Weighty Issues

Days after taking Thomas home, we brought him to his pediatrician. He weighed in at 4 lbs 10 ounces and she was a bit concerned about his drop in weight since birth. She asked that she see us back for a weight check at the end of the same week (Feb 3rd) to make sure his weight increased. His appointment came and we were sure that he had gained weight. Nope. He actually lost a half ounce making him 4 lbs 9 1/2 ounces. She put us on a rigorous feeding schedule where every 2 hours I had to breastfeed from each side for 15 min a piece, feed him from a bottle, and then pump both sides 10 min. Seriously, by the time we went through the cycle, we would have less than an hour before the next feeding. She gave us until the following Tuesday to get his weight up or else she might admit him to the hospital. Obviously, hearing that he seems too weak to feed properly isn't something any new parent wants to hear and it was depressing and sad. Stephen and I took to the new schedule immediately which put a strain on us because sleep was severely hindered. To combat that, I usually went to bed right after a 10p feeding and got to sleep until about 3pm. Stephen would feed Thomas via bottle during that time. Then I dragged myself out of bed and watched/feed him the rest of the day (Stephen wakes around noon and then works from home). Our weight check was today and I think Stephen and I were both holding our breaths when Thomas got on the scale. We felt confident that he had gained weight- he took to the new feeding schedule well and was eating like a champ- but we were still anxious. Good news- he weighed in at 5 pounds! Way more of a weight gain than his doctor expected! Such a huge relief. So now we can back off from the supplemental feelings and go to feeding him every 2 hrs during the day, and every 3 hours at night. Hooray! We have another weight check scheduled a week from today and, if all goes well, he will have gained an ounce a day. Such a relief to be over that hurdle! Plus being forced to use a bottle has been great because it's given me a break from being the sole feeder.