XP: BFing and 33 weekers

wille2b

I had my little ones at 33 weeks 1 day. they are both doing very well and are just feeders and growers now. oral feeding is our last step before home. they have both latched a few times and even nursed for a while. however they are still fairly checked out of life and in the sleepy phase. they have been given a pacifier since day one to encourage sucking. my question is, when did your babies wake up and "get it"? the nurses all have said between 34 and 35 weeks they start to develope that ability, we are coming up on 35 weeks and i am just getting eager to have them home! Thanks Ladies

sucrets4

DD was born at 33w5d and came home at 35w.  She was inconsistent nursing in the hospital but took a bottle (of bm) well.

Once we were home, I continued to try to BF and pump while DH gave her a bottle.  Around her EDD she finally got the hang of BFing and about 2 months later she started rejecting bottles completely and was addicted to the boob until after she turned 2.  :-)

MinaE01

My little guy was born at 32w3d. He was a feeder and grower as well; no other major issues. We were very frustrated with the feeding aspect. I pumped but didn't BF because I wasn't producing much and wanted to make sure he got plenty of milk/formula. He finally started to get the hang of feeding around 35w3d. They took out his ng and he was home in 3 days. He totally took off without the tube. It literally happened overnight, just like the nurses said. He came home at 35w6d. Also, boys seem to take longer than girls to get the hang of it. My twin neices were born at 31w and came home right about at 35w. Hang in there! There will be ups and downs but they will get it!

vsalt31

DS didn't get it until he was about 37 weeks. But once he got it, it was smooth sailing.

Brummy14

Our girls *just* started attempting bottles, and are still coordinating everything - they regularly choke and brady - but we're only a few days in. The LC told me once they 'get it,' to put them to the breast 1-2x per day, and around their due date, to expect them to be more likely to be more exclusively BF, but it may still take longer. In the meantime, we're just nuzzling them -- putting them on a nearly empty breast for around 10min each day to get them accustomed to the whole idea of BF, without overwhelming them with tons of milk at this stage. 

We have friends who had preemies twice (god bless them), and she said each time, they had babies home within 17 days of bottle introduction. I find that hard to believe based on how I've seen the girls doing - but if like PP have said, and they just get it overnight -- then I may just be proven wrong! 

rcohron

My 27 weeker did seem to "just get it" one day.  Seems like one week we were frustrated and the next week he was eating.  We decided to not worry so much about BFing and let him take lots of bottles.  Just wanted him to eat so he could come home...  BAD IDEA!!!  If you really want to be able to nurse them, work with the LCs and get them nursing well while you are still there.  At 6 months (3 adjusted), I was still having trouble with him at the breast.  I'm working full time and Dad's home with LO, and it seemed like LO really preferred the bottle.  Very frustrating and many tears.  He's a little over 8 months now and finally seems to like nursing, most of the time...

 GOOD LUCK!!