Exclusively Breastfeeding after the NICU

albertabride06

Did anyone else have a really hard time with this?

DS was tube fed, bottled and bf (when I was there). He has been home for 2.5 weeks now and I am having a really hard time to get him to take the breast exclusively. He always latches on great, but will always fall asleep 7 minutes into the feeding and will only take the one side. Trying to stimilate him to stay awake doesn't work, once he is asleep there isn't any waking him.

I saw an LC the other day and she told me to do 24 hours with no bottles or supplement expressed milk. The 24 hours went really well, I continued to bf exculsively after the 24 hours and then things started getting bad. He wan't to eat every hour and seemed to be getting a little frustrated on and off during the feedings. My supply has been really good but I'm wondering if him feeding that often emptied my breasts too much? I should also add that he had more then the number of required wet diapers during the 24 hours and had 2 bm's. So I'm pretty sure he was getting enough to eat.

I'm so frustrated and ready to give up but I really don't want to....please help.

Mrs. Destructo

Can you rent a BFing scale for a week or 2, so you can weigh him before/after bfing sessions to see how much he's eating?

It very well could be that he's filling his tummy after 7 minutes. It's common for breast fed babies to go through growth spurts where they're hungry every 1-2 hours for 24-48 hours. But since you have a little bitty dude, it would probably be a good idea to weigh him so you can be certain he's getting enough.

ijack

Well you need to realize that he is a newborn... it looks like he's just approaching his adjusted bday? And most newborns when they are learning to BF eat ALL the time. It's really not abnormal for him to want to eat every hour, even though it's really frustrating for you. I think you need to just be patient and give it some time. Most moms of FT babies say that BFing doesn't get easier for about 6 weeks and you need to remember that preemies are smaller and not as strong, so it might take a little while for him to get the hang of it. If you're really committed I would just keep on feeding him when he wants to eat!

good luck

Max'smom

Looking back I wish I had tried harder to make nursing work. But I gave up after three weeks. I went to exclusively pumping. The reason I wish I had stuck with it is that I had supply issues and struggled to keep DS on BM exclusively for 7 months. Keep working with your LC and as long as he is having the right number of wet diapers and gaining weight you are doing well. Hang in there.

Ali05

((Hugs)) Hang in there!! It's totally worth it and very normal to have a rough start. It's hard even for FT babies. DS wanted to nurse every 1 1/2 to 2 hours for a while! He has settled into every 3 to 4 hrs now and sleeps 5 to 7 hr stretches a night. Just be patient because it is a learning process. Consult a LC if needed- mine was awesome.