so upset - 1 month ped. appt. yesterday

DD only gained 4 ounces. Doc said she's prob starving. I was bf'ing and had just starting giving her a bedtime formula supplement because i couldn't keep up with her constant need for food and wanted her to sleep a little longer than 2 hours overnight. Anyway, doc now wants us to nurse her for 10 mins ONLY on each side and then to offer her 2-3 oz of formula after every feeding. Doc also changed her to Similac Alimentum (hypoallergenic). We told her how DD spits up after every meal.

Doc said it could be food allergy/sensitive digestive system. I know its not reflux because the baby doesn't cry or have other symptoms of it. I was bawling in doc office and felt like such a bad mommy - like i was starving my baby ((

She did well at her 1 week appt. and had gained 2 oz above her birth weight but now she's only gained 4 oz in a month bringing her to 7lbs 5oz. Does anyone have any advice???

She is EXTREMELY stubborn to burp and when she does burp - she spits up with the burp or if she passes gas but she has good dirty diapers etc.... Doc said it could be my milk too but she doesn't think so. I showed her one of my pumped bottles. i'm at a loss

Message edited 11/6/2007 7:56:49 AM.

Re: so upset - 1 month ped. appt. yesterday

Don't beat yourself up. It is hard sometimes to see how much milk your baby is getting when you BF. Supplement with the formula like your dr. suggested and your baby will gain the weight in no time.

Re: so upset - 1 month ped. appt. yesterday

Posted by jellybean1420

Don't beat yourself up. It is hard sometimes to see how much milk your baby is getting when you BF. Supplement with the formula like your dr. suggested and your baby will gain the weight in no time.

Re: so upset - 1 month ped. appt. yesterday

You are doing a WONDERFUL job as a Mommy, don't let this get you down! We can't measure our breasts and my DD needs a bottle of formula at night also because I couldn't keep up either. Don't worry, she will gain in no time! It's great that she is hungry!!

Re: so upset - 1 month ped. appt. yesterday

i started supplementing yesterday afternoon through this a.m. and she's still spitting up. I'm SO worried now that she's not getting nourishment and something is wrong. Although she's napping in her bouncer now and seems content... The doc wants us to keep a diary of her feedings/spit ups and to call her tomorrow to let her know how she's doing. She also wants to see her again in 2 weeks. Could it be my milk?? what could be wrong with it?? i don't understand if breast milk is supposed to be so good - why is this happening?

Re: so upset - 1 month ped. appt. yesterday

Re: so upset - 1 month ped. appt. yesterday

im sorry I dont have any advice but what I do know is that I was sooo upset when my ped. recommended I supplement with formula b/c my baby didn't gain enough. I knew I wasn't "starving my baby" ... he was happy, and I fed him on demand. I ended up not doing the formula as recommended and by the next visit he had made up for the weight. I was so glad I didn't listen!! I followed my gut and all was fine. Just do what you think is best, if your baby is sleeping, content, happy, and not screaming out of hunger (which I doubt!!!) I'm sure she will be just fine...she will gain. I"m not sure about the spit up... my DS spits up a lot too but I'm not sure how much is normal, etc...

Re: so upset - 1 month ped. appt. yesterday

Don't feel discouraged by the ped. visit!

My DD is 4 months now, and at about 2 1/2 months, I had to start supplementing her feedings with formula. She also spit up what I thought might be a little more than normal, but the ped. said if she is content and on a somewhat regular schedule, then she is just fine. He implied that if cetain feedings only sustained her for an hour or so (after the spit-up) instead of the 2 1/2-3 hours I usually got from her, then there might be a problem.

Just keep being a great mommy, relax, and enjoy your new addition!!

Re: so upset - 1 month ped. appt. yesterday

Would you consider pumping so you know exactly how much BM she is getting?

Re: so upset - 1 month ped. appt. yesterday

Posted by Karen

Would you consider pumping so you know exactly how much BM she is getting?

Re: so upset - 1 month ped. appt. yesterday

Posted by Karen

Would you consider pumping so you know exactly how much BM she is getting?

Re: so upset - 1 month ped. appt. yesterday

Posted by Bklyngrl

Posted by Karen

Would you consider pumping so you know exactly how much BM she is getting?

see that's the thing too... i do pump and usually had DH giver her a nighttime bottle of pumped BM so we do know she was getting 2-3 oz at those feedings as suggested. Maybe we should have been giving her more than 2-3oz of pumped milk? Ped did say we can give her the pumped milk 3-4 oz and then to offer her the formula too. I need her to nurse though so that i can maintain my supply.

Re: so upset - 1 month ped. appt. yesterday

Have you considered seeing an LC? She can evaluate what's going and help you find a solution. She'll observe you BFing, check the baby's latch, weigh the baby to see how much your DD is getting, etc... Supplementing with formula could possibly be putting a patch on the problem.

I met with a LC that is also a pediatrician when I was first starting out and she was tremendously helpful. Insurance even covered the home visit. (I only paid $50 for the home visit.) Unfortunately, she in on maternity leave right now, so I cannot pass her information along. But I remember someone else posting on here that they saw someone with similar cridentials. So maybe if you do a post or a search...

I am sorry that you are going through this and I hope everything works out

Re: so upset - 1 month ped. appt. yesterday

so i just nursed her 10 mins on each breast but could NOT get a burp from her in between. she spit up a tiny bit after the first 10 mins and then quite a bit after the 2nd half. now im giving her a few mins (shes dozing) before formula supplement. now shes fussy

Re: so upset - 1 month ped. appt. yesterday

Posted by Bklyngrl

so i just nursed her 10 mins on each breast but could NOT get a burp from her in between. she spit up a tiny bit after the first 10 mins and then quite a bit after the 2nd half. now im giving her a few mins (shes dozing) before formula supplement. now shes fussy

Re: so upset - 1 month ped. appt. yesterday

One way to figure out exactly how much she is getting while nursing would be to buy a baby scale (you can get one at BRU). Weigh her before you nurse, then again after you nurse. My LC did this for me when I was worried about how much DD was getting.

Please don't beat yourself up- you're doing a fantastic job!

Re: so upset - 1 month ped. appt. yesterday

OK, my advice can be way off here, but why not just feed her until she is content? If she is finishing the 2-3 oz, then I'd say she's still hungry and try to give her more. That doesn't sound like much to me.

Please don't beat yourself up. We are all new at this and none of us know everything

Re: so upset - 1 month ped. appt. yesterday

You are doing a great job!

Sometimes babies gain more weight than other times. I wouldn't limit baby to only 10 minutes. I would actually feed MORE. It's about supply and demand. Make sure to pump after feeding formula too or your supply will go to the toilet.

We had a smaller weight gain once and baby was due for a meal, he just pooped and peed. The next week I made sure he was fed and sure enough he gained a lot! A few ounces of milk is a few ounces of weight!

Re: so upset - 1 month ped. appt. yesterday

Please don't beat yourself up over this. You are doing your very best and this will all work out. You have to be positive so that it all comes together. (The magic of mommy)

I have some suggestions....
Nurse your daughter but also continue pumping as well. When she finishes nursing, give her a BM bottle to see how much more she takes.

When she finishes eating...sit her upright, gently rub her back and after a few minutes then try to actually burp her. See if this helps the spit up.

When bottle feeding...try to sit her in more of an upright position.

Re: so upset - 1 month ped. appt. yesterday

I saw once on TV where the lactation consultant weighed the baby before feeding and after...that way she knew exactly how much the baby had eaten...Perhaps you could get a scale (buy or rent)??? Maybe that would ease your mind a bit...

Im sorry I dont have more advice b/c I dont breastfeed...Im sure though that you are doing a wonderful job!

Re: so upset - 1 month ped. appt. yesterday

first, many hugs for yesterday's appt. you are not starving your child and you're not a terrible mommy. try not to get too hung up on ounces of weight and ounces of breast milk.

i really, really recommend you go to a lactation consultant pronto. i totally disagree with any advice to limit bfing to 10 minutes. like a previous poster, i had a ped. tell me to limit bfing and supplement with formula. i trusted my gut AND all the literature i read and knew that limiting the time on the breast would actually be worse for my supply. emotions, exhaustion and just simply wanting the best for your baby will cause any mom to feel terrible and mixed up, and this may cloud your judgment at times when a doctor is telling us one thing, but we are not so sure about it. there are things you could do with a lactation consultant to supplement and/or to have more productive nursing, without taking your baby from the breast.

if you still want to bf, please educate yourself about it as much as you can. the la leche league is a wonderful resource as well as the kellymom website. la leche publishes a book called, the womanly art of breastfeeding-it is my bible.

it is soooo hard and stressful to feel like you are solely responsible for your baby's nutrition, since you can't measure anything when they are nursing, but we have to trust nature and allow our body to do what it is suppose to do. the only way to do that is to nurse on demand and let your baby dictate things, not a doctor.

good luck and please don't feel like a terrible mommy, you are a loving and sensitive mom or else you wouldn't be so worried about this.

Re: so upset - 1 month ped. appt. yesterday

Posted by DanaRenee

Posted by Bklyngrl

so i just nursed her 10 mins on each breast but could NOT get a burp from her in between. she spit up a tiny bit after the first 10 mins and then quite a bit after the 2nd half. now im giving her a few mins (shes dozing) before formula supplement. now shes fussy

when you EBF, how often does she want it?

Message edited 11/6/2007 12:58:15 PM.

Re: so upset - 1 month ped. appt. yesterday

Did the dr suggest mylicon drops? My dc was spitting up all the time when burping and the mylicon drops reduced it.

Re: so upset - 1 month ped. appt. yesterday

What if you combine nursing with feeding her BM bottles that way you can keep track of how much she is eating. For ex. if she eats 6 times a day - maybe nurse her 3 times and give her 3 bottles. It will be a pain to do this because you will have to nurse and pump but, hopefully it will only be temporary. Also, I'm not sure I would nurse and then immediately give her a bottle to supplement - my ped said never to do this because the baby b/c conditioned to knowing she will get the easier to eat bottle and thus not really nurse enough...setting you up for a difficult time going forward.

I hope this helps a little I know how frustrating BF can be. Also, my DS spits up sooooo much all the time and is still gaining weight like a champ (went from 6lbs 12oz at birth to 11lbs 30z at 8 wks). So spitting up might not be the problem. But, its natural to worry that there is something wrong with your BM when you see all that spit up - I know I always do.

Good luck!

Re: so upset - 1 month ped. appt. yesterday

first of all,

you are a GREAT mommy!!! don't let anyone tell you otherwise. you are doing your very best, as we all are. but motherhood is a learning process, and we all hit bumps in the road along the way.

i wish i had more advice/suggestions for you, but i feel like i am in the same boat - trying to figure all of this out and struggling with uncertainty about how much bm ds is getting...

one thing that has been helping me is pumping after every feeding and then offering whatever i pump to ds. it's a way to "supplement" without using formula.