Breastfeeding
a Preemie
Breastfeeding a Preemie
by Elizabeth Lacara  I knew I wanted to breastfeed the moment I found out I was pregnant. I
never new that one decision could be so powerful, painful and hard to deliver.My beautiful preemie baby was born weighing a whopping 3 lbs 13.6 oz and was 17.75 inches long. She was pretty heavy for a baby born at 31.5 weeks gestation. She wasn't even due until August 20,2003, but she chose to enter our harsh world on June 22,2003. She stayed in the NICU for thirteen days. She was born healthy with her only problems being her low birth weight and her inability to control her body temperature. She was started on a bottle during her first night in the NICU and was upgraded to formula on her second day of life. I didn't know she was being bottle fed and I was exhausted so I didn't pump.  Her first bottle of real food, as little as it was, was of formula. I was so disappointed with myself, but I vowed she wouldn't have anymore
formula so I started pumping right after that feeding. The nurses were so
supportive. They kept telling me that I was doing the best thing for my baby
and that helped to keep me going through my exhausted state. Her feeds were
upgraded to higher amounts, everyday two and sometimes three times a day. The
doctors and nurses were amazed by her strength and progress.When she was a week old I was allowed to latch her on for the first time. That was when I found out I had given birth to an aggressive eater. She immediately latched on, amazingly without any problems, and took her fill. The nurses told me to nurse her on both sides for ten minutes each but I chose to give her one side for however long she wanted it. She nursed on that one side for half an hour and the fell asleep, but her nurses wanted me to wake her up and give her a bottle of breast milk to make sure she got enough. This trend went on for the rest of her stay.  When I brought her home I had a mysterious drop in breast milk production.
No matter how much I pumped or nursed I wasn't making enough milk to satisfy her, she only took between 1.5 and 2 oz at a time, and I was becoming
discouraged. I was just lucky that I had enough frozen milk to help her along.
I called a lactation consultant and was told that I could safely use Fenugreek to
increase my milk supply. Within two days I noticed a marked increase in my
milk production and a change in the way my daughter nursed. She was happier at the breast and more content after a feeding. I used the Fenugreek
for one month, until my milk supply was where my daughter seemed to want
it. My miracle baby is now 8.5 weeks old, has gained a little over four pounds and 2 inches and is a happy, healthy exclusively breastfed preemie with no developmental delays. She is doing everything a normal full-term 8.5 week old is supposed to be doing. Her doctor says that her development and weight gain is all due to her being breastfed. I am so lucky that she has done as well as she has. The moral of this story is to never give up and to remember that God wouldn't have given them to us if he didn't mean for them to be used. |
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