8 month old with no change in weight - failure to thrive

[@llli*namily]

Meg,
I agree with you 100% regarding choosing the word 'starving'. When the pediatrician said that, it just hurt my heart; to hear someone say that my child is starving, it makes me feel as if I'm not providing enough nutrients/food for her, as if I'm a bad mother! But you are right, other children out there in other parts of the world are starving.

The fenugreek pills seem to be working because dd has been at the breast for a longer period of time and swallowing more. As for pumping after bf, I've noticed that I've had to compress while pumping to let out more milk, which hasn't been an issue before - so I'm thinking it could be some sort of pumping troubleshooting?

As for her eczema, the allergist did a food allergy blood and skin test. DD experienced hives aside from the eczema when it came to sesame seeds and wheat (wheat flour). She's highly allergic to peanuts as well, so to be on the safe side we have excluded tree nuts from my diet along with my daughter's. We are trying to put some foods back into dd's diet, but still having ezcema flare ups (last attempt was yesterday with cheese which caused a skin flare up on her face).

I am also looking into a new sitter since our current one keeps pushing us towards feeding our daughter formula. She claims formula tastes better than bm (I'm sure she's never tried bm if she's saying that!). It's hard (irritating and annoying) having people around me pushing for formula all the time! Husband, family, in-laws, strangers, etc. It's also hard to find someone who is willing to watch dd for long periods of time when I'm on rotation (husband works 10hrs/day as well). Hopefully we will find someone soon...

Mommal,
That is a good point you bring up; supplementing with ebm. The only problem is that dd won't take it from a bottle. We have tried sippy cups and open cups just as Meg suggested, but she drinks less than an ounce from it and will start blowing bubbles and playing with it. I don't have much supply stored in the refrigerator, let alone after pumping and would hate to have to discard the leftover milk she plays with - is it ok to safely store the milk back in the fridge for another one time use even after she blows bubbles in the milk? I'm worried about bacterial colonization because of her saliva and backwashing.

Undergroundmuse,
Thanks for your input! I've started pumping again after bf; the most I am able to express is 1.5mls total - hopefully this will maintain if not increase supply. I have tried different types of bottles with their specific nipples, but am not sure if they were all the same flow rate; some seems to spill out faster than others (all same stages though, so I'll look into changing to different flow rates!). DD's on a hypoallergenic formula (neocate) which doesn't contain dairy or soy from what it says in the ingredients section, and you are correct!! Hypoallergenic formula tastes yucky, bm is definitely sweeter. It's also comforting knowing that there are others out there that are, or were in a situation like I am and have overcome it and have a healthy little baby!


In general:
As for a second opinion, we're looking into it. With the current pediatrician, she seemed to favor bf more than formula when we first met her. Maybe she's concerned about my supply and suggested formula for daughter's sake?

Is it possible that because I'm not eating enough calories it has an effect on nutrients as well?

[@llli*lllmeg]

Wow. Formula tastes better than breastmilk. Okeydokey. There isn't an eyeroll emoticon big enough.

Ok, so you saw a real allergist. Good, although too bad your baby has so many allergies! Sorry but I had to ask! There is a great deal of quackery out there and mothers & children expected to live on air with no good reason.

But I wonder if you really have to eliminate all tree nuts? My understanding is peanuts are a totally different food. But again, NOT my forte.

Is it possible that because I'm not eating enough calories it has an effect on nutrients as well?

NO. But what might (rarely) happen is if your diet is so very limited that some nutrients are entirely missing from it, then those nutrients won't be in your milk. But since your child cannot eat those foods either, it is going to behoove you both to learn to eat in a balanced way within the restrictons. I don't want to get on a soapbox, but we have become very very (imo) unnaturally reliant on dairy, wheat and soy as a culture, so consequently, it is very hard, but not impossible at all, to eat a healthy balanced diet without these items. Hopefully (mostly for your own health) you are being careful to not only eat more yourself but to get some balance, with dietary supplements if necessary. Just because your child cannot have cheese etc. directly without excema falir ups, are you sure YOU can't eat it? Just checking.

It's hard (irritating and annoying) having people around me pushing for formula all the time! Husband, family, in-laws, strangers, etc. It's also hard to find someone who is willing to watch dd for long periods of time when I'm on rotation (husband works 10hrs/day as well). Hopefully we will find someone soon...

with all due respect to all of the above, It's not very smart to want to put a child with severe food allergies on formula instead of breastmilk.

You are incredibly busy and these issues is a lot extra on your plate. You have my admiration and support.

[@llli*undergroundmuse]

Namily, you just hang in there, and it is good that you are pumping. I didn't understand how much you express after nursing since 1.5 ml sounds little, but if you meant 15ml or nearly 1oz, it was the same for me. I would focus on teaching your girl to drink ebm from a bottle if I were you. I use philips avent bottles, teet number 3 for my LO even though nr 4 is for her age but I don't want to compromise the little nursing the two of us do. Babies get lazy on breast if the flow is faster on a bottle. I just bought Avent bottles because the flow is claimed to resemble the one on breast, my lo's suckling pattern happened to sound similar to her nursing. But any other breastfeeding friendly bottle will do once your lo figures it out. I let my baby play with the bottle when she is done, but I won't let her if there is milk in it. Offer just a little of other things she is allowed to drink in a bottle perhaps? Have someone else do it since the baby knows you have boobies. If there are ebm leftovers I offer on next occasion which is usually within next 3 hours. Or I mix it with solids. I wouldn't recommend using leftovers on the next day or freezing them down. Now, I know that pumping is hard, annoying and stressful (God I want to smash my pump and blow up that sink full of pumping parts every day!) but I have to agree with mommal, times of sickness and allergies are the worst to choose to start formula. Forget about what everyone says and stick to whatever works well under current circumstances. I ignored my husband, three different pedis, argued with my mom and even had to forbid the use of word formula at home. When my lo started gaining and her blood test results showed improvement, everyone kept their mouth shut. You can endure this, it's temporary, your baby will get better - all thanks to you!