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still not ready to breastfeed...
by tiredbuthappy, Sep 12, 2007 02:01PM
so many of you have supported me on this journey, i thought i'd update, and see if anyone has had a similar situation.
background- dd was delivered 4 weeks premature due to preeclampsia by c-sec. she was tiny, but healthy, and did not need nicu. she came home when i did. she has been taking expressed breast milk by bottle since day 1. for the most part, my supply has met her needs. i have been pumping regularly, every 2-3 hours, except at night when for one span i'd go about 4 hours to get a little sleep. i have been working with a lactation consultant since she was about 3 weeks old.
so, i had the consultant come back out to our home yesterday. dd had been willing to try nursing more regularly, and would work for quite a while. we were using a nipple shield, and she seemed to do better with it. i could hear her swallow, and she dribbled milk, so we thought she was getting a decent amount, but she would always take just about a full feed by bottle after. the consultant spent another 2 1/2 hours with us yesterday, watching her nurse and take a bottle. turns out that while she has matured a lot, she still has a lot of her premature feeding issues, and until she matures more, nursing will not work. she has a very good latch, especially with the nipple shields, but still cannot draw out a good amount of milk. in addition, she still hasn't perfected a suck-swallow-breathe rhythm, so she needs to break the seal to breathe in between. this is what causes all the dribbling. with a bottle it's not such a big deal, because it's easy to reform the seal. at the breast, it's much more difficult because the nipple is not pre-formed. so, i am still pumping. she wants me to space out my pumping more though (i think she's concerned about my sanity). she thinks my supply is strong enough for it not be affected- i'll produce the same amount, just at different intervals. also, she said if it does affect my supply, we can always work to build it back up. i trust her because everything she has said/predicted so far has been dead-on. i have to admit, i am much less stressed today with the fewer pumping sessions.
i am frustrated that insurance won't pay to work with a lactation consultant. she is 8 weeks old now, and still has feeding issues. doesn't that mean anything???? especially with all of the attention breast feeding has received in the media lately (NYC hospitals no longer sending you home with formula gifts, etc...). if my baby were having trouble thriving, then we'd have a case. i'm busting my @ss to help her, and paying a lot of money to give her what pediatricians agree is best for her. yes, she is doing great- she's put on just shy of 6 pounds in 8 weeks. but it's because of our hard work and efforts.
my consultant said it's still possible for her to breast feed in the future. she's seen healthy term babies latch on successfully after even 10 weeks. she also thinks that once her feeding issues on the bottle resolve, she'll be able to bf successfully. in the mean time, we have gone back on to the gerber nuk nipples, since she doesn't dribble with those. she dribbles A LOT with everything else we've tried. i know they're not great for breastfed babies because of the different shape, but she does not seem to have nipple confusion, and is willing to try just about anything we put in her mouth.
can anyone suggest a different bottle that has worked for them that is still good for breastfed babies? we've tried avent, regular gerber, evenflow and playtex. also, has anyone had their baby successflly breast feed after so much time? i haven't found anyone i know yet, but i suspect it's because most people give up way before this point.
background- dd was delivered 4 weeks premature due to preeclampsia by c-sec. she was tiny, but healthy, and did not need nicu. she came home when i did. she has been taking expressed breast milk by bottle since day 1. for the most part, my supply has met her needs. i have been pumping regularly, every 2-3 hours, except at night when for one span i'd go about 4 hours to get a little sleep. i have been working with a lactation consultant since she was about 3 weeks old.
so, i had the consultant come back out to our home yesterday. dd had been willing to try nursing more regularly, and would work for quite a while. we were using a nipple shield, and she seemed to do better with it. i could hear her swallow, and she dribbled milk, so we thought she was getting a decent amount, but she would always take just about a full feed by bottle after. the consultant spent another 2 1/2 hours with us yesterday, watching her nurse and take a bottle. turns out that while she has matured a lot, she still has a lot of her premature feeding issues, and until she matures more, nursing will not work. she has a very good latch, especially with the nipple shields, but still cannot draw out a good amount of milk. in addition, she still hasn't perfected a suck-swallow-breathe rhythm, so she needs to break the seal to breathe in between. this is what causes all the dribbling. with a bottle it's not such a big deal, because it's easy to reform the seal. at the breast, it's much more difficult because the nipple is not pre-formed. so, i am still pumping. she wants me to space out my pumping more though (i think she's concerned about my sanity). she thinks my supply is strong enough for it not be affected- i'll produce the same amount, just at different intervals. also, she said if it does affect my supply, we can always work to build it back up. i trust her because everything she has said/predicted so far has been dead-on. i have to admit, i am much less stressed today with the fewer pumping sessions.
i am frustrated that insurance won't pay to work with a lactation consultant. she is 8 weeks old now, and still has feeding issues. doesn't that mean anything???? especially with all of the attention breast feeding has received in the media lately (NYC hospitals no longer sending you home with formula gifts, etc...). if my baby were having trouble thriving, then we'd have a case. i'm busting my @ss to help her, and paying a lot of money to give her what pediatricians agree is best for her. yes, she is doing great- she's put on just shy of 6 pounds in 8 weeks. but it's because of our hard work and efforts.
my consultant said it's still possible for her to breast feed in the future. she's seen healthy term babies latch on successfully after even 10 weeks. she also thinks that once her feeding issues on the bottle resolve, she'll be able to bf successfully. in the mean time, we have gone back on to the gerber nuk nipples, since she doesn't dribble with those. she dribbles A LOT with everything else we've tried. i know they're not great for breastfed babies because of the different shape, but she does not seem to have nipple confusion, and is willing to try just about anything we put in her mouth.
can anyone suggest a different bottle that has worked for them that is still good for breastfed babies? we've tried avent, regular gerber, evenflow and playtex. also, has anyone had their baby successflly breast feed after so much time? i haven't found anyone i know yet, but i suspect it's because most people give up way before this point.
Member Comments (1)
by tmv, Sep 12, 2007 02:33PM
Actually the nuk nipple was created for orthodontics in mind and the fact that they resemble that shape of a nipple that has been placed in the babies mouth. Don't feel so bad about giving it to her. Use what works. I have heard so many bad things about the nipple shields. They don't allow the baby to work the right stimulation of the breast. Perhaps you could try pumping just enough to pull out the nipple prior to placing the baby to the breast. Bottlefeeding is just the sucking, while breastfeeding involves a different action with the jaw and tongue. Best wishes to you and congratulations for working at this so hard. You are right, others would have given up. You are strong and you're going to make it!
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