Supplementing

So it turns out I was right to be worried about Gabby's weight!  I was weighing her pretty regularly after her bath, and realized that after a week and a half of weighing, she wasn't gaining any weight.  Brian and I looked up her weight and age on the growth curve, and she was not even on the chart (like well below 5th percentile).  I called the doctor today, and he had me bring her in for a weigh-in at their office.  She officially weighed in at 10 lbs even, which is well below the 11.5 lbs she should be to stay on her growth curve (the 10th percentile).  So now we're supplementing 2 oz of formula after each feeding. 

I do have mixed feelings about this.  Breastfeeding was such a bonding experience, and it was really cool to be the sole provider of food for Gabby.  I still get to breastfeed, but now after that is done, she'll get her formula.  I've done this for 2 feedings now today, and it's wicked obvious that she really needs those extra calories.  She sucks that bottle right on down!  Honestly, I could probably give her more, and she would eat that as well, but we want to make sure she's still getting some breast milk.  The doctor thinks she was getting enough volume, but not enough fat.  So basically she had enough calories to develop mentally, but not enough to put some meat on her bones.  I'm switching to whole milk (yeah, that's going to take some getting used to!) to see if that helps some, but frankly, it probably won't.  I'm going to keep up with the breastfeeding as long as I can with the supplementation, and it's going to be another challenge adjusting to the new feeding.  I've tried feeding her the formula an hour after she eats, but that means I'm basically feeding her once an hour, and it makes it really hard to go anywhere with her at all (although the bottle will make it so much easier to be mobile).  So I'm going to try feeding directly after the boob, hoping that she still has room in her belly for the formula.  It's going to be a challenge, but Gabby and I are up for it!

So keep us in your thoughts, as we try to pack on 0.5 lbs before her 4 month appointment in 2 weeks!