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So, Little Miss is still being very high maintenance! She is having trouble gaining weight. The good thing is that she is gaining, but very S-L-O-W-L-Y! At her 3 week checkup she weighed 7 lbs 12.6 oz. At 2 weeks old, a newborn is supposed to be back to their birth weight. She weighed a whopping 8 lbs 2 oz at birth. We think she was just watching her girlish figure, but the doc disagreed.
So, on Good Friday I picked up a scale from the lactation center. We were to weigh her to see how much milk she was getting with each feed. This consisted of weighing her before feeding, feeding, and then weighing after feeding. I kept a log and had an appt on Monday with the LC (lactation consultant).
I really liked her. She came to the conclusion that Clarke's metabolism was immature. She put me on a pretty intense schedule. Breast feed every 2-3 hours, followed by a 1 oz bottle of pumped milk, then pump for 15 minutes. Very, very, very time consuming. This process can take up to 1 1/2 hours!! So, Clarke weighed 7 lbs 15 oz on Monday. Tuesday, 8lbs. Wednesday, 8 lbs 1 oz. Today (thurs), 8 lbs 3.1 oz!!!!!
All of my hard work, and hers too, with no sleep is paying off!!!! We report her weight to the LC tomorrow am. Our 1 month checkup with Dr. Dorsey is on Monday.
By the way, weight gain in a neonate is supposed to be 1/2 to 1 oz a day!! Can't believe we are hitting 2 oz a day! And these are nude weights prior to feeds!
My next question....how long will I have to continue all this work?
Oh yeah, she also highly suggested (they can't prescribe, esp since herbals aren't approved) that I take fenugreek supplements. It's an herb that increases your milk production. The major side effect is smelling like maple syrup....and we do!! At least it's not garlic!!! I have also had some stomach aches from the supplement, but I can do almost ANYTHING to fatten this girl up!!
Not to mention all of the other extra work this creates...More bottles to wash, more clothes/blankets to wash (due to all of the spitting up!), and more 3 year old messes to clean up b/c I can't pay him much attention!!
So if you have wondered where we have been lately........ITS FEEDING, FEEDING, FEEDING!!
4 comments:
Wow, I know that has to be hard. Glad she is gaining weight though. Hang in there.
Yay for the weight gain! I remember the fenugreek maple syrup smell, I tried those with Graham, weird, but better than garlic or fish smell.
I also did the scales for feeding with Luke, not because we needed to, just because I was curious. I remember he could get 6-8 oz in less than 10 minutes of nursing, yet if I was pumping, I could only get like 1-2 oz. :(
Hopefully the dr. will be happy with her progress and you won't have to feel like a milking machine for too much longer. :)
My youngest daughter, who is almost 13 now, was always very small for her age...weight wise. She did not have an ounce of baby fat and was always below the curve on the weight chart at the doctor's office. The doctor wanted to do all these tests on her, but I wouldn't let them. She is now taller than me, but still a skinny little rail. Her 15 year old sister was the complete opposite. It will all work out!
aw carey! hang in there. sounds like you're doing a great job!! she's TOOOOOO cute!!!!
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