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Subject:
From:
Jay Gordon <[log in to unmask]>
Reply To:
Lactation Information and Discussion <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Tue, 22 Apr 2008 22:05:17 -0700
Content-Type:
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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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