advice

My baby was born on the 26th of April, she was born at 32weeks and weighed 4lbs, she has had feeding issues since birth her weight and drooped to 3lbs 12oz. Well he her weight is starting to pick up but she still is having trouble feeding. For you ladies who had premature babies how long did it take them to get the hang of sucking and take the feeding also how long did it take them to gain good weight and maintain it. I hate having to leave my baby everyday I just want her home with us.

I am soooo sorry to know your lil girl was born premature. My prayers goes to u and her. I wish I could give you an advice but unfort I never experience anything like that...hopefully not..I mean no would like to experience giving birth premature. I hope ur lil girl gains weights and gets stronger every each day. God is with her..It must be very tough leaving her there in the hospital & u go home w/ an empty arms. But be positive everything will be okay. My best advice I can give is either google or ask someone u know who had the same experience..Hope u get an answer. Keep me updated about ur lil girl. Take care and remember BE STRONG!

So she's like 34 weeks now? Is she taking bottles? And did she just start?

I hate to say it, but it can take some time. That was the one thing I had trouble being patient with. The nurses always told me that even if she got to full feeds, if she wasn't ready she could wear herself down and then refuse to eat and lose weight and just be this nasty cycle. But when it clicks, it clicks and they start taking more and more bottles (in our situation it was a bottle)
. I want to say it took DD about 3 weeks to get it without many problems. She did choke and got pneumonia because of it which kept us in the NICU for an extra 10 days, sadly.


I just found this picture. She was born at 27/4 on July 29, this is her first bottle as you can see from my tag it is sept 10. She came home Oct 10

<blockquote><b>Quoting Acoreana89:</b>" I am soooo sorry to know your lil girl was born premature. My prayers goes to u and her. I wish I could ... [snip!] ... u know who had the same experience..Hope u get an answer. Keep me updated about ur lil girl. Take care and remember BE STRONG! "</blockquote>




Thanks mama and unwilling be sure to update

<blockquote><b>Quoting TamaraL:</b>" So she's like 34 weeks now? Is she taking bottles? And did she just start? I hate to say it, but it ... [snip!] ... She was born at 27/4 on July 29, this is her first bottle as you can see from my tag it is sept 10. She came home Oct 10 "</blockquote>



Your little girl is beautiful. We are working on bottle feeding but she isnt getting enough so she still has to do tube feeding because they don't want her weight to keep drooping.

Quoting mommy to 3 little monster:" My baby was born on the 26th of April, she was born at 32weeks and weighed 4lbs, she has had feeding ... [snip!] ... did it take them to gain good weight and maintain it. I hate having to leave my baby everyday I just want her home with us."

Hey mama. I just saw this and had to comment....
My son was a preemie and it took him a while--I'd say a good month--to master it. The "suck, swallow, breathe reflex usually doesn't fully kick in until they're about 36 weeks gestation. I remember getting so frustrated because it seemed like he would never get it right; he would dsat or give out trying. They still kept his feeding tube in (through his nose) while they tried him on the bottle a couple times a day. It was usually a hit and miss for a while but eventually he got it.
Just give it time, mama. She's using a lot of energy trying to get the bottle thing down but she'll get it. I know how impatient it feels, two steps forward, three steps back, the good days and bad days....
The whole NICU experience is emotionally, physically and mentally draining. Most preemie parents have PTSD from such a traumatic experience. I liken the NICU journey to a roller-coaster: it's full of ups and downs, ooo's and ahhh's, achievements and setbacks but once you get your little one home, the grand prize is sooo worth it.
Ever since my son was born premature almost 3 years ago, I now advocate for preemies and their families, offer support to them, have learned a lot about preemies, their conditions, procedures, volunteer for the March of Dimes and Children's Miracle Network and offer support to families that are now on the NICU "roller-coaster".
I'm gonna PT you and if you have any questions, need advice or just need someone to talk to, I'm here. I'm usually in and out during the day but stay on BG about all night.
Good luck to you and your little warrior. You all are in my thoughts and prayers.