Feeding your early term (37-38 week gestational age) or late preterm (35-36 week) babe is no walk in the park.

Early term and late preterm babies can be some of the most challenging newborns to feed (breast or bottle). And it seems like no one really warns ya about that or normalizes that for new moms. So we're going to go ahead and do that:

It's very normal to struggle with feeding your 34-38 weeker more than you'd expect.

1. They are really hard to feed!

You might feel exhausted by it all (tracking feeds, pumping, waking baby, positioning, trying to latch, finding your nipple shield, using a supplemental nursing system, caring for your bloody nipples and your healing body...) and you might feel like a failure (or liked you failed). We want to offer you a hug and the assurance that you are NOT failing. You and baby are learning and it's common to have a sharper learning curve compared to 39-40 week term babies.