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Breastfeeding/weight gain in a 15week old breastfed baby!
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Hi,
I had a 34week premature baby by C-section and she spent 21/2 weeks in the special care nursery before she came home.She weighed 4 pounds when she was born and then her weight dropped off to 3pound 11oz at which point the doctors suggested fortifying my breast milk with 1/4tsp of formula. I forget to mention that I have been pumping since day 2 of her birth. So after she learned to bottle feed my expressed breast milk( with the fortifier) she came home. Later after much effort to get her to latch on to my flat nipples and two visits to different lactation consultants, I am happy to say that she is now completely breastfed! I have been obsessed with getting her weight up ever since she came home!! I have a few questions:
1. she weighted 8lbs 1oz at 10 1/2 weeks(41/2 weeks adjusted) and now at 15weeks she weighs 9lbs 10oz (9 weeks).Is the weight gain appropriate? I have seen websites where they say that breastfed babies should gain atleast 1oz a day and since my baby seems to have gained less than that, should I start supplementing?
2. At present I breastfeed her atleast 10times a day and she feeds off only one breast for only 10 minutes with a lot of sucking and swallowing and does not want the other breast in each session. Is that ok? I should mention that I had an overactive let down (guess due to all the pumping) and so try to feed her only on one breast.She has plenty of wet diapers though only 1-2 stools per week.
3.Sometimes she tries to pinch her latch on my nipple and I end up getting sore nipples. If I try to relatch her, sometimes she is ok, but most times she gets very angry and refuses the breast. Please help.
Sorry for the long list of questions and thank you for your patience.
-Nalini
Dear Nalini,
I described your and your daughter's situation to Dr. Laura Marks, the pediatrician I am consulting with for the next edition of my book, and she gave me a very encouraging answer for you. Here it is:
>>This baby's weight gain is totally on target. She is fine and does
not need to supplement. I think the mom must have a good milk supply
and the baby is able to get enough just feeding from one breast.
Hopefully this will reassure her.<<
Best wishes,
Sally
--------------------------------
Sally Wendkos Olds
Author, THE COMPLETE BOOK OF BREASTFEEDING: Eiger & Olds, 3rd edition 1999, published by Workman Publishing & Bantam Books, and available in most public libraries, bookstores & La Leche League chapters. Now in revision for a fourth edition, with Laura M. Marks, M.D.
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Sally Wendkos Olds
Expertise
What do you want to know about breastfeeding? I can tell you what`s good for the baby, what`s good for the mother -- and the father, how it`s related to a woman`s sexuality, how working moms can nurse, how to overcome obstacles, and lots more. As the author of THE COMPLETE BOOK OF BREASTFEEDING and author or coauthor of 8 other books and more than 200 articles about child and adult development, I can offer sound, sensible advice on breastfeeding, child care and family issues.
Experience
I nursed my 3 daughters and am the grandmother of 5 breastfed children. My book THE COMPLETE BOOK OF BREASTFEEDING (written in consultation with pediatrician Marvin S. Eiger, M.D.) was first published in 1972, and in 1999 came out in an updated 3rd Edition by Workman Publishing & Bantam Books. It is now a classic, with over 2 million copies in print. I am now revising this book for a fourth edition, consulting with pediatrician Laura M. Marks, M.D. This new edition will be published September 2009. I welcome any and all suggestions for the new edition. I coauthored college textbooks A CHILD'S WORLD: INFANCY THROUGH ADOLESCENCE, and HUMAN DEVELOPMENT; both are leading texts in their fields and have been read by 2 million students. I am the coauthor of HELPING YOUR CHILD FIND VALUES TO LIVE BY and RAISING A HYPERACTIVE CHILD, and author of THE WORKING PARENTS' SURVIVAL GUIDE & THE ETERNAL GARDEN: SEASONS OF OUR SEXUALITY. My newest book, A BALCONY IN NEPAL: GLIMPSES OF A HIMALAYAN VILLAGE, published in 2002, tells the story of the way of life in a remote village in Nepal, where all the women breastfeed! My book, SUPER GRANNY: COOL PROJECTS, ACTIVITIES, AND OTHER GREAT STUFF TO DO WITH YOUR GRANDKIDS, will be published March 2009. I speak often to professional, parent and general audiences and make many radio and TV appearances.
Credentials I received my B.A. in English Literature from the University of Pennsylvania, where I minored in Psychology, was elected to Phi Beta Kappa and graduated summa cum laude.
Other points of interest
I have received national awards for my writing, and am a former president of the American Society of Journalists & Authors. I am listed in the World Who's Who of Women, International Authors & Writers Who's Who, and Contemporary Authors, and am a member of several professional and civic organizations. I believe: that all parents are working parents; that parents employed outside the home need special support; that mothers' well-being is crucial to their children's welfare; and that the family is the best institution in the world and the one for which we are least prepared. My thrills come when parents or kids tell me they were helped by my writing or speaking or just understanding.
To find out more about me, go to
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