Help feeding early baby

[Mrs W 11]

I'm desperate for advice as I'm really struggling to breastfeed my new baby! He was born early at 35 weeks and is a week old today (so 36 weeks gestation).

I started hand expressing and am now pumping so he's purely tube fed my breast milk every 3 hours. Before almost every feed I wake him up and try to bf. He's awake and hungry, and keen to feed but it is not happening! We've tried different positions, nipple shields, various techniques and nothing works. He opens his mouth and tries to suck but doesn't latch and so just comes off.

We can't leave until feeding is established and with a 4 year old at home I'm getting really frustrated as we are not making any progress we are going backwards if anything as several days ago he did latch and feed several times but fell asleep within minutes. The bf expert says it's all normal and to relax with skin to skin and wait for him to be ready but how long do I wait?!

Any advice or experience welcome!

 

[klsltsp]

Hey Mrs W. Have you tried a bottle just to see if he can do that? All of mine did bottles in hospital and he first week or so after and it didn't impede bf.. maybe just a back up so that you can go home? I am a real believer in that they sense your frustrations and it makes it harder... always been that way with me... as soon as I take the no care attitude. . They seem to become obsessed

Good luck! !

 

[Srrme]

I had a 28.6 weeker and a 35 weeker. They were tube fed, then bottle fed my expressed milk during their NICU stays. Once discharged, I exclusively and successfully fed them by breast only. I knew trying the breast in the NICU would slow things down, so I waited until they came home, and it worked out wonderfully.

 

[OnErth&InHvn]

You need a new lactation consultant and to call la leche league!

 

[kirstybumx3]

My 32 weeker didn't 'get it' until 39 weeks I just think it's something they'll get when they get it. It was the only thing keeping us in too and 7 weeks felt like a lifetime! X

 

[Mrs W 11]

Thanks for the replies ladies. Just updating for any new mummies that search for threads going through the same thing.

It was incredibly frustrating and the breastfeeding experts just kept saying he would eventually get it but that he was early and didn't know how yet. They recommended as much skin to skin as possible so we spent days reclined in a chair with him naked and me no top on and he had his tube feeds there, I expressed with him on me (had to go to one side at a time!) and watched a lot of tv.

A few days later, out of the blue he latched on and fed and has done so every 3 hours since! He suddenly just got it, like they said he would. 24 hours after he first did it he ripped his own feeding tube out so they didn't replace it, they stopped his tube feeds, let me feed him and 24 hours later he had put on weight. Another 24 hours later he had gained weight again and we took him home

I'm glad we persevered and I think me relaxing and the skin to skin really helped. He was around 36 weeks gestation when he got it and just over a week old.