Shortly after Harlan was born, I took her to her to one of her regularly scheduled pediatrican well visits. Upon taking her weight, the doctor informed us that she had taken a dip in her chart. She wasn’t gaining weight like they wanted them too.
As a new mom who had very little confidence in what I was doing, I felt horrible. I was determined to do anything to help her gain the weight that she needed. I asked the doctor if there was anything I could do and he immediately told me that the problem was my milk supply and needed to supplement with formula right away.
Let me start out by saying that I don’t have anything against formula. You feed your child the way you need to feed your child. But I had a breastfeeding goal for myself. I wanted to breastfeed Harlan for as long as I possibly could. I didn’t want to be forced into formula feeding her if I didn’t want to.
But the pediatrician insisted. And thinking that he was the expert, I obliged. We started her on a bottle of formula a day and came back once a week to get her weight.
First visit, she didn’t gain enough. Okay, let’s switch it to two bottles of formula.
Second visit, she didn’t gain enough. Okay, let switch it to three bottles of formula.
Before I knew it, I was only able to nurse her in the morning and at night. My supply was depleted and now feeding her formula was not only necessary for her weight, but because I could no longer supply her with enough milk of my own.
When we moved to Manhattan and had to find a new pediatrician I told her Harlan’s history.
“She’s just on her own curve,” our new pediatrician assured me. It was the first time that I’d heard that from anyone.
Soon after Avery was born it was like deja vu. She, too, had weight issues. This time I wasn’t going to be forced into formula feeding if I didn’t want or need to. Avery had GI appointments, several tests run and all came back normal. The GI doctor kept pushing me to start her on formula. We’d go in for weekly weigh-ins and she wouldn’t gain the way he wanted to. I’d done what I could to help fatten and increase my supply. She was gaining very little, but she was still gaining. He still wanted to do tests and insisted that I needed to start her on formula to help her gain. I told him that we did this with my oldest and it made no difference. He still insisted. I stopped going to see him shortly after.
Fast forward to Macks. He was gaining weight like a champ and then we hit a bump in the road. He even lost weight one month. Determined not to go down this road again, I assured my (new) pediatrician that this is in our family history. I have small kids, regardless of what or how much they eat. I told him I would do what I could to help my milk supply and booked the first appointment with the lactation consultant at the office.
Because he gained weight, I had to visit the office everyday to check his weight. I remember going into every appointment with my nerves out of control. I literally felt sick not knowing what his weight was. Not only was traveling back and forth each day straining on me, but Macks as well.
After a month of seeing the lactation consultant, changing my diet, helping increase my supply, feeding Macks in a dark and quiet room with very little distraction, we FINALLY saw a jump in his weight. I cried at the scale, feeling like we had just taken on the world together.
A couple of months ago I was introduced to the Hatch Baby Smart Changing Pad. The first thought that came to my mind was “gosh, this would have changed my life if I had it with all three kids when they were born.”
The Smart Changing Pad tracks your baby’s weight, diaper changes, and how much they ate. If you want to check to see how much your baby is eating, just set them on the Smart Changing Pad before and after a feeding and it will keep track and send the information to your smart device in the Hatch Baby app. The feedings are tracked my date and time and even lets you compare the feedings with others. This is the perfect way to show your pediatrician or lactation consultant at a visit.
When you weigh your baby, it will sync with the app and let you compare their growth percentile to worldwide (WHO) data. So when I relied on my pediatrician to help me track all three of the kids’ weight, this would have done it for me, no problem.
One thing that a pediatrician always asks during those first few visits with a newborn is diaper changes. I was always trying to keep a running list on the note section of my phone, which I ended up just stopping and estimating during each visit. The Smart Changing Table will do all of the work for you. Just simply press what type of diaper you are changing and it will send all of the information to the app in your phone.
The Hatch Baby App also lets you track how long your baby sleeps as well as sends notifications to your phone to let you know how much they ate if you don’t happen to be home with them at the time.
I cannot tell you how much I truly believe in this product. With Macks still going through some weight issues, I am still able to put him on the Smart Changing Pad and get his weight, which completely wipes away all of the nerves before his well visits. That’s the peace of mind every parent needs.
(Disclosure: I received the Hatch Baby Smart Changing Pad for review. As always, all opinions are my own. Many of my readers know that I don’t do reviews often and if I do, it’s because I am passionate about a product. This product is a game changer for parents who have gone through many of the same things I went through with all three kids. Thank you for supporting the brands that help support me.)
