BF a small baby

KYmama9286

I know DS isnt "technically" a preemie but I have a feeling you ladies will be able to give me some better advice since Nicholas was probably closer in size to some of your kiddos

So I need a little bit of encouragement from women who have been there/done that--BF'ing Nicholas has been the biggest struggle Ive had as a new parent...when he was born he was only 3lbs 6oz (came home 4 days later at 3lbs 2oz., wasnt in the NICU at all, born at 37weeks) since he was so small and I have a really large chest he wasnt able to nurse at all (I attempted w/ a shield, w/o a shield, etc.) So for the time being I was pumping....

At about 1 month I decided that I was going to attempt nursing again, I started to nurse on demand, did that for 3 days and got such horrible clogged ducts and mastitis...so I went back to pumping until I got over the mastitis, at about 6 weeks I decided to attempt nursing again, so I nursed on-demand for a week (using a shield he would latch and eat but wasnt eating very much/burning more calories than he was consuming because of his size) after 1 week of nursing (alot!) he only gained 1oz. so then I was back to  pumping and fortifying my bm w/ formula to help make up for the week of weight he didnt gain

Now at 12 weeks I am wanting to attempt nursing again, I am basically terrified that its going to be a disaster, I have been meeting w/ an LC from the beginning who has been really helpful but I just feel like this is the last chance for us, If he cant take to nursing this time around then I am giving up (and probably will be giving up on pumping as well since it makes me feel awful and I hate pumping w/ a passion) This time we are using the shields and the SNS for only 2 feeding sessions/day and I am to pump still (so basically 4 pumping/feeding sessions, 2 breast/sns feeding w/ pumping also) I dont know how much stamina I have to even try twice a day w/ the shield and sns because it is so much work and then I know I will have to pump after but I feel like this is the only way DS is going to learn to eat (he is 7lbs now so he should be big enough to nurse) I am terrified that he is going to lose weight again, or that his gaining will decline or that I just wont be able to do it--I still have alot of fears about something going wrong w/ nicholas since my pregnancy was so difficult, mentally I am still healing from having to deal w/ everything that happened while pregnant--even though he is healthy I am still kind of waiting for the sh*t to hit the fan and for something to go wrong...

Any advice, tips or encouragement would be greatly appreciated! TIA!

mommamorris

sweetie! what a crappy experience! i'm sorry it has been so bad for you guys....

 

my lo started nursing at around 3lbs or so.. and i have H's. (yes.. they're enormous)  i don't think it's necessarily size as it is placement and their ability to latch.

when we started out we did "non-nutritive" sucking for a week or so.. where i would pump *first* and she could just lick or play around and try to latch. once she got the latch down, then we moved on to trying to give her feeds that way. we alternated 1 bfing session, 1 gavage (we weren't using bottles at first, butmany people would bottle this feed), 1 bfing session, one gavage. etc... throughout the day. since bfing is harder for them most of the time it gave her a chance to rest in between. i recommend this sort of a transition. it's a slow process- remember, you're both learning for the first time! he's new, and so are you!

as for weight gain, i know you're worried about it, but if he's healthy in every other way i wouldn't, it's completely normal for babies to lose weight when they start bfing... they'll bulk back up in a few weeks.

i'm glad you have an LC. for me, sometimes when it "wasn't working" and she wasn't latching properly or whatever i only needed to reposition her by an inch and BOOM- she got it right away! so it's great to have an expert there to help you.

i know pumping sucks, but i wouldn't give up yet if you can stand it. i know the stresses of having a new baby are compounded by the extra work... but it's SO good for your lo. (you have to do what you can to stay sane though!) if you could at least give him bm in some way for 6 months it's shown to make such a difference. if you're giving bottles make sure you're using a super low flow nipple that is similar to a breast. if bottling is easier they won't have the stamina to keep up with the breast.

we share your "oh crap-what's next?" feelings here.... it seems there's always something around the corner... as time goes on that will get to be less and less of a problem as you adjust from your traumatic pregnancy and having a small baby etc. (anytime "what you don't expect" happens it's always an adjustment in our minds and can take time to heal.)

 

hang in there! do the best you can... that's all we can do. 

ijack

One of the most important things is to offer the breast at each feeding. If he takes it let him nurse, if he won't after a couple tries then give him the bottle while you pump. I know it's a total PITA, but you really have to offer it every time so he gets used to it.

GL!

SkypekWithoutAC

Wow, he is itty bitty! Smaller than my LO when she came home! I feel like I say this all the time, but it made such a big difference to me...when we were having problems nursing, I went to a local LC and was able to rent a professional grade scale. I weighed DD before and after nursing and recorded how much she took in for about a week. From that, I was able to determine that she wasn't getting enough calories from nursing. I know this isn't necessarily the same issue, but I had no idea rental scales were available, so if you are worried about weight gain w/nursing, you may want to try that. I would also suggest nursing part-time...when we first were working towards nursing, I'd feed her a bottle first, then nurse her. Eventually I cut out the bottle for a few feedings, and when that went well, we went to EBF. GL!!! I'm sure you've already tried over at the BFing board, but if you haven't, I'd suggest posting there, too.

KYmama9286

thanks for the great encouragement and suggestions! I rented a scale the last couple of times I tried to nurse and it ended up stressing me out more because I would get so frustrated when I felt like he was nursing great then I would weigh him and not see much gain--maybe it will be more encouraging to try that again since I am using the SNS this time

adelepickle

I am also large-breasted, but my DS latches but gets tired and quits eating! I have been BF'ing and supplementing with pumped milk in a bottle. He is gaining steady weight. It's time consuming, but I would rather him be gaining then losing.