Re the baby of the NP: Sounds like the pediatrician is worried and wants to
be able to quantify everything the baby takes. Given the development, and the
description of the baby as tracking along the curve (as opposed to suddenly
failing to gain), I'm not sure why the acute worry. Is the baby's head
circumference growing fine? I'm at a loss for why the pediatrician would
insist that formula is the supplement of choice for this baby at her age.
A good dietitian may be able to give Mom ideas of more appropriate additional
foods for a baby this age. Mom can "remind" the doc about the essential fatty
acids and cholesterol, crucial for brain growth, that she will be denying her
baby if she weans at this point. Obviously Mom can decide to nurse this baby
forever, whatever the pediatrician says. To be the devil's advocate, I'm
suspect the pediatrician is worried about the baby and wants to do the best
thing, but doesn't have a clue about the actual components of breastmilk and
so is more comfortable recommending formula. When this baby has "survived"
additional months of nursing, and thrived developmentally, hopefully the doc
will feel more comfortable with breastmilk as a source of nutrition, and may
even become an advocate!
Jennifer Cox, MD, IBCLC
(who would have advised the same thing straight out of training)!

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