Yesterday I was told I was starving my child. I innocently called the Drs office to ask them for tips on how I could get J to eat from the bottle better. Hints, thoughts? No, I did not get any. I was instead basically yelled at for only giving my 7 month old child 20-24 ounces of formula a day. The nurse was like: "he needs 30 ounces! Is he growing? Is he soiling his diapers? Is he always sleepy? Is he always cranky?" I replied: "He is always happy, he is just about out of 9 month clothes, he poops like five times a day, his diapers are so heavy I think the kid pees like 15 pounds a day, he naps like usual, sleeps through the night, and he is a happy boy." She was in disbelief and continued to question me, as I must be doing something wrong. She got off the phone with me "to research the problem."
About 45 minutes later she calls back to tell me, yes, she is right, and he needs 30 ounces a day. Fabulous. Mind you, at his peak of eating he ate just 30 ounces. So, now that we have added some rice and veggies - shouldn't it naturally be going down? Fine, she wants me to give him 30 ounces a day. But, how?
So, I ask her, how do I do this? Do I stop giving him solids altogether and eventually he will get so hungry he will have to drink the bottle? (by the way, I would never do this, even if it was recommended). No, she says give the bottle first, then food. DUH! I do this all the time, but he still will not take the bottle, hence the reason for my call in the first place. The woman continues to blather on supremely unhelpful things. The kicker, "well, if he does not want to drink the formula, mix it with rice." And then, a minute later, "cut his rice intake in half." How does one cut rice in half yet feed him 6 more ounces of food with rice? Idiot.
I was so upset I hung up the phone and sat on the couch. My husband came home to find me in hysterics. From listening to this idiot for ten minutes tell me nothing helpful, I all of the sudden made myself into the worst Mom ever. It brought back all of my inabilities to boobiefeed. It made me feel like I was doing everything wrong. In ten minutes!
I have since gained some perspective. The kid is fine. I say, he is even better than fine! He is growing like crazy, did you see that belly? He is happy, he is sleeping, he is smiling. Maybe this is just what he needs. I refuse to force feed him as I worry that will mess him up on other levels (I have learned that cleaning your plate every time does not do wonders for your figure, or your relationship with food). So, I will push forward. I will try to get him to drink the bottle, but I will not stress if one day it is only 18-20 ounces. If it goes down to 16 maybe we will revisit. Thoughts? Did any of your kids experience the same thing? Do the nurses in your office seem to know nothing? I tried to also add different foods to his diet to at least cover things that way, but he does not like yogurt. Any other ideas?
Yesterday I was told I was starving my child. I innocently called the Drs office to ask them for tips on how I could get J to eat from the bottle better. Hints, thoughts? No, I did not get any. I was instead basically yelled at for only giving my 7 month old child 20-24 ounces of formula a day. The nurse was like: "he needs 30 ounces! Is he growing? Is he soiling his diapers? Is he always sleepy? Is he always cranky?" I replied: "He is always happy, he is just about out of 9 month clothes, he poops like five times a day, his diapers are so heavy I think the kid pees like 15 pounds a day, he naps like usual, sleeps through the night, and he is a happy boy." She was in disbelief and continued to question me, as I must be doing something wrong. She got off the phone with me "to research the problem."
About 45 minutes later she calls back to tell me, yes, she is right, and he needs 30 ounces a day. Fabulous. Mind you, at his peak of eating he ate just 30 ounces. So, now that we have added some rice and veggies - shouldn't it naturally be going down? Fine, she wants me to give him 30 ounces a day. But, how? 
So, I ask her, how do I do this? Do I stop giving him solids altogether and eventually he will get so hungry he will have to drink the bottle? (by the way, I would never do this, even if it was recommended). No, she says give the bottle first, then food. DUH! I do this all the time, but he still will not take the bottle, hence the reason for my call in the first place. The woman continues to blather on supremely unhelpful things. The kicker, "well, if he does not want to drink the formula, mix it with rice." And then, a minute later, "cut his rice intake in half." How does one cut rice in half yet feed him 6 more ounces of food with rice? Idiot.
I was so upset I hung up the phone and sat on the couch. My husband came home to find me in hysterics. From listening to this idiot for ten minutes tell me nothing helpful, I all of the sudden made myself into the worst Mom ever. It brought back all of my inabilities to boobiefeed. It made me feel like I was doing everything wrong. In ten minutes! 
I have since gained some perspective. The kid is fine. I say, he is even better than fine! He is growing like crazy, did you see that belly? He is happy, he is sleeping, he is smiling. Maybe this is just what he needs. I refuse to force feed him as I worry that will mess him up on other levels (I have learned that cleaning your plate every time does not do wonders for your figure, or your relationship with food). So, I will push forward. I will try to get him to drink the bottle, but I will not stress if one day it is only 18-20 ounces. If it goes down to 16 maybe we will revisit. Thoughts? Did any of your kids experience the same thing? Do the nurses in your office seem to know nothing? I tried to also add different foods to his diet to at least cover things that way, but he does not like yogurt. Any other ideas?
When Ned hit 9 months his bottles went WAY down to about 20-24 oz and it WAS FINE. It's because he liked eating solid food. I mean, don't you? In fact in 2 months you won't even be giving him a bottle first, we did like 1/2 bottle and just sippy cup with milk at meal time. For now give him water at meals in a sippy cup. More for play. Ned actually caught on to straw cups at 9 months old (that and sitting up for long periods were his two "early" accomplishments). If I had posted this on my MOT listserve everyone would have told you to ignore the nurse - she "looked it up". Um, where? If you are worried talk to doctor but if he's loving solids (and soon he'll be rejected jar for finger food) then don't worry about it.
ReplyDeleteDamn, now I'm hungry for lunch but stuck on a call.
I agree with Kristin. Cameron did the same thing when solids were introduced. Is this nurse in your pediatrician's office? If so I assume you have a 9 month well appointment coming up? You really, really need to say something to the pediatrician. That NP should be reprimanded. I was told that 20-24 ounces a day is perfectly normal when combined with solids. In fact, Cameron takes that now at almost 12 months! And sometimes less even if she eats nothing in her finger food! Stand up for other mothers if not yourself and make sure it gets addressed. And tell us, your reading audience, how it goes :-)
ReplyDeleteTHANK YOU guys! He is still only 2 weeks from being 8 months, so not quite 9... Tonight I got 25 ounces in him, but he has really started hating mushed foods. Can we be going through these phases already? AHHH!. He has finally started drinking water out of the sippy cup. We are at Sunday River now, but when we get home I plan on some finger foods instead of mashed. Easy stuff to swallow, like banana.
ReplyDeleteI continue to be mad at the nurse. At his 6 month appt a different nurse told us to feed him 4 meals a day, meats, beans, all... he only needed 12-16 ounces of formula she said. Then, the doctor came in and told us the complete opposite. Joel and I just sat in disbelief, and did not say a thing but obviously followed the Drs advice. And then this happens on the phone. I think the nurses have no clue there. Come to think of it, 6 weeks of a rash (a call every week) and it wasnt until I freaked out at a nurse that I finally was scheduled an appt with a dr. These nurses are ridiculous. I love our Dr, so I want to try to stick it out, I just might have to be a bitch and demand a dr's attention each time I have an issue...
I found the same thing to be true at the hospital after giving birth (both times) - each nurse had a different set of advice. So confusing and frustrating! And probably you would get different advice from different doctors, too. I think your decision to ignore the nurse is a good one - J is obviously happy and healthy, he's getting plenty of nutrition. 20-24 ounces sounds reasonable to me if he is eating 2-3 solid meals a day.
ReplyDeleteIf he hasn't started teething yet, beware - he may drop his intake even further once that happens. It's temporary, but can be alarming the first time :-).