Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Catching Up with Finn

So last Wednesday I took Finn in for an appointment with the lactation consultant. She watched us nurse for a bit and noted that his latch was fine, his suck was strong, and my milk supply was plentiful. (Things I was pretty sure of anyway.) What she noted was that he wore himself out quickly nursing and didn't finish the feeding. Nursing is a much harder way to get milk than a bottle. So, what she asked us to do was to feed him bottles until he got his strength up to return to nursing. That means that I have to pump 7 to 8 times a day to keep supply up, as well as feed Finn 8 to 10 bottles a day. It's a bit of a process and a bit overwhelming, but so far so good. He had weighed in at 6 pounds 1.5 ounces.

Yesterday we went back for another weight check. He weighed in at 6 pounds 4 ounces. We talked again about how much he was eating (at least 2 ounces every 3 hours as directed) and how nursing was going. (He is only allowed to latch on 2 times a day for a few minutes, just so he doesn't forget how.) We decided to up his bottles to 2.5 - 3 ounces every 3 hours and to go back in a week for his one month check-up and weight check. The interesting thing that came out of this appointment occur ed when I asked about his spit-up episodes. I wanted to know what to do about feeding him after he throws everything up and she started to ask questions. The next thing I know she says that it sounds like he has reflux and I'm holding a prescription for Zantac.

In the NICU, the nurses made a point out of the fact that they thought Finn was quite "spitty and gaggy" and I had gotten the impression that they suspected reflux. I think that made this diagnosis and prescription easier to accept. And the more I have heard about reflux, the more I realize that probably is a big problem for our little guy. I'm hoping that this Zantac will help him keep more food down and that he'll start gaining weight faster. Only time will tell. In the meantime, Finn can't stand the taste of the medication. He makes the funniest face when I give it to him. I'll have to snap a picture next time.

Finn at 3 weeks

3 comments:

Tara Oliver said...

eeeee he is so CUTE!!! but man, pumping that often when you have more than one kid must be tough. I pumped for 9 months straight when Savannah was a baby, since I had a low milk supply. I couldn't imagine pumping now that I have two kids - I already have no time as it is! so good for you, Angie. you have more strength than I do.

I've wondered if Ashleigh has reflux - but sometimes she majorly spits up, sometimes she doesn't! I spend my time stressing about if it's something I'm eating or if it's the formula (I'm supplementing). I may just not nurse at all anymore and do just formula. but that's hard.

anyway, you are doing a great job, Angie! little Finn is so adorable!

Kristi said...

You are doing a great job. Finn is so cute with his binky. What a sweet baby!

Bryn says, "He is so cute. I like his eyes. They are so cute!"

Vatonurse said...

Little Finn is so cute!

You're such a trooper, Angie. It's so time consuming to pump milk - plus, it always makes me feel like a dairy cow. My maternity leave ends in a couple of weeks and I'm already dreading how often I'll have to pump when I'm at work. It's such a drag, but I figure it is worth it in the long run. I always try and look at the bright side...at least when I'm pumping and bottle feeding, I always know exactly how much my babies are eating and I don't have to worry about whether or not I am producing enough milk! :)