Help, Breastfeeding Premature Baby!!!

oooh honey!! i feel your pain!! Greg was born at 34 weeks.

This is TOTALLY NORMAL!!!! The first few days you really only get collustrum and some milk....

DO NOT stress over the amount of milk you are producing! Take a DDDDDDEEEEEEEPPPPP breath and let it out slowly...do it again...stress is one of the main reasons that our milk production slows down...you have enough stress on you right now with your little one in the NICU so do yourself a favor and pat yourself on the back! YOU ARE ROCKING THE HOUSE!!!

To be honest - I didn't one ounce from pumping until the 4th day - so - girl you are rocking it!!!

CONGRATs on the baby!! I hope she is home soon.

I am going thru a similar issue... except my son is unable to nurse yet. Keeping up the pumping every 2-3 hours is important. Remember that you will NOT start being able to pump much until after baby is able to suckle more and latch on correctly. Don't take the small amount you pump personally, you are still producing. My son was born on 8/8 and I've only been able to pump 5ml in 2 days - very discouraging, but I know once he can latch on it'll be better and stimulating producing by the pump is very important.

Congrats!!

KEEP PUMPING MAMA!!

This time next month you'll be wondering how you're going to store all the breastmilk you'll be producing :)

Your body supplies what is demanded. Pump 5-10 minutes past when you stop getting milk. You body WILL start keeping up!!

You can do it :)

Keep at it!!! Some women (I'm one of them) can breastfeed fine, but just can't pump very much. Try at the end of each pumping session to manually express extra milk (basically you squeeze your boob by hand). Right now baby might not be able to get a lot of milk from you, so supplement with another mother's milk (look up Eats on Feets on Facebook) or formula and don't feel guilty about it. But keep doing at least one nursing session each day, and as baby gets bigger and stronger hopefully she'll be able to nurse more and more. If you throw in the towel now then your milk will dry up and you won't be able to nurse her in the future. You can keep trying the pumping, but if it's too difficult (you've got your hands full as it is), then let it go, supplement without feeling guilty, and enjoy one nursing session per day. In a couple of weeks try to do two nursing sessions each day. A few weeks later introduce a third session. And so on and so forth. GOOD LUCK!!!

I run the Happy Nursing group on Facebook. Check it out if you need some more support from some really nice mamas: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Happy-Nursing/238746032814035

Please don't be frustrated! It is normal to get that amount in the beginning. It's colostrum as the other poster said. A newborn baby's stomach is about the size of a walnut so about an ounce is to be expected. Keep at the pumping because it will help your supply. As your daughter gets older, hopefully she will learn to latch and you can nurse her directly. Babies are much more efficient than pumps. Congrats on your new baby!

you will not produce alot in the begining, usually you only produce what they can hold in their tummies. I had the same thing going through my head that I was not producing enough till my pedi told me their tummies are just super tiny. I know you are thinking the milk should just be flowin' some women are fortunante enough to be able to make like a gallon a day, but for us average women we make what is needed.
also those that make that crazy flow the babies tend to choke from too much coming out. Just keep up what you are doing the flow will increase as she gets older and is latching on. I did not start pumping 10oz each breast till about 8 weeks in. I would wake up soaked and have to pump on breast and let dd feed on the other. It will come be patient, gl.

Blessings to you and your little one! You are doing everything right - just keep going. Keep in mind that your body has been through a lot, and that you're only supposed to be producing as much as your l.o. will eat during these first days, and right now, her stomach is pretty tiny! I would give yourself just a little more time between pumping - even going to 2.5 hours would give you a little time. Drink lots of water, get as much sleep as you can, take Fenugreek supplements, and don't worry about the amounts so much.

Also - if you don't have one already, order yourself a double pumping bustier. It makes a WORLD of difference. I have one (Simply Wishes brand), and it has made pumping so much less exhausting. It's so good that she is nursing at the breast 1x/day right now! That's a great sign.

My dd was 5 weeks early, and then 10 days after she was born she was hospitalized for 2 weeks on iv nutrition and couldn't eat by mouth during that time. Anyway, during that whole time I pumped every 3 hours, and am so glad that I kept up with it! Now, 10 1/2 months later she is still nursing away, and is a big, healthy girl! Drink lots of water and if you can, eat oatmeal every morning. Like others have said, your body will start making more. I'm sending you positive thoughts for you and your baby girl!

All three of my children were born premature. The lactation consultant recommended I take "Fenegreek Tea" (probably spelled incorrectly~sorry!) vitamins from a local GNC store. They helped immensely! I would certainly check with your pediatrician/NICU nurse, etc. to make sure it is acceptable. I had very good results! Good Luck!!!

My son was born at 32 weeks. He showed interest in breastfeeding 3-4 days after he was born but wasn't getting much because of weak sucking. I was pumping every 4 hours the entire time he was in the NICU (3 and a half weeks) Initially I wouldn't get much , but kept pumping a little longer after the milk stops. It signals your body to make more. The NICU nurses were surprised with the amount of milk I was bringing in. I had to take a LOT of bottles back home with M. which I eventually ended up dumping because my son was exclusively nursing. He is almost 16 months now and still nursing. Also, doctors advised M. to give him a bottle with breastmilk mixed with neosure everyday(for extra calories). I did one bottle a day for couple months after coming home. My son was very gassy and fussy those two months. Once I stopped the Neosure( formula for preemies) he was totally fine. Breastmilk is the best for preemies.Please continue pumping, your baby may not be getting directly from you but is still getting your milk and it's very beneficial for him. Do take rest. NICU experience is very stressful but you need to relax too.Also drink LOTS of water. Hope your baby is doing good and be able to go home with you soon!

Good for you mom for pumping for your preemie!!! Best decision I ever made for my 32 weeker. He had to have formula for about two weeks because I'd gotten the rubella vax. His little tummy was so messed up till he got back on my milk.

Pump every 3 hours just as if baby was nursing. Give yourself a 4 hour break at night to get a little more rest. You need enough rest to make good milk.

An ounce at 7 days old is right on track. Trust me, you *will* be able to build a supply by pumping. I was not an over-producer by any means and we had a huge supply of milk that we brought home from the hospital when he was ready to leave. You can build a supply for her by just pumping.

It was very interesting. Every time my son was ready for a slight bump up in the amount he was taking my body starting making more.

I pumped every 3 hours for 12 weeks straight until I was able to teach my preemie to nurse. He was in the hospital for 6 weeks and then we began to work on nursing once he got home and got into a rhythm.

Try pumping just past the 20 minute mark as well. Once my body learned how to work with the pump I would get another great let-down just at/after the 20 minute mark.

You can also gently massage your breasts while pumping. Once you get a supply going you will be able to feel the full parts and massaging them helps your body let-down.

Keep letting baby try to nurse at the hospital. That is the one thing I wish I had done differently! I think it would have made a huge difference.

If you don't have them get the Medela Steam Clean bags! They will save you a huge, huge amount of time with cleaning the parts. You won't need to boil them if you use the steam clean bags.

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to message me! I went down this road and we went on to successfully and exclusively nurse for 16 months!

Congratulations mom!

My niece recently delievered her son five weeks early and she really wanted to breast feed. The nurses had her doing the same thing you are doing. Little Isaiah had a feeding tube so at first they were giving him formula through that, but he wasn't digesting that well. They then began giving him Mommy milk and he did GREAT with that. What you are doing is so important for your little one!! It was probably 4 or 5 days before they let her breastfeed him, and then it was only once or twice a day, it just wore him out. Eventully they moved to every other feeding and now he's out of the hospital and eating like a champ. Keep up the good work and don't forget about you. It is so easy to worry only about your little one, you are recovering also. Congratulations and take care.

I too had a preemie born at 33 weeks. He would latch on on drink, however, we only got to practice once a day since it burns so many calories for them. I pumped every 4 hours, same schedule that they had him on. At first I didn't get much milk at all but as the days went on I kept getting more, too much in fact. I NICU said not to bring in anymore. Once he was home I would try to breastfeed a few times a day and supplement with a bottle afterwards just in case. Tried going to breastfeeding only and he was constantly crying because he would fall asleep as soon as he would latch on. Around 4 months he only wanted a bottle. So I pumped exclusively for 13 months to ensure that he was getting the best possible feeding for him. Good luck! Don't give up, it just takes a little time.

My children were both full term but I did try to pump because my first born couldn't latch properly (or maybe I just didn't know what the heck I was doing :) I found that the ONLY time I could get a decent amount of milk was when my son was crying while I was pumping. It stimulated the let down but it wasn't long before I gave it up because it was too hard mentally. Good luck!

Keep up the good work! Remember that full term infants are only drinking 1-2 oz of milk so the fact that you are producing 1 oz sounds right on track for a preemie! Once the baby is strong enough to latch on, you will get even more stimulus to begin producing more milk - supply and demand will then truly be established (the pump can only take you so far). Once your baby latches, you might find that she wants to live on your boob :) Don't think that you arent producing enough - she is just building up your supply to prepare her for the next growth spurt. It might seem daunting and exhausting but considering what you've been through, you will be ok!!

Good luck!