[tri-wings] Re: Weight issues with Vada

stacey,
 
One of the things that may be happening is that the nursing is not long  
enough. 10 minutes on each side may be ok for some babies and not enough for  
others. Each mom's breastmilk is different. What it sounds like to me is that  
she 
is getting too much foremilk, and not enough hindmilk. The hind milk is the  
fatty milk that is full of protein and makes the baby gain weight. It is also  
thicker and less likely to cause her choking as it is more easily digested 
than  formula. The foremilk is very watery and although high in sugar, is 
rapidly  digested and used up quickly. So what may be happening is that the 
foremilk 
and  then the formula together is too much, where just your milk may be just 
enough. 
 
It would be better to let her nurse on one side until you see her slow  way 
down. Usually the baby will start to nurse vigorously and you will be able  to 
see her sucking and swallowing pretty hard. After a bit this will slow down  
and eventually get to just little sucks with breaks and sometimes her little 
jaw  will jitter a bit. That is the signal that she is pretty much done.You can 
let  her just keep going or stop her at this point. Some babies will nurse and 
 just stop when they are done. But, there is no need to time her and have her 
 switch to the other breast too soon. She may take longer to empty a breast 
to  get what she needs. 
 
If after she is done nursing for as long as she needs on one breast she  
seems hungry again soon, offer the supplementation if you like but, I would  
recommend offering the breast again, just switching then to the other side.  
She 
does not need to take two sides at each feeding. Some lactation consultants  
even recommend pumping first for a little bit and then giving the baby that  
pumped breast to decrease the watery milk and increase the fat and protein full 
 
thicker milk. Let her nurse as long and as often as you can. You will not spoil 
 her, she needs it now. 
 
You will see a rapid weight gain this way if you A. let her nurse as long  as 
she likes, B. do not restrict her to a certain time to nurse, and C. Offer  
the breast more often D. Consult with a lactation consultant (call your 
hospital  to get the name of one) they are experts in feeding babies, and most  
pediatricians are not. 
 
Will has had severe GERD and we have avoided the Zantac as it is just going  
to decrease the acid and I know that I did not want medication if we could 
avoid  it. I just made sure he nursed only on one side per feeding to get as 
much 
of  the fatty milk as possible. I still do and he is almost three months old. 
He was  6 lbs 10 oz at birth and is now 14 pounds. By three weeks old he was 
8 pounds  following this method, even though he seemed to vomit up everything 
he ate. 
 
If you want to call me, email me and I will give you my phone number. 
 
Bess
 
 

                  Building ___ooOOoo__ Rainbows
                       www.trisomyonline.org
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