Jacqui wrote:

> this post prompted me to want to update on our very similar  
> situation - i  am
> so glad i rented the scale and so grateful for the suggestion!
>
> i test weighed pre and post feed at every nursing session starting  
> the day
> before yesterday. the scale (a medela) showed me that several of  
> elijah's feeds
>  yielded him 3 oz (these were the 25-35 min ones - 5 of them,  
> according to my
>  documentation) and the rest were all 2-2.5 oz.
>
> i knew all along the milk was there and i knew he had no problem
> transferring it - he was just sleeping too much and not taking it  
> in often  enough and i
> am also thinking maybe the allergy/bleeding issue was interfering  w/
> digestion and he was pooping more of it out than he should have  
> been. he was  5lbs, 4
> oz the day before yesterday and went to bed yesterday at 5.6 oz.
>
> pumping and doing a bottle would have been an incredible hassle  
> for   me  -
> w/ 5 kids aged 7 and under. the fact of the matter is i hardly  
> even  sit down
> to nurse him as it is! i am usually walking around w/ him in  
> football  hold, a
> sling or a wrap, helping a toddler on and off the toilet, picking  
> up a  mess,
> standing over grade schoolers doing homework while i  check  
> dinner...  it
> would completely stress me out to have to fit in pumpings,  
> bottlefeedings and
> cleaning bottles on top of it! and if someone told me i had to give  
> him formula,
> i would be absolutely devastated and fearful. i'd be afraid to try  
> formula w/
>  this blood in the stool thing and after exclusively bfing (tandem and
> triandem  for over 6 yrs) all the others, i would feel i had failed  
> elijah and would
> be  very depressed about it.
>
> anyway, just wanted to offer a peek into the other side  - why  
> moms  might
> seem resistant...  tho in my case i think i have the advantage of   
> being a
> little more experienced and informed than most. in other cases i  
> think  moms know
> and have felt the pressure that bfing is best and honestly just  
> want  to do the
> best for their babies. i'm so glad we have tools like accurate  
> scales  and if
> my scale had told me he truly wasn't getting enough milk (an   
> impossibility
> in my mind since i am nursing 3 again and know i have always had   
> tons of milk
> as i've nursed multiples far longer than i've nursed a singleton!)   
> then i
> would have done whatever had to be done, like it or not. (which by  
> the  way for
> me means obtaining the frozen milk of a dear and trusted friend who  
> can
> provide a medical clearance before i ever turned to formula.)
>
> ~jacqui gruttadauria, bsw
> near detroit, mi.
> _myspace.com/mummaTOwldthings_
> (http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm? 
> fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=161196488)
>
>
I include the whole of the last post, because everyone is looking at  
how to solve the problems with this baby's feeding, using scales,  
alternative feeding methods, looking into allergies, etc..  No one  
has mentioned yet something that stands out for me from Jacqui's  
posts.  It seems to me, Jacqui, that you have an awful lot on your  
hands for the mother of a new baby.  With 5 children under age 7, who  
is there to support you in these early, stressful days of little  
sleep and a baby who is showing signs of a difficult beginning in his  
breastfeeding career?  Who is doing the laundry?  Who is doing the  
food shopping and preparation?  Who is picking up the house?  Who  
else is sitting down to read to the other kids, play some games with  
them, take them outside to play or go for a walk or other outing?   
Who is bringing you snacks and tucking you in for a little nap? Who  
is helping to provide you the time to "nest in" with your newest  
baby?   These are supports a new mother should have for at least the  
first few weeks.  If you are not getting them, or you are trying to  
do all this by yourself, is that an expectation you have put on  
yourself, or one that everyone else there is expecting of you?  I am  
worried about you.  Do you have relatives, friends, neighbors, a  
church group, or anyone else who can lend a hand for a few weeks?   
Can you welcome the help of others if it is available?  (Or even  
demand it?)  A new mother, even an experienced now mother, needs some  
nurturing, too.  It surely will help while you sort out the other  
issues.


Anne Altshuler, RN, MS, IBCLC, LLLL
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