Nutraprem v EBM

[hildathebuilder]

My little one was born at 29+3 and is fast approaching his due date which was 22. May. All going well and so far he has been exclusively breast fed/bottle fed EBM. his weight gain is o.k. at circa 27 grams per day which I am told is on the high end for a breast fed baby. We have had various discussions about whether to supplement with Nutraprem 2 and although the dietician has frequently said she would have expected to have had to do so by now, we have avoided doing so, and could carry on with exclusive breast feeding and EBM but have been told that if we go with Nutraprem some of the time he will creep up the percentiles more quickly and therefore be bigger when he starts catching colds etc (he's currently on the 3rd percentile having been born on the 50th - but obviously very early!. So far we have also avoided infections, and other complications and have been extremely lucky given his gestation.

He does have reflux - and have been advised that Nutraprem may help that or it may not. I've also been told it will help with sleep - althouh we can go 3-4 hours overnight so that's not too much of an issue yet.

I know I don't want to give up breastfeeding altogether - having got this far I like the convenience of not having to take bottles etc everywhere but am interested to hear others experiences and views on the pros and cons of introducing Nutraprem

Ds was born at 34+6 bf exclusively once milk came in

he was not as prem as your lo but I will give you my experiences

he was refluxy for the first month or so, gp said this wasbecause of an immature gi tract, it wasn't true reflux as he grew out of it basically around his term date

we coped by keeping him upright after feeds, angled his Moses basket so he wasn't horizontal

ds never had anything beyond a sniffle, so although small he was in rude health, I don't know that it us worth 'bulking' your baby up

bm and formula are similar in calorie content so if you are concerned you could just feed more often but it really doesn't sound necessary

you are doing an amazing thing

bm is like medicine for prem babies and if you can give your baby bm there us nothing better

well done

hth

My babies have exactly the same due date as your baby, but were born at 23 weeks and are now on the 3rd centile. They were on breastmilk exclusively until 12 weeks, and now have half breast milk and half nutriprem 2. I haven't noticed any difference in either weight gain, or reflux issues, although mine are on a cocktail of drugs for reflux anyway.

If I were you, I'd avoid supplementing. IMO breast milk is best for baby, especially premies.

ds2 28wks was on NP from first feeds (i did supply a small amount of bm to start but thats another story)
SO can't offer much in a way of comparison Nutriprem did pile on the pounds & he turned in to a very chubby cheeked little thing but skinny arms & legs.
He suffered (still does) with reflux but was OK to mix gaviscon, this did make for very very smelly bottles & sick though!

I do think it obviously had huge amounts of all the nutrients he needed as he only started getting colds & infections once he stopped the nutriprem & he def slept like a baby

If your DS isn't having any problems, I probably wouldn't change things myself, but I don't think there would be any harm in giving a few bottles of Nutriprem, maybe once a day or something, if you'd be happier to see him higher up on the weight charts!

We mixed half a measure of Nutriprem in with EBM for a few weeks as she stopped gaining weight for a while and they were worried.

DD was born on the 25th%, she went down to below the 0.4th% very quickly and then crept up slowly, reaching the 25th% again when she was 42 weeks old, and she has stayed there since!

Thanks for all your comments, I have stuck with bf, with great difficulty, but decided that if I can carry on another day another week etc then I will do so. Current goal is to get to 6 months actual age (9 September) then take stock again.. as to whether I'll get there only time will tell.

got the reflux drugs more under control now which also helps although I do have to adjust them every 2 weeks as he grows

dd was born a week later than your ds. She was bf up to 10.5 months. I wanted to give her formula top ups but she refused to take milk in a bottle or cup. She was born on the 50th centile but went down to the 9th and has pretty much stayed there since. She had one bad cold at around 5 months of age but nothing else so I wonder if the bm has helped her immune system. I used to do the same as you - set myself a date when I'd review the feeding. Bf (for me) is bloody hard work but I am so glad that I stuck with it - especially given her prematurity. You've given your ds a great start

Hildathebuilder, you have done an amazing job, I hope you are really really proud of yourself

Joseph was born at 27 weeks in May last year. He was breast fed (following a rough 24 days on TPN) through nasogastric tube until 10 weeks, and then my milk dried up (probably due to the medications I had stopped taking - some of the pre eclampsia milks bolster your supply)

So he had to go on nutriprem2, which to be honest, really seemed to suit him and he thrived on it.

I shed many tears about giving up breastfeeding, but he has done amazingly well and is now on cows milk.

I think breast is best when at all possible. I know lots of refluxy babies on nutriprem2. It is like treacle though so maybe it doesn stay down better, I personally think its vile, and am glad he is on normal milk and lots of food instead.

After all this I finally ended up trying to give DS nutriprem 2 over the weekend when i just couldn't cope with his latest growth spurt, but he wouldn't bloody take it so still exclusively BF even if I no longer really want to. Am waiting to hear from the docs about any other options as I go back to work soon!

hi there hilda
My BM dried up in hosp even tho was desperate to BF :( my jorgia wouldnt take a bottle at 1st so had to cup feed.. maybe try cup feeding an oz just before bed.. And my DD has reflux and nutriprem2 does not help but has been given baby gaviscon to help this and is doing wonders.. Also apparently prem babies have a high pallette so not all take to the average bottle (ie sillicone teats).. Latex teats help as easily can suckle n grip onto them.. so tommie tippe areon the backburner till sheis a lil bigger..
She only sleeps every 2-3 hrs so we are shatted lol
Hope all ur LOs are well.. I dont know anyone else who has had a prem baby and is my 1st prem as my other LOs were full term so no-one understands..
Jorgia was born @34wks 4lb 14
T care n will watch this thread to keep in contact if you dont mind X

Hi Hilda. My dd was also prem (31 weeks). She is now ebf but when she was on bottles of ebm the doctors gave us fortifier to mix in with her bottles. It is also made by nutriprem. You could maybe ask the doctors about this if you're keen to increase weight gain?

Hope that helps. For what it's worth I think it sounds like you're doing a fab job.