And LO latched like a champ and ate about an ounce, based on his pre-feed and post-feed weights! Words cannot even describe how relieved I feel and how proud I am of my son!

This appt with the IBCLC was just an initial consultation, to get an idea of his situation and make a game plan based on her initial observations. And to teach me the different holds and stuff. He was only actually latched on for about 10 minutes. He popped off a few times but went straight back to it and re-latched no problem!

He has a very audible swallow, so we knew there was transfer and the scale confirmed it! She admitted that she was amazed by him, she's worked with a lot of babies over the years and given his set of circumstances (35 weeker, bottles, pacis, etc.) she expected to have to dig into her bag of tricks and really work to get him to latch. She really thought he'd need a nipple shield but based on how much he was able to eat, she doesn't feel it's necessary.

We'll go back for another appointment on Monday, and probably meet with her 1-2x a week for a few weeks to monitor his weight and look at his intake. She's going to call his ped (we talked at length about his attitude and how I didn't have his support) and she's going to make sure LO gains what his ped wants him to gain. She also said she's putting him on the not-breastfeeding friendly list so that he can be educated on the benefits of breastfeeding.

LO is on 22calorie fortified breast milk and she said that breast milk is assumed to have 20 calories, though it is often much higher so she doesn't think he'll need to remain on the fortified for any feedings once breastfeeding is established. But she'll work with the ped and advocate for LO and I.

I feel like an immense weight has been lifted off my shoulders. I'm so proud of my son

Oh, and his birth weight (4/14 is his birthday) was 4lb, 4oz and he's 8lb, 4oz at 6.5 weeks old!