What did you feed baby before your milk came in?

[lisams]

My milk came in on day 3 PP, and the colostrum was all that she needed. Infants are made to live on breastmilk alone, even when it's "just" colostrum the first few days. A LC can help you if you have concerns about your milk coming in - so lining up a reputable LC right now would be the best way to prepare, IMO.

HTH!

[lisams]

"Sigh. This is what decades of bottle-feeding have gotten us to -- where we don't know what is normal and what is abnormal. This is not a crticism of the poster AT ALL -- just a reflection on society I have from time to time. And I totally blame my predecessors in my profession."

This is so OT, but I just had to chime in and say I understand how you feel. There is a lot in the media where I live, as we are working on fixing a horrible "policy" our city was just about to put into place basically making sure a mother is discrete (blanket covering) while BFing or she could be charged. There have been a handful of "letters to the editors" in local papers saying that "these woman" should do what normal moms do and have done for decades - pump and bottle feed. So sad that what is considered normal is feeding a baby out of a plastic bottle, and that those who breastfeed are wierd, defiant, and strange (someone even went as far to say "exhibitionists"). We have made the bottle the symbol of "babyhood" all the while portraying breasts as simply for sexual pleasure. It's an uphill battle, but one that is at least being "faught" at the state and federal levels.

[JulieL]

Due to a complicated pregnancy it looks like there is a very good chance I will be delivering in my 36th week. My question is does a baby at 36 wks need extra fat - via formula - w/the colustrum, or will the colostrum be enough? I want to know so I know what to expect and what to advicate for. I for one will BF again w/this baby and made a hospital choice to get a more pro - BF hospital where I will be having a c/s.

Thanks! :)

[tarahsolazy]

Not Shannon, but equally qualified to answer. If your daughter does well after birth, breathes well, no temperature instability, etc, and gets to stay with you, she shouldn't need anything other than colostrum. If she (God Forbid) ends up in the NICU, you may end up being required to give formula, either by feeding tube or bottle. This is very common in NICUs, as you see from the previous posts. The best thing you can do to try to keep your girly with you is to keep her warm, preferably skin to skin, and refuse to have her bathed, preferably for over 24 hours. Your DH could hold her skin to skin while you are in recovery from your section. Sounds weird, but those slightly preemie kids are generally skinnier, and its hard for them to stay warm. When they get cold, they start breathing fast, or having apnea spells, and off to the NICU they go. Also, some 36 weekers need to nurse more frequently than term babes. If possible, don't send her to the nursery, if your hospital has one, even if you have a C/S. In the nursery, she could get extremely hungry such that she's too disorganized to latch on, or she could get really sleepy from all those stimuli, and refuse to nurse. Either one will cause nurses or peds to suggest formula. You can also request a hypoallergenic formula, if it is deemed medically necessary, like Alimentum, Pregestamil, or Nutramigen.

[JulieL]

Tarah thank you SO much for this info! I really want to know what to expect, and how to give my daughter the best I can. From what I remember you are a neonatologist??? (sorry if that is spelled wrong) Anyway this is very very helpful. From my neg fFN's it looks like I'll make it to my 35th week, from there I feel I'll make it to 36 wks. But in my 36th week I come off my meds for my extremely irritable uterus. And since over the weekend I was on a terebutaline holiday in the hospital for getting to a max dosage, and I contracted like crazy and HARD in the evenings, my dr and I think it's a long shot I'll be able to get through my 36th week without delivering. I'm apprehensive as each week means so much right now and every unusual feeling makes me stress - knowing what to expect on her end is comforting.

[JulieL]

Oh and Tarah, why don't I want her bathed? What is the negative affect of bathing? Is this to keep her from getting chilled? And the window of 24 hrs, what is it's significance?

[jerseygirl07067]

Hi Julie,

Not Shannon, but I thought I could share my experience with you. Julia was born at 34 weeks, 6 days. She had to spend 24 hours or so in the transitional care nursery, but luckily the only issue she had was low blood sugar. From what I have read, if you have a premie, your body adjusts accordingly, and will produce colostrum that is more suited for a premie's needs. I believe it has even a higher amount of antibodies.

They did wind up give her a little bit of formula but I requested they gavage feed her, instead of bottle feed her to avoid the nipple confusion. Luckily she latched on right away. (I started in labor two days prior and had only gotten two hours of sleep each night, I was pooped!!)I did wind up giving her one or two feedings of formula in the beginning because she was very sleepy. Having her try to nurse 8-10 times a day was very tiring on her, so it was the LC that said to do this just to make sure she didn't conk out. She said sometimes premies will start off doing well and then kind of fatigue all of the sudden, lacking the energy to eat. So I just made sure to pump every three hours or so. I also gave her a few bottles of EBM in the beginning, again, because of the sleepiness issue, I was trying to make it easier for her. She didn't have any issues with the confusion, and within a week we were exclusively nursing, without bottles. Turns out she was an even better nurser than Sammy was, despite being born early!

I know each baby is different, but it will work out for you! Since this is your second baby, that alone will be helpful with the BF process. (I will add that while the hospital I delivered at is becoming more pro-BFing, they have a long way to go IMO. Suprising since all of the high risk babies and premies go there. )

Good luck, and here's to hoping your baby girl hangs out inside longer. :)

Marcy

[tarahsolazy]

Mostly for the cold issue, nothing chills a baby like a bath, seriously. Also, the lactation community really believes that having amniotic fluid on their skin smells like mom, and the taste of it on their hands tastes like mom, so it helps with nursing. Skin to skin is also helpful for those primal smell and taste signals between moms and babies. I haven't found any research on the taste and smell stuff, but the bath=cold baby stuff is well-recognized. The hospital nurses may push to wash the baby because they may have a policy of not handling unwashed newborns without gloves. That's their problem, not yours. Gloves are easily available in hospitals, after all. 24 hours is just a guideline, I picked it just to give the baby a chance to figure out life in air for a while. The uber crunchy birthin' mamas don't bathe their babes for weeks after birth. Oh yeah, I am a neonatologist.

[JulieL]

Thanks Marcy!

[JulieL]

Thank you for explaining - hopefully I can do this without to much stress from the nurses. I've worked so hard to move this pregnancy to have my daughter unneccessarily put in the NICU.