Magda did not pass her 4-month checkup with flying colors. Alarmingly, she has dropped from the 10th percentile for weight to below the 3rd. It turns out I've been starving her! Words cannot express the devastation I feel to know that she was in need and I failed to provide. After lunch, I met with the lactation consultant on-staff at the pediatricians. She helped me develope a plan to get Magda's weight up. This included figuring out how much Magda is getting (about 2 ounces) at each feeding and clueing me in to how much she should be getting (about 3-4 ounces). I have also rented a breast pump to help get my volume up and succombed to the evils of formula feeding to make up the caloric difference in the short term. I'm also tracking my own diet to make sure I'm getting enough protein. Hopefully, we'll be back on track (and breastfeeding exclusively) by Magda's 5-month birthday.
Posted by jfer at February 9, 2005 11:29 PMJenny, I empathize with your sad feelings. There may be a genetic component to your milk issue. When Patrick was a baby and being nursed by our mother, he failed to gain weight. Mother took him to the doctor; he had suck-marks on his arms. The doctor told Mother that she was starving Patrick due to low butterfat in her milk supply. He was put on formula that Mother made according to a recipe. Patrick thrived. For subsequent children, Mother breast-fed only in the early days to give the babies her imunizing colostrum that is produced during the first post-partum week. I hope that you are successful in your milk production efforts.
Posted by: Leah on February 16, 2005 1:21 PM