nursing a preemie...(update #15, 19)

Awesome news!! Way to go!

:bighand: Great news!

wonderful news! Hope she continues to have days like this and is home with you soon!!!! :)

FANTASTIC news!!!

Thinking of you and your new DD.

I haven't read all of the responses, just wanted to say hang in there. Even though she's a good size now, she's still really young. All that sucking, swallowing & breathing is exhausting for a preemie. It took quite awhile before my DD was able to get her entire feed from nursing or from a bottle. It was weeks of nursing or bottle feeding some, with her getting the rest of her feed through a tube. But then all of a sudden she got it. & it was just like the Drs & nurses said it would be. A flip of a switch. Once she was able to feed completely by nursing/bottle for 24 hours, they suddenly talked about her coming home (I was floored & will NEVER forget that moment.) 2 days later we left the hospital with our little girl!!! She was 38 weeks gestation when she came home.

So...hang in there. Keep doing what you're doing. Chances are she may just need to get a little bit older...

Quote:

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Originally Posted by sunshine873

I haven't read all of the responses, just wanted to say hang in there. Even though she's a good size now, she's still really young. All that sucking, swallowing & breathing is exhausting for a preemie. It took quite awhile before my DD was able to get her entire feed from nursing or from a bottle. It was weeks of nursing or bottle feeding some, with her getting the rest of her feed through a tube. But then all of a sudden she got it. & it was just like the Drs & nurses said it would be. A flip of a switch. Once she was able to feed completely by nursing/bottle for 24 hours, they suddenly talked about her coming home (I was floored & will NEVER forget that moment.) 2 days later we left the hospital with our little girl!!! She was 38 weeks gestation when she came home.

So...hang in there. Keep doing what you're doing. Chances are she may just need to get a little bit older...

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thanks for the reply. yes, this is exactly what the nurses were saying yesterday after she started eating so well..it's like a lightbulb suddenly went off in her head. this morning she nursed for almost 20 mins and then took 30 ml from a bottle. :thumbsup: also, apparently this morning she pulled out her feeding tube (yet again, she's done it twice already) and this time they decided to leave it out for now (woo!) and see how she does. :bighand:

and yeah, it looks like my DD will be about 38 weeks gestation when she is ready to go home. she is just a little over 37weeks now, and she seems to have gotten the feeding down, but we still have to wait for her to go 5 days without any As and Bs. i cannot wait to bring her home!!