BFing a preemie....

Amyjane00

so Kirsten isn't taking it to it that well right now. They've been bottle feeding her (I gave permission) because I want her to gain weight so she can come home. But I still want her to nurse. I cannot exclusively pump for 6 months! She's had times where she latched on really well and just did awesome and then she's had times (most times actually) where she sucks a little but mostly plays.

 Did anyone else have problems with your preemie when it came to breastfeeding? Did they eventually just get the hang of it? What did you do?

I really want it to work. Thanks for any advice.

 

ijack

At her due date E was BFing once a day and not very well, she wasn't BFing full-time until at least a month after her due date and didn't start BFing w/o a nipple shield until she was 2 months adjusted (4.5 months actual). It takes a lot of work, but now she's a boob addict The best advice I can give you is just keep trying and don't give up.

GL!

Pretty*n*Pink

Gavin came at 34 weeks so he was always tired. He lost weight too ..so i would first bf he then i would supplement him. It took a good month and then by two months we were no longer supplementing and he was a totally a boob man. JUST DONT GIVE UP!! it took time and patience. another thing that helped i dont know if this is ur problem but gavin would fall asleep...so i would undress him so he had on his diaper and onesise or just diaper....blanket over...it helped a ton!!

BrainySmurfette

It took my DD a long time to get the hang of it (3 1/2 months), but we did succeed with perseverence.  K was always interested, and she would try, but I think her wasn't physically ready at birth.  I just kept trying a few times per day.  The LC I saw suggested that I only use the slowest nipples for her bottles to make it as much like BF as possible.  It did seem to help.

I think the most important thing is to not give up hope and keep trying.  Good luck!

TriciaJoy

We're still working on it, but he goes to the breast several times/day.

I asked the OT about it.. Basically the sucking motion between a bottle and a boob is way different. You can sort of "bite" a bottle.. pressure gives milk.

Nursing takes a combo of pressure and suction. Robbie tends to get frustrated after about 5 minutes.

They have me working on his tongue motion.. Basically he sucks on my finger, and I push down on his tongue very gently. When he sucks on a pacifier or a bottle, he uses his tongue against his hard palate.. Pushing down on his tongue keeps him from doing that.

It pisses him off, but I do it as long as he'll tolerate it. The OT says he'll eventually get it becasue he does have the interest for sure.. and a great latch. It's just a matter of experience and time.

Boy is it frustrating, though! I've been pumping for 5 months!

millbug

It took my preemie about 2 months to get it, but he is still nursing like a champ now at 8.5 months.  We just "practiced" in the NICU and he took bottles.  Once he came home, I would offer him the breast before each bottle feeding and either feed the whole bottle or "top him off" if I thought he nursed okay.  The biggest factor in DS learning to nurse was getting off of the NICU schedule.  Once I was able to feed him on demand, he was awake, alert and hungry.  That combination made him able to nurse.  It took a long time, a lot of patience, and more than one fight with DH about how important it was to me to NURSE not just give BM via pumping.  The La Leche league has boards and one focuses on preemies.  I went there for some great advice too. 

goblue

Timing is really important - you've got to get them when they're hungry but not starving.  DS was still basically doing "lick and learn" when we brought him home on his due date - we would supplement each BF session with a bottle.  At his two week checkup (so 42 weeks gestational, 2 weeks adjusted), OT thought he did better on the breast than on the bottle so we switched him to 4 feeds per day just at the breast - no supplemental bottle.  I think that made a huge difference because he had the skills and he then learned that he had to really do it to get a full tummy.  It took a lot of patience, but now DH exclusively BFs whenever I'm home.

When you do give a bottle, the slow flow nipple is essential, I think.  You don't want the bottle to become too easy.

Don't give up - she will get it!  Preemies do everything on their own timetable.

RCH151

My DS bf about two times per day with a nipple shield until he was 12 weeks old and was able to latch and nurse like a champ.  Hang in there, it will come with time.  You get used to pumping even if you don't like it.  I went back to work when my DS was 4 months old and continued to nurse and pump until 13.5 months!  Give yourself some credit!

Mrs. Peterson 07/07/07

Have you tried a shield? We were told to use it until his EDD and then ween him off. It worked really well. There was  few times before his EDD that we tried and it did not work. He was BF like a champ after:)

cj842

DD was born a month early and she would not breastfeed.  I managed to pump a few times a day and gave her that and formula in a bottle with a nuk nipple (they told me that is best, most like the breast) for a month and then when I tried she was able to breastfeed!  I know how frustrating it is, when I would try to feed her we would both sit there crying!  But hang in there and good luck!!

 

tbonegrl

The nipple shild is what worked for me. Our boys used them for 4 months when they quit them cold turkey.

 

My one son nursed until 18 months and my other son is just now starting to wean.