January 19, 2009

Boys had their 4 mo well baby check-a-roo today. The nurse practitioner we saw was wonderful. She really encouraged us to try to stick out thw pumping until 6 months old. She said that when she sees babies with feeding issues like our boys, the earliest she usually sees success with some of the more mainstream formulas is 6 months. She said that she worries that if we push it now, we may end up on Nutramigen or the like, or something more specialized. She was so kind, and really listened to us, which was great.

We also stopped up to see the neonatologist (whom we love love love). She said that there is really much debate about breastfeeding and MPA (milk protein allergy). She said that they really don't know why some babies can handle breastmilk, which mom eats dairy, and cannot handle milk based formulas. She said that there is FAR more concentrated protein in the formula than the breastmilk, so that could make a difference. She said that it was really up to us. She said we could try a lactose free and see how it worked for us (lactose free formula is still MILK BASED. Lactose and Milk Protein are VERY different). If they did terribly, then we'd know that it's the milk. She said that in that case our options would be the Nutramigen/Allimentum or continuing to pump. She said that we could try it now if we wanted (lactose free) and if they still had trouble, we could try again when they were older...she suggested 6 months ADJUSTED (so 7.5 mo actual...sigh).

She DID say an absolute no no to SOY formula. I knew she was very opposed to it when they were IN the NICU, but didn't remember why. She explained that it has to do with calcium absorbtion. She said that milk-based formulas have the BEST calcium absorbtion, and that preemies NEED extra calcium. There is a huge transfer of vitamins/minerals in the last trimester of a pregnancy that preemies miss out on, and need to catch up on after being born, and calcium is one of those things that preemies need more of. Soy is apparently not so great for calcium absorbtion, and she recommends not using soy...so that is that. PLUS she told us that many babies with the milk protein intolerance will also have sensitivity to soy.

So yeah...there's the scoop. The plan you ask??? Pump for now... We may test drive the lactose free formula in a couple weeks. This weekend is the boys' baptism and we won't mess with anything during that time when we'll have so many people in our house, etc. Maybe in 2 weekends.

I'm pumping right now, but I'll add their stats (weight, height) later. The big news is that Alec made it up on the chart!!!! He's in the 5th percentile. Hahhahahahha. And Evan bumped right up the chart too!