We had Aidan's 6 month check today! I always look forward to these appointments for reassurance of how my kids are doing, to get some questions answered, and because I enjoy our doctor so much! Aidan's appointments have been a little stressful for me because of his size, but I'm trying not to be worried since our doc isn't worried.
Here's his stats:
Weight: 13 lb. 9 oz. 1st percentile
Height: 25 1/4" 8th percentile
Oh he is just so little!!! Dr. Larson's words: Because he is doing so well developmentally, I am not going to get excited about his weight. She was amazed at his ability to get on his hands and knees and how strong our little man is. She did say that she wants us to try to get as many calories in him as possible though. For this reason:
I made my first bottle of formula tonight. I have very mixed emotions about this: apprehension, guilt, hope. Aidan is a poor sleeper, waking up anywhere from 2-6x on an average night. (I feed him 2-3x during the night) We are going to try to give him a bottle after I breast feed him every night for 2 reasons: fattening him up & trying to help him sleep better. I also wanted to ask her about formula anyway because I just can't pump enough at work to keep my frozen supply up and I just don't have (don't make) time to pump other times. It's hard to find time when he eats all night still!! I want (don't really want, but feel stuck) him to have some formula so I can feel reassured he is getting enough to eat. He always seems satisfied, but we'll try anything! I exclusively breast-fed Olivia for a whole year, she never had formula and I wanted to do the same with Aidan. I know there is nothing wrong with formula and I hope no one who formula feeds takes offense to me feeling this way. I just wanted to do only breast milk for my little man!
Anyway, back to the bottle. He wouldn't even take a little taste!! He just refused. Do any of you have tips on how to introduce formula when you've been only breastfeeding?
Also, I'm researching high fat foods I can feed to him. I am going to include (more) avocado, and start egg whites, and ground flax seed. Do you know of anything?
Let's fatten this little man up!
5 comments:
I know it's hard to go to formula, feeling like a failure, I felt the same when I had to give Gabe formula, but i am so proud that I was able to nurse him for 10 months even with formula! It also always helped with sleeping at night :) You could always try to just give him a bottle once without feeding first, and see if he will take it, just until he gets a little use to it. I hope it goes well. Just be proud of how well you have done thus far.
OOPS! And I meant EGG YOLKS NOT WHITES!!
We did half and half breast milk/formula for a long time until Elijah got used to the taste and slowly removed the breast milk until he was drinking all formula. Once Aiden digs the formula you can fortify it by putting an extra teaspoon or two of powder into his bottles. This is what we did for many many months to fatten Elijah up for surgery.
We also used cooked egg yolks and avocados. I know some other parents who added a tiny bit of olive oil to whatever their kids were eating (clear this with dr first). If you want, I can give you some names of moms who are experts in being super creative with getting lots of calories into their babies.
Good luck! It can be stressful having a baby on the small side. Although E has never really been small, we have always had to keep him as big as possible for surgeries, so I definitely understand the stress.
I don't have any advice on how to plump Aiders up, but I know I would have the same mixed emotions about the formula. You are doing the right thing!
I hope maybe the formula will help him sleep a little better. YOU need more sleep.
As a side note, I would do just about anything to have Aidan's metabolism. I imagine your little man burns just about every calorie he intakes. Don't you wish that we could switch our metabolisms with our little babes?
Sweet little tiny Aidan!! I'm proud of you for *trying* to not worry about it. That's so tough always about anything for a mom!! I was like you with Oran too -- I don't think he ever had formula. Jackson did -- but I still nursed him just as long. I just didn't keep up my frozen milk supply, so when I was gone he had formula, and he didn't seem to mind the switch. I hope for you that Aidan can also be flexible. I would suggest formula feeding first, nursing after. He'll most likely nurse even if he's not hungry, but he most likely won't try something new if he's not hungry... Good luck. Let us know how it progresses!
Post a Comment