Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Child-safe in minutes.

Meet the Other Phone.
Child-safe in minutes.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Infant feeding

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

Original poster

tiktok, bfing gurus, bfers, interested parties of all creed and colour... heyulp! bfing a preemie baby... top tips please

356 replies

Aitch · 12/09/2008 15:46

don't know where to start, really...

dd is two weeks old today (blimey) and put on her birthweight on wednesday so that's great. however of course she didn't start putting on weight until her formula top-ups, topping up with ebm didn't do the trick.

her weight gain today was only 30g (last few times has been double that or more) and i do put that down to the fact that i've been pumping more and therefore have been giving her more ebm top-ups than formula.

question is... what's the tipping point? she is gaining, i am producing more milk (not heaps, but volume-wise we are on target for the SCBU calculations). we were told to give dd 280mls per day in top-ups as well as bf, but with the formula it's been more like 350ml.

so do i accept the 'slow' weight gain and think of dd's longer-term benefits having protected my supply, or do i want her on formula but with more energy to feed, iyswim?

midwife has suggested one top-up of formula, and at the next topping-up with ebm, this seems like a reasonable compromise to me, but am i missing something.

OP posts:
BeachBunni · 12/09/2008 18:45

Your body will adjust the milk to suit your dd's needs as it knows that you had a premmie.

I had the human milk fortifier added to my ebm for the first three weeks to increase the calories. Unfortunately through a mixture of diminishing milk, problems latching and pressure to change ds to the high calorie formula, I caved in and gave up. Wish I hadn't.

You're doing really well. Maybe you could talk to the bf co-ordinator that organised the pump or Bliss.

lizzytee · 12/09/2008 19:47

Hi Aitch, well done on feeding your dd, I know it is no picnic. You do not say how prem she was and what weight she was at birth but if she has recovered her birthweight already it sounds like she is on the right path. Do check out the BLISS breastfeeding leaflet which you can access via www.bliss.org.uk and they also have a very good parent messageboard.

I agree that paeds are pants at supporting bf, mainly because they have little or no training. It's also rare to find an infant feeding specialist/lactation consultant who has expertise in prem babies outside a major teaching hospital. You might get on better talking to the nurse manager/matron in SCBU although as neonatal nurses often don't have specilaised training in supporting bfing this can be hit and miss too.

I think also that protocols vary a lot from trust to trust on prem baby feeding. I think that the more enlightened ones encourage bfing and do not recommend special formula or fortifier unless there are serious concerns about weight gain and complicating factors (eg needing respiratory support). By this I mean static or tiny gain over weeks, not a single gain of 30g. I am also puzzled by the 15 minute thing - this sounds very arbitrary to me and something that is not terribly supportive. It makes sense when you are trying to teach a small tube-fed baby to feed- usually they have done all they can in that time and are then topped up down the tube. But dd, who was a sterling feeder from 4 weeks before her due date took at least 30 and often 40 mins to finish a feed until about 8 weeks past her due date. Her weight was static for about a week to ten days while she learned to feed at just below 2kg - and then it just took off and she never looked back.

Sorry if this is very long, as you can tell it's something I feel v strongly about.

dairymoo · 12/09/2008 20:24

Haven't read all of the replies here but just wanted to say that you seem to be doing really well - congrats!

But on the 15 mins thing....I BF my prem DTs and was 'told off' for only feeding them for 15-18mins (which was when they generally tended to fall asleep, etc etc) and was instructed to feed them for at least 20 mins, if not 30 for the first few weeks. Basically, I did whatever it took to keep them awake and feeding...nappy changes (sometimes two in one feed!), tickling feet, blowing gently on their faces, whatever. they were soooooo sleepy that they fed 3 hourly round the clock, mainly with me waking them, until they were about 4 weeks old or so. Then they reached their due date, "woke up" and started demanding it a lot more .

Not saying this is the right way to go about it but I too was struggling with conflicting advice and HVs who kept suggesting top-ups, but we perservered and I am still feeding 13mo on.

Good luck

Original poster
Aitch · 12/09/2008 20:31

am very interested in this human milk fortifier, in terms of sheer bulk and effort in feeding that seems to make more sense to me than topping up with formula. where do i find out more?

kat, i was syringe feeding with dd in hosp but there is no way i could have continued with that now that dd is out (have dd1 at 2.5, she's being a monkey...) so am bottle feeding using the preemie teats from hospital. cow and gate. blergh, i'd forgotten how foul it smells.

OP posts:
Original poster
Aitch · 12/09/2008 20:33

oh, and dd was 4lb 1oz at 33 plus six, with the complicating factor that she hadn't grown in two weeks. (hence the panic to get her out). i saw my placenta... apparently it wasn't a moment too soon... like a pumice stone it was.

OP posts:
Habbibu · 12/09/2008 20:34

hello! no advice, just saw you were here...

SparklyGothKat · 12/09/2008 20:41

oooooooooooo she was born at the exact same stage as callum.

StillGotNoDyson · 12/09/2008 20:43

Sounds like you are doing well aitch

expressing at every available opportunity - before and after feeds sounds like a great idea.

Original poster
Aitch · 12/09/2008 20:50

i am indeed, habs. and yes, i will be doing another 'thank you from aitch' email this evening... can't believe the support i've had on here tbh, it's been just unbelievable. and thank you to you for the chocolate. you know i got the print out of the threads from here that you sent just after they told me it was a go-ahead on the cs? nice timing, missus.

before and after, btw?

OP posts:
Habbibu · 12/09/2008 20:54

Oy, not hinting for email, you - somehow I thought you were probably quite busy. Will send proper hello (non-sugar-based) things for dd2 at some point before her 18th birthday.

Original poster
Aitch · 12/09/2008 20:59

i know...

i'm trying to crop a photo of dd down so that i'm not in it, and am considering putting it onto MN. that is racy for me.

OP posts:
expatinscotland · 12/09/2008 21:01

nothing to add, just wishing you both the best! have laid low because you have a lot on your plate at the moment, but you're in our thoughts always .

she was supposed to wait till around Struan's birth .

Habbibu · 12/09/2008 21:01

oh - still can't get mms on phone to work, by the way. tried frantically, but gave up. Think it's a common problem with this type of phone

Habbibu · 12/09/2008 21:02

oh - still can't get mms on phone to work, by the way. tried frantically, but gave up. Think it's a common problem with this type of phone

Habbibu · 12/09/2008 21:02

oh - still can't get mms on phone to work, by the way. tried frantically, but gave up. Think it's a common problem with this type of phone

Habbibu · 12/09/2008 21:04

and apparently can't work MN either. Apologies. Expat - you have a name for ds? How lovely.

expatinscotland · 12/09/2008 21:06

yes, he is struan. he is 33 weeks and head down and hiccuping for Scotland and wrecking havoc on poor mummy's guts.

just got him this for co-sleeping.

gonna crack this bfing whilst lying on side with saggy norks once and for all!

CantSleepWontSleep · 12/09/2008 21:08

Not sure that she needed to wait until Struan's birth Expat, but she could have at least waited for Duncan's, as he was due first.

Also nothing useful to add Aitch, but wanted to offer moral support.

StillGotNoDyson · 12/09/2008 21:09

I'm sure you'll manage. You're made of stern stuff! Cant wait to see some more photos!

Habbibu · 12/09/2008 21:09

Oh, nice wee bed! Yes, that's one thing I wish I'd managed with dd (but small in grand scheme). Hope all stays well, expat - dd was a champion hiccuper too - I loved it.

Original poster
Aitch · 12/09/2008 21:10

some more photos? namechanger...?

OP posts:
Original poster
Aitch · 12/09/2008 21:10

you can't be lapin, she's got about fifteen dysons.

OP posts:
traceybath · 12/09/2008 21:11

My DS was born at 37 wks so not very early compared to your DD but he was very poorly and NICU for 7 nights.

They really didn't want to discharge me because of his weight loss - which got worse when we switched from tube feeding to fully bf.

I also had to sign up to regular HV checks (she phoned and visited me a lot for 4 wks). Luckily she was sympathetic as was a midwife i saw at the local hospital when i dook DS in for weigh in. As long as he was gaining even a little they were happy. It was immensely stressful though and even though i was sure i was doing the right thing as he was poohing and weeing lots it was horrid.

So even though you felt she gained less when she had less formula she still gained!

Not any help i'm afraid but it sounds like you're doing all the right things - am guessing you've tried breast compression - i did that a lot as recommended on kellymom and that was when his weight loss stopped and he began to gain.

expatinscotland · 12/09/2008 21:11

she would have been overcooked then, CantSleep!

hmm, now she's here, she might need a Halloween costume .

ilovemydog · 12/09/2008 21:11

why is there a pillow on the baby's butt?

Swipe left for the next trending thread