Dr. Jen, I may be coming in a bit late on the discussion and you've gotten some good responses already. But I do have some thoughts. It is not unusual at all for babies who are this severely affected neurologically, as you know, to be behind in their growth parameters. It is a huge challenge to get these kids fed and to help them move along developmentally. Besides the immunological protection of ebm, which is extremely impt for this baby, the brain and nervous system benefits would be paramount in my opinion. I would encourage this mom to continue breastmilk feedings til baby is at least 2 yo if she can. Surely she is very discouraged by the dev. ped. advice. Not infrequently, I have heard similar cold-hearted comments by hcp's so it doesn't surprise me. You said that "In the last 2 weeks, he has suddenly started to have more intake by mouth. He is now taking breastmilk by bottle, about a total of 600-700 ml per day (21-25 oz) and also some pureed foods, mostly vegetables to which mom adds some additional coconut oil and infant cereal made with breastmilk" This is an awesome developmental milestone! This mom has worked heroically with this baby and she is making great progress! I would suggest looking for calorie dense and/or nutritious foods that baby can tolerate like avocado, sweet potato, even meats, more pureed table foods. Baby may even take some on a spoon. You said she is pumping a bit more than baby's intake, maybe she can skim the hindmilk, altho I would hesitate to put more workload onto this mom. One other suggestion is for you and she to look for internet forums or support groups where she can talk with other moms with neuro-impaired children. Believe me, these mothers will be the experts! They are 24/7 trying EVERYTHING THEY CAN to give their babies the best possible outcomes. I think this will be better for her than listening to the devel. ped. I would suggest to her that she find another devel. ped if she can, as she will never again have a good feeling nor trust with this doctor, and rightly so. Laurie Wheeler, IBCLC, MN, RN Tupelo MS, s.e. USA *********************************************** To temporarily stop your subscription: set lactnet nomail To start it again: set lactnet mail (or digest) To unsubscribe: unsubscribe lactnet All commands go to [log in to unmask] The LACTNET mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned LISTSERV(R) list management software together with L-Soft's LSMTP(R) mailer for lightning fast mail delivery. For more information, go to: http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html