Breastfeeding a preemie

[TwoBees]

Moms of preemies, how long did it take your DC to get the hang of breastfeeding?

DD was born at 28 weeks and has been in the NICU since (7 weeks now). We've been trying breastfeeding about once every other day or so since she began taking oral feeds. Of course, she has much more practice with the bottle, especially since I returned to work and the nurses give her most of her feedings. She latches ok (with the use of a shield), but won't stay on very long. She won't latch without a shield. We always end up turning to a bottle after a little while because we need her to gain weight. I'm hoping that once she comes home and I am able to feed her myself every feed (instead of the nurses), she'll get the hang of it. At what gestational age did your DC finally get it?

I should add that it isn't a supply issue. I have been pumping since a few days after her birth and can express at least 6-8oz total every 3-4 hours.

[Kymberley]

DS was born at 27 weeks and took to breastfeeding fully on day 4. He was formula fed on days 1 & 2 because I was on a magnesium IV and the ped didn't want me to BF while on it. Day 3 we worked on the transition from bottle to breast, and by day 4 we were only on the breast. DS was not in NICU though, and spent most of the day with me while in the hospital. I think we were lucky with how well DS took to it.

[firsttimemama]

I was at a LLL meeting last night, and there was a discussion of how as a culture we're very "stuck on" the bottle, but there are many other ways to feed infants - cup, spoon, medicine dropper, SNS. If your goal is to get her to latch at the breast better, perhaps these methods would be less of a barrier than bottle nipples. Are the nipples slow flow?