breastfeeding after NICU

mamathompson7 · June 2013

Hey ladies! My daughter came home from the NICU last Tuesday after being there for 19 days.

While she was there, the main issue she had was staying awake for her full feedings. She had a feeding tube for a while, and started off with half of her feedings being by bottle and the other half by tube in order to conserve energy. While I was allowed to breast feed before a tube feeding, but I was only able to be there for 3 feedings a day which only ended up being only one tube feeding. She would latch on, and suck for a few minutes.

Now that we are home, I have noticed a few things that I think will be problematic in the near future...

1. She will still only latch on for a few minutes, def not enough for a full feeding.

2. My supply is greatly dropping and/or not able to keep up with her increased meal amount. Since the beginning, I have been able to get 1.5 oz per breast, sometimes 2 oz from the right.

At this point, I feel like I am barely keeping up with how much she needs by pumping.

She will be 4 weeks old this week, and has never had a full feeding by breast, and I honestly think that it is because she has never had to do it. I can't spend all day just letting her nurse (for multiple reasons- 12 month old son at home and she needs to conserve her energy for gaining weight). She will eat for 3-5 minutes and even fall asleep at the breast, but then is up 2 minutes later and can down an almost full bottle amount.

Does anyone have any suggestions? Is there anything I can do? Is breastfeeding a lost cause at this point?

Sorry for being so rambly.... I am pumping at 3 in the morning, and am devastated that I may not be able to breastfeed my baby as her main source of milk

brachysira · June 2013

Don't give up! Your story is so common on here. I'm not sure how early your baby was, but we left the NICU when my LO was 34 weeks, and she didn't learn to breastfeed for a month+. The LC at the hospital made it seem like she totally should have it, but a lot of babies don't get it until term or so--they're just not mature enough. I never got more than a couple of oz pumping, but that was enough to sustain my supply, although the effort nearly did us in. Practicing feeding every day for a few minutes is good. If your LO will eat a little, that's great evidence for no lost cause, and she still needs to conserve energy so going a few minutes is a good goal. My ped said breastfeeding was really energy intensive, so it's totally reasonable and typical that your baby can only go for a few minutes while she's gaining strength. You could try a nipple shield--we used it for a couple days and it was a good transition to full time bf, but other people use it a lot longer. Our NICU was having us give some high cal formula in addition to milk, and you might be able to use some preemie formula too if you're not. So even if you can't keep up with demand, some milk is better than none and might keep up your supply enough to let your LO get mature so you can switch to bf full time later. Don't give up yet.

MinaE01 · June 2013

I'm in awe of you! You pretty much had 2 u 1! I'm sure you have your hands full. DS was born and 32w3d. He got mostly breastmilk but some formula while in the NICU. We spent 24 days in the NICU, but didn't really practice breastfeeding because he struggled with taking a bottle. We finally tried BFing when my son was almost to term (6 weeks actual). I used a nipple shield, but he got the hang of it! Unfortunately, my supply was terrible and never was enough for him. I would get about 1.5-2 oz total per pumping session. I supplemented with Enfacare preemie formula. I nursed and pumped for as long as I could, but at 4 months actual, I was done.

My advice is to stick with it a little longer - set small goals like try to get to 2 months. If you need to supplement with formula, there's no shame in that. She will benefit from any amount of milk you can give her! Keep putting her to the breast to help her build her stamina. Good luck to you!

mamathompson7 · June 2013

Thank you ladies! Yes, we are supplementing with a preemie formula. She was born at 36 weeks 5 days, but was IUGR so she was tiny! Her only problem was energy to eat.

In the NICU she as getting a 'human milk fortifier', but now we are on the formula for 3 feedings per day. I feel like this is the only reason I am able to stash away some milk because otherwise I can barely keep up with her demand.

I will try the nipple shield, thank you for that suggestion!

+ASH+ · June 2013

My daughter was in the Nicu for 33 days and I was only able to try to breastfeed once. I've been pumping ever since. We had been home for five weeks before I decided to practice with her for 10 minutes every few hours. She took to it like a champ. It's been two days and we haven't used a bottle since she first latched on.

Don't stress about it. My milk supply was barely keeping up with her too (I might get an extra 2 ounces per day) but letting her set her own pace and not pushing her did wonders!

LnR70707 · June 2013

I had similiar problems and actually ended up giving up nursing for a bit and just pumping. At 6 weeks I was only producing 8 oz a day so my OB gave me reglan and it doubled my supply....domperidone eventually got me up to 24oz a day around 5 months but we always had to supplement. I pumped around the clock every 3 hrs for the first 3 months...dropping one session when DS started sleeping a 6 hr stretch. At that point my body was able to produce enough for a full nursing session and DS was old enough that he'd stay latched for 20+ minutes, so I nursed in the mornings and pumped the rest of the day because that is what worked for us at that point.

opheliainwaders · June 2013

I just wanted to chime in and say hello; I'm facing a similar issue, though my LO was nearly full term. She was born on Thursday at 36 weeks, and what you describe is EXACTLY the experience I'm having trying to breastfeed her. We didn't have a NICU stay, and after our pedi visit today we are on a strict supplementation schedule for the next 24h to try to make her gain weight. She's not really able to latch on, and when she does, it's only for a few minutes. I'm waiting for a call back from the lactation consultant, so if I get any useful info that might also help your situation, I'll gladly pass it along.

laxkal23 · June 2013

Cj was born at 36 w and we had very similar issues as far as feeding goes. We were suggested to put him to Breast at each feeding every 2 to 3 hours for 10 minutes, then to supplement, pumped milk or formula. Making sure to pump after supplementing, even a little nursing will help to encourage your milk supply to grow. As time went on and he gained more strength and was able to feed longer and I supplemented less and less. Cj is now 7 months and continues to be breast fed.

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