My 33 weeker DS is 5.5 months old (3.5 months corrected age). He's been having some medical issues and we had to see an immunologist last week.
I EP for him- between prematurity, NICU stay, tounge tie, reflux and a 3 month-long ear infection, he's never been able to nurse at the breast well. When he's feeling ok, he tries a few times a day, and I always offer. But, outside of the formula he got in the NICU (they do cultures on breast milk before they give it, so they won't give pumped BM for 72 hours!!) and 2 or 3 bottles while my supply adjusted after he came home, he's been on 100% mama's milk. I had to give him spoonfuls of pureed sweet potatoes with the worst of the antibiotics (without something heavy in his stomach, he vomited the drugs immediately), but we have not 'started solids', as, IMO, he's gestationally still too young.
He was born at 5 lbs, 0.2 oz. He lost a little over a pound last month when we were battling the infection in both ears, but he's now 15 lbs, 1 oz. Even on the unadjusted height/weight charts, he's in the 25th percentile, I think (much higher for his corrected age). He's rolly-polly and has a buddha belly.
He takes anywhere from 23-32 oz of EBM a day.
The immunologist GRILLED me about what I feed him. She asked me "what do you supplment with?" literally FIVE TIMES. I kept telling her nothing, he gets my milk. She asked if we'd started solids, I said no. "What do you supplement with?" WTH??? Then she said, "Do you feel like he's satisfied with what you give him?"
I looked down at DS and said, "Does he look like he goes hungry? He's a pig."
This has been bothering me so much. I am exhausted from working FT, exclusively pumping, and dealing with a chronically sick baby. My DH is about to accept a job offer 1500 miles from where we live, so we're about to have to pack up and move with a 6 month old. So I'm sensitive about things, especially when I put SO much energy into pumping, KWIM? I also understand that food allergies could certainly be relevant to her assessment, which is why I told her I eliminated dairy and soy (DS showed sensitivity to both). But how on earth could she look at my fat babe- who looks like a term 5 monther- and wonder if he's satisfied?
What do you all think? I have a follow up appointment on January 7th with her, and I'm seriously considering telling her that her tone was offensive (she's a solo practitioner, so I can't complain to anyone else there).
Would you have been offended? It's bad enough that my baby, who gets all that mama's milk, is sick ALL THE TIME, and I have to listen to every single person at work telling me BF is supposed to keep them from getting sick. Duh, I know. But for the immunologist to give me flack?
I EP for him- between prematurity, NICU stay, tounge tie, reflux and a 3 month-long ear infection, he's never been able to nurse at the breast well. When he's feeling ok, he tries a few times a day, and I always offer. But, outside of the formula he got in the NICU (they do cultures on breast milk before they give it, so they won't give pumped BM for 72 hours!!) and 2 or 3 bottles while my supply adjusted after he came home, he's been on 100% mama's milk. I had to give him spoonfuls of pureed sweet potatoes with the worst of the antibiotics (without something heavy in his stomach, he vomited the drugs immediately), but we have not 'started solids', as, IMO, he's gestationally still too young.
He was born at 5 lbs, 0.2 oz. He lost a little over a pound last month when we were battling the infection in both ears, but he's now 15 lbs, 1 oz. Even on the unadjusted height/weight charts, he's in the 25th percentile, I think (much higher for his corrected age). He's rolly-polly and has a buddha belly.
He takes anywhere from 23-32 oz of EBM a day.The immunologist GRILLED me about what I feed him. She asked me "what do you supplment with?" literally FIVE TIMES. I kept telling her nothing, he gets my milk. She asked if we'd started solids, I said no. "What do you supplement with?" WTH??? Then she said, "Do you feel like he's satisfied with what you give him?"
I looked down at DS and said, "Does he look like he goes hungry? He's a pig."
This has been bothering me so much. I am exhausted from working FT, exclusively pumping, and dealing with a chronically sick baby. My DH is about to accept a job offer 1500 miles from where we live, so we're about to have to pack up and move with a 6 month old. So I'm sensitive about things, especially when I put SO much energy into pumping, KWIM? I also understand that food allergies could certainly be relevant to her assessment, which is why I told her I eliminated dairy and soy (DS showed sensitivity to both). But how on earth could she look at my fat babe- who looks like a term 5 monther- and wonder if he's satisfied?
What do you all think? I have a follow up appointment on January 7th with her, and I'm seriously considering telling her that her tone was offensive (she's a solo practitioner, so I can't complain to anyone else there).
Would you have been offended? It's bad enough that my baby, who gets all that mama's milk, is sick ALL THE TIME, and I have to listen to every single person at work telling me BF is supposed to keep them from getting sick. Duh, I know. But for the immunologist to give me flack?
If I were you, I WOULD be offended and would tell the doctor. However, I would also use it as an opportunity for education. I'm giving her the benefit of the doubt here and assuming her opinions come from lack of knowledge. Enlighten her! 
for being able to pump enough to feed him. I pumped for a couple of weeks (bad advice from a ped and an OB regarding tongue tie, low weight gain and nipple damage). I had to supplement because I couldn't satisfy DD (it all worked out in the end after finding a good doctor who fixed the tongue tie and she is a bfing toddler now). Pumping all the time is a pain, and kudos to you for doing that for your child.
: 
: They insisted we use a milk fortifier (glorified term for formula dumped in my breastmilk) but I absolutely refused. Instead I pumped hindmilk, which they sent to the lab to get tested. Turns out it had 30 cal per ounce which is 3 more than the fortifier would have given her. She STILL was having trouble gaining. But they determined that she was stable enough to send home. As soon as she got home, she was gaining weight like crazy and I was even able to just pump regularly, instead of doing hindmilk. They WOULD NOT listen to me. My milk was JUST FINE. The problem was not the milk! What she needed was to be in an environment where she could really rest and heal. Not where the nurses were practically starving her. She was there for 7 1/2 weeks and it was just hell. They were so brain-washed, they actually didn't believe that breastmilk was adequate nutrition. They pushed fortifier, vitamins, the whole nine yards. Every preemie in there was on neosure even if the moms were pumping. They just supplemented the formula with breastmilk. 
A lot of us at work talk about how it would be nice to have WIC require a prescription for all formulas, but that will never happen. And one of the nutritionists said that sadly the docs would just write for whatever formula the mom asked for.
