Sam was born at 36 weeks, and really didn't have much of a suck at first. He had some good days and some bad days, but always seemed to be somewhat uncoordinated.
We were told by the hospital that we would be allowed to take him home when he was coping with all suck feeds and was gaining weight. So he had to do 24 hours of suck feeds only and had to be gaining (and the gain that got us to go home was something like 20g). It didn't matter whether those suck feeds were breast or bottle, but ultimately, the bottle will get them home faster.
As for it preventing you from breastfeeding down the track... Well, my experience wasn't so great, but then I was also unable to pump more than 2mL in one session. No, I didn't leave out a zero or two! That was all I could get. But I have another friend who had a 36 week bub who came home on EBM in a bottle and when he was six weeks old she managed to get him fully on the breast.
It's difficult to say what impact it will have on your future ability to breastfeed, but the bottle will get them home faster. It may not be the best option for long term breastfeeding, however. It's still early days. We've had three 36 week prems at church and they have all come home on day 10/11 and they can be very different from day to day.
The bottle MAY get you home faster but there is no garauntee with this. To me, they sound like they are acting exactly like their gestational age. The suck reflex starts to come in between 32 - 36 weeks gestation, and the ability to co-ordinate sucking, swallowing and breathing comes towards the end of it. Some babies learn it quickly, some not so fast. Is there anyone in the nursery that can sit and watch you feed? Sometimes prems just need a slightly different way of attaching.
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