Susan wrote in message ...
on b/fing. I have a friend who just delivered her baby at 34 weeks. She
had mild spina bifida (they closed the small hole and say she will
suffer no lasting effects) and she has been receiving bottles the entire
time (all EBM.) I fear that the baby will never be able to b/f and I'm
trying not to be too pushy but I'm wondering if there are any good books
I can get them? I don't think she has ever latched on and she's a little
over a week old. Any ideas would be appreciated.

Many 34-weekers learn to nurse after being fed EBM, but it takes work
and help. She needs to see an IBCLC if she has not consulted with
one. If there is one in the NICU/SBCU, so much the better, as that
IBCLC will have more experience with premies.

I found a football hold to be easiest, and because DS was all about
the milk, I started aa letdown before trying to teach him to latch so
that one suck would reward him with milk. He didn't latch on for six
days after birth and didn't latch on reliably until nine or ten days
after birth. After getting two latches in a row I quit using the
bottles to try to avoid any further nipple confusion.

_Womanly Art_ and _Nursing Mother's Companion_ both had sections on
premature babies if I'm remembering right. There were also copies of
LLL's book on premies scattered around the pumping stations at the
NICU. Once they've figured out how to latch, though, it's very much
the same thing as nursing any other newborn. (When in doubt, offer.)

The schedule for pumping and teaching a premie can be very very
frantic. Mine was something like this; half an hour of latchwork and
nursing, then pumping for half an hour while DH held DS, then feeding
DS whatever I had been able to pump, then nap for an hour and fifteen
minutes, then get up, change the baby, and get set up to work on his
latch again. She may very well need more domestic help than she has.
My relatives were wonderful and kept bringing in food and doing dishes
and laundry, but I had both grandmas nearby.

--
C, mama to seventeen month old nursling