Kat and Strega are both amazing.

It boggles my mind that a baby can be allergic to breast milk--but it happens.

Indeed. It happened to my younger brother.

Kat's amazing; I just knew a good place to start hunting.

ita ! I don't want to put more on your plate when you're at your limit. Can you just give a thumbs up on anything that doesn't use any personal identifiers? A couple of people here are just doing a little research project about this hypothetical situation. Hell, if you want we could whitefont or backchannel until there's something useful to report; if we go down a blind alley you don't need to follow along.

Skipping sadly-yet-again to post that, according to the Buffista Calendar, today is Kate P's birthday.

Happy birthday, Kate! With lots of wishes for a great day and a wonderful year!

Happy birthday, Kate P!

I know I have no vote in Reece's care (obviously) but the mom in me votes hard for your sister trusting her instinct and avoiding the G tube. Sammy is also nine months and weighs 17lbs but he wasn't a preemie. I'm sure that having him so small is scary especially in the winter and with RSV, etc. every picture I've seen of Reece, he's been wearing a hat so I'm sure he's not burning calories staying warm but I do like Kat's idea about O2.

Two thoughts, I guess. If he's happy, alert, making (adjusted) milestones, but just small, then I think his mom should feel good about how he's doing. I know Kat has lived this and I haven't, but I think it is so hard to be a new mom with a fragile child. Beyond the tiredness and the worry, parenting started with so many scary things. I don't see how that doesn't shape your perspective as a parent. But I also think doctors really like to "fix" stuff and it doesn't sound like anything is broken with Reece.

I have no idea if my Sammy experience is relevant to Reece, but Sammy was small (10%) for many months. Then I realized that he had been fighting thrush for a long time (like, 2 months) and a cold, etc. he ended up gaining three lbs (14 to 17 lbs) in three months and I know this is not what the books say, but gained tons of weight on regular food. Personally, I agree (can you agree with a fact?) that formula/breastmilk has more calories than regular food but in Sammy's case, it was the food that made him gain.

That's rather long winded but I just want Lori to feel supported in trusting herself

I know I have no vote in Reece's care (obviously) but the mom in me votes hard for your sister trusting her instinct and avoiding the G tube. Sammy is also nine months and weighs 17lbs but he wasn't a preemie. I'm sure that having him so small is scary especially in the winter and with RSV, etc. every picture I've seen of Reece, he's been wearing a hat so I'm sure he's not burning calories staying warm but I do like Kat's idea about O2.

Two thoughts, I guess. If he's happy, alert, making (adjusted) milestones, but just small, then I think his mom should feel good about how he's doing. I know Kat has lived this and I haven't, but I think it is so hard to be a new mom with a fragile child. Beyond the tiredness and the worry, parenting started with so many scary things. I don't see how that doesn't shape your perspective as a parent. But I also think doctors really like to "fix" stuff and it doesn't sound like anything is broken with Reece.

I have no idea if my Sammy experience is relevant to Reece, but Sammy was small (10%) for many months. Then I realized that he had been fighting thrush for a long time (like, 2 months) and a cold, etc. he ended up gaining three lbs (14 to 17 lbs) in three months and I know this is not what the books say, but gained tons of weight on regular food. Personally, I agree that formula/breast ill has more calories than regular food but in Sammy's case, it was the food that made him gain.

That's rather long winded but I just want Lori to feel supported in trusting herself

Happy birthday, Kate!

Happy birthday, Kate!

DUDE. Up TWO mornings in a row early. Good early, not "oh, fuck!" early, and I already have the bed made and a load of laundry in. (Yes, this is not remarkable, but I have been in a looooong Slough of Despond, Illness and Back Pain, so it's like a friggin' miracle.)

Wow, end of October weather here is being WEIRD. It's 7:40 and it's 70 degrees. Nice, but...WTF?

Is a breast milk allergy a true allergy (immune response), or a symptom of an underdeveloped GI tract? Just curious because it seems so counterintuitive!