Formula update - July 20 AM

When I called to check on Will this morning - my usual morning routine before I do some chores around here and then head to the hospital which takes a few hours - I told his nurse for today that I had done some research and had some concerns about him being fed formula, so she transfered me to the doctor. Will has 2 doctors, one has already figured out that I'm a bulldog when I want information and it's easier to just tell me straight the first time, medical jargon and all, and that I'll ask questions about anything I don't understand. The other has this unshakable attitude that parents are probably happier with a mellow demeanor and the minimum information, and I have to debate with him for any stupid little thing I want to know. It would figure that's the one who I spoke to yesterday and today, and the one who made the decision to give him this formula. I don't question his ability to care for my baby, only his communication style/bedside manner. So I told him I'd done some research and all I've been able to find is reliable resources saying the breast milk instead of formula is much more important to preemies than to term infants, that it is easier to digest and safer, and asked him why this decision was made and what benefit it could have. He just told me that it's "safer" to use this formula first because it's a special formula, and so I had to repeat the question, and got the same answer, for about 10 minutes this went on. Finally he figured out I wasn't going to shut up and go away until he gave me a satisfactory answer and he told me it's an elemental formula, not a normal or even a preemie formula. It is already broken down into elemental components and doesn't have complex elements, similar to the nutrition he is already recieving via IV just designed to be absorbed by the stomach instead of put right into the veins. So the stomach doesn't have to do any digesting, just absorb it, barely more challenging than water while breast milk, though it is easier to digest than regular formula, still requires some digestion. This is a safer alternative as a test to see if the stomach is functioning at all, and if he doesn't have any complications from it we'll give him colostrum in a few days or a week. He chose to give this first since Will coded and could have damage to his intestines he's at greater risk for inability to digest and there is little research on the effect of coding on feeding and none that applies directly to his situation. He could have just told me that in the first place! but at least now I'm satisfied that the decision has valid medical reasoning and wasn't just arbitrary or based on any outdated opinions.

This doctor is going to hate my guts by the time Will is discharged. I try to be as polite and pleasant as I can with him, but he flat out refuses to give a straight answer without a fight. If he would just figure out that he can give me a straight, candid and fully detailed answer the first time I ask instead of making everything into a debate things would go much easier. I think he's gotten used to parents either not caring or not understanding so he avoids investing the time and effort to adequately explain things, I don't think he has much experience with parents like me who get their teeth into a fact and go find out everything they can. I explained to him that I feel much more secure with good information and multiple reliable sources to back up any new treatment or bit of information, and I've repeated that several times but it just doesn't seem to be sinking in. The other doctor I told that once and now he'll freely share every little detail, he figured out quickly I'm that type of person so we get along great. He also has only one nurse today, no more trainees at least for today. I'm probably going to talk to the charge nurse anyway, to make sure he isn't assigned any more for at least a while to let him rest, he badly needs NOT to be stressed.