Breastfeeding SupportGOT MILK? The Breastfeeding relationship is so important... if you need support, or are a boobie juice pro, come on in! This is the breast (uh, um best) discussion board on the web.
My little boy was born 5 weeks early and spent 10 days in the NICU. They gave him his first feeding by a tube and then tried a bottle which he took immediately. He's had no trouble with a bottle. I didn't get to nurse him until the day we came home. The first two days were rough, I couldn't get him to latch on or if I did he'd pull off and start screaming. I finally realized he probably didn't know that milk would come, so I tried to express a little so he'd realize it and that helped. I kept trying to nurse, but also pumped to give in a bottle. After a few days I got better about getting him to nurse, so we've been doing that for 2-3 days now. It's getting better, but he's going like 4-5 hours in between most feedings and often will only nurse one side when he does feed. He was 6#'s13oz when he was born and 7#s when we left the NICU at 10 days old. He was seen by his Ped on Monday, 4 days after he came home, and he still weighed 7#'s. She felt he should have gained something so we are going back tomorrow for a weight check. We are using disposables right now b/c he's so tiny that our cloth doesn't fit so it's harder to tell how much he's peeing. He's pooping big about once a day and the other diapers have about a grape size about in them. I started getting sore on Sunday evening and have been sore when he latches on the last 2 days. I had that with my other 2 but don't remember how long it lasted, seems like 2-3 days. I'm wondering if his latch is right and just worried I guess with him being a preemie that he's not getting enough, but also not sure that it's not unusual for him to sleep like this b/c he's a preemie. I'd appreciate any thoughts.
thanks
__________________
Teresa
Homeschooling Mom to Zachary, 9, Brianna, 6, and baby Issac, 1
Location: baking a happiness cake with the ingredients I already have...
Posts: 3,444
both of my "real" preemies (all were early, but my two NICU guys; 34 and 32 weekers) went much longer stretches between feeds in the beginning. It's because they need to sleep to conserve calories so that they can use the calories for growing instead of being awake and active.
__________________
Theresa, Mama to AJ, Ethan, Greg + Rusty Little Turtle Knits
Same with mine. (both were 31 weekers and had extended NICU stays) They slept a lot better when they were smaller.
It sounds to me like you're doing great and even if your doc seems concerned, try not to be concerned yourself unless baby is losing - mine both had trouble gaining for a bit.
It's so hard to go through so if you ever need to talk, lmk or pm me or I can call you or something... sounds to me like you're doing everything right. And if I can just say - don't nipple shield if at all possible.
I'll keep you and baby in my thoughts and prayers and things will get easier.
Humble, trusting prayer brings direction and peace. Don't worry about clumsily expressed feelings. Just talk to your compassionate, understanding Father. You are his precious child whom He loves perfectly and wants to help. -Richard G. Scott
Went today and he's lost 3 oz, back to his original birth weight. I burst into tears after the nurse left the room. The ped wants me to try and wake him every 3 hours to nurse, but he is just so sleepy it seems. She also said he should be nursing for about 15 minutes which seems long to me. She told me husband that I should nurse more than pump b/c I was thinking maybe I needed to pump more. He's often fussy like he can't get latched on or that nothing is coming out. My soreness hasn't gone away and it's been 3 days, so I'm not worried that he has a bad latch b/c it seems it went away by now with my other 2. I'm thinking I may need to consult a lactation consultant now.
man, does reading your message make me feel better!!!! It is nice to know you have been experiencing my struggles too. My twins were born 5 1/2 weeks ago, at 35 weeks as well, and my daughter too was in the NICU for 6 days and was fed with the tube and everything because she didn't know how to eat. When we came home I continued to nurse our son, and then give her time to practice nursing and then gave her a pumped bottle. Now she has been nursing exclusively for going on two weeks and now we are tandem nursing for about a week. She still struggles. I guess we all struggle to be honest! There are feedings where she pulls on and off over and over and then gets so mad she forgets what she was doing and then gets mad again, all while my poor son tries to nurse the side of my breast because of the commotion! I constantly have to remind myself that she was born early so forgetting or struggling is ok. I will say that flor the first two weeks that they were home they slept like that too, now we eat and then sleep about 2-3 hours. I say do what is in your gut. If you nurse and still suplement with a bottle or even formula you know it is best for you guys. I say doing that will eliviate some stress about putting on enough weight, and then you can slowly add more and more nursing. I know when my daughter first started nursing she ould nurse for 5 or so minutes, and everyday she got stronger and nursed longer. It sounds like you are doing wonderfully! Let me know how you are doing. BTW, my daughter now will nurse anywhere between 15-45 minutes. So she is getting it and so will your baby.
Linear Mode
