Breastfeeding after TPN?

[TMonster]

I have a bit of a different situation because my daughter has a congenital heart defect and will be in the NICU and needing surgery after birth. I won't be able to breastfeed for weeks. She will be on TPN right away and I will pump and then they will give her the pumped colostrum and milk via a tube while she is still on pain medication and then eventually they will try and help me breastfeed her but I keep hearing about how the first few days and weeks are so crucial to breastfeeding and I won't have that.

Has anyone successfully breastfed after being on TPN for a few weeks? Will I have to pump and bottle feed? I am okay with that if I have to but I do prefer breast if possible. Also, is my supply more likely to dry out even if I pump right away?

 

[Collyrocks]

You don't have to bottle feed if you don't want the first feeds to be that way. You can have bubs fed with your expressed breast milk via nasal gastric tube until she is well enough after her surgery to go on to breast. And you can feed as much as she is able to each feed and then get her topped up with tube. As she gets stronger she'll take more from breast and less with tube top ups.

If you're expressing, there is no reason for your supply to drop off as long as you are really regimented in expressing (even over night). You should aim to express every 3 hours and go for 10 mins each boob or until you get 50-60 mls (each boob).

I didn't get to feed my lo until he was about 1 month old and then we did breastfeeds and nasal gastric tube top ups for about 6 weeks. It was only after that that I started doing bottle feeds (with breast milk) and we did 3 bottle feeds and 3 boob feeds a day. Only did bottles so I could make sure he was getting enough to gain so we could go home. Took us 69 days to get home but we did.

I hope your lo's surgery goes great.

 

[sunnylove]

When your daughter can start feeding by mouth, breastfeed her. Get her used to it first, and yes, you can. They will not make you give her a bottle for her first feedings. Now, they will give you the story that "babies do better on bottles" and that you'll get home faster. They don't do better on bottle, so do not get discouraged and keep nursing her as much as you can (they may limit the times because nursing is harder on babies, but their quality of feeds is much better).

I have been pumping for nearly 3 months now and my milk has not dried up. It won't if you keep pumping. It will start to if you have big gaps between pumping sessions though, like 6 hours. I did that on accident for like a week and my milk started to dry up. But I forced myself to go every 3 hours again (at least 15 minutes) and the milk came right back. Good luck!

 

[Srrme]

If you begin pumping right after birth your supply shouldn't dry up. I expressed for 60 days while my oldest was in the NICU and I am still breastfeeding him and his brother to this day. While you're pumping, if you pump consistently, you will have a good supply.

And if you decide to bottle feed her first, it is possible to exclusively breastfeed her later on.

 

[TheNewMrsB]

We did 2 weeks in the hospital and I started expressing straight away and he was topped up with donor milk. I started hand expressing first then used am electric pump. I did 20mins double pumping (both at same time) as this is more efficient and quicker and I pumped at everyfeed which was every 3 hours. The midwives fed him through his tube while I pumped.

To get released out the hospital he had to go without a tube top up for 48 hours but he could have a bottle top which we did with expressed milk.

The midwives I deal with broke a lot of the common 'rules' and said babies will adapt very well to taking both breast and bottle and aallowed dummies/pacifiers.

My son does not have any confusion issues x