Asking to stop tube feeds.

cynnnabun

Hey. My daughter is a 34 weeker and has been in the nicu for a week. She's got her breathing stable and temp is good. Now we're just playing the feeding game. She's only taking a half ounce in the bottle and the rest in her tube. I want to ask them to stop the tube feeds and see if that will make her hungry and get her to eat more bottle. I feel like worst case is after a couple feeds she's not eating and then give her the tube back. Has anyone tried this? If the only thing keeping her in is eating then I feel like we should be trying harder to get her there. And why bohther trying to suck if she feels full from the tube feeds. Thoughts?

chickaboo1974

My guys were 34w3d- and were on a NG tube for 14 days- so just relax one day they will just get it.  Plus in my NICU they tried the bottle first then used the tube when they wouldn't/couldn't take anymore by mouth.

thishappyhouse

I think this is a question/concern that almost every person on this board has gone through. Bottle feedings is one of the hardest parts of the NICU experience for many parents, even those who have had their babies go through long stays, surgeries, tough procedures etc.  

 My DD had major feeding issues, but one component definitely was that she was not hungry enough for the minimum amount that she was required to eat every 3 hours.  We discovered at the end of her stay and when she got home that she wanted significantly more food in the evenings and much less overnight or in the mornings.   

With that said, feeding is a fine balance of learning the skills to suck from a bottle while not burning too many calories or getting too tuckered out.  My advice would be to stay with the plan for a little while longer... as she gets stronger ask to have her switched to Ad-lib feedings where she has minimum requirements for each shift.

good luck!  I hope you will have her home soon! 

sedge1

We had feeding troubles too. Actually, we were moved from NICU to a step-down nursery after 3 weeks because it was the last thing DD needed. When we got to the new hospital, the nurse practitioner suggested we try every other feeding with a bottle and see how that went. It worked really well! Every so many days they would take away a tube feed until all of her feeds were by mouth.

I know it's frustrating and it feels like you'll never get her home, but I promise you will!

urbanflowerpot

I think this is a concern you should take to your medical team so they can better explain the importance of the tube. I understand that it's frustrating, but taking it away prematurely (no pun intended) is probably not in your DD's best interest. I'm sure your nurses and neos will be happy to sit down with you! Just ask

ashk7

Ugh feeding is the most frustrating! I completely agree with what pp said. I learned the hard way. I saw that light at the end of the tunnel and looking back I think I pushed DD to much too soon feeding wise. To answer your question, your thought process on the tube was mine exactaly. If she never knew what it felt like to be hungry then why would she eat all her bottles? Also if there was no ng then the nurses had to try every feed, there were no excuses. My NICU would not even entertain this idea with good reason. They have their system in place or a reason, but when you are living in the moment it is so damn hard to understand it and want to follow their rules!!!! Our NICU explained that every time they ran the ng that put dd at risk for infection and if she used too much energy too soon she could lose the weight she worked so hard to pack on. I know this may not be what you want to hear but let LO do it on their own time, it will "click" just like you may of heard. I drove myself CRAZY trying anything I could think of to help dd. I stayed for 24 hrs so I was the only one feeing her, tried different nipples, all the tips the nurses taught me to keep her awake, brought bottles from home, anything I could think of. But looking back it only made me feel more frusterated and helpless.  I know lots of moms will give their advice because some of those things worked for their LO's. So depending on how your LO is doing with the suck swallow breathe maybe you can try those things to encourge her. Every baby is different. Or as pp said eventually try ad lib feeding. It was a long 3-4 weeks for us her feeding was our only issue, I had such a love/hate relationship with the neo's when they would round because every morning I heard " well there's nothing we can tell you, medically there is no reason to keep her, she just has to eat" I knew we were beyond blessed that she was doing so well but we wanted her home! DD was also born at 31 weeks due to severe IUGR weighing only 2lbs 6oz. So feeding was our main issue. Hopefully you won't have as long of a road as we did! 

This seems to be one of the common issues that brings all us preemie moms together, because most LO go through the same issues with feeding. So know you are not alone! Hang in there and I hope your LO catches on quickly and is home soon!!!! Good luck! 

cynnnabun

It's reassuring to know i'm not insane and this is frustrating for everyone. I just got off the phone with my mom who said the same things. I'm getting caught in the moment and not looking at the big picture. I know its true. I just feel super defeated today. Her lungs were such an issue for a week that I just thought once we got there we'd be good to go. I did not anticipate having issues getting her to eat a bottle. I know I should be grateful she's doing so well and I am. Today is just a bad day I guess.

urbanflowerpot

Hang in there, we all had those. NICU is hard

::hugs:: 

Louiej

Hey there!
My dd is also a 34 weeker. We spent 12 days in nicu, with the feeding issue being the last to go. Like others, I believe I pushed the issue with her. I spent 48 hours straight sitting there trying to cram her full because I felt certain nurses weren't trying hard enough. :

well... They allowed her tube to come out because she was meeting her minimumsbarely, but after 24 hours I had to watch them put it back in because she lost too much weight trying so hard to eat.

I promise that the practitioners are not against you, but in fact want your lo to go home asap. They just want her to be ready. It's stinking hard, but I'm sure she'll be home soon.

alisonann15

Mine was a 34 weeker and on a feeding tube for 11 days. I wanted them to take it out so bad but they told me if she lost too much weight we would be in big trouble. She lost weight even with the feeding tube. She went down 7-8 ounces even with them giving her 45 cc's in each feeding. They let us try to feed her for 20 minutes twice a day and after that they made up the difference by tube. She would get so tired at first and I thought we would never get to go home! But one day she just started drinking 15 and then 20 and 30 and then all of it! Then they let us try at every other feeding. And then on day 11 we walked in and the tube was gone and they told us we could bring her home the next morning!! It was the best day of our life

daisy662

My little guy was a 34 weeker. He was in the NICU for 16 days. After the first 2 days, the feeding was his only issue. It just takes time. You don't want to push to hard for many reasons - but the main reason is that it is a lot of work for them to suck, swallow, and breathe all at the same time. From what I understand, they do not develop those skills in the womb until 36 weeks. If you push them to much, they will lose more calories than they take in.

Hang in there. I know how frustrating it can be. I will tell you one thing though - as you get to the end of the road and near ready to go home, make sure you pay close attention to the nurses. We had a nurse who was lazy and preferred to feed through the tube because it was easier for her. She ended up causing him to stay in the NICU several days longer than he should have. Long story - but the quick version is that the charge nurse agreed that she was doing that. We were pissed. So just keep a close eye, and stay positive.  It is really hard I know!

appylovee

My son was born at 34 weeks, and never had a tube, I refused because of personal experience. He had an OG tube placed ONCE because his respitory rate was over 90, and the lasix needed to be upped. All you can do is ask! good luck!

downwardsunshine

We were in the NICU for 9 Days as Chase was born at 35 weeks diagnosed with feeding issues. I fought and fought against the ng tube. The NICU gave me a few days to try and get him to full feeds on the bottle but he would always be a few ml short. One nurse told me he would come home sooner if they used the tube because it would get his weight up, another told me it would delay him coming home because they have it out for a certain period of time before they could be discharged...... They finally put the ng tube in but only used it once. I was there for 6 out of 8 feeds everyday and the night nurse really worked to get him to eat strictly from the bottle. He only used the tube once and they took it out 2 days after putting it in. Feeding issues stink, but they do figure it out eventually!