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!

He was 30 weeks, Jessica. He had an intrauterine growth restriction, so his size belies his gestational age. None of his systems were that underdeveloped--his brain is awesome, he was never on a respirator and his GI tract seems to be in order. The only issue he had was some reflux.

Jessica, I have known plenty of babies for which it is both. Even an underdeveloped GI tract will usually allow breast milk unless there is a true allergy. They baby might just have gastroparesis or slow emptying. Depends.

Noah was 6 lbs when he came home at 3 months and gained pretty slowly. Preeemies can be small. Even now, Grace and Noah are still tiny. Oh well.

Two ideas for Reece:

1. Add coconut oil to everything. I mean EVERYTHING, including formula. Coconut oil is awesome with the calories and surprisingly easily tolerated. I am sure some kids are allergic to coconut oil, but in all the tubies I know, I haven't found one. Flax oil is another good oil, but has higher allergy rates. Ditto avocado oil.

2. I think formula is way harder to digest than real food, especially the crazy "elemental" formulas. But if he's not vomitting, I wouldn't sweat it too much. It's the reflux issue that is maddening. She could ask the pediatrician for duocal which is a calorie increaser.

We had a feed schedule much like Reece's and it was hard. But it came with meds too. Noah's bottles were terrible looking because of the iron and the everything else. But he was trooper and drank it anyhow.

I'd also say her pediatric specialist is well-intentioned but adding extra stress to mom is bullshit. Preemies are preemies. If they are growing then don't get hung up on the curve. Does this specialist have lots of preemie patients?