Not only is the critter gaining weight, but now we find that by continuing to regularly supplement breastfeeding with formula, he is actually being over fed! In the past week or so, we noticed increased farting, spitting up, and wheezing. The lactation consultant said this is acid reflux due to overfeeding. Last night I just breastfed him, rather than following up with formula, and he slept much better...not quite "through the night" yet, but pretty good.
Despite being force fed by his folks, the critter is not fatso. At 9 pounds 8 ounces he is still around the 18th percentile for both length and weight. No wonder it is difficult to find stuff that fits him; the industry is catering to that other 82 percent of babies!
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Baby talk
Some words that I use much more since becoming a mother
- fussy
- poop/poopy
- tummy (time)
- nipple (both mine and the ones for the bottles)
- boob
- nap
- onesie
- bjorn
- lactation
- mommy
- daddy
- help
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Fat critter!
Critter is finally gaining weight. He returned to his birth weight (7 lbs 11 oz) last Tuesday. That was a gain of 3 ounces in a week, which we continued pretty good. Then...this Monday he weighed in at 8 lbs 6 oz! Granted that's probably slightly overstated since he peed immediately after, but it is definitely a prominent gain. Hopefully we are now on the road to having a growing boy. Hopefully, though, we are not on the road to childhood obesity.
I'm taking 11 domperidone pills a day. As someone who usually doesn't take any pills this is a crazy lifestyle change. But it worked. My milk is in strong now. (Although we still supplement with the occasional ounce or two of formula, most of that 11 ounce growth spurt is from the mommy's milk.) I'll have to take the pills for the duration of my breastfeeding. We'll see how long that will be. I'd like to do it as long as I can, but I know that it will be hard when I return to work. We'll see what ends up working for me and my critter. For now, I'm happy for the time with my boy.
Shh. He's asleep in my lap. ;-)
I'm taking 11 domperidone pills a day. As someone who usually doesn't take any pills this is a crazy lifestyle change. But it worked. My milk is in strong now. (Although we still supplement with the occasional ounce or two of formula, most of that 11 ounce growth spurt is from the mommy's milk.) I'll have to take the pills for the duration of my breastfeeding. We'll see how long that will be. I'd like to do it as long as I can, but I know that it will be hard when I return to work. We'll see what ends up working for me and my critter. For now, I'm happy for the time with my boy.
Shh. He's asleep in my lap. ;-)
Friday, April 3, 2009
Random Mommy Thoughts
Things I've learned about motherhood in less than 4 weeks:
Being a mom means less sleep and more laundry.
Finding time to shower can be enough of an accomplishment for the day.
Days are long, but weeks are short. (I can't believe my critter is almost 4 weeks old!)
It is important to have foods that you can eat with one hand.
It's amazing how much pee and poop a little guy can generate.
Breastfeeding is hard; breastfeeding is wonderful.
Holding my baby when he is peaceful is the best reward.
Being a mom means less sleep and more laundry.
Finding time to shower can be enough of an accomplishment for the day.
Days are long, but weeks are short. (I can't believe my critter is almost 4 weeks old!)
It is important to have foods that you can eat with one hand.
It's amazing how much pee and poop a little guy can generate.
Breastfeeding is hard; breastfeeding is wonderful.
Holding my baby when he is peaceful is the best reward.
Monday, March 30, 2009
Boob Juice
Breastfeeding is the most rewarding and most challenging thing I've ever done.
When I am feeding my son and he looks up at me he truly feels like he is mine. At other times it is hard to believe that this beautiful boy is someone that my husband and I made, but when I hold him and feed him I feel so much like his mother. When he is done and contented and curls up against me it is pure bliss.
On the other hand, there is the feeling that I am always feeding. Each feeding lasts about an hour. During the day, he eats every 2-3 hours. That time is measured from the beginning of the last feeding, which means I often only have an hour before I feed him again. That is exhausting. And, of course, there is the lack of sleep from night feedings. I am told that over time the duration and frequency of feedings decreases, and I can't say that doesn't sound nice.
But we have had bigger challenges than exhaustion. Both the critter and I have struggled with the process. In the hospital, the nurses commented on how well we breastfed. This is because my son had a perfect latch (mouth position on the breast). Bad latch is a common breastfeeding problem. Unfortunately, what they didn't notice was that even though he looked like the poster boy for breastfeeding technique, he was not actually drinking deeply. At our pediatrician appointment 2 days after being discharged from the hospital he had lost more weight than babies usually do. We started working with a lactation consultant.
The lactation consultant taught me how to encourage the baby to take big gulps and taught my husband how to assist me at that. This helped...somewhat. A few days later the critter's weight was up but only by a third of an ounce. At least he wasn't losing.
I was started taking fenugreek and pumping for 10 minutes after each feeding. Still, the critter didn't gain anything by the next appointment. Or the appointment after that.
We started providing an ounce of formula after each feeding to supplement his nutrition. I also started taking a drug called domperidone to stimulate my milk production.
Taking the domperidone was a big decision for me. I was raised by a nurse and a pharmacist, and I have no problem with medicine. However, I also don't believe in taking anything unnecessarily. I have always taken that approach with my own health, but I feel even more strongly about that for my baby. That is why having a natural birth was important to me. Breastfeeding was important to me because it is the more natural option. So it was difficult for me to have to take pills in order to go the "natural" route. Still, continuing with the use of formula would likely mean my milk supply would decrease until it was gone. And I wasn't ready to give up on breastfeeding yet (for reasons see the beginning of this post).
At his last check up the critter gained 3 ounces. That met our ounce a day goal. He has another appointment tomorrow. I am hoping to see continued progress.
I know that formula feeding is not failure. I've even read the article in this month's Atlantic about how there isn't really evidence to back up the hype of "breast is best." Still, I hope I'm not just being stubborn in my commitment to breastfeeding. It is something I want to do for my baby, and I'll be sad if I have to give up on it.
When I am feeding my son and he looks up at me he truly feels like he is mine. At other times it is hard to believe that this beautiful boy is someone that my husband and I made, but when I hold him and feed him I feel so much like his mother. When he is done and contented and curls up against me it is pure bliss.
On the other hand, there is the feeling that I am always feeding. Each feeding lasts about an hour. During the day, he eats every 2-3 hours. That time is measured from the beginning of the last feeding, which means I often only have an hour before I feed him again. That is exhausting. And, of course, there is the lack of sleep from night feedings. I am told that over time the duration and frequency of feedings decreases, and I can't say that doesn't sound nice.
But we have had bigger challenges than exhaustion. Both the critter and I have struggled with the process. In the hospital, the nurses commented on how well we breastfed. This is because my son had a perfect latch (mouth position on the breast). Bad latch is a common breastfeeding problem. Unfortunately, what they didn't notice was that even though he looked like the poster boy for breastfeeding technique, he was not actually drinking deeply. At our pediatrician appointment 2 days after being discharged from the hospital he had lost more weight than babies usually do. We started working with a lactation consultant.
The lactation consultant taught me how to encourage the baby to take big gulps and taught my husband how to assist me at that. This helped...somewhat. A few days later the critter's weight was up but only by a third of an ounce. At least he wasn't losing.
I was started taking fenugreek and pumping for 10 minutes after each feeding. Still, the critter didn't gain anything by the next appointment. Or the appointment after that.
We started providing an ounce of formula after each feeding to supplement his nutrition. I also started taking a drug called domperidone to stimulate my milk production.
Taking the domperidone was a big decision for me. I was raised by a nurse and a pharmacist, and I have no problem with medicine. However, I also don't believe in taking anything unnecessarily. I have always taken that approach with my own health, but I feel even more strongly about that for my baby. That is why having a natural birth was important to me. Breastfeeding was important to me because it is the more natural option. So it was difficult for me to have to take pills in order to go the "natural" route. Still, continuing with the use of formula would likely mean my milk supply would decrease until it was gone. And I wasn't ready to give up on breastfeeding yet (for reasons see the beginning of this post).
At his last check up the critter gained 3 ounces. That met our ounce a day goal. He has another appointment tomorrow. I am hoping to see continued progress.
I know that formula feeding is not failure. I've even read the article in this month's Atlantic about how there isn't really evidence to back up the hype of "breast is best." Still, I hope I'm not just being stubborn in my commitment to breastfeeding. It is something I want to do for my baby, and I'll be sad if I have to give up on it.
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
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