Chloe is doing so well!
We only did non-nutritive breastfeeding for three days before Brenda, the head nurse, called and said that Chloe is ready to start nutritive feedings! What this means is that I gradually decrease the time I pump before I feed her--that way she still gets a little bit of milk but doesn't get overwhelmed.
Yesterday was the first time I tried nutritive and it was extremely frustrating. Chloe would latch, but then just sit there. She didn't even try to suck for twenty minutes. Only when they started pushing food through her feeding tube did she suck a few times. Mike and I went back last night and it was the same thing. I got so frustrated because she did so well with the non-nutritive and then she didn't even seem interested in the real thing.
After awhile I gave up because she did. The good thing is that I was able to hold her for an hour and a half and she slept the whole time. The O.T. told us the growth hormone is only released/activated when the baby goes into the REM cycle, which is why skin-to-skin is so important. Chloe got a good forty-five minutes in the REM cycle, so I didn't feel completely useless.
I'm going to go back tonight and try to do nutritive again. Wish me luck...
Hang in there and good luck!
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