Scales don't lie!

I am a firm believer that the most valuable tool with newborns is a scale. It takes all the guess work out in determining if a baby is getting enough to eat. Even thou a cria is readily nursing and nursing often it doesn't always mean they are getting enough to eat. That proved to be the case with our last born boy of Sweet Kiss. He was born last weekend and was a champ in the nursing department, he never needed assistance and mom is a very attentive girl. I weigh my newborns on a daily basis and sometimes twice a day to make sure that they are gaining enough weight. The first 24 hours he gained 8 oz. which is very good because it is common for the first couple of days to either lose a couple of oz. or to have only a slight gain, but after the first couple of days you want to see about a 1/2 lb. increase. After the first 24 hours his weight gain was very marginal at best 2 oz. and then on Wed. of last week he didn't gain an oz. So I decided it was time to supplement using a recipe of:

Whole Milk
Half and Half (extra calories)
Plain Yogart (to keep normal bacteria in the gut)
Karo Syrup ( 1 tsp. to sweeten the mix)

I attempted to give him his first bottle Wed. afternoon using a regular baby bottle with a cross cut in the nipple. I was surprised he readily accepted it without a hesitation and eagerly drank a full 10 oz. bottle. He gave me the look afterwards like what the heck have you been waiting for. He is supplemented with 3 bottles a day every eight hours and after two days of doing this his weight gain is 12 oz. a day. I have been half expecting this as Sweet Kiss's last two cria also needed supplementing for the first couple of weeks. I was hoping this time it might be different as I started her on a special lactating supplement. I don't think it is that she doesn't have the volume of milk because she has a good size udder and I can readily express milk without any difficulty. I think her milk is on the thin side more like skim milk vs. whole milk. With her past two cria supplementing was only necessary for a couple of weeks and then they would reject the bottle, so he will be supplemented until he tells me it is no longer necessary. Scales are a valuable tool