Eight weeks and growing strong

Wylie entered the world weighing 7 pounds and 15 ounces.  The little man was not the best eater at first--sleeping was his top priority--and he struggled to gain weight.  Dr. Fischer was concerned when his weight stayed at 7 pounds 8 ounces.  Poor little Wylie was only eating enough to maintain, but not gain weight.  He wasn't in danger of dehydration, but wasn't taking in enough calories to thrive.  It was a vicious cycle: he was lethargic from not eating enough, but because he wasn't eating enough, he didn't have the energy to eat well.  So, Dr. Fischer sent us home to focus on getting more food into that little belly.  She had us feed him a supplementary bottle of breast milk after each feeding and feed him every two hours.  My shoulders and back ached from so much nursing.  It was exhausting, but it worked.  At his next doctor's appointment we were thrilled that he had gained and we could ease off the force feedings a bit, going to a bottle of pumped milk after every other feeding. 

This whole struggle with eating really threw me for a loop.  It took me a while to accept that Wylie was not Finn and was not taking to nursing as easily as Finn had.  Wylie and I had some work to do to get his eating habits up to speed!

I so appreciated Dr. Fischer's very cautious approach over the following weeks as she had us slowly ease off the extra bottles and come in every week for a weigh in.  Each time I put the little guy on the scale I held my breath hoping he had gained, and he did!  Now, at eight weeks, Wylie weights 11 pounds and 3 ounces!  I wish he would stay tiny tiny, but am so glad he's finally eating without extra bottles and still gaining weight.  Sadly I packed away his newborn-sized clothes earlier this week.  He is a becoming a chubster!