Trying to breastfeed more

I had a premature baby who had to have formula at the beggining. I also expressed from the beggining. It was really important to the doctors to know how much we were giving him so I kept expressing/using formula. When he came out of hospital and i started trying to breastfeed we soon found that he was tongue tied. Unfortunately he could not have the procedure right away as his mouth was too small. Fast forward to last week- he has finally had the procedure and I've started putting him on my boob before every feed. I've now got to the point that he is able to latch and can suck with more ease. However now we have that routine he is not solely breastfeeding- we have to top up alot with formula. How do I go about giving less of the formula? He seems to suck for a good 15/30 minutes but often falls asleep. When taken off he is still showing signs of wanting milk. Maybe my milk is not enough? (I can get milk out by expressing though). He is 7 weeks old technically .. but development wise only 2 weeks past due date

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Firstly, it seems like you’ve been through a lot and I take my hat off to you for adding breastfeeding on top of that! Just some things you can try that I’ve learned from our BF journey with a tongue tie, small baby & other feeding issues. - hand compressions during a feed. They help baby receive more milk quicker. In those 15-30 mins, he will get that bit more. Therefore upping your supply too, this can help reduce top ups. - Is his sleepiness purely because he was preterm? Or is it worth getting it looked into, if possible? Even if that’s by going to your infant feeding team and saying you’re having feeding issues because he gets sleepy. My baby was the same because he was jaundice. I do still wonder if he is a bit like this because he is small for his age. - If you’ve not already, try joining the Breastfeeding and Lactation Support UK group on FB. They’re really knowledgeable, can do latch checks with you as well as give advice. Good luck 😊 x

Thank you for your reply. Yes he was in hospital for 8 days because of jaundice... still had it went left and weeks after. Hopefully gone now but blood test isn't till next week. Bless him- it isn't until I wrote this that I realised he's been through a lot so will try to just breastfeed where I can. Thanks for your useful tips x

I can’t give advice but I’m happy to chat as we have very similar stories and I’m very much in the same boat!

My girl was premature too . She is 2 months old now , we spend 2 weeks in Nicu . Also she had tongue tie which had been cut in Nicu on day 7 I think , can’t remember now . And since then I was putting her on the breast . It took us a week to get her properly feeding . I still pump every morning and evening and she gets a bottle of 90 ml before bed x . He might just be cluster feeding which can happen sometims with breastfed babies . Keep an eye on his weight and nappies and if they are both good I’m sure you have enough milk and he is just cluster feeding

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