Andi is a great eater. She eats a lot, pees a lot, poops a lot, sleeps a lot. You know all the things a baby is supposed to do. She is alert and will look at you and make cute baby noises. But we have been worried about her. She was born at 6 lb 3 oz. When we left the hospital she weighed 5 lb 12 oz. The Dr. said to have her weight checked the day after we left the hospital. She weighed 5 lb 12 oz. The Dr. again said to come back in a few days to get her weighed again. She weighed 5 lb 12 oz. She stayed at 5 lb 12 oz even up to her 2 week appointment. The Dr. was getting a little concerned and had me take her in to get x-rayed to make sure her heart was okay and that she didn't have any blockages. Which she didn't.
He wanted me to increase the feedings to at least every 2 hours. So we kept going in for weight checks and we started supplementing extra breast milk between feedings. We took her back in a few days later she weighed 5 lb 15 oz. Still not up to birth weight. We went again when she was 3 1/2 weeks old and she weighed 6 lbs 2 oz still not up to birth weight. At each weight check she didn't meet the goal that the Dr. wanted her to meet. I would nurse her about every 2-3 hours and then supplement milk that I had pumped. I would wake her up at night to make sure she was eating.
Then at the next weight check she weighed 6 lb 7 oz. The Dr. was pleased that she had gained weight and gone past her birth weight but he was not happy that she was now over a month old and still was barely over her birth weight. He said to keep doing what we were doing and come in 4 days. She then weighed 6 lb 9 oz. Only a 2 oz gain!! That is not considered a sufficient weigh gain. I couldn't believe it. I was doing everything I could to get her to gain weight. I was exhausted. I was emotional. I called Jeremy and was crying and upset. He didn't know what to do so he came home a little early from work and brought me flowers and cheesecake. It doesn't help the baby but it sure helped me. That night he helped with the baby so I could get some extra rest. He had been sick and hadn't been able to help much with her.
He now wanted me to start adding in extra formula between feedings. He gave me some free samples. So after each feeding I was to pump give her the extra milk and add formula to the breast milk to give her extra calories. We started doing this. She was hesitant at first to drink the milk with the formula. But she eventually would drink it. The problem was when we gave her the formula (even though it said for sensitive stomachs) she then would start crying after each feeding and be super fussy and she would sleep less at night. She was extra gassy and would arch her back and complain like she was in pain. We continued the supplementing though.
A couple of days before her weigh in she refused to take the extra bottle. I would nurse her and try to get her to take the bottle and she would cry or just let the nipple of the bottle hang in her mouth and would not suck. I wasn't sure what to do. I couldn't force her to drink it. I was hoping and praying that at the next weigh in she would have gained weight. The new goal was 6 lb 12.5 oz. The Dr. was trying to have a realistic goal.
I took her to the Dr. on the 14th of February. I was dreading getting her weighed. I didn't know what else we could do to help her. I didn't want to stop nursing but if she didn't gain weight I didn't know if nursing would continue to be an option. We put her on the scale and at first I thought the scale said 6 lb 6 oz. I was feeling so frustrated and then the nurse says, "That is a good weight." I took another look and it said 7 lb 6 oz.! She had gained 13 oz in one week. We hadn't ever had sufficient growth until now! My frustration turned to elation.
The Dr. was pleased but he still wants me to keep supplementing so that we can sustain this type of weight gain. She is still only in the 3rd percentile for weight for her age. I will continue to offer her the bottle between feedings but she seems to only take the bottles that don't have formula added to them. I hope we are at the point where she doesn't need the formula and the nursing and extra breast milk will be enough. I will take her back in for her 2 month check up in 2 weeks.
But if you look at her, she is getting chubby cheeks and little bit of fat her legs and arms. She no longer looks like she has chicken legs. The other good news is, so far she has not been sick at all! We have been extra cautious with her. We haven't taken her anywhere but to the Dr. office. We have been very vigilant with hand washing and hand sanitizer. When Jere was sick her wore a mask to not get her sick. The Dr. told us that the flu and RSV are really bad this year and small babies are more susceptible to getting these things. He said any fever or cold like symptoms that I would need to bring her in immediately! Thankfully we haven't had to worry about that yet. At the last weigh in the Dr. reminded me to continue to keep her secluded to help keep her healthly.
My Maternity leave is now officially over but I am taking an extra 2 weeks using my personal days to stay home with her and to keep her away from others a little while longer.
*(We have been seeing 2 Doctors. Dr. Foster and Dr. Edwards. Both are good Doctors. I am thankful the Dr. office is just 5 minutes from my house. It makes going in a little bit easier.)
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