Wanted to update you on the baby I posted about a few weeks ago.  She was a
slow gaining baby with a high bubble palate.  She's been diagnosed with a
Ventricular Septal Defect that the cardiologist feels will close on its own.
Its small and low in the septum.  He insists that it isn't influencing the
feeding problems.

Baby has seen an OT who felt that her receding chin was the problem and was
pretty furious that the baby hadn't been sent to her sooner.  Within a day
of her initial evaluation, etc, the mother received a call from pediatrician
and OT that the baby needed to be weaned to a bottle immediately.  Nobody
asked the mother how she would like to handle it.

Baby will tolerate a bottle at times but prefers the breast, even though she
gets a minimal amount from it.  Mother calms her with the breast then tops
her off with the bottle.  Mom was ready to introduce bottles anyway since
she went back to work parttime this week.  But, wasn't ready to wean from
breast and is not planning to.

Baby's weight gain seems to have stabilitzed at about 8 ounces per weeks
over the last three weeks.  One week was breast and p-sryinge, one was
beginning intro of bottles and then one with bottle and breast.

Mother's milk supply is about gone, it was always tenuous at best.
Pediatrician ordered a test of prolactin levels yesterday.  This after I had
worked to get a complete workup from the mother's doctor a month or so ago.

Mother is taking baby to a Chiropractor today.  She has noticed that baby
does not move her head to the left.  She will visually track to the left but
will not move the head that direction.  She will to the right but not the
left.  I had talked to her about a chiropractor weeks ago so I when she
asked my opinion I was quite supportive.  She has found somebody who works
with little babies a lot.

I don't know where this will end up but I feel pretty confident that there
are other issues that have not been uncovered yet.  I imagine they will
present themselves eventually.



Denise Parker, BA, IBCLC (La Crescenta, CA)
To Avoid Criticism, say nothing, do nothing, be nothing