Trying to BF a preemie...help

[nikkihoi]

Hi there.
I had a baby boy last Sat. night at 36 weeks and a day. We've been home since Monday. I'm bf only. We're lucky in that he has a good latch and a suck/pause rhythm but he gets sleepy. So, I started pumping on Weds. night to supplement. Our ped reccomended to bf on one side for 10 mins. than feed him the pumped milk (I've been using a syringe for the pumped milk) and to do this every 2 or 3 hours. This hasn't exactly worked out. What does seem to work is to feed on one side, when he gets sleepy, I burp him and move him to the other side and back again. Depending how awake he is this can go on for over an hour than I try to feed him the pumped milk. I say try b/c in the past day or so he spits up a lot it. I feel the syringe isn't working to get the milk in him anymore, however, it doesn't seem to be interfering with his sucking at the breast.
My question is, what can I use instead of the syringe to feed him the pumped milk that won't ruin the suck at the breast? Also, is there any way to know if he's getting enough at the breast?
I'm feeling like he's fine and DH thinks he's beginning to get a belly. But than I think I should be more stressed out and that I may be I'm getting lazy b/c I'm so tired. I'm totally feeding him on demand. If he's awake for 2 hours, I try to feed him during that whole time on and off. If he's sleeping and it's been 2hours, I try and rouse him, put him to the breast but most of the time, he won't do much. So, I let him sleep and try again in a half hour.
I'm I doing this right?
Thanks Mamas! from a nervous 1st time mom

[Llyra]

What about a supplemental nursing system? You would wear a little bottle of milk around your neck connected to a tube that you'd tape to your breast. The tube goes into babe's neck and supplements them while they're sucking at the breast. So they get what's in your breast, and then whatever else they need they get from the tube, plus the extra sucking stimulates your breasts to produce more so that most babies will eventually when they're big enough and strong enough wean themselves from the supplementer. Plus the constant flow from the supplementer helps keep them interested and awake.

A good lactation consultant will have one you can buy.

My DD was a bit early and small, 4 1/2 pounds, and had a weak suck, and that's how we fed her.

[Mamato3wild ponnie]

I suggests doing alot of Skin to skin or Kangaroo care with your baby. which is removing all the baby's clothes down to his/her diaper and removing your clothes to expose your bare chest and place the baby skin to skin with your belly and breasts. Placing baby's head between your breast. Leave baby this way for up to 1-2 hours and when baby show's signs of hunger cues or start suckling on his fingers or bobbing his head around rooting, direct him to the breast. Skin to skin helps baby to become more alert over a period of 1-2 hours. Thus when he does suckle he is suckling with nutritive suckles and removing adequate amounts of milk. I also suggest that you have a intake weight done with a Lactaion Consultant to see how much milk he is transferring from the breast. Is he having 4-6 dirty diapers and 6-8 wets in a 24 hour period? That is a great indicator for adequate intake. Keep up the great work. Breastfeeding will get much easier over time and as baby grows in the next few weeks.

[edamommy]

my son was a 33 wk preemie. 4.6lbs. only bf'd (and gavaged and ebm a bit). in the beginning, when he was too tired to bf all he needed after we got home we used a shot glass, filled to the rim w/ ebm and held it to his bottom lip... and let it drain in his mouth in a slow steady stream. it worked ok. but he was a total boob man and i just ended up bf'ing him WAY MORE FREQUENTLY so that he could rest and eat rest and eat rest and eat... he never lost any weight. was slow to gain... but it worked fine. i bet if you just bf you don't even have to think about it!

[staceyleanne]

keep working at it!! if he is sleepy make sure he isn't too warm--take off some clothing. transition at home is hard but will get easier as you get to know your baby. if you are feeling unsure of how much he is getting--ask your ped if it is possible for you to bring him in once or twice a week to be weighed. count diapers, nurse as often as possible to build your supply.
stacey

[lexmas]

DS was 35 weeks (5 lbs) and a very sleepy eater, so I've been there! I never supplemented though, just kept waking him up (which, was difficult at times, and sometimes took DH and me to do) so that he finished the feeding. What we did included undressing him, rubbing him (he never did like that...), blowing on him, rubbing his jawline below the ear...okay, we felt pretty mean doing it, but we had to get that milk into him! And he had jaundice so he was extra sleepy. Unfortunately, I really didn't know much about breastfeeding a preemie, so he was only eating every 3 hours or so, but he gained SLOWLY anyway. I know better now anyway... He's always been a very slow gainer though, just how he is, I guess. I would just breastfeed as often as you can, and wake him up every 1.5-2 hours to eat and make sure he gets a good feeding. He'll wake up soon, and it will all be easier! Good luck Mama, you're doing great!

Oh, as for weight, we ended up buying a food scale to weigh him on, but I know they sell baby scales as well...expensive, but I needed it for peace of mind!

[RootSnort]

Originally Posted by lexmas

Oh, as for weight, we ended up buying a food scale to weigh him on, but I know they sell baby scales as well...expensive, but I needed it for peace of mind!

You can also use those food scales to weigh dirty diapers to help estimate output. I would only weigh the baby once or twice a week at the doctor's office.

[nikkihoi]

Hi Mamas!
Thank you for all of the responses. Sorry I haven't been able to respond. I'm lucky to have two hands to type.
Thanks for all of the suggestions and support. I believe we have turned a small corner. I added the pinky finger to the syringe feeding and seems to work much better. Less spitting out and up. We are also spending more time at the breast and taking less of the syringe. I think this is good too.
On Sunday, our doula stopped by to check on us and weighed our DS. He was 4lbs. 8oz., which was 4oz. gain since Weds. and 2oz. away from birth weight. Going to ped tomorrow, so hopefully he'll be back to birth weight!

I'll keep you posted. Thanks again for the help... ds is up so I gotta fly!