Nipple shields for premature baby

[MOGMOGMOG85]

Hi,

My baby has just come out of the special baby care unit after being born a month early. I'm in hospital now trying to establish feeding and finding it so hard.

His mouth is really tiny and he doesnt have much of a sucking reflex and the nipple shield allows him to latch and suck where it's just not working without.

I'm worried he is not getting enough milk through the shield - how do I tell? I know watching for dirty nappies is one way and he is dirtying nappies but it's only been a couple of days so a bit early to tell.

I know watching for weight is another way and at the moment he has still not regained birth weight and has actually been losing tiny amounts of weight since his feeding tube came out. He is 2 weeks tomorrow.

He seems to wake roughly every hour-90 mins which seems way too often to me. He feeds for up to half an hour but not constant/vigorous feeding it's more like dreamfeeding and then falls asleep at the breast with milk still in the shield...

I really need some reassurance I'm very stresses about his weight xx

My son was 2 months early, we left neonatal after 3 weeks and hes breastfed. He lost a lot of his weight at first too, but no more after that. In the hospital we didnt use shields (very hard, but just about managed and were released home) at home I did start using them. The nappies is the only way, wet and dirty. Breast milk is digested really fast, so they are an indication of enough milk, even after just a few days. I cant give advice about the sleepiness as mine didnt have that, but I found that getting in contact with your local la leche league can help so much with tips, advice and reassurance. Good luck (mine is nearly 8 months now, still breast fed exclusively and thriving)

DS was 6 weeks early, and initially tube fed. The thing that helped his suckling reflex the most was having a tiny dummy. I didn't use nipple shields, but did have to be a little more careful with his positioning.

There were also times that he was tube fed by the nurse whilst I was breastfeeding him, which gave him more of an association with suckling and getting a full tummy.

Yes, at times he did feed every hour or so, but that can be normal even with a term baby, when they cluster feed.
DS is now 5 months, and a milk monster!

Well done so far, it's not easy and make sure you're eating well. Oats are good for encouraging your milk supply.

Oh, and we left SCBU exclusively breastfeeding.