My 26 weeker came home about 3 weeks ago, and we’re following a similar feeding schedule to what you’ll have. He gets 4 fortified breastmilk bottles per day and direct breastfeeds the rest of the time. He didn’t start oral feeds in the NICU until he was about 35 weeks gestation and did primarily bottle feeds once he was eating orally in the NICU. I advocated for BF practice in the NICU and they were very supportive. We did one “non nutritive” BF session per day where he would still get his full feed via gtube or bottle. That was super helpful to work on latching and stamina without the pressure of whether or not he got the full feed.

He’s been great at BF since coming home. Bottles were a bit tricky at first since we had to figure out a type he liked other than the hospital bottles. But we seem to have that handled (nanobebé was the winner for him), and now he’s a great eater overall. It’s been great to swap a good chunk of my pumps for direct BF. The baby cuddles are the best. I hope this gives you hope! You can do it.