Lexi weighed 6 lbs 15 oz (31%) at birth. (note all percentiles are based off my iphone app). She was born tongue tied and we had that corrected at 1.5 weeks. We had been working with a LC before and after to make sure she was nursing okay. She didn't really have any issues.
4 day appt: 6 lbs 8 oz (14%)
2 week appt: 7 lbs 2.5 oz (16%)
1 mo appt (5/3/11): 7 lbs 14 oz (15%)
Around her 1 month appointment the ped was slightly concerned that she wasn't gaining like she should be. It was then we started going in for some weight checks. At first I was able to go in and weigh her myself (no copay), leave the doc a note with her weight and the doc would call me to discuss. And since she wasn't gaining like the ped wanted to we started to have to make weight check appts with the doc so we could discuss in greater detail a plan of action.
At this time the ped was having me pump my breast milk (BM) and fortify it with formula to make it 24 calories/oz. I was feeding her 2 oz in a bottle, then topping her off by nursing. Then I'd pump and store for the next feeding. This was a difficult task since I'm now at home with both Lexi and Kaitlin (20 mos) and trying to keep Kaitlin occupied during this process.
On June 8/9 (can't remember exact day) I noticed specs of blood in Lexi's stool. The ped told me to go off all soy/dairy since she was allergic to one/both of them. Of course I literally was walking off the elevator into my condo from the grocery store and bought stuff to make lasagna (probably couldn't have gotten anything cheesier to make) for my parents who were in town. We also had to switch Lexi's formula to Alimentum or Enfimil Nutramigen (talk about $$$).
6/15: the ped wrote a script for Ranitidine (.7 ml 3x/day) to treat her for reflux, even though she doesn't show any classic signs (arching the back, spit up, etc).
The ped referred us to a GI doc at Children's. Originally our appointment was booked 1.5 months out but our ped made a call and got it moved up by a week. And then she went out of her way and made another call and got it moved up to the following week!
6/18: I started to keep a detailed journal of Lexi's feedings. It's been so helpful especially since she will go a few days with only drinking 3-8 oz of fortified BM (the rest of the sessions are nursing). And then she will switch and take 15-18 oz of fortified BM and not want to nurse at all. And then she'll switch back to not wanting the bottle. This has been such a struggle.
6/20/11: Was our appt with the GI doc. Overall I wasn't impressed with the doc we saw. He said he wasn't concerned with her weight gain. At the last few weight check appts she had gained enough (roughly 1 oz per day). He was more concerned about blood in her stool (he took a sample and it came back positive). At this point I had only been off soy/dairy for about 1.5 weeks. He pretty much said I should stop nursing. OR I could try the diet for another week and if her stools came back positive I needed to switch her to 100% formula (by the way that stuff smells like cat food - YUCK). He recommended I go to the ped's office every week to have to her stools checked. He left but sent in a dietitian.
She was SO helpful. She pretty much said she'd prefer Lexi get fortified BM over formula. We sat down and talked about all the things I couldn't eat and she helped point out common foods that were soy/dairy free (like OREOS). She also told me to check my prenatal since it could have soy (it did).
7/7/11: Speech therapy eval at Children's for feeding/swallowing. Our appt was at 8:30 am in the burbs and I needed to bring Lexi hungry. I had our old nanny come watch Kaitlin since I was told the appt would take 90 mins
7/12: The nurse at the GI's office called me yesterday to check up on me. And now since Lexi is going through a period where she's not taking a bottle or taking 20-30 mins to eat 2-3 oz, she wants me to call back the speech therapist. I told the nurse that Lexi's stools have come back negative for blood. The nurse is also going to have the dietitian call me (not sure what she wants to talk about exactly). And I'm supposed to call back to give them an update on Lexi's next weight check.
In general the doctors are looking for Lexi to gain approximately 1 oz/day. And sometimes she does do that. The ped wants her to also play catch up a bit with her weight. When I just nurse, she doesn't gain weight (there was a 10 day stretch where she lost 1 oz instead of gaining anything was mostly me just nursing b/c she was refusing the bottle). So it's been a constant struggle with getting the extra calories in her. I've tried fortifying my BM with both the Enfimil & Similac formulas that don't contain soy/dairy. I've tried giving her bottles of formula that are 24 calories/oz (with no BM in them). I've tried fortifying my BM with Duocal (which doesn't have any taste to it). And it's totally hit/miss on if she will drink it.
For instance tonight her 7:30 PM bottle (it had been 3 hrs since she last ate) and I offered her 3 oz of fortified BM. She downed the first ounce in less than 5 minutes (no fussing/crying). Then she'd take a few sips, start crying, I'd pull the bottle out, sit her upright, burp her/patted her back until she calmed down and repeated that process until she drank the 2nd oz. The third oz sadly got dumped b/c she wouldn't drink it. But she did nurse for a few minutes and didn't fuss at all.
And if you got this far, God bless you. This was longer than I anticipated. Hopefully we will be getting a new laptop soon, which will hopefully mean more regular updates from me.
Weight Checks/Appts:
5/10/11: 8 lbs 3 oz (15%)
5/18/11: 8 lbs 7.5 oz ( 12%)
5/23/11: 8 lbs 8.5 oz (9%)
5/24/11: 8 lbs 8.5 oz (9%)
5/26/11: 8 lbs 10 oz (9%)
5/28/11: 8 lbs 13 oz (10%)
6/1/11: 9 lbs .5 oz (11%)
6/6/11: 9 lbs 5 oz (13%)
6/15/11: 9 lbs 4 oz (7%) - according to ped she was 2-5%
6/17/11: 9 lbs 8.5 oz (9%)
6/20/11: 9 lbs 11 oz (9%) - GI appt
6/27/11: 9 lbs 14 oz (8%)
7/5/11: 10 lbs 7 oz (10%)
7/7/11: Speech Therapy
7/11/11: 10 lbs 11 oz (10%)
Some examples of how much fortified BM Lexi eats each day (and how it varies):
6/30 - 6 oz
7/1 - 14.5 oz
7/2 - 8.5 oz
7/3 - 18 oz
7/4 - 12 oz
7/5 - 18 oz
7/6 - 18.5 oz
7/7 - 19 oz
7/8 - 9.5 oz
7/9 - 7.5 oz
7/10 - 6.25 oz
7/11 - 3 oz
7/12 - 3 oz
No comments:
Post a Comment