[dividedsky]

so many questions.....

i'm really getting into a groove with the boys now. am kind of resigned to giving them supplements w/formula, because they just weren't gaining right on bfing alone. i tried and i tried. hopefully we'll get there. anyway...

they are 11wks, 3wks adjusted. at that point, did you continue to wake them to eat? or do you let sleeping babies lie? my bigger guy takes a bigger supplement, and naps longer. the smaller guy prefers to nurse more often, wake more and take smaller supps. i was waking the other to eat at the same time, but now i'm thinking to just let them sleep. i'd be pissed if someone kept on waking me up when my brother ate

plus, the formula doesn't digest as fast. they seem happier this way for sure, will get a weight check to make sure they're doing OK on monday.

sound reasonable? i am pumping after every bottle (they get maybe 3 a day, and take between 1-3oz at a time), so no worries about supply. just about fattening my guys up... what did you do? did you have them on demand at this point?

thanks!!!!!

ps just got back from the drug store... doing a simple task like picking up a prescription and other odds and ends really makes me feel like a human nowdays. the more i get out, the less neurotic i get, i think

 

[OGirlieMama]

My 29-weekers came home at 9 weeks, so, minus-2 weeks adjusted. When they were discharged, I was told feed them every 3 hours, but when I asked, I was told I didn't need to wake them up to eat. I never woke them. They pretty much stayed on the every 3 hours thing (since that's how they were fed in NICU) for a while, and then gradually started sleeping a little longer at night. They were taking maybe 2-3 ounces at a time then, too, I think.

They were gaining very well in the NICU and at home, though, so if you're having weight gain issues, you might want to check with your doc.

 

[snowmom5]

I'd definitely check with your doc on when to stop waking to feed them. I can't remember when I finally was allowed to stop waking my premies to feed them, but it felt like it went on forever.

Even after that though, the smaller one was waking up on the usual schedule anyway. I woke his brother up to feed at the same time because every time I didn't, he'd be up an hour after that anyway - which would make it such that I had zero sleep. Zero. So for a little while it was a matter of survival for me.

If you get the go-ahead from your doc, give it a try to see how it works out not waking the second one, but don't be surprised if you end up awake all night like I was due to them feeding each at different times. If that happens, just wait and try again in a few weeks.

(FWIW, my premies weren't really sleeping through the night, as in till 5, until 6-7 months unadjusted).

 

[hergrace]

My doctor had a weight she wanted the little guy to get to before I stopped waking him to feed. I can't remember what it was.

snowmom5's advice about seeing if the schedule works for you if you let one sleep through is good. It's the only way to encourage them to sleep through the night, but it can put you on a wacky sleep schedule if you are up all night with one or the other.

 

[~bookcase~]

3 hourly is not a schedule that wouldwork for us at all here. it drove me and their dad mad to have those 3 hourly feeds from scbu. sooooooooooo abnormal for our babies

:

after they reached 5lbs we were allowed to demand feed

 

[obxbound]

Our guys are just a few weeks apart. Mine are 9 weeks tomorrow, 2.5 weeks adjusted. Last weight check they were 7.5 lbs each, looking like they were gaining a 1/2 lb a week.

I'm letting my guys sleep. They left the NICU on ad lib feeding, all breastmilk and were gaining fine. We had an issue after both came home with their weight gain, but I think (hope) we got it all figured out. Ped appointment today to confirm continued good weight gain.

Back to ad lib feeding...mine wake up around every 2-3 hours and I get an occasional 4 hour stretch so I just let them sleep. The few times I've tried to wake them I haven't gotten a good feed because they weren't awake enough. I even tried all the tricks of changing, wet cloth, etc.

 

[dividedsky]

^^ i had the same issue with waking them. sounds like mine are on a similar "schedule" to yours.

so i started ad-lib feeding and not waking them, knowing in my gut it was the right thing to do..... and they gained a pound within the past week. it's probably half catch-up from the 5 days before where i tried to exclusively bf and they didn't gain, but i'm thrilled. they seem much happier and i'm glad to have the naptime to get myself together!

thanks for all the input!

 

[OGirlieMama]

Quote:

Originally Posted by shukr 3 hourly is not a schedule that wouldwork for us at all here. it drove me and their dad mad to have those 3 hourly feeds from scbu. sooooooooooo abnormal for our babies : after they reached 5lbs we were allowed to demand feed

I'm curious. Was 3 hours more time or less time than you'd usually expect? I found that after a few weeks home, they definitely started wanting to eat more frequently than every 3 hours, and of course we demand-fed them once that happened. They were every 2-2.5 hours for a loooooooong time (like, until 8 months or so) with a bit longer break at night.

 

[~bookcase~]

Quote:

Originally Posted by OGirlieMama I'm curious. Was 3 hours more time or less time than you'd usually expect? I found that after a few weeks home, they definitely started wanting to eat more frequently than every 3 hours, and of course we demand-fed them once that happened. They were every 2-2.5 hours for a loooooooong time (like, until 8 months or so) with a bit longer break at night.

less

like every hour! i try to make a point of how frequently my children have all chosen to feed because (aside from occasionally feeling slightly jealous of longer feeding patterns

) i get stressed to hear mothers quit b'feeding because they think hourly is too frequent and their baby/ babies are hungry.

my daughter in particular was always sick with her 3 hourly top ups but we had to give them on doctors orders. just doesn't make sense

as she went more demand b'fed i tried to reduce, but was so worried about an insufficient gain that i kept stretching her tummy to it's *literal* limit.
i don't know how we could do differently next time, (if scbu happened again), but would look at why they choose a particular growth chart and mls per kg calculation for top ups - i don't think they have any research to back it up.
and i'd insist on more regular weight checks (buy my own scales for sure) just in the middle of things it's hard to stand up (more often than you're already doing!!!) and say again NO or WHY???

 

[skybluepink02]

My babies are still pretty much on the 3 hour NICU schedule, which seems so unnatural to me. I figure they'll start demanding more frequently soon. They're one week adjusted, 8 weeks actual.

When I started to EBF, I got a baby scale from target. It was 60 dollars, I believe. It really gave me a lot of comfort, because I could weigh them as often as I liked to make sure they're gaining appropriately and could add or subtract a bottle to keep them gaining. Every two or three days of straight weight gain, I'd take away a bottle. If they kept gaining, I'd get rid of it for good. If they stayed the same or lost, I'd add it back in. It took about 3 weeks to get rid of the bottles completely.

 

[celesterra]

I think you should trust your instincts and your babies and do what feels right. One of mine did better pretty early, sleeping longer stretches at night, while the other nursed on and off all night long. We kept daytime feedings to every 3 hours for months, despite my trying to shorten those periods to mimic how they would feed if they were EBF. I have a low supply, so I've always had to combine nursing and bottle feedings/lact-aids.

When I look back on how I agonized about decisions, I see that my instincts were always good. I guess it's just part of the *becoming* of motherhood that we have to learn that we really can read our babies. Especially after spending the first weeks in the NICU, it's hard for mama and babies to learn their true instincts. Follow your heart!

 

[Crunchy Frog]

I've been really lucky with my guys. I've never had to wake them up to feed them. They're REALLY good about letting us know when they're hungry.

We've also been lucky I guess, in that we've never been given any stringent instructions to follow from any doctors, so we've had a lot of freedom to just figure out what works for us.

I'm unfortunately not making alot of milk, so the BF is almost more of a supplement to the formula than the other way around.

They are really great little nursers though, and they've been gaining weight really quickly. They're 12 weeks now, 5 1/2 weeks adjusted, and they're about at 10 & 11 lbs already; nearly triple their birth weights.