Growth spurt and Bessie the milk cow.

Written about a week ago:
So around 6 weeks babies have a growth spurt and for a few days get ravenously hungry, a bit fussy and need to eat what seems like constantly! Oliver is following those guidelines by the book! Literally the book says exactly what Oliver is doing. It's creepy :). Starting yesterday afternoon he was hungry every 1.5-2 hours (minus a 4 he stretch in the night thank God!!) and would not let us put him down. It was sweet and exhausting. These spurts can last 1-4 days. We'll see what he does. He follows his own timeline we know that for sure!! The spurt will signal my body to make more milk so I can meet his new caloric needs. It's all ridiculously interesting to me how in tune our bodies are with each other.
He has started to snuggle with his giraffe lovie. It's the cutest thing ever. He rubs it between his fingers when he's getting sleepy then puts it on his face for naps. My nephew did the same thing. It freaks me out so I don't let him have it at night, just for monitored naps.
Written today:
On to Bessie the milk cow. So clearly our boy is long and lean. He is from my measurement now a hair over 24 inches. It's crazy that he's already around a 3rd of the height he'll be as an adult. 24 inches puts him in the 95th percentile. His head is still enormous. His weight is not so impressive. He was 7.12 at his last appointment (Tuesday) which puts him lower than the 5th percentile for weight. The doctor said it may just be genetics. Our eating predicament is a unique one. Here's why... Oliver feeds about every 3 hours during the day and 4-5 hours at night and is satisfied. He stays awake after he eats most of the time and plays happily showing no hunger cues then naps beautifully. Usually the problem is that the mother has a low milk supply when the baby is skinny. In our case my supply is fine I just have a baby that grazes. I am able to pump about 1-1.5 ounces immediately after he nurses both sides. The doctor said the baby isn't eating enough if I can pump that much but if he's not hungry for it then we have to put him in a situation where the choice is not his. Breast fed babies self regulate. There's no way to tell how much they are taking in. Since Wednesday my instruction from Dr. Moore is to pump after every feed (that means 8 times a day). After Oliver nurses both sides I am to give him whatever I pumped after the last feed. Since milk flows out of the bottle without the baby sucking Ollie has no choice but to drink it (babies have the desire to live :)). Force feeding him feels a little off to me but I also want to make sure he's thriving. The doctor isn't concerned because developmentally and cognitively the baby is meeting and exceeding all his milestones (even being 2.5 weeks early). He said Oliver is beautiful he just may be genetically set to be tall and skinny. Next weight check is Wednesday.
He is getting smily now and it just melts my heart. He is the best baby. Still waking up just once in the night to eat and then right back down. I think his sleeping is allowing me to not lose my mind with all the pumping. I won't lie. It's a lot of extra effort (and cleanup with bottles and pump parts) but totally worth it if I can get him to 6 months on breast milk  alone.
Our 8th anniversary is Tuesday!!