Did my ears deceive me?

I have a new favorite nurse practitioner!  Her name is Mary...today she asked if anyone had ever mentioned the idea of trying to exclusively breast feed Joshua....WHAT?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?  I've told doctors and nurses that this is my goal.  They've told me he WILL go home on bottles, at least 4 bottles a day.  Doctors have said he needs extra calcium and phosphorus for his osteopenia (low bone mass...the reason for his fracture) and extra calories for his BPD (chronic lung disease) to help build new tissue faster.  Another nurse practitioner actually told me that if he doesn't gain more weight that they will cut down on the amount of times I'm able to breast feed and if he still doesn't gain on the curve that they want to see him on, then I may not be able to breast feed at all.  That was like a punch in the gut...um...I'm sorry lady, I haven't been working at pumping for over four months in order to be told by a nurse or doctor that I can't breastfeed my child.  If Joshua isn't tolerating that would be a different story, but that is not the case.


Joshua is still breastfeeding well in general.  Still taking the breast much better than the bottle.  Periodically, he does tire at the breast, but this is more of a concern with the bottle.   This week even though I breastfed more with my overnight stays, his weight gain has been excellent!  So Mary is going to check into other supplementation that we can do to help his bones stay strong.  She doesn't think calories are an issue and she complimented me on how well my milk is doing for Joshua!  Ultimately Joshua will show us himself if he can handle the straight up breast milk with his weight gain.


Oh Lord, I pray that Mary is on to something.  That she can talk to the right people at the pharmacy and relay her thoughts to the doctor...and that the doctor would consider her proposition.  I pray that we would continue to get Mary as our NNP throughout the upcoming weeks.  She is a good advocate for him.  She said after Joshua has recovered from his upcoming surgery would be a good time to try exclusively breast feeding.  She kindly asked if I thought it could work with my other commitments with my kids at home...YES! YES!  100 times Yes!  If you allow me to, I WILL make it work!  ANYTHING to get you home buddy!