Home Forums Breastfeeding Breastfeeding Preemie problem

I have been nursing our toddlers 4 and 2 with considerable success for the past 2 years. ( I didn't know about adoptive breastfeeding until our first child was almost 2). They are both nursing less and I have been pumping hoping to keep milk coming in until we adopt again. We have just been contacted about a newborn preemie. The problem is that my nipples are much bigger than average. I have to use the largest glass horns available with my pump in style. This baby is sooo tiny. I fear that she won't be able to latch on. What can I do? If we use the little bottles will she want to nurse once she grows? I can hardly believe that this time I am so prepared and I still might not be able to nurse my infant. She will be in the hospital for a while. What do I do?

Hi Swelmom,

CONGRATULATIONS on your impending new arrival and on a fabulous breastfeeding relationship with your children. The best advice I can give you is to contact a board certified lactation consultant who has experience with preemies. The hospital may know someone. You can also find one here: www.iblce.org Just click on the "About IBLCE" button at the top of the home page and the US and International registries of lBCLC"s pops up.

The little one will likely be gavage fed in the beginning and then the hospital will likely want the baby to transition to preemie bottles so that they can monitor intake. But don't worry, just keep your milk supply going and work with the IBCLC. It took 10 days for my son Adam to latch and he was a 32 weeker. It may take longer depending on the size and gestational age of this baby.

One thing that is VERY important is for you to do as much "skin-to-skin" holding of this baby as possible as soon as the baby has cardio-respiratory stability. This is known as kangarro mother care and operates under the assuption that the mother (you) are the best environment for your baby. There is information regarding KMC on our site and you can find information here as well: http://www.kangaroomothercare.com/

Best,

CONGRATULATIONS!

As a mommy of bio twins who were 9 weeks premature, I can tell you that you need not worry-- if you have the milk, it will all work out!

My babies were "tube fed" for weeks... the sucking reflex doesn't even begin to present until about 34 weeks gestation. Even then, my boys had a very hard time sucking and breathing at the same time. I pumped and my boys received all breastmilk, and then at 34 weeks, I started trying to nurse. The first time I nursed one of them, his heart stopped, he turned limp and pale, and the nurses had to come stimulate him to breathe-- TERRIFYING! But, with practice and patience- and the realization that flexibility is a MUST, we continued to try when I could come to the NICU. My boys were bottle fed, and I would breastfeed when I could be there for feeds. I remember being worried about nipple confusion, but they did fine. I was much more worried about thier growth, health, etc! Feel free to email me or PM me, I would be happy to share anything I can. I did keep a journal-- www.aplusplussolutions.com/babies. I can't remember how much detail I went into with the breastfeeding, but I know I had the time to write-- it took 7 weeks for my boys to come home from the hospital, so those would be my weeks of the most writing, I'm sure!

Congratulations again,
Your breastmilk will be such a boost to your little one!

Holly

Oh, and my nipplies aren't large, but they were compared to my little 3 pounders... it did take some practice, but they grew into them!

And, I second the Kangaroo'ing... the NICU will let you know how much stimulation the little one can handle... there may be times when he or she simply can't try to nurse.

As I prepare to adoptive nurse, I have read that it's not all about the breastmilk, there is a lot of bonus just as a bonding process.... well, in dealing with preemies, I felt like if my boys couldn't be at the breast, it was okay-- because the really important thing at the time was their survival, and if my milk helped it was just great that they were getting it, even if it couldn't be at the breast 100% of the time!