Bottle-feeding it is! (at least for now)

floor time!

 I just got back from the lactation specialist, and it seems that my worries about him getting enough to eat were totally founded. in the last week he should have gained 3.5-7 oz and he gained 2.5. Given that this is worse than before we're going to try a different approach. Instead of me nursing him at least 8 times a day, I'm going to pump 8 or more times a day and give him all his meals in a bottle. If I cannot make enough milk to get him a complete 3 ounces at every feeding then I'll just have to supplement with formula. Not the way I would have preferred it, but as the lactation specialist said-- we've tried everything else at this point and the important thing is that he gets the calories he needs to grow. In a way, I feel relieved with this new plan; while not ideal, at least now I can feel satisfied that I'm giving him what he needs!

being burped

Oh, and the lactation specialist said she still thinks there may be something wrong with the way he sucks (pushing out instead of pulling in, and snapping as he swallows instead of kind of rolling his mouth). So she called a pediatric dentist for me and I have an appointment tomorrow morning just so we can truly rule out any sort of problem with his mouth.

One nice thing, during the last couple of days Benjamin has started figuring out his hands a little. Especially when eating he's begun to try to hold on to my clothes; very endearing except when he misses the clothing and scratches the skin instead.

In other (unrelated) news, one of the more weird things about being pregnant was I lost my taste for my previously "can't-do-without-it" morning tea. During the last couple of weeks I have gotten it back, though, which is great. There's something about the ritual of morning tea that I really enjoy.