Wyatt joined the world at 36 weeks which is technically a preemie. Now besides the fact he is tiny considering the doctor predicted a 9 pound baby, Wyatt is perfectly healthy.
We have had a small obstacle when it comes to feeding him because of his size and the fact his jaw muscles did not have the power yet to handle the time that is needed to fully breast feed. Lizzy was producing the milk, he just tired out too soon before getting sufficient nutrition.
We eventually saw a lactation consultant (who I would absolutely recommend) who told us that until Wyatt gains a bit more weight, we have to supplement the breast feeding with more breast milk using a syringe.
Man is that hard to do. It feels like you are forcing food down his throat when in reality, it's just trying to assure he doesn't lose too many ounces from his birth weight. But at the end of the day, it's for the good of him and his health.
As of this morning, we have been supplementing each feeding with anywhere between 5-15cc of breast milk and you can absolutely tell he is getting heavier. It is such a relief and joy to both of us knowing he is growing!
He even grew out of his first pair of socks this weekend!!!
Lactation Consultants are so great! Even though I still couldn't produce enough for E, the support and knowledge alone were so important to me. I'm glad Lizzy is able to keep up her milk supply and that little Wyatt is gaining weight! (E lost a pound -- started at 7lb 3oz -- in the first 4 days, so we had to supplement with formula.)
ReplyDeleteI dont know what we would have done without the consultant. It really eased our concerns. hopefully we wont need to supplement anymore soon!
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