Thursday, February 12, 2009

weight and worry

I took Jude to our pediatrician yesterday morning because I thought he may have gotten either the cold I just finished up with, or the repiratory infection I'd had a couple of weeks ago. When they weighed him, we discovered that he hadn't gained any weight since his last appointment a month ago. He went from being average weight a birth to being in the 25th percentile at two months to being in the 5th percentile now (at three months). My heart sank when the Doctor graphed his weight and I realized he hadn't grown. What am I doing wrong? My mind immediately ran back over all the times I thought Jude was crying because he was tired and wondered how much of that was because he was hungry. That my precious son could've been hungry and I didn't feed him was heartbreaking. So...they took a urine sample and blood test to see if anything seemed strange. The blood test was brutal. I guess his vein rolled when they tried the first time, so another nurse had to come in and take the blood from the other arm. I was a mess as I watched them try for the second time. Not only am I starving my child, but he has to be in pain, too.

The blood test came back normal but it did show that he has a virus - most likely the cold I had. The urine test also came back normal and showed that Jude is well hydrated. We had a chest x-ray taken later that day, which also was normal.

The doctor seemed to think his plateau in weight is because I've been sick and stressed out - possibly causing a supply drop, and Jude has been sick - accounting for a drop in appetite. I've also learned that babies usually plateau in weight a little when they start sleeping through the night - which Jude did at about nine weeks old. Perhaps the combination and timing of these three things has caused Jude's lack of weight gain. We made an appointment for Monday to re-weigh Jude and see where he's at. Until then, I'm nursing Jude as often as he'll eat and am weighing him with our home scale every morning. I'll update more as I know more.

3 comments:

  1. Oh Jen, I'm so sorry you're going through this! I've been there, as you know!

    Don't blame yourself! I was devastated when we had our failure to thrive scare with Miles and was horrified to think that I was unintentionally starving my baby!

    I'm so glad they didn't have to hospitalize him and that it is probably quite fixable. Have you taken fenugreek seed capsules to help your supply? I take them and see a noticeable difference in the days following fenugreek intake.

    Oh! Also, Miles was sleeping through the night before his weight troubles too - I was instructed to wake up him up to feed every 2 hours then and we haven't had good sleep-filled nights since. I hope things go much better for you!

    I am praying for all three of you. I know it's scary, but you'll get through this. Miles went from the 3rd to the 30th percentile between 3 and 6 months, so Jude should be back up there before you know it! :-)

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  2. Krista, I was hoping you'd comment since I know you went through something similar. I actually re-read some of your blog entries when we came home from the Doctor's. We actually just got fenugreek yesterday and I've begun taking it. I can tell a difference in my supply, but I'm not sure if that's because of the fenugreek or if it's because Jude's been eating every couple of hours. Either way, I'm glad to see my supply increasing. I'm also eating a lot of oatmeal.

    I'm feeding him at least every 2.5 hours during the day (though he sometimes wants to eat more often so I feed him more often) and as he wakes at night - which is about every three hours. So yeah - long gone are the days of 8 hours of sleep. That's okay though. Sleeping through the night is a skill we can work on later, he eating needs are immediate.

    I think the reason he wasn't hospitalized is because they knew I've been sick and he is sick. His numbers were almost identical to Miles', so that's the only reason I can think of that they'd hospitalize Miles and not Jude.

    Thank you so much for the encouragment. I'm determined to continue with breastfeeding and supplement with formula only as a last resort, but it's hard.

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  3. Just stick with it - you will probably bounce right back as far as your supply. I hope Jude's pediatrician is as supportive of breastfeeding as ours was. I am so amazed looking back that none of the medical staff we talked with even hinted at suggesting we give up breastfeeding. I keep forgetting to do it, but I really want to send a thank you letter and picture of us to Miles's old doctor to thank her for that.

    Although we did have to supplement for a few weeks, he only get formula at the babysitter's now (mostly because I'm too lazy to pump as much after feedings as I would need to in order to get enough for a full feeding). It wasn't the end of the world, but I totally understand not wanting to do so!

    I'll be awaiting an update when you can share after Jude's next appointment!

    Hang in there, Maurers!

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