Advice needed ladies

[molly27]

So I had my lil guy 12 days ago by section because there was increased resistance in cord I was 37+4 but two days after having him his oxygen dipped five times in 20 mins so he was put in nicu in incubator for three days had every test done and cud not find anything so they put him in high dependency then special care and finally got him home on Monday. We waiting to c ear nose throat to c if they know why it happened. Docs are thinking that he only 35 weeks when born at that's an immaturity thing with him but hes a slow feeder. Takes 45 mins to take 60ml but only seems to b able to suck from the little cow and gate bottles that the hospital provide I've tried him on four other types of bottle and he's sucking like crazy but the milk doesn't seem to b going in so I'm wondering mayb his suck isn't sting enough for normal bottles so my question is is there bottles for preemie babies and did anyone experience this feeding problem and what did u do? So sorry for the long post

 

[SucreK]

First of all, CONGRATULATIONS! Second of all, the suck issue is common in premies. Try going up nipple sizes, or even widening the hole of the bottle nipples yourself with a needle. For what it's worth, the Lansinoh Momma bottles have a very pliable nipple with a pretty good flow. https://www.lansinoh.com/products/feeding-bottle

 

[molly27]

Thankx for that appreciate it. This is all new to me my first little boy was 9lb 9 and now ill man was 6lb 5 but dropped to 5lb11 from been in nicu si I'm literally having to squeeze every bit of milk in

 

[AP]

Hiya
I know what cow and gate bottles you are meaning and the nicu gave me a stash to take home. I found it difficult to get my little one off the teats but the best alternatives to them are the NUK latex or the cheap own brand supermarket latex teats. I always think NUK and MAM teats are easier for a preemie, due to their shape.

Once my little one got used to the NUK shape and got older we moved to the same but silicone version.

 

[mapha2]

Hi Molly
I'm so sorry about what your going through and congratulations with your new baby.
I don't have a solution to your question but your thread can also help me as my son is a slow feeder when breast fed but can eat well with a syringe in NICU. He was born 5 days ago at 34 weeks
Good luck hun

 

[molly27]

Thankx atomic pink think il try the nuk bottles never even thought of them. Does it generally take a long time to feed premature baby? At the min he takes anything from 30-45 min every three hours and takes 55-60ml but sometime I think he's stil full from the previous feed coz if it takes 45 mins to feed and he been fed two hours later. I'm hoping he's put on weight by his check on Monday and they say he can feed every three and half hours maybe. Plus he's an app with ear nose throat doc on Monday aswell my nerves are gone

 

[AP]

Thankx atomic pink think il try the nuk bottles never even thought of them. Does it generally take a long time to feed premature baby? At the min he takes anything from 30-45 min every three hours and takes 55-60ml but sometime I think he's stil full from the previous feed coz if it takes 45 mins to feed and he been fed two hours later. I'm hoping he's put on weight by his check on Monday and they say he can feed every three and half hours maybe. Plus he's an app with ear nose throat doc on Monday aswell my nerves are gone

It took us ages, we used to spend our time tickling her feet to keep her awake! We did between 3-4 hours. Weights a good guide so I think you are doing the right thing! You're doing perfectly fine, have more faith in yourself, i promise!!!!

 

[sethsmummy]

hey hun i haven't had a preemie but ds1 was small at 5lb 14oz at 40+6. he took a VERY long time to feed. He would only take 10ml at a time and it would take him upto 30 minutes to take this feed. we were still sat at 30ml until he was around 2 months old and he never ever went above 5oz even at a year old. I second the MAM teats .. ds2 struggled with normal shaped teats but managed with MAM. And i also second the NUK as i know they are the same shape as the little bottles the hospital can provide You can also buy those little bottles in most supermarkets hun.. theyre expensive though. if its something you might think of then just look up cow and gate starter set. Asda have them and its £6.47 for 6 bottles. xx

 

[MummyMana]

My daughter was born at 36 Weeks and at first took her an hour to drink an oz of milk from a bottle, she couldn't breastfeed at all. over time she slowly picked up her amounts, when she was on 45 ml we started using our own tommee tippee closer to nature bottled and she started taking a little more each feed have you tried those ones? I'm not sure if it was related to the bottled or if she was just growing stronger. I also think different babies take to different bottled/teats better, it may just be a case of trial and error can the hospital you were in recommend one that might help?

Congratulations by the way I hope the consultation with the ENT specialist goes well

 

[SucreK]

Thankx atomic pink think il try the nuk bottles never even thought of them. Does it generally take a long time to feed premature baby? At the min he takes anything from 30-45 min every three hours and takes 55-60ml but sometime I think he's stil full from the previous feed coz if it takes 45 mins to feed and he been fed two hours later. I'm hoping he's put on weight by his check on Monday and they say he can feed every three and half hours maybe. Plus he's an app with ear nose throat doc on Monday aswell my nerves are gone

Yes, feeds can definitely take FOREVER. Tips we learned from the NICU: undress him (so he isn't too cozy in his jammies), tickle his cheek, sit him mostly upright, blow on his face. Don't worry--this too shall pass!

 

[molly27]

Thankx ladies uve made me feel heaps better I thought it wad just my little guy that took ages to feed. Health nurse was out today and said he put on two ounces since Monday so that's gud she also said to get him to take 90 ml. He only on 60 at the min so that might take a while

 

[sethsmummy]

thats fab hes put on 2oz hun!

urg i hate when they say that... "make him take..." ... i had this from the midwives in the hospital after having DS1.. he was a traumatic birth and small... they were telling me he had to be taking a full ounce! he only just managed 10-13ml and half of that was sicked back up.. they only have teeny stomaches and take what they need. As long as they are gaining weight they are fine.

 

[MummyMana]

thats fab hes put on 2oz hun!

urg i hate when they say that... "make him take..." ... i had this from the midwives in the hospital after having DS1.. he was a traumatic birth and small... they were telling me he had to be taking a full ounce! he only just managed 10-13ml and half of that was sicked back up.. they only have teeny stomaches and take what they need. As long as they are gaining weight they are fine.

I hate that as well! Had a neonatal nurse tell me "you can give her more than that you know" when I told her it was all she would take she said "have you tried burping her?"

 

[sethsmummy]

they seem to think were thick hun its shocking. I was made out to be a bad mum by one midwife because he just wouldnt take more than 10ml. he was only 5lb 14 so was tiny (a baby born at 36 weeks who was on ward with us was bigger than him!) and theres no way i could have made him take more. In his whole time having bottles he never ever went over the 5oz mark xx

 

[MummyMana]

When you've just had a baby, you're the most vulnerable you'll ever be, especially if there is complications, the last thing we need is the hospital staff being insensitive and sometimes downright rude on top if everything else! I put in so many complaints about my time at the hospital, the head midwife was actually horrified to hear how her staff had been behaving!

 

[Orglethorp]

I'm not a mother myself yet (TTC) but my sister and I were both preemies, and our mother dealt with this issue by making the hole in the bottle nipple wider.

Assuming full term is 40 weeks and my mother's due dates were accurate, I was born at 32 week and my sister at 36.

 

[AP]

I wouldnt suggest making the whole wider unless it was made that way. You could go up a stage of teats if you think that would help but at this stage they are still learning their suck too.
Preemies tend to take so long to feed as it takes up a lot of energy.