we finally busted our stroller out of storage and put it to good use today. we also suited the boy up in his gap suit... for the first, and quite possibly the last, time. we cannot believe how fast he is growing! he never seems satiated. today c's aunt fed him from a bottle- 5 oz down and he could have taken in more. lastnight he was up every two hours hysterically wanting to be fed. when c spoke to the lactation consultant last week, she said that we should be able to get by with c having two 2 oz bottles for eight hours. ha, we say! a few weeks ago, his dr. said that we may want to toss around the idea of starting him on cereal. we just feel he is too young, too little, yet. but we also want him to be satisifed. obviously he is growing by leaps and bounds, so he must be getting enough... it just doesn't seem to tide him over well. mayhaps he is just going though (another) growth spurt. i guess we shall research the whole, 'how to make sure your kid is getting enough to eat' thing...
Journey To Om: the adventures of two mommies, one sweet little boy, darling twin girls, a cockapoo and a double doodle...
Saturday, March 28, 2009
strollin' along
we finally busted our stroller out of storage and put it to good use today. we also suited the boy up in his gap suit... for the first, and quite possibly the last, time. we cannot believe how fast he is growing! he never seems satiated. today c's aunt fed him from a bottle- 5 oz down and he could have taken in more. lastnight he was up every two hours hysterically wanting to be fed. when c spoke to the lactation consultant last week, she said that we should be able to get by with c having two 2 oz bottles for eight hours. ha, we say! a few weeks ago, his dr. said that we may want to toss around the idea of starting him on cereal. we just feel he is too young, too little, yet. but we also want him to be satisifed. obviously he is growing by leaps and bounds, so he must be getting enough... it just doesn't seem to tide him over well. mayhaps he is just going though (another) growth spurt. i guess we shall research the whole, 'how to make sure your kid is getting enough to eat' thing...
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haha, my mom had me on cereal at three weeks. When you gotta eat, you gotta eat! (thats my boy!)
ReplyDeleteWarning: Completely unsolicited assvice ahead. Procede with caution.
ReplyDelete-------------
What I was told, over and over, when I've started fretting about Peeper, is that if the baby is peeing, pooping and growing, it means that it's getting enough to eat, and "hungry all the time" is normal.
Four hours is a really long stretch for a breastfed baby to go between meals; I'm very surprised a lactation consultant told you that!
(I think I understood from what I read that he's breastfeeding and also getting expressed breastmilk. Am I correct?)
No matter how it's delivered, breast milk goes straight through them, because it's so easily digestible, so he should be eating at least 8 - 12 times a day.
If he's giving you a longish stretch of sleep at night, that means that he's going to cram those 8 - 12 feedings into his awake hours, possibly putting them closer together than 2 - 3 hours.
If I'm correct that you are breastfeeding, I would strongly recommend contact your local La Leche League leader with any questions that you have. (http://www.llli.org/WebUS.html)
They are trained to answer questions and provide support with really any breastfeeding-related (or not-so related) questions or concerns you may have.
(And are much more knowlegable about breastfeeding than the average pediatrician)
Other good online sources of breastfeeding info:
http://www.kellymom.com
http://www.drjacknewman.com
As far as the cereal goes, the American Academy of Pediatrician's recommends that babies have nothing but breast milk until 6 months, and for those who are formula-fed, they still recommend starting solids no earlier than 4 months.
I'm really surprised to hear your pediatrician talking about cereal already!
(Most of us who are now adults were started on solids very, very young, but the current science indicates that waiting until 6 months allows the digestive system to mature and the gut to be much less permeable, making it less likely that the baby will have an allergic reaction to the new foods.)
Some good solid-food info:
http://www.askdrsears.com/html/3/T032000.asp
we agree w/you! we were also confused when our dr. brought up the cereal thing... and we researched it and it said exactly what you just said! the lactation consultant is a member of la leche and she was very surprised at how much he is eating (he only eats breast milk, both directly from the source and from the bottle- that's how we know that he is downing more than 5 oz at a time). c is concerned because at this time, she is only pumping, on the average, 8 oz per day, and we use that up during our nightly feedings (she wants to have some frozen for when she goes back to work)... the l.c. assured us that as his demand increases, so will her supply, but his demand is through the roof and her supply is not where she wants it to be. ty for the info. :-) btw, we are so happy that peeper is doing so exceptionally well... her pics make us smile (and sometimes for real lol)...
ReplyDelete5 oz does sound like a lot at once! When Peeper started nursing @ 6 weeks, she was taking about 2 oz at a time by bottle. (But was a good bit smaller than him.)
ReplyDeleteSome suggestions that I was giving for inceasing milk supply were fenugreek (available in a capsule) and mother's milk tea (not tea-like at all - seemed more like it should be seasoning chicken broth).
And, of course, lots of nursing and/or pumping.
:-)
Best of luck!!!
And, thanks re Peeper. We're very relieved that she's recovering so quickly!
. . . but, of course, I'm sure she's already told you all that. Sorry.
ReplyDeletelol, yes, she has been drinking the mother's milk tea, and i believe the l.c. mentioned the fenugreek last week... thank you sooo much for the ideas :-)
ReplyDeleteI am currently going through a "dry" spell. It seems whenever the wee little laddie has a growth spurt it takes me a little bit to catch up. While I'm at work he typically has 3 5oz. bottles; and then when I'm home I demand feed so I couldn't really tell you how much he gets. Usually I have no trouble pumping these 15oz. while at work, however lately it has been a struggle. This also happened with Dillon. Eventually though my body kicks into gear and no problems anymore. I usually try up my calorie intake and my water to help boost my milk supply. And I pump more at work (when I'm a flowing good, I only pump twice...lately I've been pumping three times). My boys were both big (always in the 95th or higher percentile( and I never got worried about them not getting enough to eat. Dillon did not start cereal until he was 7 months old and then we introduced everything slowly. We plan to do the same for Logan.
ReplyDeletewell, after discussing and researching, we nixed the idea of starting him on cereal... c goes back to work in 2 weeks, so she is trying to pump and freeze enough to get us through the day (i'll take him to see her at lunch). she will also pump at work. we almost decided to supplement w/formula, but we don't really want to, so we are going to see how much she can pump these next 2 weeks or so. we also read that he may be going through a growth spurt, and therefore is crazy eating more than usual... hopefully it won't last too much longer. poor guy makes us feel awful when he is screaming his little head off! she has taken to feeding him all night, rather than me taking 2 of the shifts so that we don't use up the precious golden nectar :-) but i feel badly for her because he for real is eating about every hour and a half... the little piglet ;-)
ReplyDeleteThat's great that you'll be able to take him by at lunch time. I'm sure that will make going back to work much easier, in so many ways!
ReplyDeleteditto everything said here about cereal before 6 months and c's body likely catching up to r's milk needs. putting him to breast as often as possible is the best way to increase supply. and these growth phases don't last forever. (thank goodness, it does get easier.)
ReplyDeletethe only tip i have that hasn't been mentioned it to try to put him to breast at the *first* signs of hunger, rather than the later phases. if he's like most babies, harder for him to get back to feeling contented after he's worked himself up into a full cry than when he's picked up at the rooting, mouthing, hands in mouth, clenched fists stages.
also, just a note about milk production. we tend to think that breasts work like vessels. they fill with milk, baby empties them, they refill. but actually a large amount of the milk baby takes per feed is made during that feed. (see research by peter hartmann and donna geddes or donna ramsey (she married)) for more info about variability of storage capacity and variability b/w women, b/w breasts, and b/w times of day.)
beautiful boy, keep up the good "work" ;)