Hi Nancy,
I am guessing that maybe the baby is indeed 36 wks gestation. Perhaps the
baby was large for gestational age (LGA), or mother was gestational
diabetic, because that seems a large baby (about 7 lbs) for 36 wks. No
matter the ultrasound or menstrual dates, we do a gestational age assessment
on each baby and look for maturational signs that indicate how many weeks
the baby is. The low blood sugar (however poorly managed) also goes along
with LGA or IDM (infant of a diabetic mother).

I am guessing also that baby's weight loss was above average, and that more
breast milk (not interrupting feeds) would have been the way to go.
At this point, it seems baby is about a week old, I don't know the current
weight or bilirubin levels. I would suggest mother express 8-10x per day
with a hospital grade pump (how is her supply?) and feed the baby by paced
bottle feeding or finger feeding, whichever method works best for baby's
intake and mother's comfort with the method. I would be following this baby
very frequently for how well he is feeding and gaining. I would also
encourage virtually continuous skin to skin contact, and mother can allow
baby to explore, mouth, or latch anytime, and possibly offering the breast
for comfort or for "dessert" after the ebm has been given.

I think, as we often talk about here on lactnet, that once the baby gains
strength from appropriate calories and nutrition, and is oriented to the
breast by continued skin to skin and "practice time" at the breast, that he
will be able to breastfeed fine in the near future. See how he does when he
is bottle feeding (paced) or finger feeding to see if he has any
suck/swallow issues. Also check closely for tongue tie. I would give mom an
idea of what appropriate intake would be, and that would be about 44 mls of
ebm every 2 hrs. I would also discuss wet/dirty diapers of course. If you
are able to talk to the doctor, with mother's permission, you could share
your assessment, and how you see that the baby was indeed NOT taking in
sufficient milk, and that this is your plan and why.
Laurie Wheeler, RN, MN, IBCLC
Mississippi USA

             ***********************************************

Archives: http://community.lsoft.com/archives/LACTNET.html
To reach list owners: [log in to unmask]
Mail all list management commands to: [log in to unmask]
COMMANDS:
1. To temporarily stop your subscription write in the body of an email: set lactnet nomail
2. To start it again: set lactnet mail
3. To unsubscribe: unsubscribe lactnet
4. To get a comprehensive list of rules and directions: get lactnet welcome