Four months ago, former “The Bachelor” contestant Jade Roper Tolbert and her husband, former “The Bachelorette” contestant Tanner Tolbert welcomed their second child into the world.
Currently, Jade and Tanner are the proud parents of a 2-year-old daughter, Emmy, and a 4-month-old son, Brooks, whom she gave birth to in the closet of their home.
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However, while life has been pretty sweet for the parents of two, Jade recently admitted that she and Brooks have been going through a hard time when it comes to breastfeeding.
About a month after Brooks’ birth, Jade explained that Brooks had been fussy and assumed it was because she was eating dairy and soy while breastfeeding him. As she explained, she had to go dairy-free with Emmy, who didn’t handle dairy well as an infant.
It was later discovered that while Brooks does have dairy sensitivities, he also wasn’t getting enough breastmilk because her son has “a lip tie on the top,” which keeps the upper lip from moving as it should, making it difficult to breastfeed. Their pediatrician advised them not to surgically correct the issue.
Jade Roper Talks About Son’s Struggle to Gain Weight
Now, in a new Instagram post, Jade revealed that her son is only in the 5th-percentile for weight and that getting him to gain weight has been a struggle.
“Our feeding journey with Brooks has been a really hard one. We’ve dealt with dairy and soy allergies that left him crying for hours on hours from malabsorption, a lip and tongue tie we were advised not to revise (although they give him a poor latch), milk supply issues, foremilk/hindmilk imbalance. It feels like the list goes on. I think one of the biggest worries we have as mothers of little babies is if they are getting enough to eat and if they are gaining enough weight.”
Jade went on to write that when they took Brooks to his four-month check-up they were “crushed to find out he’s in the 5th percentile, and that the [pediatrician] was very concerned about his weight gain.”
The mom admitted that she “never felt more like a failure” after hearing those words come out of their doctor’s mouth. “The feelings of guilt that my baby was aching for food and nutrition, and I didn’t know it, consumed me. I knew he was a string bean (he’s tall for his age), but with how hard we work on his feedings, I guess I didn’t think he was that tiny compared to other babies his age.” She continued:
“It can be hard to fully give your attention to each child sometimes when you are taking care of a baby and a toddler too, and I feel so bad I may have been missing some cues from him I didn’t know he was showing. I’ve changed my whole diet and so many other parts of my life to make sure he is getting good feedings, so it’s just so hard to know that it’s not enough.”
As a result of his struggle to gain weight, the doctor recommended that Jade should supplement after every breastfeeding with a hypoallergenic formula. He also suggested that they add an extra feeding a day as well.
The worried mom said, “that’ll hopefully help him put on weight before his weight gain check-up.” Jade then asked if any of the other mamas who follow her have had a similar experience.
“There’s been so many tears over here, but we are strong and working on getting this little guy some rolls. I’d do about anything in the world to help keep Brooks healthy and thriving.”
Jade then thanked her followers for letting her vent, and said she wanted to share their struggle in hopes that they’re not alone.