bottlefeeding a sleepy baby

[elliejjtiny]

DS4 is now 38+1 corrected, 3 weeks on Monday actual age. He has a cleft lip and palate and low muscle tone. Just trying to get the feeding sorted then we can go home .

He is on demand feeding now but he is being fed every 4 hours if he doesn't wake up and cry for it. I have been getting him to take 30mls usually before he falls asleep. Then I take his babygrow off, tickle his feet and try again but he stays asleep. Then the nurse takes over, sits him up and feeds him a lot more forcefully than I would while he coughs and splutters a bit but he does drink the rest (he's on 80ml feeds at the moment.

Do I have to do it like that . Seems really mean to me but my others were all full term and breastfed so this is all new to me. He was being topped up by ng tube when he fell asleep up until a few days ago which seemed a much kinder option but the nurses are all saying that full bottlefeeding is what we need to aim for and that he's doing really well.

Haven't got any experience of early babies. Just wondering if they have an infant feeding coordinator you could talk to.

DD was a very sleepy feeder for weeks. we had to get her completely naked, down to just a nappy. feet tickling didn't help much nor did ear stroking etc. making a sort of kissing noise by sucking through pursed lips seemed to keep her awake better though that was when she was older.

I did try to keep track of when she was most alert (2am at the start ) and get more into her at those times.

could you try feeding 3 hourly instead, then smaller quantities each time would add up to more?

Which bottle are you using, is it the medela sn one?