leon left the hospital at 6lbs, 4oz. he was diagnosed with mild jaundice, and the pediatrician told me to supplement his feeding with pumped breastmilk or formula. she said it so casually, without even asking me if i had any concerns about introducing a bottle so early on. i was incensed. she told us to buy an electric pump (expensive!) but that it wouldn't be covered by our insurance since it wasn't 'medically necessary.' i used a hand pump, but leon wasn't interested in the bottle. the next day we returned to the pediatrician. he had gained 4oz. in one day. she was shocked when i told her that it was all from nursing. she then said, 'well, in that case, you don't need to pump.' and that was it. i felt so annoyed because agreeing to use a bottle was a big deal for me. i'm just happy that my boy is gaining weight. we've been having some latching issues, but it's getting better, and clearly he hasn't had any problems getting the nutrition he needs. he's still tiny, but i've no doubt he's going to be a roly-poly in no time.
Friday, March 6, 2009
chunky express
leon left the hospital at 6lbs, 4oz. he was diagnosed with mild jaundice, and the pediatrician told me to supplement his feeding with pumped breastmilk or formula. she said it so casually, without even asking me if i had any concerns about introducing a bottle so early on. i was incensed. she told us to buy an electric pump (expensive!) but that it wouldn't be covered by our insurance since it wasn't 'medically necessary.' i used a hand pump, but leon wasn't interested in the bottle. the next day we returned to the pediatrician. he had gained 4oz. in one day. she was shocked when i told her that it was all from nursing. she then said, 'well, in that case, you don't need to pump.' and that was it. i felt so annoyed because agreeing to use a bottle was a big deal for me. i'm just happy that my boy is gaining weight. we've been having some latching issues, but it's getting better, and clearly he hasn't had any problems getting the nutrition he needs. he's still tiny, but i've no doubt he's going to be a roly-poly in no time.
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3 comments:
Lucy was put on top-ups the same day she was born, how ridiculous is that?! Your milk hasn't even come in by then. It took me three whole months, plus the hiring of a hospital grade pump, to get her back to being exclusively breastfed. A tiring, awful experience. It's very frustrating how some midwifes and specialists push suplementary feeding without giving things a chance.
For the record, Lucy was 5 lbs 12 oz at birth, lost close to 10% of that weight, and took three weeks just to get back to her birth weight. She was in the bottom 5% for growth then. She's now in the top 5-10% (I am still amazed). If growth is trending upwards (in whatever increments) and your baby is content surely that's what is important.
i give you major props for being so steadfast about exclusively nursing. What an idiotic doctor. Your babe will be fine, and it sounds like you are doing a fantastic job.
that pediatrician is on my black list now. we're doing our best to schedule his appointments with someone else, even though she kept urging us to schedule with her. i suspect she doesn't have many patients...
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