SNS help and weaning off supplements

[@llli*ali.bear]

Hi Mama's, I'm new here.

It's been a long road for myself and my DD. I delivered at 35w6days - She is almost 11 weeks now and we have endured two frenotomys, one at three days old and one last week for a posterior tongue tie, jaundice, poor/weak suckling, retained placenta, uterine infection, and some very misguided advice in the beginning!

But, through blood, sweat and tears (all three quite literally) I have persevered and now we're in a pretty good place. I am taking domperidone and I am using a medela sns system, when I can get LO to latch with the tube in the way.

LO gets very frustrated when I use the SNS, she screams, tears at the tubing, cries when I try to latch her. It's very unpleasant for both of us. When I do finally get her latched I don't dare try to switch breasts as I don't want to go through it again. When it's really rough, I give up and give her a bottle - I don't want breastfeeding to be something she associates with stress and frustration. I think most of the frustration stems from tube positioning and having to fiddle with it constantly to get it to work. Does anyone have any tips to make it easier for me and DD to use the sns?

DD's supplementation is all over the place right now - and even more up and down when we do use the sns more. I'm not sure how to wean her off - should I just let her self wean? She is pretty good at refusing the bottle if she doesn't want it and I make sure to give her plenty of breaks to pace the feed and allow her the chance to signal she's full during a feed. I'm just not sure if this will be effective in getting her right off the formula. I've read the page on kellymom about reducing the supplement amounts slowly, but since DD often doesn't take the full amount we offer (sometimes takes none, sometimes takes all, depends on the feeding) reducing what we offer won't help.

Also, any tips to stop stressing about intake when she refuses a bottle or doesn't finish one? I'm having a very hard time letting go of the visible numbers that I get with the bottle. I find it quite stressful to not know how much she's taken in now.

Thank you, and sorry for the novel!

[@llli*aprilsmagic]

See if you can rub the numbers off the bottle. Or put it in a sock.

I would maybe try breastfeeding first and foremost. If she wants a supplement after, fine. I usually tell moms to give s little something first then breastfeed, but that might not work, as you might end up pumping if she wants to eat a whole bottle. But don't watch the numbers. They don't matter...and they are all relative anyway...

I have to pump for my fourth baby. I took a breastfeeding mom mentality and just don't measure his milk. I feed until he is done, when he wants to eat instead of using a schedule. But when we switched from the fancy and expensive special feeders he had to use st first to a Breastflow, I noticed the ounce markings are quite different brand to brand. And when I decided to compare to a measuring cup, they were all off. It made me so glad I was not hung up on numbers.

[@llli*ali.bear]

Thank you.

I have always nursed her first before supplementing, even with the SNS. DD has always seemed content after feeding whether she really was full or not - so my lactation consultant had us offer at every feed or DD would lose weight and just sleep all day after feeding. Very laid back baby - but sometimes too laid back!

My stress comes from not knowing how much breast milk she's gotten from nursing. Before I could nurse for 20 mins, then give her a bottle and know she'd at least gotten 2oz of formula or expressed milk no matter what. Now when she refuses a bottle, I have no idea how much she's eaten and I start to stress - maybe she's too sleepy to eat, maybe she's sick. I guess I just doubt after this long that my body's actual able to do what it's supposed to finally!

[@llli*auderey]

Just count her wet diapers - if she's getting at least 6 in 24 hours, she's fine!

[@llli*aprilsmagic]

Just count her wet diapers - if she's getting at least 6 in 24 hours, she's fine!

[@llli*kass.love]

I just recently weaned my DD off the SNS.
I would strongly encourage you have a LC help you with the SNS, should be able to show you to position better. If not, try bringing baby to you breast as if you were going to nurse, see where the nose lines up on your breast. This is where you should tape the tube down. Tape the tube 1/4 inch passed the end of your nipple. Have the tape run from a little bit on you nipple back past your areola. Then run another piece if tape across the laid piece, creating a cross, at the top of areola. This should help the tube stay unplaced and also to be in the right place for baby to utilize it.

I found that as my babe got better she took less supplement from the SNS. As long as she came off satisfied we knew she was fine. The next step to weaning off was to not use the SNS for 1 feeding a night, and then 2. We checked weight a few days after making each change to ensure proper weight gain.

I strongly encourage you to work with an LC when using the SNS. Keep up the good work though! It is a tough path but it is possible! Good luck!

[@llli*djs.mom]

Count wet diapers. If it comes out, it went in. 6-8 in a 24hour period means she got enough to eat. Period. It really doesn't need to be thought about beyond that. Feed on demand and count diapers.