Test weights on a digital scale aren't always for serious stuff.  Sometimes
they're just for fun.

* A mom with very large nipples and a small baby (her third, so this was old
territory for her) knew very well he wasn't transferring enough milk, and
knew very well that time would fix it.  But she came weekly just for
curiosity (okay, and reassurance).  By golly, as his mouth gradually got
bigger, his intake gradually increased.  We both enjoyed watching the
progress.  (We couldn't estimate it from his swallowing, though we tried.)

* A mother transitioning back to breast from pumping (nasty thrush) had a
husband who insisted her breast couldn't possibly put into the baby what it
was putting into the pump - not 3 1/2 oz!  Not in so little time!  "Let's
just see," I said (in one of my more foolish moments, I'll admit).  Baby
guzzled, the scale said 3 1/2 oz, and Papa never fussed again.

* A thriving baby whose mother simply wanted an approximate body weight
threw up mightily all down her back as soon as she took him off the scale.
All the spit up was on her, none of it was on him.  "Oooh, now's our chance
to see what spit up weighs!" I told her.  Back he went on the scale... and
weighed the same.  I've always *told* mothers it looks like more than it is.
Now I *know*...

--
Diane Wiessinger, MS, IBCLC  Ithaca, NY
www.wiessinger.baka.com

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