How Can OUR Son Possibly Be Underweight?

I woke up at 3:00 this morning to feed Sawyer and couldn't go back to sleep. I used the time to do some of the "normal" things that I did with no problem before Sawyer was born. I wrote my thank you notes, paid bills, balanced the checkbook, and went to WalMart.com to choose some pictures to have printed for his baby book. I would have had a nap if I'd known what kind of report we'd get at the pediatrician that afternoon.

I called Starn air because it sounded like our air conditioner might be going out and it didn't seem to be cooling like it should. I called first thing at 8:00 and the receptionist said that they would be able to work us in.

In the meantime we worked on the birth announcements. I've had them addressed for weeks so that saved us some time. Lorne is such a perfectionist and it's really funny to watch him because everything has to be just so. Who else does that sound like? :) Lorne printed them all out and he even cut the tape and put the announcements together. I'll post one later if I think of it. I don't want to ruin the surprise of everyone seeing it when it comes in the mail.

As the day went on it became more and more obvious that the air conditioner man wouldn't be here before it was time to leave for the appointment. He actually got here when it was time to leave so I had to go by myself. I was kind of panicking a little bit because I hadn't left the house by myself with Sawyer yet. I drove extra carefully on the way there and we made it without incident. Our pediatrician is on vacation this week so we met with the Pediatric Nurse Practitioner who helped us with nursing last week.

I was shocked to say the least when they weighed him and he was 6 lbs. We thought we were home free last week when he'd gained half an ounce in less than a day and was 6 lbs 3.5 ozs. I was really at a loss. We'd done our charting where we write down the time and amount of all Sawyer's bodily functions. As Loyette put it, his "output" looks great, but for some reason he's not gaining. She told me to nurse every 2 1/2 hours and to supplement one of the nighttime feedings with a bottle. I didn't take this very well at first, but then I started to realize that the most important thing is that he gain weight.

I went to Babies R Us and wandered around the bottle section trying to figure out what to buy. I noticed a strange sensation come over me as I was walking around the store. I felt like a mother bear who was looking out for her cub. I didn't want strangers to get close to him or try to touch him because he's in such a precarious place right now. I've just never felt that strongly about someone else before so it was pretty overwhelming.

I knew to buy a slow flow nipple and one that was most like the breast. I bought a couple of different kinds. We ended up going with the Playtex ones that Laura had recommended and that we got at one of my showers. They're called Drop-ins and are really easy to clean because the insert is thrown away. I felt like I was keeping it together until I got to the parking lot and noticed "BVM" on a license plate. In case you didn't know I'm really big on signs. Mom and Aunt Net refer to the Blessed Virgin Mary as the BVM and Mom has always told me to pray to her and she will take care of us. I felt like I needed her help and strength more than ever at that moment.

We made it through the night and were hopeful that he would gain weight with this new plan.


Sawyer loves to be swaddled!


I just happened to look over in time to capture this sweet moment between Daddy and son.