Sunday, May 18, 2008

Conflicting Advice

After we had Hayley, Jen and I got a lot of conflicting advice from Doctors and Nurses on how to best care for her. (Read Post) Whether it be holding them while they sleep or putting them in their crib after feedings, almost every nurse had their own opinion. Basically it boiled down to what works for you. It was almost comical with the twins as one nurse insisted on swaddling them with their arms down while another nurse commented that in the Nic U they swaddle them with their hands by their face cuz it makes them more comfortable. Almost every parent has an opinion on how best take care of a new born. All this is not all bad either as we give anything new we hear a try as long as it doesn't sound harmful.

Braxtyn and Elliott started out of the shoot eating a lot. Especially Braxtyn, who was eating double the suggested amount at each feeding. He was eating so much that Jen and I were concerned about it, but we figured as long as he wanted it that it was ok to keep feeding him. When they had their first checkup at three weeks they were up to 6-7 oz at most feedings. The doctor said this was way to much. She said eating that much was bad for their small stomachs and that we risked frequent spitting up and obesity. She said to try and use a pacifier to satisfy them after they've eating 4oz. (The twins rarely spit up) So we fought for the next three weeks trying to feed them less only to have to deal with them crying and crying. It was getting frustrating to say the least.

At our doctors appointment last Thursday we saw a different doctor since their doctor was on vacation. She asked us how they were eating and we said good. Then I asked what was the max they should be eating and she said there was no max. Just feed them until they're satisfied. We told her what the other doctor said and she just said "she flat out disagreed with that!". She said as long as we weren't force feeding them we were fine. She said they don't worry about getting to much food at this age. We were relieved to hear this as we could feed them until they were happy and maybe they'd stop crying so much. In most cases hearing conflicting advice has confused us but in this case I'm happy we saw another doctor. We'd still be fighting through this had we not. In the future I'm not going to hesitate getting a second opinion if we're having issues with the kids.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Kendra was a big eater right away after she got out of the hospital -6 oz bottles! She did not spit up much...alot less than Alex and he didn't eat as well! Go with what works!!!