NICU baby & Breastfeeding Worries

Brooklynn is in the NICU still on a feeding tube because of her breathing and I have yet to be able to breastfeed her. I pumped last night and I got a little bit for her, It extremely painful to pump right now, Not my breasts but my stomach. Im not sure what I can do to keep it as less painful so I can pump the full 15mins. Im also really worried she wont want to breastfeed once Im allowed to feed her myself since she didnt get to latch on right away. They told me last night she has to be able to be eating from a bottle before she is able to leave the NICU, Idk if maybe the dr doesnt know I want to breastfeed or if that is just the case for NICU babies. Anyone have words of advice on this?

afterpains are a bitch ask them for percocet and ibuprofen to help with all that cramping. That will make a world of difference as far as cramping while you are pumping goes. Just keep up pumping you are doing great!

My LO was in the nicu for 8 days and i pumped every three hrs till he got out and he latched right on! Even after the bottles he had! We bfed for 16 months too. You're uterus contracts when you nurse, that's why it hurts.

Quoting Zoe&Harper's Mom (Em):" afterpains are a bitch ask them for percocet and ibuprofen to help with all that cramping. That will ... [snip!] ... That will make a world of difference as far as cramping while you are pumping goes. Just keep up pumping you are doing great!"

Yeah the pain is just terrible right now. Ill ask for that. Hopefully it will help, I asked for a heating pad for my back but I still havent got one.

Quoting Colt's mommy:" My LO was in the nicu for 8 days and i pumped every three hrs till he got out and he latched right on! ... [snip!] ... on! Even after the bottles he had! We bfed for 16 months too. You're uterus contracts when you nurse, that's why it hurts."

So its normal for them to give them bottles even if you wanna breastfeed.

And that makes me feel better, I have been looking forward to breastfeeding and its been making me really sad Im unable to right now.

<blockquote><b>Quoting ♥MyBoys&BabyGirl:</b>" So its normal for them to give them bottles even if you wanna breastfeed. And that makes me feel better, ... [snip!] ... makes me feel better, I have been looking forward to breastfeeding and its been making me really sad Im unable to right now."</blockquote>



They gave my LO a bottle because they had to be very careful how much he ate because they needed to make sure that his digestive system was working correctly. I was sad not to be able to nurse right away too but I just focused on pumping and visiting him as much as I could. It was a looong 8 days.

Quoting ♥MyBoys&BabyGirl:" So its normal for them to give them bottles even if you wanna breastfeed. And that makes me feel better, ... [snip!] ... makes me feel better, I have been looking forward to breastfeeding and its been making me really sad Im unable to right now."

I just want to say that my DD had bottles but it was fourmla because i was in the OR for 4 hours after i delivered her and when i woke up i was partly still out of it as i was put under.... However once i got 2 units of blood it was like i had nothing so i had to wait a few days for all of it to come back in. But we latched just great we are 3 months BF and still going.

Quoting ♥MyBoys&BabyGirl:" Yeah the pain is just terrible right now. Ill ask for that. Hopefully it will help, I asked for a heating pad for my back but I still havent got one. "

  I cramped alot more with my second and it bothered me more with my second which was a vbac than with my c-section. Pain medicine was god sent with the afterpains. Just make sure they bring it too you on a timely basis. They even gave me a prescription for it b/c I still noticed alot of cramping in the afternoon/nightime so I took it near bedtime to help with the cramps.

Quoting Colt's mommy:" <blockquote><b>Quoting ♥MyBoys&BabyGirl:</b>" So its normal for them to give ... [snip!] ... to be able to nurse right away too but I just focused on pumping and visiting him as much as I could. It was a looong 8 days."

I just finally pumped and the lactation lady came to talk to me which was really nice   but I only got 10 mins in before I hurt so bad I couldnt do it anymore.

Gavin went right to the NICU and he didn't get to latch right away. When I finally got to feed him he latched right away! Then my milk wasn't in all the way so we had to supplement 15ml from a bottle so he was bottle and breast fed and still latched good  
Good luck I hope baby gets out of the NICU soon !

<blockquote><b>Quoting ♥MyBoys&BabyGirl:</b>" Brooklynn is in the NICU still on a feeding tube because of her breathing and I have yet to be able to ... [snip!] ... maybe the dr doesnt know I want to breastfeed or if that is just the case for NICU babies. Anyone have words of advice on this?"</blockquote>


I will jus say this...don't worry if you're worried about her not wanting to breastfed. My one daughter was a NICU baby and was fully breastfed. Yes, they start them off with bottles bc sometimes it's easier with preterm babies to learn how to suck on bottle nipples. If its the Lutheran NICU, that's where my daughter was for 4 weeks after her birth and they were AMAZING with her care. They should let you pump as much as you are able and they will feed it to her through the bottles. After birth pains...I have no advice to stop that. I did use a pillow to kind of support my stomach mainly bc I had to have a csection and so it hurt to even breathe.