Preemies
Anyone give up BFing to bring LO home sooner?
My DS just started BFing about a week and a half ago, and does pretty well most of the time. He had his first bottle yesterday and another one last night. The first time he took 45ml out of the 50ml in the bottle and the second bottle he took all 50ml. It seems to me that he is doing so much better with the bottle than he is when I BF him. I know he eats when I BF, but he isn't even close to getting full feeds that way. We supplemented half the feeding the other day and could tell that he was still pretty hungry. Right now, my biggest concern is getting him home so I'm considering giving up on BFing him so that things progress quicker. Have any of you ladies done this? What were your thoughts afterward, any regrets? We can always continue to work on BFing once we get home, but as long as he gets to have my milk I think that's the most important thing. I know I've read that it's so much harder to exclusively pump, and I'm sure it'll be harder once I am caring for LO full time, but it's what I'm already used to and I feel like I could make it work. Any thoughts would be appreciated!
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Re: Anyone give up BFing to bring LO home sooner?
Let me start with I had major supply issues to start with. I struggled to just get enough milk for my DD. Anyway with that said I did try to nurse her while she was in the NICU. I found that she would get tired very easily and not really take any volume. At that point DD's primary nurse suggested that I continue to pump and bottle her. The nurse did say that once we got home that if BF was important to me that we could work on it there. It is true that if they bottle they do come home quicker.....taking a bottle doesn't tire them out as much.
She did great bottling and progressed very quickly to taking all of her feeds, feeding on demand, etc. She came home 2 weeks before her due date and went from barely taking any feeds to taking all of her feeds within a week. Personally it was worth it to me....I feel it did get her home sooner. But keep in mind I had major supply issues. I know of a few ladies who's kids were in the NICU when my DD was. The majority of them told me that they were able to get to the point of nursing all the time once they got home. Bottling was just the bridge to get their kids home sooner. You just need to do what's right for you and your baby. For me it was getting her home sooner and really the feeding was the last hurdle for us.
If breastfeeding is really important to you, I would say that although it's hard, keep up with it, even if it means bringing baby home a little later. We gave in & I pumped around the clock & we always bottled her in the NICU (we would do non nutritive sucking but no real BFing meals). I always said that we would transition to BFing when she came home. Well guess what? It never happened. We tried & tried (my mom is even a lactation consultant) & it never worked. She had gotten used to the flow of milk from a bottle & no longer had the patience to BF.
I know some women have been able to make the transition from bottling to BFing, but not many.
Do what feels right to you! I eventually stopped pumping around 7.5 months actual because my nipples we constantly bleeding, the baby needed so much more of my attention, & I was feeling chained to the pumped all day & really started to dread it.
Thanks for your input ladies! At this point, eating is the last hurdle for DS. He does still have a nasal cannula but that will more than likely be gone by the end of this week, maybe even today. I am leaning toward sticking with the bottle feeding until he comes home. We can always try the BFing again once he's home, but if he's not able to do it I don't feel like I will be upset.
I also haven't had a huge problem with my supply, whether I pump every three hours or every six hours. I still get the same amount, a little over an ounce an hour. I know that might change eventually, but at least for now I could cut down my pumps to four times a day or so and still be ok. That would make it easier to continue pumping once he does come home.
I did not have supply issues, but Cooper was a slow eater, and even slower on the breast. After talking to EVERYONE about it, we decided to stop bfing for a week, so that he could meet the reqs for volume and come home. As long as you establish bfing before 42 weeks GA you should be fine, and at home you can feed on demand!
I have had a lot of success bfing at home- Cooper ditched the nipple shield right away, and I bf at least once a day, no problem. Good luck! I have no regrets!
eta- I insisted Cooper get a slow flow nipple, and I think this helped us a lot. I had to fight though, because the nurses want them to eat quickly, but he needs it for his lungs and it makes an easier transition to bfing.
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This was my attitude exactly. I knew I was determined to BF and that I could do that MUCH more easily once we were at home. The scheduled feedings make bfing in the NICU so hard. I wanted to just feed on demand but it wasn't until the last 2 days he was there that I had an attending doc who was super pro-bf and would let me try to feed on demand. We did the bottle, got home, and spent 2 weeks learning bfing with bottles of breastmilk after each bf as needed. It was hard, messy, and time-consuming (and sometimes VERY frustrating) but I don't regret it at all. It was the right decision for us. I knew I could give him better care at home at that point, so I wanted him home ASAP. GL!
Just FYI, these days don't last forever. Your supply is trying to regulate and you WILL be making less milk in a few weeks if you're only pumping every 4 hours. I hope he's home soon!
We did.....it was much more important for me to get my DD home than to have an exclusive breast feeder. PLUS she needed to have my milk supplimented with formula for extra calories, so she needed a few bottles during the day as well. I breast fed at home a few times, but in the end decided I didn't really care.....it was importatnt to me that she was getting my milk, but decided I didn't need to to be at my breast.
Definately a personal decision!
I'd say the positives are that your partner can help with the feedings/bond with the baby more and you know EXACTLY what your child is eating....something that sort of becomes obcessive with a preemie as I'm sure you know.
The negatives are being attached to the pump, but it ends up just being routine. It just becomes your "breast" friend
FYI: I didn't start to have supply issues until DD was 6 months old....not a bad run for an exclusive pumper of a preemie.
This is already frustrating me with BFing in the NICU. After he BFs they'll ask if they should supplement with the feeding tube and how much I think he ate? I have no idea, and I definitely don't want to guess and starve my baby. I just wish I could do it like I would at home, let him BF until he's happy and then if he gets fussy an hour later, feed him more.