I took Aspen to the doctor today to have her jaundice levels checked again. She is still yellow, especially the whites of her eyes. I thought she looked fine, but on Friday the LC thought she looked pretty yellow and suggested I take her in. I waited until today to see if things improved, and I didn't notice any changes so I took her in as a precaution just to make sure. Her bili levels were still up, but not enough to warrant having light therapy, so that was good news. Poor girl did NOT like having her foot pricked though!
BUT...the doctor is concerned that Aspen isn't gaining weight like she should be. Since she was 3 days old she has only gained 4 ounces and she is now two and a half weeks old. She is back at her birth weight of 7 lbs 3 oz, but just barely. The thing is though, she eats ALL the time. I let her eat whenever she wants, and if it's been longer than 3 hours I wake her up and feed her. But the pedi wants me to supplement her with formula for the next couple days and then bring her in for a weight check on Friday. He wants me to feed her for 20 minutes on each breast then offer an ounce of formula after that. I really really don't want to give her formula. I wasn't even planning on giving her a bottle for a while. He said I could pump for her and then offer that after I get done bf'ing, but I'm not sure she would even take it then. She usually takes about 30-40 minutes to eat and then she's done.
So I need advice, what would you do? Would you supplement with formula after bf'ing or just offer some pumped milk only? I just don't really see the need for the formula if I'm willing to bf her and then try to top her off with pumped breast milk, ya know? Now I'm worried that I'm not making enough milk for her which makes me SOOOOO nervous because that was one of the issues I had when I was pumping for Max. She does seem to eat all the time and seems content, so I just don't know.
Do you think his (the pedi's) concerns are actually legit? I wasn't concerned at all about her weight and the actual visit was just to check her jaundice levels. So now I have to worry about this!
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2 comments:
Brandi,
IMO, it sounds like you are doing everything right. I would say keep doing what you are doing and instead of doing the formula thing just try pumping after she is finished eating. Do you think she is getting your hind milk or could she be filling up on fore milk?? How do her dirty diapers look? Maybe try pumping after she nurses and see if she is even interested in talking a pumped breast milk bottle. I would think that if she is back up to her birth weight, you are feeding on demand, and she is having good wet and dirty diapers that everything should be okay. However, I've never had a jaundice baby and I am by no means a doc, but I would try that before supplementing with formula.
I spent last weekend with friends who have a 9 month old, and then part of the Sunday having a BBQ with two sets of their friends (one set having a 3 month old, the other having a 7 week old).
The mother of the 7 week old said at her last visit to the doctors, she'd been told her baby was "failing to thrive", as he had not put on much weight - now what kind of a doctor/nurse tells a new (FIRST TIME!) mother that?!? Turns out the baby had been having bad reflux and so despite eating, was not keeping the weight on. Now they are giving him Gaviscon (like adults take for heartburn), and it's helping - he's now putting weight on.
I'm sure that if you asked your doctor/nurse, they would know if there was something wrong, and how to deal with it. She has two parents and an older brother who adore her, so she's certainly going to have all the care she needs - she's looking fantastic, judging from the photos! And 1 month already? Where's the time gone?!?
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