Moms of a 36 weekers / or any preemies - frustrated and worried, please read ;(

[Natalia2010]

Hi All,

I had my little boy born at 36 weeks on Tuesday. He had to go to the NICU for fast breathing which resolved itself the next day.

He now has been in the NICU 6 days due to not finishing a feeding, he falls asleep mid feeding. The nurses keep saying that a light switch will come on and he will just start feeding normal, is this true?

Right now they are doing tube feedings and then alternating bottle feeds as he gets tired doing all bottle feeds. He is now 37 weeks gestationally and I thought this would resolve by now.

He is supposed to take 58 cc's (about 3 ounces) every feeding every 3 hours. Will it really just happen like the nurses say? They keep telling me this is very common and they have him in a low risk section of a special care nursery. All of his stats are stable, oxygen, breathing, etc..., but now I'm starting to worry.

I had a 28 weeker 7 years ago and I was really dreading the NICU again, really bummed here.

Any thoughts, advice or insight would be most appreciated.

Thanks in advance

 

[AP]

im a mum of a 27 weeker, but the theory that "a switch will just come on" is true. Everything just "clicks". It may not feel like that just now - but it will happen. A week before my LO left SCBU they told me she was going home on oxygen and a feeding tube. A week later everything fell in place and she was feeding like a pro!

 

[katy1310]

I'm a mum of a 27 weeker too and we were told yesterday that a switch will just flick and everything will fall into place with the feeding. Sophie is 38 weeks now and desatting during feeds. She was tube fed up till a week ago. The nurses got us really stressed out over the weekend saying she will be going home on oxygen but the consultant yesterday said that's not appropriate and that something just needs to click and everything will fall into place. Everything else is fine, it's just the feeding. I know it's slightly different from your situation but he did say that it just clicks at some point and will happen really soon. There is so much for them to think about with the feeding and a lot to co-ordinate and it's tiring for them.

I'm sure your LO will get the hang of it soon.

 

[Cazzyg]

My theory is that this works for pretty much every development along the way - feeding, rolling, solids, walking, talking etc. Everthing needs to be lined up for a new thing to click and you can see that it's nearly there but not quite and then suddenly, it as and it all clicks into place.

My daughter started to get the hang of feeding at the equivalent of 37+3 and it took another wee while before we could stop blowing on her face or tickling her feet to get her to stay awake for a feed.

 

[Natalia2010]

Thank you all for the replies, it reassures me to actually hear this from other parents of preemies.

 

[Foogirl]

This was the same with Abby. Born at 29 weeks, she started bottle / breast feeding at 31 weeks and she just didn't seem to be getting the hang of either of them, and her feeding tube was the only intervention she needed. It was frustratng as we thought she would never get there! At 34 weeks she downed a whole feed by bottle and a week and a half we had her home, with breast feeding fully established.

 

[sun]

Hi there, my LO was also an older preemie (almost 36 weeks) when born and also had a few feeding issues initially. But it is amazing how quickly they get the hang of it - it seems to take forever at the time, but it really is fast. My LO didn't get the sucking part of eating, but then suddenly one day he got the suck+swallow = full tummy and he was good to go from there! We established breastfeeding soon after! We still had to wake him up continually during feeds for the next few weeks, but it was fine.

Now we are trying to establish that solid food + chew = full tummy, but he's not too sure about that yet...

I am sure your little guy will catch on in no time!

 

[ShellyG5]

Hello!

My daughter, Ava, was born at 33w4d back in February. She ended up being in the NICU for 12 days and was only there that long for one reason...not wanting to feed!

She took feedings through the nose tube only for over a week, and then gradually starting taking the bottle. It was so upsetting and frustrating seeing her just not getting the grasp of the "sucking reflex".

But the nurses kept telling me about "the switch flipping" & sure enough....it did! Once she caught on, there was no turning back!

Her birth weight was 4 lbs, 10 oz and now, a little over 3 months later, she's almost 11 lbs!

Hang in there, mom! It WILL happen! I promise!

Shelly