Struggling

mamatotwins0812

I had my twin boys 12 days ago at 33 weeks. They were immediately brought to the nicu and had some issues with heart rate, jaundice etc but are doing 100% better now thank The Lord. At this point, my baby a is 4 pounds 13 oz and baby b is 3 pounds 13 oz. aside from him having to gain another pound or so which he is well on his way to doing, the only other thing holding them back is that baby a wont exclusively bottle feed. Here is my struggle. Mama knows best when it comes to intuition and in my heart I know he is just a slow eater. His personality is very chill and when given the time he finishes his bottles. The nurses just have such strict criteria in terms of the 30 minute rule, which I know is in place for a reason but he will NEVER go home if he isn't given more time. I feel so incredibly helpless and I don't know what to do. The nurse this morning I adore and she told me he ate almost all of it bc she took the time with him. Minutes later I heard the charge nurse reprimanding her for going over 30 minutes. I just don't know what to do. Obviously their best interests are at the top of my heart but I feel like in this case, a mother just knows and I don't know what to do. Thanks for listening and sorry for the rant. If anyone has any advice I'd greatly appreciate it bc I'm really struggling today. 

Missa_g

Congrats on your boys!  Twin boys are awesome.  My advice for now, as difficult as it is, is to listen to the nurses. We had the same problem and it sucked big time.  But my B baby just wasn't ready until about 37w.  A baby really should be able to finish a bottle within 30 minutes, otherwise they burn too many calories.  For a preemie that is a big deal.  I promise that I was right here with you feeling like my boys would never come home.  

jcsntms06

Congratulations on the birth of your babies. It's so hard to watch our babies struggle when we know they will get there. I pray that your little one figures it out soon and that you can bring them both home together.

kathyn21

congrats! my DD  had to eat her bottles within 20min in the spexial care nursery. ditto what all the previous posters said. hoping your little man figures it out soon so you can take them home!!

mamatotwins0812

Thanks so much for the feedback. This is no doubt the most difficult thing to go through. Since I posted, my husband and I requested to talk to the dr and nurse together and we were told that our little guy (baby b) can actually have his car seat test today!! (I am wondering when they would have told us this had we not requested the meeting but that's beside the point). I am praying that he passes and we can go home with him although I have mixed feelings about leaving my baby a behind and the struggles of having 1 at home and 1 here. 

 

With regard to baby a, basically they told us they do have to finish which I think we all agree on, but he did change the orders to allow him up to 40 minutes. He also said that if he eats the majority of his bottles, and the majority of the volume, then we can discuss him going home. This was encouraging news to me! The great news is that a does great on the breast, but of course they don't account for that to release them. So I am going to pull back from trying to get him on the boob and concentrate solely on getting him to finish these bottles. He's such a sweet boy I just can't wait to have the both in our home all together.  

2bunnbunns

DS was a slow eater as well and they gave him 30 minutes as well. It took a while for him to get it and believe me it was painful to feed him and now he still takes longer that DD to finish a bottle. One thing that the nurses said to me that I remember is that they wanted him to finish a bottle in under 30 minutes because they knew that I was going to have to feed 2 and believe me, feeding 2 every 3 hours is tough, especially when one takes over 40 minutes to eat. He will eventually get it though and when he gets it its a switch. DS got his ng tube out on Friday night and was home Sunday right before what would have been 36 weeks. They say it clicks closer to 36 weeks.

KP6310

My son was a 26 weeker and was in the NIC for 3 months. We had so many issues with feeding. I know how frustrating it can be. Although the 30 minute rule sucks, it is so important. If they take longer than 30 to finish they are actually burning more calories working to eat than they are taking in. LO needs to gain weight!! Hang in there! It will happen and it will be amazing. The light bulb will go on for them:) Congrats!