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I say continue to meet with the LC if you do want to breast feed. It's incredibly hurtful that your DH doesn't support you wanting to breastfeed, and man if my DH told me that EPing wasn't really work, I'd drop kick him so fast he wouldn't know what hit him.

I had a lot of problems breast feeding and felt like a huge failure b/c it just wasn't working for me. When LO was 3 weeks old, I switched to EPing, and it made my life a little easier, but I still felt like my body was failing me by not doing what it was designed to do. I have since gotten over that, but pumping is a pain in the butt. And until he has to sit with two things sucking on his boobs for a half hour, then feed LO for a half hour, he doesn't get to decide what you get to do with your body.

How's your lo's gain been looking? I would most definitely seek out & meet with an IBCLC before deciding either way.. they're going to have the most experience in this area. I would also be really concerned with your pedi's opinion on breastfeeding.. Is he wanting you to stay on the fortified expressed milk or go to formula. Idk about fotified milk but breastmilk as just as many calories if not more than formula & the nutrional components are going to be more easily absorbed. http://kellymom.com/nutrition/milk/milkcalories/ I would also be sure your pedi is looking at the correct range of weight gain for breastfed babies (especially once your lo reaches a "normal" weight range)... if he's just looking at a growth chart you could easily run into problems that aren't even a problem! http://kellymom.com/bf/normal/weight-gain/

I hope you can meet with an experienced IBCLC & she can help your DH see how you getting to nursing is beneficial in more ways that just "nutrition". You're doing a GREAT GREAT job! I know you've had to put in alot of work to even get to this point!

I can see their concern with your LO still requiring fortified feedings. I think slowly uping more feedings (maybe start with 1 a day instead of three) and see how your LO does.

In the mean time it would be a good idea to delgate the task of cleaning parts and setting up the pump to your DH, his tune might change about it being work:)

I agree with giving it some time to see how he does, especially if he'll be getting bottles part of the time. You can also buy a baby scale to do weighed feedings so that you will know exactly what he's getting. Definitely meet with an LC!

Also your dh deserves a kick in the ass and the crotch...I would be furious at him for not supporting me AND denigrating the hard work of EPing

Will you be able to breastfeed once your LO gains a sufficient amount of weight? Maybe a second opinion from another pediatrician is in order?

I had the same thoughts as Highwire and Hilsy... Can you breastfeed in addition to the fortified bottles? And also get a scale so you can track how much your LO is getting?

My LO is also skinny (3rd percentile weight, 60th height) so I can relate to the weight gain issues. Our ped never suggested anything other than what I was comfortable with after 2 weeks (prior to that, I was instructed to formula feed as well). We bought a scale to do regular weigh ins, but I haven't done a weighed feeding in awhile. My LO is 9 months now.

Congrats to you for wanting to do what is best for your baby! If your plan is to EP or even half's I would strongly encourage you to see a IBCLC and not just a Lactation Consultant. there is a difference and it will change everything about your nursing/pumping relationship. You say you want to make it a year - they will make sure that you have the support and knowlege you need to achieve your goals.

Don't let anyone get you down. You can do this! I can ask a lot of questions about your goals, why you are supplimenting, etc but I want to give you what I would have needed in your situation. Support from someone who has experience. I am nursing my twins who are 10.5 months; if I can do it anyone can do it! But I set myself up for success by having the right team in place.

When my ped. said I needed to suppliment I found a new one. Even when I took my son to the ER last week for vomiting and they tried to push pedialite I told them no. They gave me the same answer about how measuring. My answer...I used the knowledge I had from my IBCLC and told them that during weighed feedings he never transfers more than 3.75 oz so if they are worried about measuring then if I let him eat just past let down he won't have anymore than 2 oz. My knowledge saved our nursing relationship. I wouldn't give up the love and comfort I provided my baby in that hospital bed by nursing him close to me when he was sick as opposed to having him drink a bottle of sugar water.

I will say again what an amazing Mom you must be to pump as you have had to do.

@septemberlove: your DH's comment made me so angry. I've been EPing for 8 months now and every time Wagon Sr. even hinted that it was "easy" or not a lot of work I would go off on him. I exclusively nursed with my first and I'm actually much happier EPing with my second, but it's still a lot of work (and a lot more logistics in terms of washing, storing, transporting, etc!!!). Maybe you should make him do everything (wash bottles and pump parts, set up pump parts, sit next to you and do nothing during the pumping session, then measure out and store the milk... pack your pumping bag every time you go somewhere... etc) and THEN see if he doesn't think it's a lot of work.

I would be disappointed in your pediatrician's lack of support as well, but I would get a second opinion from another pediatrician before you go making any decisions. He is your baby's doctor after all, not yours, so he has your baby's physical needs first and foremost in his mind. And the easiest way to be 100% sure of what's going into baby's body is to continue in the way you've been doing. He's obviously being very cautious and conservative, so I would recommend trying to speak with a different doctor (maybe one that you've heard really advocates nursing vs. bottle feeding, maybe you can get a recommendation from your LC) and having them go over your baby's medical records and see what their recommendation is.

Another idea for a compromise is to try and nurse half the time, then formula feed the other half to get in all the fortification he needs? That way you can give up pumping, try nursing, but you can still bottle feed to ensure he's getting the right nutrition.

I'm a big believer in trusting your pediatrician but this is not a recommendation I would go with. Eventually your LO's weight gain won't be so much of a concern as he gets bigger and gets on track with full term babies... but you can't wait until then to try to get him to the breast. You need to try sooner rather than later if you want to be able to establish a breastfeeding relationship with him. I would try to start with one feeding a day and then up it slowly from there and see how he does. It seems pretty crazy to me that your ped would write off the idea without even letting you try it to see how LO does!!

@septemberlove: My husband was definitely a great support. Everyone else (my and his parents) was a little less supportive since he looked so scrawny. My LC was super supportive too, and even though we only met weekly, I would email her questions and she would have me come in in the middle of the week for another weight if his weight had stalled. The bonding feed was nice, since I just considered it extra. Once LO was taking in more than three ounces at a time during our weigh-feed-weigh session, she had me alternate pump+bottle feed with nursing during the daytime and pump+ bottle feed at night when he was sleepy. When we gained weight doing that, she gave me free reign to nurse as often as I wanted, so I nursed all day and did one pump and bottle feed at night since he would still keep falling asleep nursing. I think around four months I started nursing at night also.

I'm sorry I have no suggestions to get your husband on board, maybe bring him to a couple of LC sessions? The one thing my husband was focused on was our LO getting my breastmilk for all of the antibodies and immunity since the seemed so frail and small at the beginning.

It sounds like you are doing a great job (AWESOME weight gain for five weeks!), maybe also switch peds? My very first checkup the day after we were discharged from the hospital did not go well and I switched peds within the practice I went to and found someone I was much more comfortable with.

@septemberlove: I looked back and my LO was 7 lbs 4 oz at 5.5 weeks. We've never supplemented and my ped has never been concerned about her growth as long as she stays on the curve. I only pump while I'm at work, the rest of the time she breastfeeds. I say work with the LC. If you are worried you can even rent or buy a baby scale and the LC can show you how to weigh your LO to see how much they are taking in. I brought my LO to the breastfeeding support group three times a week and used the scale there.

I say go ahead with meeting the LC. As long as the baby is gaining and growing and having plenty of wet diapers, everything should be fine. I'm sorry your DH isn't on board with it, but I know that men hear the doctor and just go along with them when it comes to stuff like this.

You can still meet with an LC and see what her opinion is on all of it. Maybe let your DH be there and hear some information on her side of it. Maybe there's a good compromise that no one has come up with, yet. Doesn't hurt to call the LC.

I would definitely get a second opinion and most importantly, trust your instincts.
DS wasn't gaining properly and the ped asked us to supplement. I was terrified of the words "failure to thrive", I reluctantly did as was requested. DS continued to stay in the lower percentiles until after his first birthday, which leads me to believe it was more genetics (DH & I are both smaller than average people) than how much breastmilk he was getting. He loves to eat, pizza in particular lol, and is still a skinny guy.

Can you see if some LCs can recommend another pediatrician who's more BF friendly? At least for a second opinion if not for a permanent change?

I would be POed if I were you! With him and the hubs.

@septemberlove: follow your gut mama, mothers instinct is a real thing and it's there for a reason. I agree with PP's about getting in touch with an IBCLC ASAP. My DD only gained 10 lbs in her first year, but she is happy, healthy and very well. I understand the need for weight gain, but adhering to a perscribed chart is hard, since we're all so very different, babies included.

I also love the SNS suggestion! EPing is wicked hard work, and I don't know if we would have stuck it out to self weaning if I had to EP, so don't let anyone tell you otherwise! lol!

sloaneandpuffy's suggestion is great. The LC we had works very often with early-pretermers, LBW and VLBW infants and moms, and failure to thrive infants--she actually calls the peds herself sometimes when there are issues. The LC's would be familiar with BF-friendly pediatricians in your area, and if you are looking for one with experience with the kind of issues your LO is dealing with, she may know of the perfect ped for you.

I think you should meet with the LC. Good luck! EP is sooo much work and you are doing a great job!