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Hello there. I also gave birth to a preemie, a 31-weeker. Her stay at the NICU really also deprived me from bonding with her because of all the contraptions. Aside from that, the NICU only fed her every 3 hours. It was really difficult at first, but then I was encouraged to pump milk for her. Yes, very challenging, but I did everything because I knew very well that my preemie needs b___stmilk (I am a b___stfeeding advocate) so she can grow faster. And it is no doubt that b___stmilk is way healthier than any other formula or supplement. That increased my milk supply. When she was roomed in with me, I had the same problems. She wouldn't latch on properly because maybe she had gotten so used to the dropper. But I didn't lose hope. I kept on trying and trying. I was sometimes tempted to just feed her with a dropper but then that will just make things worse because she will never learn to latch if I did that. Oftentimes she would cry and cry because she was so hungry already but she didn't want to latch. But then I just kept on trying. I would tickle her cheeks (the sides of her mouth) and then express a little milk from my b___sts so she can smell and taste the milk. It wasn't effective during the first times, but eventually, she got used to it. Now she is 5 1/2 months old and she's perfectly healthy! She's so chubby now and I am still b___stfeeding her. Just don't give up. Keep on trying; you just have to be really patient with your baby this time because you will soon reap the rewards. Remember, if you give her formula, even just a little, that will decrease your milk supply. So if you want what's best for your little preemie, be patient with him. Mommies need to sacrifice a lot of times. :)