This family is in a very conservative area. As a Pensacola native, I wanted to note that Mobile, Alabama is only about an hour drive and may be acceptable to these parents in this situation, as well. I am not currently in Pensacola and cannot specifically help here with recommendations, but did want to enlarge the search area in case that helps.

Chrissy Bodin

 -------------- Original message ----------------------
From: Jay Gordon <[log in to unmask]>
> I received this email this evening and I have permission to post the
> exchange in itıs entirety.
> 
> A slow gaining baby in an experienced smart family.  Obviously, I donıt know
> the details of this case, but Iıd love for them to find a breastfeeding
> friendly doctor in their vicinity.
> 
> Thanks!
> 
> Jay
> 
> 
> 
> With your permission. I can post this to a list of BF friendly
> > academic and practicing pediatricians.  One of them
> > will probably know someone in your neighborhood.
> >
> > Jay
> 
> Absolutely. Thanks so much!
> ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
> Philip Sasser
> Sasser Creative
> 850.994.7967
> http://www.sassercreative.com
> 
> 
> INITIAL EMAIL FROM THE FAMILY WITH EMAIL EXCHANGE.
> 
> 
> Dr. Gordon,
> My wife and I have run into a terrible predicament that I'm sure is
> familiar to you. Our 7 month old boy (Desmond) is exclusively
> breastfed, except for some solids recently begun. His weight gain early
> on was normal, then slow. He did not gain after January (he was born
> Sep 18 of last year), and between his 4 and 6 month appointments, he
> lost a few ounces even. He is breastfed 7-8 times a day. He just has
> had a habit of deciding he's done, and there is no changing his mind,
> believe me! He gets a good 6-8 wet diapers most days. He just does not
> seem hungry. Our pediatrician went from unconcerned to "Let's keep a
> pretty relaxed eye on it" to recommending breast milk supplementation
> last official visit (6 month). My wife doesn't believe she'll be able
> to pump that much, and as it stands, with Desmond's habits, it's likely
> he'll reject milk from the breast altogether in favor of the easy way
> out of the bottle or cup. And it's pretty certain my wife won't be able
> to pump enough from that point. Pumping is not all that effective on
> her.
> Desmond took to solids enthusiastically, though, so we decided to give
> him fat and calorie rich solids. Two weeks later, he had gained 4
> ounces in time for his weight check. Actually, he really had only been
> eating those meals for about 10 days. Anyhow, the weight check was
> attended by a nurse practitioner. She left toward the end of the
> appointment and returned with formula canisters. I tried to reach our
> doctor to ask what the deal was, and his nurse simply stated that the
> doctor recommends the same. Of course, this was not the route to go,
> and I was surprised he wasn't happy about the progress on Desmond's
> weight, first small step as it was. I tried to reach him yesterday to
> ask if he might do some metabolic tests first before changing anything.
> Five hours later, we had a case worker for Child Protective Services at
> our door. She asked us a bunch of questions (though I am pleased to
> say, she seems to be on our side in this), and we have to go in
> tomorrow (Wednesday) to see the CPT's ARNP. I tried to call the Dr.
> today to just see if we could discuss it and why he reacted so
> extremely. His nurse said he would under no circumstances speak with
> us. My wife is terrified of what is to come! I don't know of anyone who
> can advocate for us here. Do you have any idea, any input at all? I
> know this is out of the blue, but baby there is something you know we
> could do?
> Thanks very much for your attention to this.
> --------------------
> Philip Sasser
> 4253 Diamond St
> Pace, FL 32571
> 850.994.7967
> 
> 
> > Firstly, how big are you two and is Desmond meeting developmental
> > milestones:  smiling, laughing, rolling, grabbing, babbling?  And have Mom and
> baby had their thyroids checked?  Any breast surgery?
> 
> >
> >
> > Jay Gordon
> 
> 
> Birth weight was 7 lb. 5 oz., and he is now 13 lbs. 7 oz.
> 
> I'm 6'2", and my wife is 5'4". We're both generally thin. Our other son
> is 4 and is 42" and 43 lbs. He was breastfed for 22 months, exclusively
> bf for 7 of those months and never received formula and was always in
> the 90th percentiles for height and weight..
> Our  7-month-old is (to the pediatrician's admission) meeting his
> milestones, sitting, making babbling and some consonant sounds, rolling
> (very well, in fact, since he was 3 months old), laughing, grabbing
> mercilessly. He's very active and does the swimming motions that
> precede crawling.
> My wife has no supply issues. She had her thyroid checked, but we have
> had no success convincing this pediatrician to do any tests on our son.
> After the 6 month appointment, we really started pushing for the tests,
> especially since the diaper output remained good. The Dr. said to wait
> until after we tried supplementing. Yet at the aforementioned weight
> check appointment, my request was rejected again in favor of formula.
> 
> 
> >
> I have always felt that babies gaining slowly and looking good should
> > be watched but left alone.  FTT is very different from failure to gain
> > weight.
> 
> 
> This is exactly what we were thinking. There is a shortage of BF
> friendly pediatricians here, unfortunately. We will see what we can
> find, as there HAS to be someone in the Pensacola metro at least. Would
> it be ok if I passed along this as your opinion about the situation at
> hand? I know it's not the same as an actual in person exam, but it
> could help buffer our case, especially if they make a "recommendation"
> (is a recommendation really a recommendation of you risk losing your
> kids if you don't follow it?) that my wife supplement.
> Thanks so much for your reply! It was a great relief to see you
> responding.
> >
> >   You need another opinion from a BF friendly experienced pediatrician.
> > Jay
> 
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