Hi all -- and welcome back to all the Lactnetters that have been part of the
jet set to Mexico!

I just got home from my annual trek to PA to the family cabin, and last night
was reading through the assorted newspapers that had accumulated.  Just HAD
to share this column w/ you.  It is written by a mom I know personally AND
professionally, and was titled:  "Mothers almost always know best...."  I
won't type out the entire thing -- just the important salient points...It's
in reference to her first baby (I didn't know her then).

"...But something was wrong.  The baby wasn't gaining weight.  At his
one0month checkup, he was barely at his birth weight.  At two months he was
only up a pound, and the doctor dubbed him a "slow gainer."  The term sounded
ominous and foreign to me, more fit as a name for a wrestling move than as a
way to describe my baby.

I pumped.  I supplemented his feedings with bottles.  I woke the baby in the
night to feed him.

A lactation consultant at the hospital told me over the phone to eat a diet
high in fat to increase the calories in my milk.  [NOTE from Jan --
ARGHHHHHHH!].  I ate peanut butter cookies, guacamole and Ben & Jerry's ice
cream.

Nothing seemed to help....."

(snip)

"...when he was about 2 months old, after studying all the baby books I could
get my hands on, I decided the only explanation for his failure to gain
weight was that he was tongue-tied.

I called my baby's doctor who confirmed that the baby was tongue-tied, but
who had hoped the problem would work itself out.  [NOTE from Jan --
ARGHHHHHHHH the second].

I quickly switched pediatricians [NOTE:  YEAHHHHH!] to a doctor who would cut
the tissue.   In one quick snip he clipped the frenulum and touched the spot
with a styptic pencil.  It was all solved in less than a minute.  The baby
fattened up quickly.  Months passed.  I slept more.  I loved taking him out,
hearing strangers compliment his deep dimples and infectious smile....."

There's more about the parenting part, but I thought this was terrific!
Right in the Wheaton Sun -- here's hoping other moms will read it and take
heed....

Jan Barger, home in Wheaton
www.lactationeducationconsultants.com

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