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Infant feeding

Get advice and support with infant feeding from other users here.

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Original poster

3 week old baby in intensive care. Need advice on expressing & continuing feeding when he's better

66 replies

girlsyearapart · 30/12/2011 12:29

Hi my 3 week old son is in icu on a ventilator so is being tube fed ebm up his nose.
He had been a good feeder having breast feeds all day then a formula top up once a day around 9pm then bf in the night.

Since he was admitted on Wednesday he has only had ebm but I'm not- and never have been - a very successful expresser.

So need some tips on how to get things moving a bit better.

Using a medela symphony pump which is good and expressing off one side
then the other. Doing well (ish) on the left but paltry amounts on the right.

Also would like tips on keeping him feeding once he's better?

OP posts:

Original poster

girlsyearapart · 31/12/2011 09:26

Thanks everyone you are all so kind.

After I posted last night I managed to get 60 ml which took an hour & fifteen minutes.

Then I went back to sleep & woke up half an hour after his ebm ran out so he's having formula..

The nurse said that whatever I get now though she can ditch the formula & replace with my milk.

I have a heated bean bag on my boob which seems to have helped with the flow a bit.

Breastfeeding advisor coming round later so hopefully she will show me some massage techniques

OP posts:

katkitya · 31/12/2011 09:56

Have you considered Fenugreek?

Original poster

girlsyearapart · 31/12/2011 14:01

No what does fenugreek do? And where do you get it from??

Got almost 90 ml this morning & so he only had less than 10 ml formula

OP posts:

3cutedarlings · 31/12/2011 14:20

Dont worry about him having some formula Girls, honestly the best thing you could do right now is to ease the pressure of yourself a little. Actually IIRC DD had a little formula mixed in with breast milk at one point, like you i really wanted to keep up, i was really upset that i hadnt managed it (silly, i know) but once id got over it, i did feel less like a dairy cow and funnily enough i kept up with her after that .

Have you had any other test results back yet?.

3cutedarlings · 31/12/2011 14:25

re Fenugreek, its herbal and can help increase you milk supply. You can buy from holland and barrett and other herbal type shops.

more info here

isitwakeuptimeyet · 31/12/2011 15:23

How are you getting on? Did you get to see the bf adviser?

Original poster

girlsyearapart · 31/12/2011 18:02

Yes we had results back.
It's def not meningitis. He has Bronchiolitis rsv & pneumonia.
He is going to be fine it will just take time

I'm going to swap with Dh tomorrow avo so I can go see my girls so I'll try to express as much as poss between now & then but wil have to accept he ll prob have formula.

Breastfeeding advisor not working today or tonirrow

OP posts:

Foxinsocks · 31/12/2011 18:50

Poor lamb. V pleased to hear it isn't meningitis and hope he continues to fight the other infections!

Foxinsocks · 31/12/2011 18:51

Have you taken pictures of him? I know it sounds weird but years later I needed to go over it again in my head and didn't have photos of that time and found I needed them if that makes sense

3cutedarlings · 31/12/2011 18:59

Phew!! not that Bronchiolitus & pneumonia any less to be worried about, but still! the dreaded M word is most parents worst nightmare!.

DD was in for 2 weeks, ill be honest and say that did get worse before she got better(tho it was suspected that she had whooping cough at the same time, treatment same for both so no need to confirm IYSWIM) . It was at that point that she was ventilated, from what you have said your DS is doing his worse bit now. However once she had turned a corner she got better really quickly, as other posters have said she also had a really bad cough for weeks after, on the advice of both my GP and HV i put her on her side to sleep and raised the cot.

I personally think you have everything covered regarding expressing, try not to stress, its not the end of the world if you need to mix in some formula. I doubt very much that it will effect your supply once he's better. All the emotions of having your little boy in your arms again will increase your milk supply big time!.

Are you still under your MW?, i had been discharged but mine actually came in to the hospital TBH i think my Mum rang her and demanded she came, as i started bleeding really heavily again.

Enjoy your afternoon with your girls tomorrow, keep us posted.

Fingers and toes crossed for a speedy recovery ((((( lots un MN hugs)))) cos ive i a feeling you will need them at the moment.

Original poster

girlsyearapart · 31/12/2011 19:15

Thanks. Yes have taken photos on my phone of him. Also on the 3rd he ll be a month old & we take pics of all our kids on their month 'birthday' every month till they r one.
It won't be a great pic but we can't leave him out!

The comment about holding him in my arms made me well up. I do need the Un mn hugs I think!

Happy new year to you all

OP posts:

Foxinsocks · 31/12/2011 19:19

Happy new year to you too. Let's hope the start of the new year is better for you than the end of this one!

Wishing strength and cuddles to your little one x

TruthSweet · 31/12/2011 20:09

I'm so glad it wasn't meningitis (not that bronch. & pneumonia is a walk in the park).

Hope you have a lovely day with your DDs tomorrow. Are the hospital letting take the pump home to keep up supplies?

Have some (((hugs))) from me too.

thisisyesterday · 31/12/2011 20:18

hope your little one gets better soon and you have him at home with you again

with expressing, how are you using the pump?
it's tempting to whack it up to full and just go for it, but that doesn't help IME (i pumped for several months with ds1)
you need to start off slow and gradually build up.
is it an electric pump? if so can you adjust the strength AND the speed of the pumping?
I actually found a handpump much easier than some of the electric ones because you can start off with lots of little gentle "sucks" and then gradually move to stronger, longer "sucks" to imitate a baby feeding.
if you have a pump that can adjust for strength and speed then you can also do it with an electric one, but many don't have that facility

3cutedarlings · 31/12/2011 22:25

Aww bless you, i didnt mean to make you well up, tho i can see reading back that it was quite emotional .

Happy new year to you to girls, bring on 2012 when you can put all this behind you.

HattiFattner · 31/12/2011 23:34

oh my, the first cuddle after they are off the ventilator, i cried and snotted all over my wee man, and I refused to give him back for about 2 hours .

On 23rd Dec, we believed my darling baby was dying. He certainly had one foot in the grave. Lung xray was almost white with infection. Physio worked on him every hour, antibiotics, antivirals etc.... we were frantic.

He was home by 27th! They can get so bad so quickly, but equally, they bounce back really fast.

Mine had no voice for about a week - silent crying - and was deaf for about 2 months as all that crap was all in his ears.

We were advised to tilt his cot (roll up a towel and position in a U shape, with baby's bum in the base of the U and arms over the top of the U arms - to prevent him slipping down the cot)

Also, buy a humidifier and have it in his room overnight, and in the living room if thats where he is in the day.

He was weighed on boxing day (1.5lb under birthweight) , and then again a week later, and had gained a pound that week.

First thing I did when I got him home was to give him a bath and get rid of that horrible hospital smell.

Also, his milestones were delayed by a couple of weeks - no smiles until 8 weeks.

He has been my healthiest child though - at 9 he has had recurrent tonsilitis since he started school, (tonsils out this year) but otherwise has been remarkably healthy.

PacificDogwood · 31/12/2011 23:44

I have no practical expressing advice to offer (I was always crap at expressing and had poor yields inspite of all sorts of tricks...), but just want to send my best wishes to your wee boy and to you all for lots of good news in the New Year.

Any milk you can provide for him is better than none, expressing frequently will allow a much easier transition back to BFing when he is better and in the best possible sense will give you something positive to do for him.

My DS2 was born at 31 weeks and spent time ventilated in ICU. I remember the feeling of helplessness well.
He is now aged 7.9 and the chunkiest of my four .

Happy New Year to you all and lots of positive vibes.

isitwakeuptimeyet · 01/01/2012 03:17

It's true - once they do the turn the corner it is amazing how quickly they get better (though i found the concept very difficult to believe while we waited for the corner to arrive...) Here's sending you every wish that the start of 2012 brings your son his corner very quickly.

Enjoy your time with your girls today. Some time away from the hospital with your dds (and some fresh air!) is really important to help you all stay strong and and for you to conserve energy for caring for your son at home once he is discharged. And with any luck the change of scene might even do wonders for your supply!

And that first cuddle once he is off the ventilator - I have a grapefruit in my throat just thinking about it...

Original poster

girlsyearapart · 01/01/2012 07:03

I cannot wait for that first cuddle I will most definitely cry as I can cry just thinking about it!

He def wil need a bath to get back to smelling normal asap.

Another bad night of de saturating which was to be expected. He has still only had 10ml of formula since he was admitted so I need to take that as a bonus.
I haven't asked to take the pump as today I'm only going for a while & it's to see the girls so I don't want to be hooked up to the pump all the time.
I have got an electric one at home - though not as powerful.

Pacific- my nephew was born at 31 weeks what a hard time that was but he's a lovely healthy ten yr old now.

Isitwakeuptime- re the fresh air when my sister visited yesterday she made me walk out of one exit through into the next one when she realised I hadn't been outside!

OP posts:

BloodySad · 01/01/2012 07:59

You poor thing, we've been where you are and it's crap.

First things first, the fact that you can get any breastmilk through such a stressful time, is something you should be very proud of. You are doing brilliantly. Formula is not an evil poison and will keep up your son's energy while you maintain your supply.

I sang to my son (Lady gaga for some reason) and just let him know that i was there even though i wasn't always allowed to touch him. Take loads of photos of him as, afterwards, it really does help process everything and recover from the trauma.

Also, make sure you sleep. Even if it is in short bursts. You need to look after yourself, not least for breast milk, but for your own sanity too. You need to do some basic care for yourself so you can keep your vigil.

Praying for you both.

MrsDobalina · 01/01/2012 08:43

Oh girls a huge hug and I hope your LO gets well soon. I can sympathise sooo much as DD was prem and spent 2 weeks in NICU and I have always been a poor expresser and I really struggled. I think you are doing fantastically for getting anything with a pump as about 20mls was my max ever . What helped for me as other gave said was having a picture of my LO with me, or something you have that smells like them to help stimulate the let down reflex. I only got decent amounts by hand expressing but honestly I found it easier as especially for the night expressing it didn't mean faffing around with a pump. LOTS of massage - about 10 mins and then even if you pump, start by hand expressing first to get things going as it stimulates flow and i was told is better than pumping to improve milk supply. Try for one express at night between 2-5am even though it's painful as it will also really help your supply. It sounds like you are doing fantastically and every drop of breast milk is a bonus and even if you need to give some formula to top up its no biggie, honestly. The bf support people are brilliant and I hope you get some good advice. I'm still bf a year later and I honestly never thought I'd make it sometimes!

Wishing you and your family all the best and a speedy recovery. The first cuddle - I'm sitting here welling up just thinking about it - I don't think I've ever cried so much with happiness in my life! Big hugs Xxx

Original poster

girlsyearapart · 01/01/2012 08:59

Thanks.
I really don't have anything against formula. Dd1 was formula fed from 2 weeks after breastfeeding failed to establish successfully.
Dd2 formula fed after initial mix feed as I was in theatre after she was born then had blood transfusion.
Dd3 mix fed very successfully until 4 months when she also for Bronchiolitis & wouldn't feed.

And up until now ds has been having formula once a day so he is used to it.

I think it's more like a personal crusade to do the only thing I can for him really

OP posts:

3cutedarlings · 02/01/2012 07:46

Hows he doing girls?

katkitya · 02/01/2012 12:13

Did you manage to find a Holland and Barratt? We really do get good feedback about it increasing the supply. I wouldn't worry about the bf counsellor, I think everyone on here has covered all bases!!! I hope all is well.

BloodySad · 02/01/2012 12:33

Checking in and thinking of you. Hope your son has turned a corner. x

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