Anyone able to transition from bottle to breast?

Discussion in 'The First Year' started by geaemama, Nov 12, 2006.

  1. geaemama

    geaemama Well-Known Member

    I posted on the NICU site but I also wanted to post her. We had our babies on 11/6/06 at 36w3d. Baby A (Elouise) is fine, great nurser, came home with us. Baby B (Allison) suffered from RDS followed by being VERY tired and unable to eat well. In the last week she is eating better, but I have been pumping like mad and we have been bottlefeding her (with some Similac supp.). Hopefully she will be out of NICU soon.

    I try to put her to breast but she just gets so tired. She either just spits it out or she takes one suck and is done - falls asleep and the have to tube feed her the 50cc the require her the eat each meal. Thus, recently my goal has just been to get her to eat as much through the bottle as possible (about 50% of that is breastmilk) and then when we get her home worry about putting her to breast.

    Anyone else done this with success. Elouise is doing good (I think, we see the MD tomorrow for weight - she is a little jaundiced as well). Elouise refuses the bottle. I just worry about Allison and if I will ever be able to get her to breast. I really want that bond with her as well and I would be sad if we didn't get that.

    Any suggestions or advice!

    Angel
     
  2. geaemama

    geaemama Well-Known Member

    I posted on the NICU site but I also wanted to post her. We had our babies on 11/6/06 at 36w3d. Baby A (Elouise) is fine, great nurser, came home with us. Baby B (Allison) suffered from RDS followed by being VERY tired and unable to eat well. In the last week she is eating better, but I have been pumping like mad and we have been bottlefeding her (with some Similac supp.). Hopefully she will be out of NICU soon.

    I try to put her to breast but she just gets so tired. She either just spits it out or she takes one suck and is done - falls asleep and the have to tube feed her the 50cc the require her the eat each meal. Thus, recently my goal has just been to get her to eat as much through the bottle as possible (about 50% of that is breastmilk) and then when we get her home worry about putting her to breast.

    Anyone else done this with success. Elouise is doing good (I think, we see the MD tomorrow for weight - she is a little jaundiced as well). Elouise refuses the bottle. I just worry about Allison and if I will ever be able to get her to breast. I really want that bond with her as well and I would be sad if we didn't get that.

    Any suggestions or advice!

    Angel
     
  3. tdemarco01

    tdemarco01 Well-Known Member

    Hi Angel,

    I have 2 boys who came home with me from the hospital after I delivered via c-section at 37.5 weeks. Neither breastfed at the breast for main sustenance for the first 4 weeks (one had jaundice and to avoid having to supplement with formula, I had to pump and bottle feed and the other had tongue tie and was a shallow latcher and has had to re-learn good position)

    I got my son Cole back to the breast (with the help of a nipple shield for 2 weeks -- which is a little controversial) now he's on the breast 100% except when I'm not around or just want a break -- he can switch between.

    My son Wyatt at 13 weeks is still eating EBM in bottles -- I have been working with him to get him back to breast and he is a great latcher now, but a little lazy with suck -- so we thought he might favor bottles. Come to find out he's got reflux, so some of his feeding issues and disinterest in the breast may have been related to reflux. So, i've been bringing him back to breast once a day to try and work him back.

    So -- long story short, it is totally possible to get a baby back you just have to be committed to it.. and as they get older they get better at breastfeeding cause their cheeks get better fat pads and their muscles get better.

    As for tired babies -- Cole was jaundiced, so he was very tired. Once your babies are a few weeks older, you can strip her down to try and keep her awake during the feeding --- we had to do this too. I have read that sometimes they sleep cause it's too much work to get milk. so who knows.

    Anyway feel free to send me a private note if you want more info. i'm heappy to send any insights i have. I got a great inspirational note from a mom on this list and wnat to pass it along.

    Good luck and hang in there.

    Teri D
     
  4. melissao

    melissao Well-Known Member

    I transitioned mine after 3 months of taking EBM by bottle. Right now I would just focus on getting her to eat. Keep pumping and try to set up regular appointments with the lactation consultant at your hospital to "practice" nursing with her. The LC will be able to weigh her before and after feedings to give you an idea of how much she is eating. I did that once a week until I knew they could take a full feeding at the breast and then transitioned them over. I would "practice" with them once a day for about 15 minutes. I tried to pick the least stressful feeding (no meds, etc.). You can read my success story in the sticky at the top of this page. HTH [​IMG]
     
  5. ali k

    ali k Well-Known Member

    Right now what's important is for Allison to eat, grow & get stronger. My girls were 37weeks 5 days & would get very tired at the breast. They lost 10% of their birthwweight & were chewing me up since they couldn't nurse effectively. They were almost exclusively bottlefed (ebm & formula as needed) for their 1st 2 1/2 weeks. I consulted the lc at the hospital & she had me pump & bottlefeed all of their meals. She wanted me to try to put them to the breast 2x a day, then top them off w/a bottle after that as needed.

    Some feedings were better than others- Chloe would get very frustrated about the flow (I personally don't believe in nipple confusion- I think it's all about the flow- the bottle is easy compared to the breast!) & they wouldn't always latch well. Some days they didn't get much if anything at the breast. With each day they got stronger & a little better at it though. When they were about 2 1/2 weeks old they had the hang of nursing. I spent that weekend doing nothing but nursing & they haven't had a bottle since!

    Don't worry- they can go from exclusively bottlefed to breastfed. It will probably take a lot of patience on both ends, but you can do it! When they're closer to their 40week due date you should notice a big difference in Allison's ability to breastfeed. Contact a lactation consultant if you need to- they really can help w/your confidence. I know my lc gave me the initial nursing plan & then said when the girls were around their 40week due date they would start working with us on latching & actually feeding at the breast if we needed it. [​IMG] You can do it!!!
     
  6. natmarie

    natmarie Well-Known Member

    Angel-

    This is going to sound so funny, but I have felt sort of a bond with you since being on the board. I don't know if you realized, but our babies due dates were a date apart.

    First off, do you have a good milk supply or fast let down? If you do, put her in the football hold. This is what the nurses at the hospital where my babies are at told me. Or even if you don't I would try this hold, it helps with the choking and puts the baby more in control.

    Also, I would take off her blankets and not so warm and cozy. If she falls asleep put her on "time out" meaning put her back in the crib by herself. Most babies will realize they are alone and decided they want to try again.

    Did you do stimulation exercises with her to get her to suck? I could tell you the ones at that the hospital taught me to do with my twins just ask or pm me.

    Don't get discouraged she will get it! [​IMG] [​IMG] I know it is rough having a baby in the NICU I hope she gets to come home soon.
     
  7. twinmamaheidi

    twinmamaheidi Well-Known Member

    It took me 3 months to get mine to latch. Mine were 34 weekers like the previous poster and I would I had tried almost everything they said to to do to encourage them but they atill didn't do it until they were ready. Some premature babies just need more time. If breastfeeding is what you want, don't give up because it can work out fine. I will try to post in the success stories when my finger heals, but mine are almost 13 months and they are still mursng stron. I have nursed tehm longer than any of my other children!! I pray for breastfeding success for you and your babies. Keep coming here if you need encouragement, support helped me get through those hard days of pumping and bottlefeeding. (((hugs))))
     
  8. VA Mommy2be

    VA Mommy2be Member

    Congratulations on your girls. I love the names! My babies were 33 weekers (NICU for over 2 weeks) and were just too little to nurse full time. I would put them to the breast a couple times a day. I started at a few minutes (2-3), followed by bottles, then slowly got them to do full breast feedings, but only a couple times a day. Once I established that they could nurse fully, I began to take away bottle sessions and put them to the breast. This took about 6-7 weeks until we were breastfeeding full time. It was a long process but, honestly, it was great to be able to have my DH or family members feed the babies while I rested. During this transition I wanted to toss the pump out the window and I felt like I was constantly washing parts and bottles. Keep it up the best you can and Allison will come around. I hope she comes home soon. Come back for support anytime! [​IMG]
     
  9. KimberlyF

    KimberlyF Well-Known Member

    Thank you, Angel, for asking this question, and thank you, everyone else for answering! I had my twins last Wednesday at 34.5 weeks and they are in the special care nursery. I have been putting them to the breast every feed when I was still in the hospital, too, (until Sunday) and since then, I have been trying to breastfeed all 4 daytime feedings (I have no other children). They are gavaged for the feeds they don't get from me. I'm lucky to get one of them to suck successfully for 10 minutes before finishing with the gavage. Mostly they are too sleepy. The dr wants to be able to put them on a bottle for one feed per night to wean them off of the gavage, and I think you all are helping me to make that decision. It is most important that they are healthy, and then, I'm also producing enough breastmilk that they are only supplementing that with more calories. Maybe if I let them introducet the bottle, they can come home sooner. (this is not the only reason they're still in, though)

    Kimberly
    Elijah and Natalie
    11-15-06
     
  10. ljcrochet

    ljcrochet Well-Known Member TS Moderator

    I feed my girls EBM for the first 2 months. While we worked on getting the nursing. I had spoken to the worst LC when I was in the NICU to bring Sydney home. I was talking to her about how Dani had lost weight and was under 4 pounds. Since I had already been pumping for Sydney, I was going to give Dani the pumped milk. SHe was like sounds good. No other comments or suggestions on how to work on getting Dani to nurse successfully.
    My girls had to be ready for nursing. Once they were ready, they did not want bottles from me anymore, or even bottles if I was in the room.
    You can do it. Read the stickys on the top of this forum. Ask a ton of questions.
    Good luck.
     
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