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My preemie baby and feeding

Discussion in 'Breast Feeding' started by AnithaPartha, Dec 15, 2009.

  1. AnithaPartha

    AnithaPartha IL Hall of Fame

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    DEar ladies,

    Pls let me know if anybody faced my situation :help

    I gave birth to a preemie baby on NOv 28th(around 33w) and he was kept in NICU for 2w and discharged last sat.. Sat I feeded him twice(bottle feeding since he is very tiny to BF) he took only 30 or 35ml but he is supposed to take around 45ml. Sun all his 8feedings was very well he took around 55ml. Today ped checked and he was 4pounds and 12.5oz(which was an excellant wt gain). But since yday night his feedings are not going good.. He is taking only 30ml and he is taking that every 1.5hrs. he is supposed to take 45ml every 3hrs.. somehow his timings changed and he is in dilemma what to do.. even am confused.. he is crying in 1.5hrs.. but he is taking only 30ml which is so weird.. :confused2:
     
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  2. tikka

    tikka Gold IL'ite

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    Anitha, preemie's tummy is tiny, stretching his feeds to once in three hours is never a great idea, most certainly not in a preemie.
    Your preemie is supposed to feed at least 10 times a day, which your LO is doing. Are you expressing and feeding your baby BM or are you formula feeding? If you are feeding BM also be aware that it digests very fast so 1.5 hours sounds good to me.
    In your place I would not push for 45 ml or 1.5 oz at all when your DS is taking in more feeding every 1.5 hours (16 oz with 1 oz every 1.5 hours when compared to 12 oz with 1.5 oz every 3 hours.) So, in my estimate your child's weight gain would be greater with the current feeding pattern. Good luck.

    p.s. He is such a doll in that outfit.
     
    Last edited: Dec 15, 2009
  3. Laks09

    Laks09 Moderator Staff Member IL Hall of Fame

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    Anitha,
    Great you posted here. You are bound to get more responses!
    As Tikka pointed out, preemies are prone to feed at 1.5 hrs intervals. Even though he is taking less each feed, he is feeding more often and that should be alright! Since you are feeding him expressed milk+formula(isn't that how you are feeding him currently), he may be filling up fast as well. I too used to worry about the quantity my LO had. I was always worried that at the next visit to the ped she may not have gained as much wt as she should have. 1oz was not enough according to the neo but she was satisfied with 1oz. I tried with expressed milk and topped off with formula for a while with my LO but then she started preferring the expressed milk. Finally, I realized to take her cue and just let her nurse as much as she chose to. She continued to slowly gain weight and got into the percentile chart. That was my goal in life, to get her into the percentile chart! I can understand your concern very well but don't get worried. He'll be fine.

    *Added - Anitha, I forgot to mention. Dr told me to burp her half way through the feed and then feed again. This way, she would not have any gas in her tummy and may get a little more milk in. Do try it.
     
    Last edited: Dec 16, 2009
  4. AnithaPartha

    AnithaPartha IL Hall of Fame

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    Dear Tikka & Laks,

    Thanks a lot for your lovely responses :).
    Here is what am doing from the day of his discharge.. Nurse asked me to feed him every 3hrs once and make sure he takes 45ml every 3hrs. The problem he taking every 1.5hrs is that day time is fine but night time it is really very very hard to wake every 1.5hrs.. Waking up 3hrs once was fine..

    On discharge day 2 feeding I wanted to give to close that day and he didnt co -operate much with me.. He just took 30ml & 35ml every 3hrs once.. Then day 1 in home he was really doing wow.. He took 50ml and sometimes even 55ml every 3hrs and he took more than expected.. day 2 we took him to ped and he has gained 6.5oz than in NICU which ped told really good.. day 2 night onwards till today morning me & DH really had a very very tough time.. He is taking just 28ml or 30ml every 3hrs.. and crying every 1.5hrs.. Also, due to delay in ped office his feeding time collapsed and he got confused and finally me also got confused.. :spin

    Morning DH forced him and he took 43ml and after that I gave him 44ml(w/o forcing).. then in 1.5hrs itself he took 35ml(5ml forcing)..

    Am giving him my milk plus 1/4 spoon similac powder
     
  5. smart_soul

    smart_soul Bronze IL'ite

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    Feeding once in 3 hrs for a premie looks like too much of time gap to me. Even a full-term baby is supposed to be fed every 2 hrs at least for the initial days. And for premie the time would reduce and NOT increase. I would think the baby would starve if you fed him once in 3 hrs for what goes in is just fluids and just a couple of diaper wetting would empty his tiny stomach. Also please don't try to go by the time the dr says or nurse says. Each baby is different. I would think the feeding should be "AS NEEDED" basis. And at nights, it may be difficult for a few months until he grows up a bit and sets his own pattern. We just have to stay patient till then.

    Best of luck. Your baby is adorable. Congratulations

    SS
     
  6. Laks09

    Laks09 Moderator Staff Member IL Hall of Fame

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    Anitha,
    I'm trying hard to think back and rewind to those preemie days. I remember the neo specifying the need to feed 3hrs like clockwork and also adding similac to BM and bottle feeding. Well DD didn't like the clock work and I was at a loss. Even every 1.5 hrs she was not feeding as much as the neo said she should. I did try the BM first and then topping it off with similac but then she got full with BM alone. The next visit was to my ped(1 week after discharge). He said she is fine with her wt gain(very little but she was gaining steadily) and she was having enough of wet diapers etc. As per his suggestion, I started taking cues from the baby and feeding her when she was hungry. Btw, force feeding may lead to gas/colic/overfeeding etc(I've been there too). Just take his cue. Feed him whenever he is hungry. Sometimes they do surprise us by taking more that's because of a growth spurt. I'm assuming your LO went through one already and that's the reason for the increase in consumption of milk during the two days you mentioned. After that, they do reduce their intake to a normal level. There are days when it will be lower than what they normally take. This is alright too as long as the baby is normal and active and not fussy or behaving sick. I'm pretty sure all new parents of preemies have had this feeding concern. There is no set pattern that any baby follows. They believe in a changing schedule and it would be more worrisome to wonder about how and when. So just feed him when he is hungry. If he is asleep during a feed time, let him sleep. When he wakes up and is hungry, he will feed better.

    Regards,
    L
     
  7. tikka

    tikka Gold IL'ite

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    Anitha, whatever you do please don't forcefeed. It is a minefield you may not want to walk when it is time for you to pay. You did say you have family there with you right. Take turns, the first three hours can be grandma's, the next three grandpa's, the next three your husband's... then you take over, that will give you time to relax a bit. Around the EDD, your child's cycle will turn to being fed on demand and as he grows, the feeds will be spaced out. At this stage, follow your child's cue.
     
  8. loonypooh

    loonypooh Silver IL'ite

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    dear anitha, i am surprised at what ur nurse said in the first case, i second tikka here and i feel 3 hours is a LONG LONG stretch for a full term baby in the initial weeks, leave alone a preemie...
    the one thing u wouldnt want to do is force ur baby to take "so many ml" of feed just because it was mentioned.... babies are babies after all, and they know how much they want too :)

    i remember, zoey was a full term baby, and still woke up every 1-1.5 hours even at night... but things improved after wk 6....
    infact all new moms here have been discussing sleep patterns of their babies in one of the threads, and u wld realise u are not alone, if waking up every 1.5 hours is a problem....

    ur baby's tummy is very tiny, so go with the flow, and let him feed whenever he wants to, as and when he grows, things will improve..

    now zoey at 9 wks goes 2-2.5 hours bween feeds... nights 3 hours bween feeds... but still when she isnt feeling okie... she will still nurse for long hours, continuously....

    i hv no idea about how different a preemie wld be, but all i can say is babies are after all babies,and ur boy wont know, oh it isnt time yet to feed! just feed on demand instead of sticking to some schedule. that will keep ur baby happy :)
     
    Last edited: Dec 16, 2009
  9. lee50

    lee50 Silver IL'ite

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    Hi Anitha,

    I think you need to feed your baby as soon as you realise the tummy is empty and on demand. My DD was a heavy wetter, but I made it a point that her tummy was full all the time. What helped me was checking the tummy well in advance and nurse her. In case, you wait for the baby to cry then this routine will go on till they are even big. During the first few months normal babies / preemies need the resistance and body weight to take them through their infancy. We were asked to stick to the two hours schedule, but what if the baby cries before that. I feel its best to prepare you own schedules check how many times baby has wetted, check the weight, believe me weight gain is very crucial in the first few days as it provides baby resistance to illnesses. Yes you need to burp to avoid spitups too as Laks mentioned.

    Once your baby is in the percentile chart then you can relax as half of your headache will be over and then you can BF directly. The weight gain will put a smile on your face isn't it!

    All the best! Rithik is looking sweet in the pic.
     
    Last edited: Dec 16, 2009
  10. AnithaPartha

    AnithaPartha IL Hall of Fame

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    DEar ladies,

    I agree with you all. I never wanted to force my baby.. I feel so bad when I force him. But the thing is when he was in NICU nurses fed him in following levels 15ml, 25, 35, 45ml... Nurse strictly told to me that he should take atleast 45ml every 3hrs.. Max he can go upto 60ml seems..

    After he came home problem started... he took only 35ml then 30ml only.. levels started reducing.. I got a fear that he may lose wt.. but luckily next day he took amazing feed levels and we went to ped he has raised 6oz than NICU which was good she told.. that day night problem started back and he took only 25ml becoz of timings variation also.. he got messed up with new timings all of sudden..

    the main worry is my DH., he makes me worry a lot if he sees his son taking less levels.. he goes to off and calls me every few hrs and ask me why he took less etc etc.. i know as a dad he is worrying about his wt..

    nurse told me few techniques how to make him drink.. she asked me to rotate his chin inside and outside and asked us to help him suck and swallow :biglaugh. we are doing that.. anybody did this??? let me know.. this tech really works out well.. today morning son didnt even drink more than 5ml and dh used this tech
     

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