Hi all,
My 11 month-old twins were exclusively BF for six months. Then I introduced some solids (slowly), and they really weren't in to them for months. I kept BFing, but was having major supply challenges, and their weight plateaued and then dropped. They've always been small, and my pedi was always OK with them being at the 0%,1% and 2% mark, but then my smallest dropped well below 0% and my other dropped close to 0%. I was concerned, and my pedi thought that I wasn't making enough milk. I think she was right, since I started giving them bottles of pumped milk/some formula (since I didn't pump enough) and their diapers became MUCH wetter and they started to gain weight. They've gotten a little bit better about food, but continue to take at least five bottles/day, and I keep pumping what I can.
After both losing actual ounces over a three week period, it appears that they've started to gain some. However, my doc is still concerned that they aren't growing much because they don't eat much and a GI specialist suggested that I give them all their bottles with Pediasure to make sure that they really CAN gain weight if given enough calories. She said that I shouldn't breastfeed anymore for nutrition, only for comfort.
My question is: has anyone else received this advice? It seems ridiculous to me. Can't I fortify my breastmilk with added calories so that I can give them something instead of gross Pediasure? I've asked the same question of my GI doc, and am waiting for her guidance, but I'm wondering if anyone else has dealt with this issue for such young kids. I hear lots of people being told to give Pediasure to 2 and 3 year-olds, but prescribing 20 ounces of Pediasure a day for each of my girls seems like an awful lot of gross sugary grossness for girls who are otherwise very healthy and developing just fine.
Thanks!
