Bottle Feeding of Low Facial Muscle Tone Infants

Instructions for making a device to hold bottle to feeding hand 


Problem Statement

The devie to hold bottle while bottle feeding are created specifically for the mothers who have childre with Down Syndrome. The childrens with with Down Syndrome often times have a low muscle tome in their face and therefore cannot apply suction to a bootle to feed. Mothers must use their thumb, forefinger, and sometimes their middle finger to adjust the baby's jaw so the correct suction can be applied so they can feed. Holding the child and the child's face makes it difficult to hold the bottle and feed the baby. Holding the child and the child's face makes it difficult to hold the bottle and feed the baby. With both hands occupied during feeding mothers have had to resort to balancing the bottle on feeding hand.

Design Parameters

The device should allows mothers to stabilize bottle for feeding.The device should be adjustable for length and width of bottle, angle of bottle, and size of wrist and hand. The device should be user friendly, comfortable and easy to manufacture. 

Step 1 PROTOYPES

For this Bottle Feeding - we have five prototypes.

Comments

[cefn]

I don't know whether this is quite the same thing, but a lady I used to work with called Mandy Haberman created the Haberman Feeder, which seems to address a similar niche. I think it was problems feeding children with cleft palate that she was inspired by.

http://www.mandyhaberman.com/haberman-feeder

[CATEA]

Thank you so much for your nice support.

[sclausson]

Very creative idea that can help countless parents. I hope you can bring it to market. Proof that necessity is the "mother" of invention.

[isacco]

Many congratulations for the idea, the quality of the Instructable, and the solid usefulness of this tool

[RedMeanie]

What an awesome idea! I love inventions that come from the heart. The 5th and 6th seem the easiest by looking at them to replicate easily and cheaply. I guess you could give a rating on each of which was most effective from experience as you went through the transitions.

I'm speaking as a parent of two, and one has lung issues which require her to breath an inhaler at times. There is an adapter to make the inhaler like a little oxygen mask. Very handy, and seeing your device here hit home that maybe some parent like you took the time to develop the device to help their child. How much we sometimes take for granted.

I'm sure that many of us here on "Instructables" could help you with developing a finished product that you could possibly make available to other parents out in the world that could benefit from a clever device like this.

Great Job!

[lemonie]

There's some nice work in there, good stuff.

L

[camiller]

Very clever. As a parent of a child with down syndrome I can tell you that this would have been great back when our little guy was an infant! It usually took contorting our arm into an uncomfortable position to hold the bottle with his head cradled in the elbow of the same arm or it took both of us! I would have paid for something like this 9 years ago.

Good work!