Breastfeeding a preemie?

[Elizabeth's_mommy]

My daughter was born at 33 weeks. She didn't have the sucking reflex yet and had to practice on pacifiers and then was able to take bottles. She was mostly tube fed my pumped milk and formula for the first week and weaned off the tube onto bottles by 3 weeks. She would do well at taking a few bottle feedings in a row, but then be too tired and have to get a tube feeding. I started pumping within a few hours of her birth. I pumped 6-8 times a day until she was two months old and fed her the breast milk bottles. Thanks to nipple shields I was able to begin just breastfeeding at two months and now at 4 1/2 months she is mostly breastfeeding without the shields. It is a lot of work, but it can be done. Try not to get discouraged if your baby doesn't do it right away. They are catching up on so many things.

[coleyd]

I strted dilating at 29weeks and my contractions were 2 min or less apart, after several hospital trips my water broke during a non- stress test in the DR.'s office at 34 weeks. We delivered our third child and second preemie 2 days later. I have breasatfed all of my children, The preemies take a little more work. Make sure you have a lactation consulatant check your baby's latch and feeding when they allow you to start nursing, depending on how the baby is doing that may be right away or it may take awhile, let the staff know you intend on nursing and if at all possible not to give the baby a bottle first. They should have you start pumping the day you give birth. A preemie may not fully drain you and you will need to pump out the rest. Just take your time and try not to be nervous.I just delivered my daughter in Jan, and she was a NICU baby. Rely on your staff but try to do as much care as possible because it is your baby. Position with a preemie will be a little different but you'll adapt because you have done it before. Try not to worry it won't help the contractions. You'll do great!

[mamaj120]

I had my twin girls at 28 weeks and I started pumping a few hours after my C-section. I continued pumping for the next 3 months while my surviving daughter remained in the NICU. At first, they fed her my milk through a tube that went down to her belly (poor thing). After a few weeks, she was able to take my milk in a bottle, but since she was still on breathing tubes, she never actually fed from my breast. I never got a chance to breastfeed her because two weeks before she came home, she developed a milk protein allergy. I had to throw away about 800 bottles (3 months worth) of pumped milk!! But if she hadn't developed the allergy, I probably would have been able to breastfeed her without a problem. Just make sure you pump as soon as you can after giving birth and continue pumping every 3 hours so that your breasts keep producing milk. Hope that helps!