We went for the weight check last week. Julia weighed 12.8 1/2.
WTF! OMG! What happened?! How is that possible?!
Her doctor wants me to pump and feed her 5-6 oz. in a bottle for all her feedings until the next weight check in a week. Of course, I'm devastated as usual. I hate weight check and Jai forgot and didn't get off work so I had to go alone. Usually I'm a confident, self-assured person, but the weight thing is my albatross. ANNOYING!
After some conversations with Jai, my mom, her friend, Lois (she breastfed her 3 kids), the LLL leader in my local group, and examining our daily feeding & diaper notes (I still keep them mainly because of my sleep-deprived memory loss), we determined the culprit. I have been pumping in the early a.m. because of leaking and also wanting to store milk for the future. However, I wasn't emptying the breasts so they were thinking they didn't need to make as much milk.
I created MORE of a problem!
The irony is that once I stepped back from the 6 month visit and thought about her weight, I realized it was fine. It's Julia, she gains weight in her way. I am grateful for the weight check appt. because we might not have know the impact of the pumping. However, I was getting really and literally tired of waking at 3-4-5am to pump 1-2 hours before Julia woke. I stopped and now I sleep 7-8 hours again and it's much better for everyone.
I decided that I wasn't going to pump her 6 feedings. That's not breastfeeding. I understand the doctor's reasoning. She wants to be able to measure what Julia is drinking and see if she gains weight in a week. You cannot do that with breastfeeding. However, I didn't want to go in that direction, even for a short amount of time. We know Julia will gain weight if we give her milk in a bottle - been there, done that. She's a champ with a bottle, too!
We bought a baby scale. You can rent one for $29/week at A Mother's Place. We got one at Target for $60. We go for well child visits every 3 months from 6, 9, 12, 15, 18 months, on and on. I will go crazier if I have to guess what she weighs in those 3 months. Also instead of measuring what's in a bottle, I can weigh Julia before and after her feedings and see how much she eats. She eats more in the morning (8 ounces) [which is what she wasn't getting for 2 weeks] and less in the evening (3-4 ounces).
AMAZING! I wish I had bought a baby scale 4 months ago. I suspect it would have saved me a ton of heartache and worry. It is worth EVERY dollar - might be best purchase yet. That and the diaper service. : )
Julia weighed 12.13 1/2 yesterday. I plan to weigh her once a week to make sure she continues to gain. We called her doctor to give them an update and cancel the weight check appt. They must love us - we are the rebel parents, doing it our way. However, Julia is healthy. That is what is important.
2 months ago
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She's obviously healthy. I wish the doctor would give you a break. They sent us to a nutritionist with Ben when he was a little over two, because his weight "flat-lined" when I quit breastfeeding. He's incredibly healthy, and I hate that I worry about his eating habits. For goodness sakes, the kid eats fresh spinach, raw okra, beets, steamed kale, etc. The nutritionist wanted me to give him SALAD DRESSING so he could dip his fresh vegetables? Bad, bad habit to start. I didn't do it.
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