so perfect weight for his height! yay!)  At church suppers & family events, everyone loves watching Ethan eat:)  Even strangers will come up to us when we eat out & comment on our little piggy! 

--> new update:  Ethan has now had two swallow studies.  His first study showed that he was not chewing food at all & that he needed liquids thickened to a honey consistency to keep from aspiration.  His second study showed a slight improvement in chewing (he was trying to a little, but not enough to be safe) and worsened aspiration (we are now thickening to a honey consistency).