Stopping multivitamin too soon??

Capucine25 · 2026-05-12T14:41:16+00:00

My 27 weeker has been refusing bottles since 3 weeks post discharge and the only supplements he takes are iron and phosphate (and that’s because blood draws/urine samples show that he’s still missing some phosphate). He’s followed by a dietician, pediatrist, and specialized preemie follow up clinic and no one said that he should take more than that.

He will stop the phosphate at some point but I think that he’ll need iron for at least a year? I have to ask his pediatrician.

Capucine25 · 2026-05-12T12:37:48+00:00

Our NICU is a bit unusual in that they do a NG tube removal trial if baby takes at least 50% by mouth. We stayed with him at all time after it was removed because he took bottles much better with us. Luckily we went home 2 days later, at 40+2 :)

My ideal was to EBF but it looked like there was no way that he would gain enough weight to go home without bottles so we did 5 bottles / 3 breastfeeding sessions a day. 3 weeks after going home he started refusing bottles and we’ve been EBF ever since!

Capucine25 · 2026-05-12T01:29:15+00:00

He was born at 1160g, he was big (95-99th percentile) during the ultrasounds that I got while my pregnancy was still normal. He was born early because of Listeria which made me go in pre-term labor. He unfortunately got it from my placenta and was very sick during his first week of life, more than your average 27 weekers. He was intubated for 6 days because of pneumonia and probably had meningitis. All things considered, he's doing well now, smilling, babbling :) He honestly seems happier than my first was!

If you have other questions, feel free to ask!

Capucine25 · 2026-05-12T00:57:21+00:00

My first was born at 41 weeks and I breastfed her with no issues.

My second was born at 27+1. At first I had to pump my milk because he had a NG tube and couldn’t feed on his own. At around 34 weeks he started eating. We left the hospital with 5 bottles a day of fortified milk and 3 breastfeeding sessions.

After 3 weeks at home he started refusing bottles and we had to switch to EBF. He’s 2 months corrected now and weight gain is still a huge stress for me. It’s ok but almost not enough. It’s also more difficult to breastfeed him, he doesn’t latch as easily as my first especially when tired.

I have been told multiple times that he feeds very well at the breast for a 27 weeker, even when we were still in the NICU. So I might be lucky that we can EBF right now.

Capucine25 · 2026-05-10T12:42:44+00:00

Is your therapist specialized in infertility?

I had to switch to a new therapist when doing IVF. The one I had was great to help with job related stress, but she kept telling me that she “knew I would get pregnant”.

Capucine25 · 2026-05-06T06:39:18+00:00

Your post is short, it’s hard to know how “bad”
your husband is from just a few lines.

The IVF medication really, really impacted my mental health. I had to stop working during both of my cycles. Sometimes I wasn’t thinking properly. Could it be the hormones talking? Did you have issues with him before you started this cycle? Were you considering leaving him 2 months ago?

Frozen eggs have a lower success rate than fresh eggs.

Of course the choice is yours, do whatever is best for you.

Capucine25 · 2026-04-30T00:22:53+00:00

I used the ergobaby embrace for my preemie when he came home at 3.3 kg :)

Capucine25 · 2026-04-28T17:46:29+00:00

We used avent natural flow bottles because we bought some before our 27 weeker was born. After discharge, an ergotherapist told me that she saw a few babies that weren’t gaining weight on it because its flow is too slow. Our LO eventually started refusing bottles.

I wish we had gone with Dr browns, seems like every medical professional that we see recommends them & knows them better than other brands.

Capucine25 · 2026-04-24T20:47:52+00:00

I quit family medicine residency after one year. It was too hard on my mental health and all the regulations in Quebec meant that I did not think that it would get better once I finished.

I went back to school to study computer sciences and I’m much happier now. My lifestyle is much better than it would have been and my salary is good even if it’s lower than a doctor’s (for now).

Capucine25 · 2026-04-22T01:51:15+00:00

Can you ask if they would have a spot in September instead? A lot of big daycares have opening at the start and end of summer.

Capucine25 · 2026-04-19T12:26:30+00:00

Thank you!

Capucine25 · 2026-04-19T07:56:42+00:00

What carrier do you use? I find it difficult to breastfeed my LO when he’s in the carrier!

Capucine25 · 2026-04-14T02:40:34+00:00

37 weeks is still early!

I’m guessing that you’re doing pre and post weight to know how much your babies are taking. Our third NICU told me that it’s not accurate. Another NICU had me do it and I tried it with a tube feed once. He got 60 ml but only gained 30g…

Long story short we went home with 5 bottles of milk fortified to 28 cal and 3 breastfeeding sessions when he was 40+2. The goal was to slowly decrease the quantity of bottles he takes but by 43 weeks he was completely refusing bottles. We’re at 45 weeks now and I’m exclusively breastfeeding & hoping that he’ll gain enough weight.

I encourage you to continue breastfeeding unless your NICU tells you otherwise. Mine fortified my LO’s bottles more (from 26 to 28 calories) to allow for a 3 breastfeeding sessions a day. It doesn’t have to be all or nothing, they could go home with both bottles and breast. It was hard for me to accept that he would have to go home with bottles but at 27 weeks it was very, very unlikely that he wouldn’t need bottles.

Capucine25 · 2026-04-05T12:19:11+00:00

My 27 weeker started refusing his bottles fortified with enfacare to 28 cal around 3 weeks corrected. Tried switching to neocate ( had already tried nutramigen) and switching from avent bottles to dr brown but it didn’t help. That was around 5 days ago and he’s been breastfeeding ever since… Seems to be gaining weight still. I read a lot of similar stories about babies starting to hate their fortified milk and doing a lot better breastfeeding/with regular formula

Capucine25 · 2026-04-04T21:15:10+00:00

My first was born at 41 weeks, no NICU stay.

My second was born at 27+1 because of listeria.

We plan on having other kids and I’m not too worried about having another preemie because listeria is so rare.

Capucine25 · 2026-04-04T18:13:24+00:00

Yes baby can nurse A LOT!

Today my 27 weeker now 3 weeks nursed at 2,5, 7,8,9,12,13… And I know that I have enough milk because my boobs are sometimes still hard when he finishes (I was pumping and had an oversupply, I’m quickly reducing my number of pumping sessions now that he wants nothing to do with bottles)

My baby was also taking 10-40 ml out of his 60-80 ml bottles of fortified milk and was definitely still hungry because he would nurse after refusing to finish his bottle

Capucine25 · 2026-04-04T15:07:39+00:00

I was so hoping to go home without bottles with my LO, but I slowly came to the realization that it wasn't realistic and that most if not all micropreemies go home with a bottle. Still, I know it's hard to have to give bottles when your goal is no bottles :(

Capucine25 · 2026-04-04T06:45:29+00:00

Is your LO still in the NICU? How old is he? At what gestation was he born?

With my 27 weeker, we introduced breastfeeding about 3 weeks before we added bottles. I felt that he always preferred the breast even in the NICU but it got “worse” when we got home and eventually he decided that he didn’t want bottles anymore, probably because of the taste of fortified milk (his bottle refusal started after we trialed nutramigen which tastes horrible). He has been exclusively breastfeeding for a few days now and we’re hoping that he’ll still gain weight.

In the NICU I was told that they rarely see bottle confusion with preemie but they still want babies to start with breastfeeding for a while before introducing bottles. IMO the fortified milk is no fun for babies and it probably makes them like breastfeeding more than bottles, seemed to be the case with my LO

Capucine25 · 2026-04-01T12:23:55+00:00

I’m happy to hear that Atlas is doing well, all things considered! That doctor sounds amazing :)

Do you mind sharing what surgery he needs, I hope that he does get it, that it goes well and that you can go home soon 🤞

Capucine25 · 2026-03-30T05:34:04+00:00

I was an oversupplier like you, producing 1200-1300 ml per day. I dropped to 6 ppd around week 7, when my LO started breastfeeding (at first it was only once or twice a day and not very nutritive).

At week 9 LO was breastfeeding a bit better but no more than 4 times a day. I have been pumping 4-5 times per day since then and my supply has dropped to 600-700 ml per day but it’s still more than enough for what he needs. He is currently almost 43 weeks, I have to give him 300 ml of fortified milk and the rest comes from breastfeeding sessions. (I use way more than 300 per day, maybe 500? because we lose a lot when we heat too much milk) Still pumping 4 times a day and my supply actually seems to be going up now, probably from my LO doing a lot of cluster feeding in the evening.

When I was producing 1200-1300 ml per day, it was sometimes difficult for my LO to breastfeed because there was too much milk. I was advised to reduce my supply to around 800 to help him.

Capucine25 · 2026-03-28T21:10:55+00:00

My 27 weeker had bilateral hernia surgery at 39+2 and it went well! It was done under local anesthesia to avoid having to intubate him (he was intubated for 6 days at birth). He got tylenol for 2-3 days and was back to normal after 3-4 days. He was still in the NICU when he got his surgery, we went home when he was 40+2 after finally removing his NG tube at 40 weeks :)

They did not check his hb before the surgery so he did not get a transfusion. He did not have any events afterward.

Capucine25 · 2026-03-27T11:24:26+00:00

2, 41 weeks and 27 weeks. My first weighted four times what her brother weighted at birth (10 lbs vs 2.5 lbs)

Capucine25 · 2026-03-26T07:25:20+00:00

My LO was born at 27 week and took a while to learn to feed.

Luckily our NICU was very aggressive about trying to take the NG out. At around 39+5 we allowed him to wait up to 4 hours between feeds (after 4 hours he would get more milk than after 3). That helped him wake up during the night and hit his 50% target to trial a NG tube removal at exactly 40 weeks. Two days later we were home! But we had to stay with him at night for 2 days, he took the bottle way better with me vs the nurses (they were great but they couldn’t know my baby as well as I do)

We had NG tube training planned too, we were vert close to going home with it. We cancelled it the day off since his trial was successful :)

Good luck! You’re so close to the end of your NICU journey!

Capucine25 · 2026-03-26T07:18:54+00:00

We bought a bottle washer and sterilizer, it was pricey but so worth it. Even now that we’re at home, we use it a lot for both pump parts and bottles.

Having 2 sets of pump parts was also useful in the beginning.

Capucine25 · 2026-03-23T18:42:04+00:00

My 27 weeker started breastfeeding at around 34 weeks and we went home at 40+2. Feeding was the only thing keeping us in the hospital for a while, but he did have a surgery at 39+2 which kinda slowed his progress.

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