November 29th, 2009: Week 3 and the Weight Battle

We didn't quite get the big weight gain on Monday that we were hoping for... Actually, she dropped to 6 pounds, 8 ounces. Needless to say, the doctor (and us!) were concerned. We were put on a militant feeding schedule -- feed her for 40 minutes, then pump for 20 minutes per side, then feed her what I pumped followed by formula. We had to follow that routine every 2 hours (between the start of one feeding to the start of the next). If you're doing the math, that basically meant I had 40 minutes AT MOST between feedings. That's 40 minutes for recovery, sleeping, eating, cleaning, and anything else (the cherished shower, going to the bathroom, brushing my teeth). We were to follow that routine for 24 hours and then go back in for another appointment the next day. We weighed her in again on Tuesday and she was up to 6 pounds 11 ounces. The 3 ounce gain was definitely an improvement, but still 10% under her birth weight. Although infants can lose up to that much after they are born, they are supposed to start gaining by day 4 and be back up to birth weight by day 10. Scarlett is quite behind!

The doctor suggested that I contact a lactation consultant again because my milk supply appeared to be very low and to continue supplementing with formula at least 2-3 times per day and pumping 2-3 times per day. We saw the consultant on Friday. Scarlett is doing everything she should be doing, so the problem is my supply. I got more herbal supplements, rented a medical grade pump, and was instructed to pump 8 times per day for 15-20 minutes and feed her 8-12 times for at least 5-7 minutes per side. Still a very time consuming schedule, but not nearly as rigid as our original schedule. Things are still really hard and my supply isn't much better but at least Scarlett is getting enough to eat with the formula. All three of us hate the formula, so we're keeping our fingers crossed that things turn around soon. We will continue to monitor her weight since we won't have another doctor's appointment until early January for her 2 month check up.

Paul's mom and step-dad were here this week and made thanksgiving dinner for us. They also helped out a lot around the house with laundry, the baby, and electronics. The trip was cut short due to all of the weight gain/feeding issues but hopefully we can arrange another trip very soon. Paul is at the Ravens-Steelers game tonight. Scarlett finally fell asleep right before I started this, but otherwise she has been feeding every hour and wanting to be held in between. She is adorable but definitely taking up a lot of time. This feeding schedule is much easier as a two person job! Well, I'm off to start the cycle again!