Breastfeeding Preemie Moms?

Sonny312

Hello!

Looking for some advice on bottles for preemie breastfeeding moms. I originally purchased the Dr. Browns bottles for preemies with the slow flow.. bc my LO has had some trouble keeping up with the flow when eating and having some apnea spells. However, my lactation consultant has told me to get the Tommee Tippee bottles. Has anyone used them? Is thier slow flow slow enough for preemies? We are breastfeeding 3 x's a day and he seems to pace himself better... but just curious as to what is the best bottle... help!

 - #consideringonlybottlefeeding:(

kck329

My DD was discharged EBF with the exception of one bottle each day. We tried both Dr Browns and Tommee Tippee bottles with her in the NICU and liked the Dr Browns better by a long shot. The nipples on the TTs kept colapsing when she sucked on them, making it really hard for her to eat. The DBs preemie nipple was a good flow and with some pacing she was able to use them without As and Bs. That said, my nephew does great with TTs.

So my advice would be to find out if you can try them in the NICU. Bring in a couple different bottles and see what your LO likes while still hooked up to the monitors.

Can I ask why you are considering switching to bottle feeding? I'm all for feeding your baby any way you want (my DD is currently all bottle fed) but your sad face makes me think you aren't sure about the switch. 

Sonny312

Yes I am going to bring in both bottles and see what works...

 Im concerned that switching back and forth from the breast to the bottle is making our little guy confused and unable to get a good rythm going leading to his apnea spells... Maybe if he was eating from the same thing everytime it would be easier for him? I really wanted to breastfeed, but just dont want to be confusing him and it makes me feel like I am holding him back.

kck329

I see. You'll get a lot of different answers on this one (check out the breastfeeding section on the preemie blog in my siggy for a few stories).

But in our case, we introduced breastfeeding and bottle feeding together and it worked out ok. Once she was at all PO feeds, I would breastfeed when I was there and the nurses or DH would bottle feed when I was not there. I spent the night a couple times to BF around the clock to monitor weight gain. We struggled with As and Bs with both types of feeding but it had more to do with pacing and reflux (diagnosed after we went home) than the method of feeding in our case.

Honestly, you are at a really hard stage. The beginning is the scariest but the end of your NICU stay is exhausting because you are SO close to coming home and then feeding feels like it takes forever.  For our DD, it really did just click one day and then the next she pulled her own feeding tube and we were heading home soon after. Its so hard. Don't give up on breastfeeding if its what you want to do-keep working with your LC and neos. You can also go home on bottles and then work on transitioning to BFing if you want to do that-many moms here did that successfully as well.

Sonny312

Thank you for the advice, I will check out the other posts as well.

This has definitely been a rollercoaster and I am just waiting for the end of the ride!

 Thanks again

haziedaze

Such good news!!! So happy for you!

ETA: Opps I was having problems with my browser windows and posted this in the wrong thread. My litte guy seems to go back and forth ok. I think the key thing when you bottle feed is to pace the feed so it's more like the breast. If you're having issues breastfeeding have you asked about using a nipple shield? Many preemies need one to get a strong enough latch on when they are learning. GL!

Wally3

Considering your sad face I wouldn't rule out switching back and forth.  Talk to a doc / LC and see what they say first.  My DS switched back and forth for awhile.  Your LO could adjust.  As others have said this is a hard time and it usually gets better. There were times when it was hard for me and I would just give a bottle becuase I couldn't deal with the stuggle of nursing.  I was able to stick with it most of the time and by the time ds was 3 month adjusted it was so much easier.  Gl whatever you decide.