I was diligent about doing all 3 of the things that the Lactation Consultant told me to do in terms of upping the amount for milk Brodie was getting and helping to reduce spit up.
I cut out dairy for a week and noticed no difference in the amount of spitting up Brodie was doing...THANK YOU LORD! :) That means he's not allergic to dairy.
I have been pressing down on my breasts while he eats, and offering him both breasts at each feeding instead of just one. I am noticing him swallowing more and he almost always takes both breasts...I wonder if I was depriving him by not offering both?
I also tried pumping after feeding him on a side to see if he wasn't effectively nursing or getting all the hindmilk but I couldn't get more than a few drops. This is a good sign cause it means he is sucking me dry.
After a lot of discussion Nick and I decided that it was OK and wouldn't harm Brodie if I just pumped one feeding's worth of milk (whatever my boobs would produce) and added baby oatmeal to it. He seems to LOVE the oatmeal, sucking it down fast and crying when the bottle is done because he wants more. And, the best news is that when he eats it, there is NO spitting up afterwards. I gave him some water after it one time and he immediately spit up but it was just the water, not the cereal. Then the same thing happened when I let him nurse after finishing his bottle. He just barfed up the breastmilk that I had just given him. I have a feeling that Brodie is going to weigh a lot more at his Feb 28th appt and that the pediatrician is going to want to up the amount of times he eats the oatmeal. I guess we will cross that bridge when we get there :)
I can tell that Brodie is chunking up though. His face looks a little rounder and the tops of his feet have a little layer of fat now! Pray that the doctors get off our case when we go back to see about his weight! :)
