Kendall weighed in at a whopping 11 lbs. 11 oz. and was 24 7/8 inches long, meaning she didn't grow very much between her 4 month visit and her 6 month visit. I didn't even get the percentile, because I'm pretty sure her weight is below the charts! We saw Dr. Lynch (whom I LOVE) and she had me go over Kendall's feeding schedule. (Kendall nurses about 5-6 times a day and has solids 2-3 times a day.) After sharing Kendall's feeding schedule, Dr. Lynch recommended that we begin supplementing with formula. (Enter: breakdown!) Yes, the tears started flowing in the doctor's office! I was actually prepared for this news, but that didn't make hearing it any easier.
Before I was a mommy, I never thought I'd even want to nurse much past 6 months. I was one of those "when she gets teeth it's time to stop" kind of person. How things change!!! Once I started reading about nursing and learning more about it, my plan was to solely nurse for a year and just go straight from nursing to whole milk, that way we could by-pass the whole formula thing and the expense of it. Funny that most of the time my plan is not the way things end up. (Anybody hear me on that one? If things always go according to YOUR plan, I'd like to know. Does people like that even exist???)
So...as of today, we are giving Kendall formula three times a day. Dr. Lynch told me a couple of ways I could go about doing this, but I think I've about decided to go with nursing at her first and last feedings of the day, then formula feeding the three middle of the day feedings. I just think this will be a lot easier and a lot less stress. After I've had time to process all the information, I think I'm okay.
I KNOW that supplementing is the BEST thing for Kendall right now, and that having to do this doesn't make me a bad mom. I think this whole thing has just been hard for me to swallow because I've been her primary source of nutrition for her whole life and it's not good enough for her now. AND the whole "plan" thing...it's just not how I wanted things to go. I guess it's all about knowing how to monitor and adjust!!!
As far as everything else goes, Kendall looked great! We have to take her for a weight check in two weeks and are praying for some significant weight gain. If not, then Kendall will have to start undergoing tests to figure out the problem. Our prayer is that the problem is just her caloric intake and that supplementing will correct it. One good thing was that her head circumference was right on track, so that shows that her brain was developing well. (Plus, she's SO active!) Dr. Lynch also said this was VERY common, that she had talked to three mothers just this week with the same issue. I guess that made me feel a little bit better. So, I guess in two weeks, we'll see!
Okay...enough of that...
Tomorrow night, Kendall will have her first "real" babysitter. (One that isn't family!) Evan and I are going to see this group tomorrow night. Evan got tickets for us way back in January for $12.00 a piece. We are pretty pumped. We aren't really concert people, but this group has been on our list of "must sees" for a while. I'm actually not nervous/sad/worried about leaving Kendall, I'm more concerned that the concert doesn't start until 8:00 and that our sitter will be out so late!!! Not to mention Evan booked us on the 7:00 flight Friday morning!!!
I've got lots to do to get us ready to go on our trip...better go for now. I'm sure I'll have lots of excitement to post about as we travel to AR for ten days!
3 comments:
What a fun concert! You guys are going to have a great date night. Can't wait to see you all. Have a safe trip.
I'm glad you are having some peace now about her feedings. You have done an amazing job to make it this far-and you can still nurse her as long as you want. You're a wonderful mother and a little formula won't change that. Maybe we can get her in some of those bigger clothes by summer. :)
I just read that you all are coming to Arkansas- can't wait to see you!
You are so good to give this to God and realize that He is in control. I know it's hard, but it's so good you are trying to take care of her weight gaining now. My niece is 16 months old and barely weighs more Kendall. She's always been underweight, but incorporating formula in with nursing was never mentioned. Now, they're trying everything to get her to gain weight (with no prevail yet.) But, I know that she's in God's hands and He will take care of her just like Kendall!
If it makes you feel better...things didn't go according to "my plans" either the first time around!! I had also planned on nursing Emma until she was 1 and when she was 8 months old I broke out in a HORRIBLE rash!! They tried to give me a mild medicine to take, but it didn't work so they said I needed to be on a really strong steroid and I would have to stop nursing for at least that week!! I too broke down in tears b/c it was such an emotional attatchment for me! I decided then to put her on formula b/c I couldn't handle having to stop and then start and stop again...EMOTIONAL ROLLERCOASTER! lol You are a great mommy and hopefully Kendall will benefit from her extra nutrition!! Hang in there!
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