My local GP advised i come here based on a viral rash he had and due to his bug he couldnt keep milk down which she thought may cause him to become dehydrated. I came here and they somehow focused on his feeding amounts which was nothing to do with the visit. My baby was 9 weeks premature due to a growth restriction inside of me and blood flow issues so even at birth he weighed below 1st percentile. Due to this he was being told to have the maximum he can tolerate per day (180ml per kilo). On average babies eat between 120ml - 180ml per kilo per day. Obviously with him being prem and also very small the neonatal unit kept him on this feeding amount and when he left their care that was always in the care plan. I honestly feel like when alder hey can't find an answer they just put it down to 'overfeeding'. My baby is now 14 weeks 5 days old and still only weighed 2590 grams (5lb 11oz). And when i told the doctor he was 5lb 11 she was saying im feeding him 220ml per kilo which is way too much. I told her i wasn't i calculate his feeds the way they have shown me to (basic maths) and then when she worked it out she had written down 2200g and i said to her no hes actually 2590 and she proceeded to giggle and tell me thats not 5lb 11oz and that i had given her the wrong weight. It is 5lb 11oz. So your own doctor couldnt do basic mathematics which i find worrying considering if i wasnt there to challenge it there may of been somebody unaware of figures in that sense that ended up dramatically underfeeding their baby per your doctor not being able to do basic mathematics. When she realised i actually was giving him the right amount (180ml per kilo) she then still told me i need to give him 150ml per kilo and that the 180ml should of only been for the first 30 days of life. Which is absurd because he was in the neonatal unit for over 50 days and im sure neonatal nurses know what their doing considering their whole job is based around premature babies. She said to me if he doesnt feel full off his new feed then split it and feed him every 2 hours. At 14 and a half weeks old its definately not something you are supposed to do going backwards on feeds he is meant to learn to keep food in longer not shorter. He is 4 hourly fed and no 3 month old baby that is bottle fed gets fed every 2 hours just cant believe that was even suggested. And that was the end of her advice and i said to her so what about his rash and she said what rash??????? So basically he came in because he is actually not well the doctor at my GP seen a rash all over his whole body due to a VIRAL INFECTION. And apparently this is all from being 'overfed' per the neonatal teams instructions. Id advise making sure you challenge your doctors decision if they give you feeding amounts just incase you actually do end up underfeeding your baby due to lack of knowledge on conversions from grams to pounds and oz.
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About: Alder Hey Children's NHS Foundation Trust Alder Hey Children's NHS Foundation Trust Liverpool L12 2AP
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