Feeding

While in the hospital, I made it clear to every nurse about our situation so they would not harass me about not breast feeding.  I had always planned to try it out, but it's out of my control now and I am okay with it. We bond during feeding. She looks up at me and grabs my finger. I get to hold her tight. Taking care of a little baby is really hard and I can't imagine all the extra work it takes to breastfeed including having sore leaky boobs etc. I give those women credit.

They gave me 2 ounce similac premixed bottles. They were great. You just unscrew the top and put on a nipple. They were very strict about how much to feed her. They told me about one ounce and it had to be at least 3 hours. They said her stomach was very small so we had to be careful.

She would become fussy and cry and my gut told me she was hungry. The nurses would not let me feed her until three hours had passed. I was up all night until about midnight when the nurses took all the babies to get their stats. She returned the baby asleep in a tight swaddle. I asked her how she got her to sleep. She  told me that she likes to suck on her gloved finger, so I should get her a pacifier at home bc the hospital does not stock them.

She went to sleep and I expected her to wake me up but she never did. I woke up around 6:30  am and thought she was dead. I jumped up and freaked out. I went over and woke her up. She was fine and had a bottle. The nurse got mad at me and told me that I should have woken her up... ERGH well nobody said anything so how would I know.

When the sw arrived, the baby was screaming again and I thought she was hungry but it had not been 3 hours. The SW said she had never heard such a loud cry from a newborn. She agreed that the baby was very hungry and got me some food. She said that sometimes when they do not get a lot of prenatal care they crave nutrients once born and try to make up for lost time.

We saw the dr the next day and I told him what the nurse said. The dr told me that I could feed her every 2-3 hours and that I should not wake her up to feed at night.

I used the premixed bottles for a few weeks. They were so easy and helped me through the chaos of moving etc. At some point I knew I would have to start mixing powdered formula due to the cost. My dh coworkers got us a formula machine that is amazing. She started using the powder during the day, but I still  use the premixed at night and when I travel. I am still transitioning my whole life and I need to keep some things simple.

She quickly increased her intake of formula. I tried to figure out how much to feed her. Some sites said 2.5 oz per pound her day, and she was doing a little less than that. I do a combo of child led and parent let feeding. I feed her if she awakes or is fussy in the 2-3 hour window. The dr said you can't really hurt her by giving too much bc if you over feed the baby it will spit up. I increased her amount slowly and I tried to watch her to see if she was still hungry after feeding. She never spits up and she will make a yuk face when she is not hungry.

At 7 weeks old, she is up to about 5 oz per feeding. At her last Dr Apt for her one month checkup, she had gained 2 pounds. She went up from 8 to 10 which he said was great. I expressed my fear that she was not eating enough. He said all moms feel that way. Then I reminded him that I am still under supervision so I worry that I will get into trouble.