The Breast - Bottle Alliance, aka The All Lola Can Eat Buffet

Lola had her weigh-in this Thursday and she hit 11 pounds, 2 ounces. I was excited -- she gained three ounces in two weeks, which is a much better rate than she had before. Unfortunately, it is still substantially lower than she needs. So the pediatrician told us to bulk Lola up by increasing the frequency of feedings and adding formula at the end of each nursing session. And for two weeks of trying, we were convinced that Lola had no interest in the bottle because she refused to take it and would cry furiously each time we tried. After more research, though, we decided the issue may be with the Avent bottle itself, so off we went to Target to acquire three different bottles, in the hope that she would like one of them better. Lo and behold, the First Years "breastflow" model was the winner -- it's the one that most closely resembles a breast :)

Since that discovery, Lola happily nurses every two hours with a bottle to follow. During every two hours period, she nurses for forty minutes and then bottle-feeds for roughly forty more minutes. Yes, roughly eighty of every 120 minutes are spent eating. The Compton appetite is voracious! Lola feels heavier and looks bigger after a few days of formula -- here's hoping she outgrows the 0-3 month outfits by 5 months old!