LC is recommending formula... please help!

[KingdomKey]

A brief overview... my son was born on the 6th of this month with pnumonia. He went into NICU, and after a few days transferred to another hospital w/ a higher level NICU because he was in critical condition. He was in right at a week I didn't hold/feed him for the 1st 4 days of his life. The new hospital was wonderful! He is, as of tonight, home 13 days. He has a mild tongue tie (I say mild because he can extend his tongue, but the frendulm (sp?) is intact).

After doing so well BF that the hospital let us leave a couple of days early, he is now having problems. He won't keep up his suck. He is loosing weight. He sleeps... a LOT! Anyone else would think I have a "perfect" baby, but he needs to wake up more, to be hungry more. I'm getting 8 wet cloth diaps in a 24 hour period, which includes 1 or 2 poops (looks normal), but he is loosing weight. He was born 8lb 13oz, left the hospital at 8lb 7oz, and is now (by the WIC scale) 8lb 4 oz.

I called a supposed certified LC with all kinds of alphabet soup after her name. The first words out of her mouth were "We need to get him on formula for right now", and then she berated me for saying I wanted to avoid formula! She actually asked me what my "issue" with formula was, and asked me if I'd starve my older children.

I bought a Comfort Touch nipple shield, but he doesn't seem to like it. It doesnt stay on very well, so that may be why.

PLEASE HELP ME! I don't want to give him formula, but I don''t want him to get weak, or worse. Right now, he looks great, and is a joy (when he's awake, that is!). I need this kid to fatten up. What do I do???

[ktbug]

Can you call a La Leche League leader?

http://www.lalecheleague.org/webindex.html

Plug your locality into that web page and they will give you phone numbers for your local leaders.

I wish I had more to tell you. I will tell you this, though - while I am absolutely in favor of breastfeeding, and I think it's the best thing for baby and mama, sometimes the baby really is starving. I don't know if that's true in your case, I have no idea, but there are rare occasions in which the baby is not getting enough to eat and needs to be supplemented temporarily.

I urge you to contact a LLL leader or a different LC - it sounds like the one you talked to has some "issues" of her own. Good luck, sweetie. Don't worry; just do what's best for your sweet new baby. And congrats on being home, getting out of NICU, and getting this far! You have options, don't worry.

[CallMeMommy]

Get a pump ASAP. Pump after every feeding and try to give him the expressed milk via dropper, spoon, or cup to avoid nipple confusion. He may just still be weak from being sick, but A. You have to get some food into that babe, and B. You need to keep your milk from drying up. Is there a different LC you can call? Is there a La Leche League in your area? This LC sounds like a waste of time.

[alegna]

Do you have a pump? If not, get one. How often is he nursing? Have you done weighs before and after feeding to see how much he's getting?

The short version is that I'd pump and supplement with that. NOT bottles though.

good luck!

-Angela

[eclipse]

It sounds like the LC is worthless. The fact that she would say that to you, over the phone, without even seeing your son, sends up huge red flags.

Would you consider having his tounge clipped? That could help.

Also, unless you are weighing him on the same scale everytime, there's no way to know if he is really losing weight. It does soound like youcould needsome help due to the sleepiness, but I would get it from a different LC. It could be that you need to supplement. It could be that you don't need to. The LC has no way of determining that after a short phone interview.

[quirkylayne]

Find a different LC, call LLL.

http://www.kellymom.com/bf/concerns/...to-breast.html

[bri276]

this is why I don't tell people who are having problems to call an LC. there are far too many out there who are like that. what a horrid woman.

anyways. the 8 wet diapers is a very good sign that he is getting enough milk to keep from being dehydrated.

about his weight- different scales can show different results. if he was weighed at 8'7 at the hospital and 8'4 by WIC, that could be a difference of the scales, not of him losing weight. My dd was in the NICU for the first 5 days, and had trouble gaining in the beginning, she was a very sleepy baby as well and every feed was a challenge.

Here's what I would do: continue to keep a VERY close eye on the diapers. There should always be at least 6 very wet diapers. Not just a little pee, it should be a good amount. Tears when crying, plenty of saliva in the mouth, no fever, all good signs.

I would prompt him to feed every two hours. I wouldn't let him sleep more than 3-4 hrs at night. (I know it's exhausting.) Just keep an eye on him and use your intuition.

IF, at any time, you felt he is not getting enough food, I would PUMP using a good quality pump, and feed using either
*syringe
*SNS
*tiny cup
*spoon
*pretty much anything that isn't a bottle. Keeping away from bottles and formula is very essential to your milk supply. If it has to happen, it has to happen- it's too early to say that, because right now I think he's doing okay with nursing, and even if he wasn't, there's nothing to say you couldn't supplement with breastmilk instead of formula. But I say this from experience, a baby weighing a few oz less from one scale to the next doesn't necessarily mean he's losing weight. And even if he was, that should turn around in the next week or so with diapers like that. Make sure they use the same exact scale next time.

good luck

[HappyGoLucky]

It sounds like you have great mommy intuition and a good head on your shoulders. (more so than that LC you talked to.) Call a LLL leader and if nothing else get a recommendation of an area LC from them. They'll know the good ones in your area.

That baby is lucky to have you as his momma!

[bri276]

you know, I was thinking about this more (can't help it, I worry about the babies I read about, lol) and I'm sure they told you in the NICU like they told me, that when you have a baby that is in any way sick or not gaining well, you don't want them working so hard for their food that they burn up as many calories as they get.

if he does indeed have a mild tongue tie, and you think it's affecting his latch, it might be a good idea to temporarily pump and use an SNS (or any other way of getting some more milk into him while nursing, even if you dripped it from a straw or syringe) on top of regular nursing. just so he gets a good flow of milk to perk him up and give him enough energy to stay awake and want to eat (isn't it a catch 22, how they need to eat to be able to have enough energy to eat?) I know that's like adding another full time job, to pump, but I wouldn't think you'd have to do it every time, even if it was a few times a day just to make sure he was getting good and full. Just a suggestion.

[bri276]

dbl post sorry

[ChristaN]

I, too, would pump and supplement with your own milk. I'm wondering if using a supplemental nursing system filled with breastmilk while you are nursing would help. It is basically a bag of milk attached to a small tube that you tape to the side of your breast so that when the baby nurses, he gets both what he can extract from you as well as more coming from the tube.

[Benji'sMom]

About SNS - they can be expensive, but I read somewhere that you can buy the parts seperately (as "replacement parts") and it's much cheaper that way. Just an idea.

Can you go get him weighed again on the hospital scale or WIC scale and compare to the previous weight from THAT particular scale?

[mary g]

Concering the SNS, I think mine (Medela) was around $40. There are 3 sizes of tubing, depending on your need. I've used mine for a year (I lack sufficient glandular tissue, so can't produce enough for my son), and when a tube breaks, you can get a replacement for about $5. I got mine through my LC.

Hang in there, and stay motivated! I know I had a hard time at first when my son lost so much weight...you are an extremely strong woman and mother!

[Ruthla]

Yes, there are times when supplementation is appropriate. However, there simply isn't enough information here to know whether or not this is one of those times. There certainly isn't ANY justification for the LC to tell you, over the phone, that you must supplement ASAP and pull a guilt trip on you.

He only "lost" 3 oz, and that's a small enough difference that it could be simply a matter of different scales. 8 wets and 2 poops a day is not in the "absolutely starving" category.

I suggest waking him more often to feed him, and having him re-checked on the WIC scale in a few days.

I see it's been 3 days since you posted this- any updates?