I posted something about feeding in the home birth group section after Celesse had posted saying they were being readmitted, but I don't know if she saw it. She should be able to use the bottles she wants. It's stupid (on the midwives' part) to use hospital bottles and then (potentially) go home and use different ones - what a way to confuse a baby more! You should be "allowed" to bring in your own bottles (I actively encourage it on the NICU...grrr postnatal!!!).

I think LO will start waking better, and therefore going onto the breast better, once she's started putting on weight and has started efficiently clearing the bilirubin (the jaundice-causing, and therefore sleepy-making, stuff). I personally don't believe in nipple confusion (it is a theory, after all). LO is just finding the bottle much easier right now with being so sleepy. I also second the recommendation of giving nipple shields a go. As she gets bigger and more established on the breast, these can be eased away. And I hope the midwives are making sure Celesse expresses regularly as well to maintain/establish her supply, as even if LO is having EBM and/or formula, Celesse needs to be demanding milk from her body the way LO would be if at home and well (3-4 hourly, even overnight [sorry, but I've had mums tell me that the midwives told them to "just get some rest" and not worry about expressing overnight when that is so detrimental to establishing/maintaining a supply]).

Edit: Another thing. LO won't be able to latch on well if Celesse's boobs are incredibly full. If this is the case, she can try hand expressing before attempting a BF or even going on the pump for a few minutes to soften the breast just a little so that LO can get a better latch. The "sandwich" hold, mentioned in the previous post, can be helpful in this situation as well (also if you have big boobs, like me).

All the best to them both.

My LO lost 15% of weight so I know how you feel. He had jaundice first time he was admitted and second time just wasn't feeding well. With the hospitals help I had to stick to a routine of skin to skin, try feeding him then topping up with EBM or donor breast milk (I wasn't producing the 70ml they wanted me too). I was given a breast pump to borrow and took donor milk home with me. I carried on this routine at home and eventually switched over to demand feeding with no top ups. I also used nipple shields to help him get latched on then weaned him off those.

It's hard work but I just wanted to offer hope to you and Celesse and to know that you CAN acheive your goal.

Good luck and well done for being so supportive xx

Just wanted to say well done daddy for helping find solutions - not everyone would handle this so well given the distress

You've been given wonderful advice already (Definitely the Breastflow bottles.)

All thinking of you x

Definitely another vote for breastflow bottles.

Ask the hospital to produce evidence based guidelines on why they won't let you cupfeed. It's recommended for bf babies ffs - if they can show you the evidence why it's a risk then I'll show it to the neonatologists at work, we use it all the time for goodness sake.

Sounds like it's more the fact it takes longer and can be messy and they just don't want to be bothered by it.

Celesse back home but posting this in her favour right.

We looked for breastflow bottles. The site states they are sold in John Lewis, Argos and Boots. We checked stores of all 3 and they have never heard of them.

Is the only place to buy them online? Or do mothercare sell them? (I'll have to go get em as cel is in no fit state to travel that far)

I believe mothercare sell them. (they certainly used to - perhaps check online or / and call the store before you travel.)

Please don't give up hope. My LO was fed expressed milk at every feed (from a normal cheap tesco standard bottle) until he was 3 weeks old. He is still being breastfed at 6.5 months and we are not stopping yet.

It was incredibly difficult in those early days, but once LO started to settle a bit better and we were more relaxed at home, he started to 'get' it. Keep persevering, and try baby on the boob as often as possible. Don't stress if it doesn't happen, just keep topping up with expressed milk and keep expressing to keep that supply up. One day, it will just click. - and I remember being told that myself, and thinking people were lying, didn't know what I was going through and it would never happen.

Big hugs. xxxxxxxxx

Mothercare have them in.
Glad to hear shes home again, should make things less complicated for you both.

I bought ours on ebay x

My best friend has just been through this exact same thing.

She started using nipple shields when her baby was a week old having cup fed prior to that because he woudln't latch. She used teh nipple shields with great success for 4 weeks and now her baby is a bit bigger her latches straight on to the boob.

As baby gets bigger as long as they are given plenty of opportunity to try to latch they will "get it" in the end. I know it can be very distressing and hard work so big hugs to you all

As my OH has said we are back home now. It was almost a self discharge cos of the attitude of some midwives and the fact they all wanted me to do things slightly differently. Some didn't even believe she had been latching on at home.

We are now on a pretty strict 4 hourly regime. We start with gentle skin to skin time and allow baby to wake up slowly then encourage her to take to the breast. She is currently interested in licking and sucking the end of the nipple, but rarely latches on correctly, however she is latching sometimes.
Once she has had enough, by either falling asleep and loosing interest or starting to get frustrated and scream we move on to giving her EBM and then formula top up.
I then expressing using the Medela Swing breast pump http://www.medelasuction.com/UK/brea...ucts/swing.php

I currently express 5 mins each side, twice. I've gone up from 20mls a time, to 38mls last expression. I have also been put on domperidone to increase my milk supply.

Current bottles we got so we could manage at home are the Tommy Tippee closer to nature ones. They are making LO work harder than the hospital ones and we intend to get Breastflow ones.

My current plan is to continue with the 4 hourly plan over the weekend, allow my milk to increase and look for a pattern with the baby that will allow us to encourage her to be more interested in the boob.