Breastfeeding

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How much is "normal," I guess, for a baby to get his first few times breastfeeding?

We just tried for the first time...he got 12 ml before he fell completely asleep on me and had to get the rest through his feeding tube thingy. They're wanting him to build toward 60 ml...12 is only 20% of that. Should I be concerned? My supply's okay; I'm getting 4-8 oz/time pumping right now, so I don't think it was that...I really just don't know what to expect.

 

[whistle]

Hi there,

Little confused - how are you telling how much he's getting from breastfeeding?

Our little preemies can take some encouragement to get to grips with feeding for themselves. Do skin to skin as often as you're allowed and be prepared for feeds to take a long time. I always used to change LOs nappy first to wake him up and keep him in just a nappy or nappy and vest, then tickle his feet or stroke his face to keep him awake.

I found that the first few feeds were slow and underwhelming but once he got the hang of it he was away with it. The more feeds you get to do the quicker it'll come together.

There's a breastfeeding forum on this website too - have you checked it out?

 

[elijah4]

First off congrats on the new baby and I'm happy to hear you are breastfeeding him. It takes a lot of work and determination to breastfeed a preemie. Pumping 4-8oz per pump session is a GREAT supply. Most women only get 2-4oz so hats off to you

I have a few questions... Has he been taking any bottle feeds? If so how is he doing with that? And how are they measuring the amount he is taking? The NICU my son is at will check his tummy with the NG tube (just like they check for residuals) and he has only ate 5-10cc with nursing. They do say breast milk digests fast but I think they only say that to give me encouragement lol. But when nipple feeds with bottle he will take 10-15cc per feed. We are only on day 3 of starting nipple feed and it is a slow process but once they get it, it seems to go real fast. Right now my son is like yours, his problem is with endurance where he tuckers out before he finishes his 34cc he needs to take. Whistle gave some good tips on waking lil ones up and encouraging them to keep feeding. Keep up the good work and I know he will catch on soon.

I have had four preemie that I breastfed. Its not easy but they all got it with some practice. My newest is a 30 weeker, and Ive had two 31 weekers and a 33 weeker!

 

[PleaseBaby]

I didnt breastfeed Amelia but she started off taking 10/15 ml from a bottle and within the week she was up to full feeds. Another week later she was put on demand feeding after ripping her NG tube out and taking 70/80 ml (she only neded 32ml)

THe baby nexto Amelia was breastfed and he got it in about a week aswell, he was igger than Amelia, a 30 weeker so he got to go home sooner but once they got started it was really quick!

 

[PleaseBaby]

I didnt breastfeed Amelia but she started off taking 10/15 ml from a bottle and within the week she was up to full feeds. Another week later she was put on demand feeding after ripping her NG tube out and taking 70/80 ml (she only neded 32ml)

THe baby nexto Amelia was breastfed and he got it in about a week aswell, he was igger than Amelia, a 30 weeker so he got to go home sooner but once they got started it was really quick!

 

[syntaxerror]

They're checking how much he's getting by taking his weight in grams before and after he nurses Obviously, this isn't 100% accurate, as he can affect what the scale says by moving, so it's hard to know exactly what he's getting...but that's what they're using.

I'd like to do more feeds with him but they're only letting him try 1-2 times a day. I don't really understand the logic behind this but I don't particularly want to argue with them; I guess I'm just glad that he's getting to try eating at all.

He hasn't had any bottle feeds. I'm debating letting his dad try doing that tonight. I'd prefer to exclusively breastfeed him but we've got so much in the fridge/freezer here at this point that that seems like a waste...and I know Nik enjoys having a reason to be here and hold the baby; I feel like not letting him bottle feed at all would be unfair to FOB and baby but someone mentioned the possibility of nipple confusion and that's got me worried a bit too.

He got up to his 60 ml every 4 hours; now they're wanting him to take 48 every 3 hours. He got 25 at his last try this morning...someone said we can go home when he's consistently getting the 48 on his own and that bottle feeding might be both faster/easier and more accurate given the scale's fluctuations?

Cael was 35+6 when he was born; he'd have been...I think 37+1 today. One of the nurses told us to expect to be here until his due date but the doctor just told me we'd probably be out of here pretty soon...so I still don't know what to expect in terms of how long we'll be hanging out. They're wanting to switch his NG tube from in his mouth to down his nose, which to me sounds hideously uncomfortable, but I've never done this before.

At any rate, thank you guys

 

[AmandaAnn]

IMO the concept of "nipple confusion" is overhyped. My boys haven't had an issue at all. It's meant a lot to my DH that he can feed the boys and have that time with them. Maybe nipple confusuin happens but my personal thought is that the benefit to daddy outweighs the risk, especially where daddy is eager to spend time and bond.

As for the amount, it definitely starts slowly. Baby will catch on and pick up. Good luck.

 

[AmandaAnn]

One other thing...I do believe that bottle feeding got us home faster from the NICU than if I had exclusively breast fed. You can tell how much they're getting exactly and the nurses can feed if you can't be there.

 

[Srrme]

My son was born at 28 weeks and 6 days, and spent 60 days in the NICU. During his stay there I pumped and he was fed my expressed breast milk from a feeding tube, then finally a bottle. By the time he was discharged, he was eating around 60 ml of milk every 4 hours. I tossed the bottles the second day he was home, and began exclusively breastfeeding. He would eat for 5-10 minutes, then fall asleep. He did this every 2-3 hours. I was scared he wasn't getting enough, but he was, and continued to gain weight every week. He also had NO nipple confusion whatsoever.

As mentioned above, I also think bottle feeding helped him come home faster. So many people told me he would be there longer if I tried breastfeeding him only, so I didn't do that until he came home.

He's 10 months old now and still breastfeeding.

 

[whistle]

We started off on one feed a day, then two, then three etc just because preemies can get tired - it's a lot to think about, breathing, sucking, swallowing, so although it's good to practice practice practice, they also need a little rest too.

Our bubba had his NG moved from his mouth to his nose when he came off the oxygen and it was so much easier because his mouth was completely free to try to breastfeed. I think either way is quite uncomfortable from watching both being put in, but I think once they're in they're not too bad.

Don't feel pressured into bottle feeding just to come home quicker if that's not what you want, but saying that, we had to give him bottles at times, and I was happy to do so because like others have said I knew he could breastfeed if he had the chance and I was just determined that we'd get it all up and running properly when we got home. He didn't have nipple confusion and will now eat anything that comes near his face!

 

[GemFrel]

Owen took to breastfeeding relatively fine but Alexa took a little longer (both on breast and bottle). Like Whistle said, preemies sometimes find it all a bit complicated and tiring so thats why they tend to only let you do around 2 feeds a day when starting off as they just want both mother and baby to get used to feeding. Don't worry too much about amounts at this time, just enjoy having the closeness and bonding time with him.

I made the decision early on that I would be combisation feeding (half breast feeds and half expressed milk) as I didn't feel I would be able to feed two babies on demand. Neither of mine had nipple confusion.

Just keep positive and keep at it, once it clicks it is the most amazing feeling in the world.

Best of luck
x

 

[syntaxerror]

Thank you guys again He ended up eating really well; we got to come home last night!

 

[whistle]

Yay! Well done!