Chunk

Julie went to the breastfeeding clinic yesterday to check on her latch. The latch was fine, but the nurse weighed Lyla and she was one ounce short of her birth weight. For a three-week-old, that's not great. As you can imagine, Julie was crushed. Like any new mom, she feels solely responsible for Lyla's well-being. I got home from school and found her in tears next to a giant pile of used tissues.

It's easier for the dad to be calm during these situations, but it doesn't do the mom any good to hear a bunch of rationalizations. Still, it's important that fantastic moms not feel like shitty ones. Ultimately, creating an action plan turned Julie from despair to hope. In anticipation of the next day's doctor appointment, we decided to cram Lyla with as much breast milk as possible. If we could get her to gain one ounce, the equivalent of a fistful of popcorn, then Julie would feel like a good mom again.

At the appointment today, Lyla weighed in at 8 pounds 9 ounces, a full 3 ounces above the birth weight. When the doctor came in, we told her about the last 24 hours, and she reset the scale and weighed Lyla again. This time she came in a little closer to 8 pounds 10.

So what the hell happened? The doctor thought the scale yesterday must have been off. It was an electric one, and those can go cuckoo. The scales with actual weights on them, like the one today at the clinic, are more reliable. Plus, Lyla doesn't look like an underweight baby. The girl has some chunk to her; it's not like she's got ribs all over the place. Her cheeks are like filet mignons.

Julie was ecstatic.


We spent the rest of the day at the mall. Lyla was a champion. At feeding time, Julie brought her to the Nordstrom ladies room (it's more like a lounge, she tells me) and Lyla chugged each side dry. So I'm guessing she'll be 8 pounds 11 by morning. Oh, and we ate sushi for the first time since Julie got pregnant.

So to sum up, Julie has fed her daughter to normal weight, she went shopping all afternoon, and then she ate sushi. I believe this is the best day we've had since the birth.