Let's talk breastfeeding.
Let's talk weight loss.
Let's talk slow weight gain.
Let's talk tongue and lip ties.
Let's talk about unsupported comments and pressure to formula feed.
Let's talk about the hardest thing I have ever done in my entire life.
Zacharey had a very quick un medicated birth. He was brought into the world peacefully, had skin to skin right away and we opted not to have any part of his precious body sliced away.
He wouldn't latch.
We gave him time, we tried and re tried and re tried.
He finally latched, he was finally eating. The head bobbing 'can't find a boob' continued for weeks. He lost his 10% quickly. Skinny skinny baby.
After a small 4oz weight gain at 3 weeks we had a heart wrenching 7oz loss. I waited until my midwife left to hold my boy and cry. Ugly sobs. He was nursing constantly, almost every hour, he never slept, only ate! At my Midwife's suggestion, I started taking blessed thistle and fenugreek. Three of each, three times a day. I was also pumping after every single feed and SNSing everything I got after the feeds. Minimum every two hour feeds, regardless of time of day or time of night. I would feel so guilty if he slept longer than two hours, or if I fell asleep and missed a feed. It was exhausting and time consuming. I hated every moment of it. Thankfully I am the most stubborn person on the face of the planet and refused to give up. Refused to settle for anything less.
Every weigh in caused anxiety, every ounce fought for, worked for and desperately needed.
It is even more difficult to have very un supportive comments or suggestions. Just give him a bottle- there is nothing wrong with it. Some babies just need formula. You just aren't giving him enough- that's why he is so skinny.
These comments are not helpful for someone who is struggling to give her baby the best nourishment possible. These comments are not helpful for any breastfeeding mother. These comments are not welcome, especially on pictures of a beautiful boy.
Following our discharge from midwifery care, I made an appointment for us to see a lactation consultant at the health unit. She assessed his mouth, suck and latch. She said he had a very high palate and a weak suck. She confirmed that he has a lip tie and suspected a posterior tongue tie as his tongue does not function properly, even though he can stick it out.
I made an appointment with our family doctor to get a referral to an ENT, but unfortunately my concerns were dismissed. How frustrating. We were denied a referral.
The following week we saw the LC again, I told her what happened at the doctors, and she also dismissed my concerns as his weight gain in the past week was okay- low normal.
At Zacharey's two month well baby check, our doctor listened to our concerns and was hesitant to make a referral to an ENT as his weight was still in the okay low-normal range, although did admit that his weight was not where it should be. She referred us to another doctor in the office who is also a lactation consultant. She felt more comfortable with us getting a second opinion before writing a referral. Okay. We can work with that.
We saw the new doctor/LC on the 16th. Zacharey had a FABULOUS weight gain of 9oz in 6 days! He sits at 11lbs 1oz. I guess all the cluster feeding he had been doing was really paying off. She again confirmed his lip tie, said his palate was not high at all but said he has a class III tongue tie and awkward mouth movements when sucking. He was mostly playing and would not suck on her finger. Even though he is able to stick out his tongue, when sucking he is unable to extend his tongue past his gum line. She watched him eat, choke, gulp, cough, click and sputter (all normal for him) and made us a referral to see an ENT. She was very reassuring and encouraging. She acknowledged how hard we have been working to get him to gain. It is so nice to finally have answers and a solution.
I wouldn't say I am apprehensive to having his tie/tie's corrected. However, I am anxious about causing him pain, even though I know it will be beneficial to him in the long run. Not just with eating and weight gain, but with his speech and language development. If I do not hear anything from the ENT by the 31st, I will start harassing them. The older he is, the harder it will be for him to relearn how to use his 'new' mouth.
I just want this whole process to be over with so we can move on. I want him to gain properly. For all of this to work the way it is supposed to.
