A hitch in his getalong

Drew's birthweight was 7lbs. 10 oz. on November 24, 2007. At his three day checkup, his weight plummeted to a 15% loss, or 6lbs. 7 oz. Funny, he didn't look jaundiced or malnourished. His cheeks were pink, but the facts don't lie. You'd think with kid #1 you learn a lot, and so I'm astonished at how much more we learn with each child. For example, I didn't know that you could use witchhazel to help the cord dry up. Now, I can't tell you if Drew is the exception and he just *has* to do everything at break neck speed, but his cord fell off just hours after his three day mark. I also learned that a barely wet diaper with a slight red tinge isn't blood, but a sign that the baby is getting down to his/her reserves. Had no clue about any of this stuff, but it worried me enough that he was losing weight and showing physical signs. I got enough encouragement from the birthing center. With Paige, the same thing happened. I was forced, while still in the hospital, to "supplement" with formula. Being so worried about the situation, I dutifully did as I was asked. Now, I'm not saying the hospital pediatrician didn't have Paige's best interests at hand, but he didn't take the time to encourage me. I think pediatrician's are too quick to go the quick-fix route, you know? We all know that if you choose to nurse your child, supplementing with formula makes your supply worse. You're basically setting yourself up for failure is what I mean to get at.

In any case, I felt like I was in a much better position this time around. Yes, I was worried about the weight loss, but I also knew what I needed to do. Saying you want to be dilligent about feeding your baby and actually doing it is hard. Flat out hard. It took some time getting used to feeding *EVERY* two hours without fail, but that Tuesday appt. needed to be remedied, and we had until Friday to see if we could pass that weight test. So, we crammed and crammed and studied really hard. After the initial drop in weight, babies who are nursed typically (and when I say typically, I mean ideally) gain one ounce per day. So, Friday rolls along and the scale reads 6lbs. 10oz. - not bad! Three ounces for three days. Yay, I'm thinking to myself. Good start. His next appt. bounces between the pediatrician to the birthing center. The pedi's appt. is at his two week mark, or December 7. He weighs in at 7lbs.3oz. The progress is looking good. The next weigh in won't be until my six week appt. at the birthing center. Just to see how he's doing, I take him in for an informal weigh-in on Wednesday, December 19. He was about 3.5 weeks old. He weighed at 8lbs.and almost one ounce. Just 2.5 weeks later, he weighed in at a staggering 9lbs.13oz, or roughly 28 ounces in 16 days. Unbelievable!! He gained weight and gained ground. His next weigh-in will be at his two month appt. and I'll be interested to see how much he's gained!