Re: the great scale dilemma - how to reach use the 2 g positively

[Guest guest]

Yesterday I had a case that is a perfect example of why having a scale measure

to 2 gm is important. In both cases, the babies were not able transfer much

milk -- one because the baby had lost too much weight and was simply too tired

to do the job, the other because the baby had the tiniest mouth I've even seen

and was a tongue sucker. In both cases the babies barely swallowed. BUT

because the babies were able to transfer 0.1 oz (e.g. 2 g) I was able to reach

the RIGHT brain of these moms with " yes, your baby actually can drink some milk

from you " and " yes, if your baby will be able to do this " . This was the first

time that each baby had effectively latched and done any sucking at all. In

the case of the baby who had lost a lot of weight, the mother was reassured that

the baby needed to gain weight to be able to suck more effectively and she

understood she would need to be patient. The big thrill for her was that after

her baby latched well to the breast, she released 10 times the amount of milk

(she went from puddle at the bottom of the bottle to 1 oz). In the case of the

second baby, once the baby was switched to the second breast -- that little

taste of milk from the breast must have clicked in her little head and all of a

sudden she swallowed beautifully.

Both mothers were reassured by that 0.1 oz (or 2 grams). This is how you can

take what might be an alarming number and turn it into a positive improvement to

give moms incentives to keep going.

Best regards,

E. Burger, MHS, PhD, IBCLC