producing enough milk & doc threatening me

[@llli*xxmidnight]

Hi ladies!
I have kind of an elaborate question and would love some help...
I had my DD about 2 1/4 months ago...she was born smallish (I have small babies for some odd reason- my other daughter, who's now massive, by the way, was 5 pounds 9 ounces, at birth. She's almost two now) at about 5 pounds 14 ounces.

At the hospital just after we had her, we had nurses undermining my breastfeeding and forcing formula on my daughter (without my knowledge) and she had all the classic signs of a soy and milk allergy. It was then I discovered she was allergic to formula- both soy and cow's milk.

At the 1st and second doc appts. (we had two because they were concerned about her weight) they were trying to get me to supplement. I did- and she was even more sick than before so I stopped. I couldn't believe how much pressure the doctor placed on me- and the vomit was even more worrisome because she was vomitting up the breastmilk too.

Flash forward to now, we just took her to her 2 month appt. and now shes 7 pounds 12.2 ounces. Apparently my doctor was NOT happy at all- she claims she should be at least 8 pounds by now (wow really, 3.8 ounces? wtf). The doctor is threatening me and trying to force me to give her similac /enfamil's sensitive formula- I tried it (against my better judgement) and she had every symptom minus the rash. Not only this, but, she's threatening if I don't, she'll force a nurse into our home to "watch" me feed her (as if i'm not feeding my child ). I've never heard such a thing. They don't want me to breastfeed my daughter and the threats are beyond stressing me out. So my questions are:

-is 3.8 ounces (in weight) really such a large cause for concern? Could the doctor be messing with me and be making a bigger deal out of this to force me into formula feeding? her height and head circumfrence are perfect (I was told later by a nurse) for her age
-they are backing my into a corner with the formula, to the point, that i'm afraid if I don't do it, they'll do something horrible- i've been taking supplements (in case my milk supply is low- alfalfa, mashmallow and mother's milk) does anyone maybe have any other ideas that could increase my supply or does it not sound like much of a problem?
-I had my nipples pierced (several times- stupid kid tricks lol) many moons ago, and i'm curious if any of the scar tissue could be blocking my milk ducts?
-They suggested that i'm not letting her have enough hindmilk but I feed on demand whenever she wants it and she sucks often so i'm not certain how this could be..any ideas?
-on average how much milk should I be pumping by now? I haven't pumped in a while but i'm curious to see how much some of the lower supply moms are pumping

any help, guidance or tips are certainly appreciated! Thank you ladies! Sorry for all the questions!

[@llli*mommy2lilah]

Sorry you're going through this. I don't understand why they don't think she weighs enough. Where do you live? Why is it even a possibility that they can come into your home and threaten you? I don't understand that.

Are you on an elimination diet so that she is not getting dairy and/or soy through your milk?

How many wet/dirty diapers does she have a day? A good output is an indicator of a good input. 2 pounds in two months sounds fine to me. I don't understand why that's not enough.

Pumping isn't a good indicator of supply. The best way for you to determine how much she takes in per day would be to rent a very sensitive scale and weigh-feed-weigh over a 24 hour period.

Have you contacted a lactation consultant?

[@llli*jeno]

They are ridiculous. I would find a breast-feeding pediatrician ASAP, and schedule an appointment ASAP to get a second opinion. That way, if the original doctor does something crazy like call DHS, then you will have a second opinion on your side. I would start calling every single pediatrician's office in your area until you find someone who is reasonable.

According to this, she is just below the 50th% for her age (assuming a weight of 3.5kg): http://www.who.int/childgrowth/stand...irls_p_0_6.pdf

Here's a link where the CDC ITSELF recommends that they use the WHO charts for the first 2 years. Clearly he's not up on his current recs: http://www.cdc.gov/growthcharts/

[@llli*firefly]

Also, if you're still supplementing, please consider switching your baby to an extensively hydrolyzed formula, such as Nutramigen or Alimentum. The sensitive formulas are partially hydrolyzed, but for most allergic babies that isn't enough.

[@llli*kst.7399]

Are you in the armed forces? How in the world can a doctor make threats? Let's not forget they work for you, unless there is a situation I'm not aware of. I'd find a new doctor.

Check out this chart. Seems to me she has followed the same growth pattern.

[@llli*milkylucy]

God they do sound awful! Is there any way you can get a second opinion, our first doctor was pushing us to supplement and made snarky remarks about my milk not being good enough for my baby so we ditched her, I really dont think they can send soemone to your house and I really dont think its encessary to supplement, good luck delaing with them!

[@llli*xxmidnight]

Sorry you're going through this. I don't understand why they don't think she weighs enough. Where do you live? Why is it even a possibility that they can come into your home and threaten you? I don't understand that.

Are you on an elimination diet so that she is not getting dairy and/or soy through your milk?

How many wet/dirty diapers does she have a day? A good output is an indicator of a good input. 2 pounds in two months sounds fine to me. I don't understand why that's not enough.

Pumping isn't a good indicator of supply. The best way for you to determine how much she takes in per day would be to rent a very sensitive scale and weigh-feed-weigh over a 24 hour period.

Have you contacted a lactation consultant?

Hi! Thanks so much for replying!
Yeah it's pretty rough to deal with...makes me tear up just thinking about it. I don't either.. but the only thing I can think of is they aren't quite fans of breastfeeding (one of the doc's in the practice told me she couldn't bf her own child) and because my other DD was born small and took a little while to catch up, weight-wise would be the only reasons why they feel entitled... I live in NJ. I know! I have never heard of such a thing.. by the way the doctor was talking, she definitely didn't it make it seem like I had an option in not letting a nurse stop by. The whole thing scares me.

I'm on just a clean, natural foods diet...no corn syrup or additives.. I bought the book mother's food and I follow a lot of the nutritional guidelines to a T.
But could a lack of dairy effect things? I take my prenatals and iron pills too.

She has about 8-12 wet diapers (6-8 are soiled a day- usually she goes #2 right after she eats). Really? OMG i'm so happy to hear that 2 pounds sounds good to you.. I thought so too.. since she's supposed to double her birth weight by 4 months.. Sigh.. i'm so glad and breathe a little bit better hearing that... thanks. I have a scale and i'll definitely try weigh-feed-weigh starting tomorrow... since she left the office she gained 1.8 ounces (didn't weigh her today yet) so i'm definitely going to keep bf'ing her and not give her anymore formula. I'm seriously scared she could end up ill with that stuff.

[@llli*xxmidnight]

They are ridiculous. I would find a breast-feeding pediatrician ASAP, and schedule an appointment ASAP to get a second opinion. That way, if the original doctor does something crazy like call DHS, then you will have a second opinion on your side. I would start calling every single pediatrician's office in your area until you find someone who is reasonable.

According to this, she is just below the 50th% for her age (assuming a weight of 3.5kg): http://www.who.int/childgrowth/stand...irls_p_0_6.pdf

Here's a link where the CDC ITSELF recommends that they use the WHO charts for the first 2 years. Clearly he's not up on his current recs: http://www.cdc.gov/growthcharts/

Thanks so much for your reply!
They really are.... I didn't even know they could do this... ugh.
I'm going to try to look one up.. I didn't really know there were pediatricians that specialized in breastfeeding- thanks so much for telling me! OMG do you really think they would call DHS?! my stomach seriously just dropped....sigh. this is a nightmare...a living nightmare. Yeah- I agree-- I don't think she's up on current knowledge of anything- for goodness sakes, this same doctor (at the two month appt. for my newborn DD) had the nerve to reach out and poke my breast.. didn't ask or anything. Just touched my breast and claimed my breasts are not "engorged" enough and that my baby must be starving... seriously.

[@llli*mommy2lilah]

I don't understand one thing - if your baby is allergic to dairy and soy, you need to remove those from your diet. Have you? I can't tell by your response, sorry.

I'll tell you - if my ped ever said they would have sent a nurse to my house, I would have roll: and just walked out.

[@llli*xxmidnight]

Also, if you're still supplementing, please consider switching your baby to an extensively hydrolyzed formula, such as Nutramigen or Alimentum. The sensitive formulas are partially hydrolyzed, but for most allergic babies that isn't enough.

Funny you mentioned that (by the way thanks for your response!)- I gave my DD Nutramigen and she vomited, had gas, was coughing a lot and had so much mucous- the only difference between this formula and the other formulas we've given her is she didn't get a rash... I was then told by the nurse that apparently this is the most broken down formula on the market and that it was (and I quote) unusual for an infant to be allergic. The only thing is my husband is highly allergic to many things (our other DD took after me- i'm not really allergic to much) and we think she takes after him in that respect..