When Marshall was fresh from his first surgery, a 22 year veteran nurse looked me in the eye and said he wouldn’t thrive with just breastfeeding. That he and I just “can’t do that.”
He tripled his size in the months we had him home. And grew and grew until his heart was so weakened and sick that he didn’t.
But despite how sick and weak his heart was when we brought him in, all he wanted to do was nurse. Our nurse noted way back in June “Wow he is a comfort nurser.”
My response was telling her about that day in the ICU and how the easiest way to get me to do anything is to tell me I can’t.
Flashing forward to yesterday:
Our nurse looked at me and said “Babies on milrinone don’t nurse.”
Marshall broke a Harvard record. Maybe even a heart baby record. I don’t want to pollute his fragile system with the fake stuff. And he doesn’t want to either.
Now the challenge lies in convincing his system to let him grow. Since he is over the shunt’s supposed weight limit, his body will naturally just maintain its weight and form these evil collateral arteries as it tries to get more oxygen Some of his doctors think that he won’t grow without intervention.
I think the implication is we can’t…so now we shall see about that 😉
themiracleofmarshall 
I really dislike it when doctors (and people in general) forget that we are individuals. We are not a cookie cutter replica of each other. Just because some babies don’t thrive or can’t nurse doesn’t mean all babies are that way. So instead of saying that he won’t do this or won’t do that, maybe they should change the wording to….. he may not thrive without intervention or he may not nurse and grow. As Marshall has shown everyone, he is remarkable and he is strong.