Thursday, February 07, 2008

My New Favorite Number

18.

That's how many ounces my sweet baby girl gained in TEN days! So bad math be damned, it worked. I asked the pediatrician whether I should alter the recipe so that the intended 28 calories/ounce is actually obtained and he said no, because he actually wouldn't want to see Ellie gaining weight any faster than she gained this week! So we'll stick with 24 calories per ounce, but I'm going to use an actual 24 cal/oz recipe because I enjoy precision (even though the lack of precision is obviously working fine for Ellie). He said he didn't necessarily care about the precise number of calories, so long as her growth is appropriate. This, to me, is the most logical approach.

He also said that since her growth is so great with the added fortification, there's really no reason I can't add in some more flexibility with the number of times per day that I breastfeed her. I noted that during the week I would really only get one more BF'ing session in anyway, so I was less concerned about that, but on the weekend, my preference would be to breastfeed her most of the time if possible, and he said, "so if she doesn't grow as much on the weekends, so what? She's growing plenty during the week to make up for it." I love him!

Finally, he said he would leave it to my discretion as to whether I even need to follow up with a GI doc at all at this point. He'll see Ellie again in a week to make sure she's still on track, and if she's really struggling at that point, he'll help me get in to see Dr. D. But otherwise, he's not super-stressed about continued follow up with the specialist, as we seem to have found the answer we need for the moment.

Meanwhile, the scale I ordered for Ellie arrived, so that I can make sure she's taking in enough when she's breastfeeding. I weighed her on it when we got back from the doctor's office to make sure that it's accurate and then just for fun, I weighed Sam and Abby, too!

Sam: 11 pounds 1 ounce! (Admittedly, he had just eaten, so he's probably actually a little under 11 pounds)
Abby: 9 pounds 14 ounces!
Ellie: 8 pounds 10 ounces!!!!! (can you believe it!?)

24 comments:

Karen said...

that sounds so wonderful! I am so glad she grew so much this week. As for the extra nursings, could you get her to eat after her siblings so she could get that fatty hindmilk? I would think being a sleepy eater she misses that sometimes. I had one baby who had to eat naked at Ellie's weight so I could keep her awake to eat:) Great job! I am so impressed by you:)

Erin said...

Yahoo Ellie and Karen! I am so glad to hear that she is growing so well and that the fortified breastmilk is working, AND that you can nurse her more often now! That is fabulous to hear!

Shelby said...

I'm SO glad the extra calories are really helping!! Yeah!!

Anonymous said...

Never have I seen a nicer occurence of חי!

Your pediatrician is a mensch.

If you can't nurse Sam first on weekends to get Ellie the hindmilk, perhaps you can briefly pump first.

Mazel tov.

hadjare said...

Wow! That's great! A gain like shows she was ready for it, and I bet she'll taper off on her own a bit. How is she doing with the extra calories?

This means she is going to outgrow those newborn outfits much quicker!

Anonymous said...

Both of you are doing a fantastic job!

Jessica said...

I knew she had it in her!! :) Goooooo Ellie!!!

Thalia said...

ooh what a relief! well done ellie, well done you!

Ashley said...

I'm a lurker and haven't posted on your blog before, but I wanted to drop a note to tell you that I was so excited to hear that Ellie is gaining weight. Woo hoo!!!

Anonymous said...

Three cheers for any math, with numbers like that!

Meghan said...

Way to go Ellie!!! And Karen! I am so glad the extra feedings and fortified breastmilk has done the trick.

Caba said...

Yeah Ellie! What a great momma she has! I'm so glad to hear that she is gaining and gaining! You'll have a little chunkey monkey on your hands before you know it!

Lea Bee said...

yay ellie and mama!! that is just so fabulous to hear :). awww...

Jody said...

That is FANTASTIC. I'm so glad you stuck to your guns about doing what was right, feeding-wise, for you and for Ellie. And I'm even more glad that it worked so quickly.

Anonymous said...

I still think math is hard, which is why I didn't comment before. I majored in journalism.

But Mazel Tov on the weight gain! And it sounds like you have an excellent down-to-Earth doc. Hang in there!

Rachel Inbar said...

Sounds great! Go Karen!!!

Matt said...

Grow Ellie Grow! I am ever so proud of you Karen.

Dr. Grumbles said...

yay Ellie! Grow big, please! Keep it up!

Anonymous said...

Yay! What great news!!

Anonymous said...

Such good news -- I have a big smile on my face for you and Ellie.

- Another Karen

nickoletta100 said...

What wonderful news!!!! YAY Ellie!!!

Unknown said...

yay ellie!!!
pam

Jackie said...

Yay!!! I'm so glad to read that she gained 18 oz!! That is awesome! You are such an amazing mother! Great job!!!

Sunny said...

YAHOOOOOOO!!!!!