Doctor Visits

We had Logan's first doctor's visit on Monday.  The pediatrician in the hospital insisted that it be set up first thing so that his jaundice was watched closely.

I felt like we had so much to cover!  We were there so long.

I didn't take any pictures at the appointment, so I'm just going to throw random pictures in this post. :)

First, they took his measurements.

*His weight dropped a whole pound, down to 8 pounds 14 ounces.  

This exact thing happened to Olivia, so it didn't concern me too much.  This put him in the  83rd %.

*His height remained the same at 20 inches.  This put him in the 53rd %.

*His head circumference was 37.6cm , which put him in the 98th %.  Can we just take a moment and let that sink in?  Yep.  I'm pretty sure I now have rock star status for life!  The nurse asked me how I even walked in there for the appointment.  In reality though, this was probably a blessing in disguise.  His head is really wide, so once it was out there was no issues with the shoulders.  That could have potentially been a bad situation in an ambulance.  Once again, God had all of the details figured out.

They checked for a heart murmur and didn't hear anything, so we are skipping the extra visit to Children's.

They took blood to check his bilirubin levels, which ended up coming back fine.

We met with the nurse practitioner first, and then the pediatrician came in since it was our first visit.  She looked at him, rubbed a little chub on his arm, and said "He's a big baby!  He has some extra fat on him too.  Did you have gestational diabetes?"  (*sigh*)

The main talk of our appointment was the fact that Logan seems to be following his sister when it comes to the Milk Soy Protein Intolerance (MSPI).  This does not surprise me one bit.  Lots of people kept trying to encourage me during my pregnancy that it would be "different this time".  But truthfully, I had read the facts.  If your first has it, it is almost a guarantee that your second will.  I was expecting it.

Logan's has showed up a little different though.  We didn't have non stop screaming (yet. apparently that starts between 4 to 6 weeks if untreated at that point), but he went right from meconium poops into green mucousy poop.  There are only 2 reasons for green mucousy poop, and I had a good idea what ours was.

I had a very in depth conversation with both the pediatrician and the nurse practitioner.  Some tears may have been shed, but both Michael and I decided that going on the formula was probably best.  We absolutely cannot afford to do the ready to feed, so we wanted to start out on the powder.  Both our Texas pediatrician and our new Ohio pediatrician said that the ready to feed is better to start out on, because the powder has a lot of corn in it (another common allergen).  But when we did that with Olivia, she refused to switch over.  $330 a month in formula is not an option this time around, since I'm not working like I was last time.

They sent us home with samples of the alimentum powder and instructed us to feed him every 2 to 3 hours to get his weight back up and to help clear out the jaundice.  They told us to come back on Tuesday for a follow up.

 We started the formula on Monday afternoon.  We didn't have to worry about waking him for feedings.  He was ready every 2 hours.  He took to the bottle and the formula with no issues.  Unfortunately, his diapers weren't getting better.  In fact, they were looking worse to me.  So at our 6AM feeding, I sort of panicked thinking that I was ruining my milk supply and he wasn't taking to the formula.  So I went back to breastfeeding and decided to see what they said at his appointment.

We got to his appointment and his weight was back up to 9 pounds, 1 ounce.  He gained 3 ounces in a day!!  That is huge!  The doctor's were really pleased and said we were headed in the right direction.

Then we discussed the feeding situation.  It took a lot for me to decide to go to the formula in the first place.  I'll be honest, mommy guilt is not usually an issue for me.  I know I'm not perfect and I make plenty of mistakes, but for the most part I feel confident in my decisions and give my daughter (and now son) a LOT of me.  But quitting on the breastfeeding so soon this time has me feeling very guilty.  Although I know that the diet would be incredibly hard for me and in turn incredibly hard for my family.

So to have made the decision to go with formula, and then to have to flip back to breastfeeding was a little overwhelming.  The doctor said that she didn't think that the bad diapers would happen that fast from the formula.  They are more than willing to help me with whatever decision I choose.  They were great at walking me through the decision and the pediatrician has a son with 15 different food allergies, so she said she completely understands the struggle and had to eventually quit breastfeeding herself.  She said breastfeeding does not trump a baby with an upset stomach/GI.  Plus, Olivia started on formula around two months.  She is one of the healthiest and smartest two and a half year olds I know, so that gives me a little comfort.

So right now we are giving the alimentum powder and watching the diapers.  In the meantime, I am also pumping as to not lose my supply.  If this formula doesn't work, I will have no choice but to go to the strict  diet.  We are going to do this until Friday.  We go in for another follow up then.  They want to check his weight again, and then we will see how the diaper situation is going.

I'm just ready for a plan.... whatever it may be.  This limbo thing is not working for me so well.  Thankfully, we have a pretty chill baby.  He is just going with the flow.