Breastfeeding establishment?

[misspriss]

So I had my baby, preemie, 33+5. I have been trying to establish breastfeeding with pumping but I don't know if I am doing any good.

They let me collect colostrum on q-tips and send to him, but he can't eat yet due to magnesium levels. I don't have any real milk yet anyway.

I have had some luck hand expressing the colustrum, but DH is way better at it than me. It is so awesome have a great husband who will come hand express your colostrum for you But I am worried that I am not bringing in my supply yet by pumping. They brought me a hospital grade pump and gave me instruction to use every 3 hours, but I have not been able to get anything with it. I use it for 15 minutes each time and usually get nothing, then hand express after.

Please help!

 

[cat81]

Congratulations on your baby boy.

If you want to breastfeed then keep on trying. I remember when my son was first born, my husband and I spent about an hour desperately trying to get the colostrum out and collect it in a syringe and what we ended up with looked so pitiful that it was really depressing. Just remember that however small the amount, it is the best thing in the world for your son if you can do it.

Establishing breastfeeding with a premmie isn't easy but it can be done and in many ways, they need it more than full term babies. If they are tube fed breast milk rather than formula, their little stomachs find it much easier to digest.

Hopefully in a day or two your milk will come in and you will find it gets easier. I used to find that pumping while sitting next to the incubator helped as I could see my baby which helped with the supply.

I know it's easier said than done but try to relax and don't beat yourself up if it isn't coming or doesn't seem like much. You will get there. If your son isn't eating at the moment then anything you can produce should be able to be frozen and kept for later.

In my experience, I found that once the milk started coming, I was producing far more than my son needed as because I was using a pump, my body had no idea how much he was taking so it just kept on coming. When we left the NICU, they handed me a bin bag full of bottles of frozen breast milk which they had stored for me. I had no idea how much I had been giving them.

I'm glad you have such a supportive husband and it sounds like you're doing a wonderful job. I hope your little man is doing well and you can all get home soon. xxx

 

[Ice Cold Cube]

Please, don't panic! Ella was born at 33 weeks and I used the Medela Symphony pump and got very little in the first few days - just drops really despite pumping loads. I didn't measure output on day 1 or 2, but on day 3 produced only 14ml in total. I was gutted. On day 4, however, it was up to 175ml, then 365ml, 472ml and 635ml over the following days. By 2 weeks I was expressing over a litre a day - 4 times what she needed at the time.

Good luck, and try not to worry.

Laura c

 

[juicyfruity]

i had my girl at 34 weeks and the hand pump was useless until my milk had REALLY come in! i actually found hand expressing best the first few days. keep trying with the pump just to 'stimulate' the milk glands or whatever but stick to what works!

establishing breast feeding is tricky but you can get there. it depends on a lot of factors so it could be different for you, i know we had a lot of trouble so i'll list what you might expect to have trouble with to so you can be prepared again every situation is different!

getting her to latch on (she didn't seem interested)

dependence on tube feeding (we called it her nose umbilicus because she got all her nutrition through it!) but she did prefer getting it down the tube thanthe hard work

being too sleepy at feeds- staff made us strip her down so she was uncomfortable and would wake up to eat! we started just two feeds every 24 hrs and slowly built up. when she his about 2.8 kg she got a LOT better

wanting to suck, cuing like a mad thing hands in mouth, trying to eat fingers, grizzling etc but when it came to it just not having the energy to maintain a good feed

only taking a small amount each feed so lots of top ups and then expressing after each feed. this is EXHAUSTING. breast feeding AND expressing each time really gets on top of you. plus at home getting up every 3 hrs to express. it is acutlaly less exhausting when your baby is home from hospital than when they are there contrary to how people might make you feel ("ooh just you wait till she's home THEN you'll be tired" that is absolutely wrong! at home you are not worried, you are with your child like nature intended and feeding on demand naturally NOT doing the double whammy, the travel, the extreme worry etc)

on the plus side with hard work you do get there, DD was my first child so i had no idea about positioning etc either so we both had a lot to learn on top of the prem thing. AND she will not take a pacifier or dummy now simply because she hates to suck without reward (milk!) as it is such hard work! haha whats the point of all the energy to suck a dummy when i dont get anything? she thinks. i think this is a positive mainly because i'm not a huge fan of dummies and trying to wean off!

hope that helped we were only in hospital about 3 weeks, DD is now 6 weeks and still small but fully breast feeding AND i ended up with oversupply from all the expressing so i donate my milk and have a stash to use if needed.

 

[juicyfruity]

. By 2 weeks I was expressing over a litre a day - 4 times what she needed at the time.

Good luck, and try not to worry.

Laura c

exact same for me and same about medela too!

 

[rbourre]

In my experience, I found that once the milk started coming, I was producing far more than my son needed as because I was using a pump, my body had no idea how much he was taking so it just kept on coming.

Same here. When my daughter came home, I had over 200 oz stored in the freezer.

 

[hello_kitty]

I had my baby at 32+1 weeks, and the first few days I barely got anything. Being a first time mom, I was also really worried. My milk started coming in gradually 3 days later. I also used the symphony. Dont worry, you will get there. My baby is now almost 5 months and wont take anything (not even a bottle) except for my breasts.

 

[misspriss]

Got a teeny tiny bit a few hours ago, first bit expressed. Then 3 hours later I got .5 ounces! So glad to be getting noticeable amounts already! They haven't been feeding him yet but I am working up a stash for him and supply for me....I feel so good to have gotten some good colostrum today!

 

[ShelbyLC]

In my experience, I found that once the milk started coming, I was producing far more than my son needed as because I was using a pump, my body had no idea how much he was taking so it just kept on coming.

Same here. When my daughter came home, I had over 200 oz stored in the freezer.

Same! But I had over 1,000 oz

My girls were born on Sunday afternoon and my milk started coming in Tuesday night, and was fully in Wednesday night. I got a small amount of colostrum Sunday night but nothing at all on Monday. I just continued pumping every 3 hours and it all worked out.

Just keep pumping, it'll all pay off, I promise.

Congratulations, by the way!

 

[misspriss]

Got another .5 ounce today and met with the lactation consultant. Things are going well. They are still not feeding him yet but when they do I will be ready I hope!

 

[cat81]

Glad to hear it's going so well. x

 

[misspriss]

Well, the lactation consultant said to pump every 3 hours, but then my doctor came by an said I should pump every hour or two, since infants feed pretty often. Days full of pumping! I got a little less, like .3 oz at my last pumping session, but I was upset. For some reason the nurse aids on this floor keep making me upset.

I am having the "emotional" day. I have read a couple of places that a couple of days after birth, you can have sadness and crying and stuff. I have been crying a bit all day. Like tons of things throw me into tears for some reason. My head nurse is great though, she is really understanding.

 

[ShelbyLC]

Oh hun, the first days are so hard. The day after my twins were born, I would cry every time someone walked into the room, which is a LOT as I'm sure you know!

I would ignore your doctor and continue pumping ever 2.5-3 hours. Yes, infants nurse quite frequently, but you're using a pump and you're going to shred your nipples if you start off doing too much. Obviously you don't have to follow my advice, that's just what I would do.

 

[misspriss]

Well I just pumped after two hours instead of .5 ounces I only .3 ounces....I am hoping my milk will come in soon I believe what I am getting is still colostrum.

 

[rbourre]

I would ignore your doctor and continue pumping ever 2.5-3 hours. Yes, infants nurse quite frequently, but you're using a pump and you're going to shred your nipples if you start off doing too much. Obviously you don't have to follow my advice, that's just what I would do.

I agree. I tried pumping every hour before and my nipples got really sore. Every 3 hours is good. The only time I pumped more frequently is if I missed pumping sessions and was full.

 

[misspriss]

Went to the NICU and held him kangaroo care for 1 hour. Then came back and pumped and... BAM! A Full ounce out of righty, and a full half ounce out of lefty. Last two times I pumped I got .3 ounces between the two of them!!

I may check out of the hospital tomorrow, but then I will have to come in two or three times a day and pump milk for him and hold him. Holding him seems to increase my supply.

 

[Bumpblessing4]

Keep trying. I delivered by emergency c-section at 35+0 last Wednesday and got less than 1 mL amounts of colostrum each time during the first 24 hours ago with the hospital's pump. I kept pumping every 3 hours but by day 2, I stopped getting anything at all and was discouraged. I still kept pumping though and by day, 3, I was suddenly getting colostrum again (about 10 mL from double pumping each time). Now I'm home and getting more each time I pump. I believe I'm up to about 17 to 20 mL with each double pumping session (I bought the Spectra S2 pump from Amazon and love it - it's the hospital grade pump of choice in Korea and newly selling to other countries. It's only $209 and literally just as good as the $1500 Medela Symphony pump I was using in the hospital). Anyways, hang in there, but you need to rent a pump if you go home. You won't make enough milk if you only pump during your visits to see him in the hospital. Breast milk is a supply and demand thing. The more you pump (or baby feeds), the more milk your breasts will make and vice versa. Pump at least 8 times per 24 hours. You can rent a hospital grade pump, if you don't want to buy one (or while you wait for one you buy to come in the mail). Ask your hospital's lactation consultant where to rent.

If you want another preemie birth story to read, you can check mine out in third trimester (under Ryder Luke's Preemie Birth Story; he was born on 3/27 and I just posted it yesterday). You are not alone!

 

[misspriss]

Keep trying. I delivered by emergency c-section at 35+0 last Wednesday and got less than 1 mL amounts of colostrum each time during the first 24 hours ago with the hospital's pump. I kept pumping every 3 hours but by day 2, I stopped getting anything at all and was discouraged. I still kept pumping though and by day, 3, I was suddenly getting colostrum again (about 10 mL from double pumping each time). Now I'm home and getting more each time I pump. I believe I'm up to about 17 to 20 mL with each double pumping session (I bought the Spectra S2 pump from Amazon and love it - it's the hospital grade pump of choice in Korea and newly selling to other countries. It's only $209 and literally just as good as the $1500 Medela Symphony pump I was using in the hospital). Anyways, hang in there, but you need to rent a pump if you go home. You won't make enough milk if you only pump during your visits to see him in the hospital. Breast milk is a supply and demand thing. The more you pump (or baby feeds), the more milk your breasts will make and vice versa. Pump at least 8 times per 24 hours. You can rent a hospital grade pump, if you don't want to buy one (or while you wait for one you buy to come in the mail). Ask your hospital's lactation consultant where to rent.

If you want another preemie birth story to read, you can check mine out in third trimester (under Ryder Luke's Preemie Birth Story; he was born on 3/27 and I just posted it yesterday). You are not alone!

I am so glad to hear your story! It makes me feel so much better. I get so excited when I get like 30mL from one side at once, and then the next time not even 15mL....it's frustrating.

Luckily I have been getting something every time I pump, it would be so hard to stick with it if I wasn't getting anything at all! They only asked me to hand express the first day, or maybe even the second day too, I didn't get to pump a lot until later.

I have been using the Medela Symphony, it is what they have here at the hospital and they rent it to you when you leave - same model. After I leave and get a Rx from my doctor, I get a Lucina Melodi Advanced Breast Pump (hospital grade) from my insurance.

I try to pump every 2-3 hours, which makes 8-12 feedings per day. I also tried adding a night pump last night, I read something about increased prolactin levels from pumping at night? He eats every 3 hours, on the hour, 24 hours per day. They were feeding him 10mL per feed, then 15mL, and they just increased it again. Basically I need to get him close to 30mL per feeding (to make sure I have enough) for 8 feedings per day, every day. I can't slack off! Especially if he needs to gain so much weight.

I don't think I am eating enough either, this hospital food is crappy.

I am going to go home and eat a crap ton of oatmeal. I mean for breakfast and one or two snacks per day...can't hurt!

 

[Bumpblessing4]

It sounds like you are on the right track. I was excited today to finally get over 30 mL total from double pumping after delivering late on the 27th, so if you get 15 to 30 mL from just one side after only delivering on the 29th, that's great!

 

[ShelbyLC]

Also, don't forget to drink TONS of water. My doctors told me I should be drinking 90-120oz daily.