I continued on with the breastfeeding. I also tried pumping, but was getting little to nothing. At our 3 AM feeding she was literally screaming and I could do nothing to get her to latch. I had also become engorged that evening, so it was even harder for her. Michael finally got out of bed, grabbed a bottle, and we decided it was time to give her that. As important as breastfeeding was to me, feeding my starving child was more important in that moment.
We got in to the pediatrician Monday afternoon. She had been 8 pounds 8 ounces at birth. She was 8 pounds 2 ounces at discharge on Saturday morning. This was a 5% weight loss and was considered normal. By Monday afternoon (the 27th) she was down to 7 pounds 9 ounces. Not good. She had lost almost a pound. Our pediatrician said she was "glowing" and was about a 16 or 17 (out of 20) on the bilirubin scale. She said we needed to be feeding her 2 ounces every 2 hours for the first two weeks. That included the middle of the night. However, she said we could go 3 hours at night if Olivia let us. Obviously I have no way of knowing whether I was giving her 2 ounces of breast milk. She said we needed to supplement with formula as needed and to see a lactation consultant to have her measured. Since she is a holistic doctor, she's obviously highly in favor of breastfeeding. She encouraged us to do what we needed to do to get back on track and to not give up.
(On the way to the doctor)
I'll be honest, I was pretty discouraged. I didn't feel like the breastfeeding thing was going that great, nor did I think it was going to get back on track. The only thing that kept me trying was my stubbornness. I had decided before having Olivia that no matter what, I was going to give breastfeeding my best shot. I knew it was going to be hard, but so many people I know go into it already giving themselves an out. I had given myself a challenge, and I wanted to hold up to it and prove that I could do it. I couldn't get in to the lactation consultant until that Thursday. So for the rest of Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and part of Thursday, I breastfed (more so to stimulate the boob, I wasn't convinced she was getting much) and then gave her a bottle after. I also continued to try to pump every once in a while, but was still just getting drops.
Our lactation consultant was very helpful. They weighed her. Thankfully she was up to 7 pounds 13.5 ounces. At least we made progress. We also weighed her a few times in the middle of the feed. She got one ounce from one breast and a half an ounce from the other breast. Then she took about a half an ounce of bottle--equally the two ounces she needed. The lactation consultant gave us lots of useful information. That one hour appointment was more valuable than all the books, blogs and classes. She also loaded us up with more ready made similac and two packs of diapers! She said I needed to breastfeed every two hours (as my doctor said) and then supplement with formula as needed. She said that it would all work itself out within the next few days and eventually Olivia would quit taking the bottle. She also said that every time Olivia took a bottle, I had to pump. THAT I didn't know. It makes sense though. She said that if Olivia is drinking an ounce from a bottle, that's an ounce that my body doesn't know she ate. If my body doesn't know she ate it, then my body doesn't know to produce it. Duh! Why had that not been mentioned in any books, the class we took, or any other source I've scoured in the last few months?!?!
Needless to say, it was a tiring process. Every two hours I had to breastfeed. Then I would hand her off to Michael, who would give her an ounce of formula. While he gave her the bottle, I had to pump for 10 minutes. I still wasn't getting much, but I was sending my body the message it needed. Eventually we quit giving her the formula and she seemed to be doing better.
We had a follow up appointment with the lactation consultant on Tuesday (the 5th). She weighed 8 pounds 2.5 ounces. She had gained an ounce a day, which is in the high end of what they should be gaining (a half ounce to an ounce a day). Then we did the whole weighing and feeding thing again and she got a little over 3 ounces of breast milk from our feed. The lactation consultant was thrilled with her weight gain, with our progress, and with how much milk she was getting. Thankfully it seemed to have worked itself out!
We had her two week appointment with the pediatrician (to check on the weight gain, since it had gone down so much after birth). She said she was still a little jaundice (her head and chest), but that it looked much better. She said it usually takes a month to run it's course. Also, she was weighed again and she weighed 8 pounds 6 ounces. She was only 2 ounces under her birth weight, which considering the circumstances, was pretty good.
Because of the jaundice, she has basically slept the entire two weeks away. When she opens her eyes it's like the freaking paparazzi in our apartment. It happens so rarely that cameras go off in every direction! :) It's getting better though. There has been lots of improvement even just in this week. The pediatrician had said that we needed to start getting her days and nights straightened out within the first few weeks of her life. How can you straighten out her days and nights when she literally is always asleep?! She is just starting to come out of the fog, so hopefully we can get into some sort of routine in the next few weeks--before I have to go back to work and a routine is a must.
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