Minimal Weight gain

[MilkOnTap]

Jedd is now 3 and a half weeks old. Since leaving hospital he has only put on 150grams. 90grams in the first 2 weekd and 40grams in this last week. I do feel like my milk only just came in last week, but even so he should have gained more in the last week.

My CHN told me to increase his 6-7 feeds per day to at least 9 feeds. She said not to supplement with formula - we will see how he is next week.

He is healthy, he is weeing, he is sleeping. Iknow that b'f babies dont gain weight as quickly as ff - I am just worried about him :( He isnt even back at his birth weight yet...

Has this happened to anyone else? How did you deal with it? :detective:

[mum2my4]

It happened to me with two of mine. I had a clinic nurse tell me that as long as they gain something it's better than losing weight.

If he seems settled etc I wouldn't worry to much (easy for me to say). Would he be interested in extra feeds? I know sometimes you can offer more feeds but if they aren't hungry they won't feed. IYKWIM

[MilkOnTap]

If he seems settled etc I wouldn't worry to much (easy for me to say). Would he be interested in extra feeds? I know sometimes you can offer more feeds but if they aren't hungry they won't feed. IYKWIM

:yes: Since seeing the CHN this morning I have fed him every 2hrs, instead of 4. He isnt very interested in the extra feeds and just falls asleep at the breast :banghead:

[OM]

Here is some info that might be beneficial for you:

There are several simple things that have been proven to help with weight gain some info may be irrelevant but I left it in anyway ;):

Stop or decrease solid foods, particularly if baby is younger than 6 months. Most solids foods have fewer calories and nutrients than breastmilk, plus they tend to replace (rather than add to) the higher-calorie, more nutritious breastmilk.

Sleep with your baby (this increases prolactin and frequency of nursing).

Learn baby massage -- this has been proven to improve digestion and weight gain.

Carry baby throughout the day in a carrier/sling; get as much skin to skin contact as you can. Both of these things have been shown to improve weight gain.

Nurse often - at least every 2 hours during the day and at least once at night. Frequent nursing increases baby's milk intake.

Make sure you're allowing your baby to completely finish one side before you offer the other by waiting upon his cues that he is finished; i.e. pulling off himself and looking satisfied, going to sleep, changing from an active suck/swallow to more of a pacifier suck, etc. Always OFFER the second side, but don't worry if he doesn't seem to need it. It's much more important that he be allowed to completely finish one side than that he nurse both sides. By doing so he will be assured of reaching enough of the richer, more caloric hindmilk that helps him to go longer between feedings.

Use breast massage and breast compression during nursing.

Pump or hand express for a couple of minutes before nursing. This will remove some of the foremilk so that your baby receives more of the richer, higher calorie hindmilk.


Breast Compression— How to do it

Hold the baby with one arm.
Hold the breast with the other, thumb on one side of the breast (thumb on the upper side of the breast is easiest), your other fingers on the other, fairly far back from the nipple.
Watch for the baby's drinking though there is no need to be obsessive about catching every suck. The baby gets substantial amounts of milk when he is drinking with an “open mouth wide—pause—then close mouth” type of suck.
When the baby is nibbling at the breast and no longer drinking with the “open mouth wide—pause—then close mouth” type of suck, compress the breast. Do not roll your fingers along the breast toward the baby, just squeeze. Not so hard that it hurts and try not to change the shape of the areola (the part of the breast near the baby’s mouth). With the compression, the baby should start drinking again with the “open mouth wide—pause—then close mouth” type of suck. Use compression while the baby is sucking but not drinking!
Keep the pressure up until the baby no longer drinks even with the compression, and then release the pressure. Often the baby will stop sucking altogether when the pressure is released, but will start again shortly as milk starts to flow again. If the baby does not stop sucking with the release of pressure, wait a short time before compressing again.
The reason for releasing the pressure is to allow your hand to rest, and to allow milk to start flowing to the baby again. The baby, if he stops sucking when you release the pressure, will start again when he starts to taste milk.
When the baby starts sucking again, he may drink (“open mouth wide—pause—then close mouth” type of suck). If not, compress again as above.
Continue on the first side until the baby does not drink even with the compression. You should allow the baby to stay on the side for a short time longer, as you may occasionally get another letdown reflex (milk ejection reflex) and the baby will start drinking again, on his own. If the baby no longer drinks, however, allow him to come off or take him off the breast.
If the baby wants more, offer the other side and repeat the process.
You may wish, unless you have sore nipples, to switch sides back and forth in this way several times.
Work on improving the baby’s latch.
Remember, compress as the baby sucks but does not drink.

[Lunar]

Hey gorgeous thang!

Maybe try feeding him every 3-3.5 hours. See how that goes. but if he is happy and settled, wetting enough, not sleeping too much, then I wouldn't worry too much.
Have you spoken to anyone from the ABA?
They might be able to offer some more support.

:hugs:
You're doing a great job!

[Tam-I-Am]

PL - It sounds like Jedd is just doing his own thing. If, as you say, he's gaining SOME weight, weeing, sleeping, happy and contented within himself - then you're DOING FINE! And SO IS HE! :)

I don't understand the MCN obsession with weights and numbers.....and is she using the WHO breastfed baby charts, or the old formula fed baby charts? If its the latter - then get her to look at him based on the WHO charts.

Please try not to stress - its not conducive to milk development, and it really doesn't sound (to me!) as though there's a problem.

Hugs! :hugs::hugs::hugs:

[MilkOnTap]

Pump or hand express for a couple of minutes before nursing. This will remove some of the foremilk so that your baby receives more of the richer, higher calorie hindmilk.

This is a really great idea. Cheers OM :thumbsup:


I don't understand the MCN obsession with weights and numbers.....and is she using the WHO breastfed baby charts, or the old formula fed baby charts? If its the latter - then get her to look at him based on the WHO charts.

Thanks for the hugs :o I'm not sure which charts are being used. I just want my lil boy to gain a lil more than he is...

[ikis84]

If they are using the charts from the blue book (mine did), then they are not the WHO charts :hugs:

Relax! I know it's easier said then done... you are doing a fantastic job as Jedd's mummy :D and he is doing a fantastic job at being a baby!

[Baby Girl]

If he is settled, weeing and generally healthy then I wouldn't worry about it. CHN's have an uncanny knack of making new mums feel very inadequate. I went to see mine once and that was one time too many if you ask me. Do what YOU feel is right for you and bub. If he is gaining steadily, which he seems to be then keep doing what you are doing. The charts are averaged out over lots of different babies, just because he is gaining slower doesn't mean he is unhealthy or you aren't feeding him enough. His sleeping and wet nappies are a better indicator than his weight, in my opinion.

[Cordelia]

Try not to stress yourself silly over this - it will just make things worse. I know it's really hard.

The same thing happened to me in the early days - my baby just would not wake for feeds and she wasn't putting on what the CHN deemed enough.

Lots of feeds, no matter how short will help your milk supply... Some ideas to get your baby interested are to keep them awake by using a wet sponge (sounds cruel in the cold weather!!) And by kind of pulling your nipple in and out of their mouth so that they get the urge to suck on it.

And if you want to succeed at breastfeeding DONT give him a bottle of formula!! No matter what!! Your baby knows how to get you to produce more milk - but you have to give him the opportunity.

[tanni_83]

this is the link to the WHO charts. I dont use the book ones any more, elise was way down on them, on this one shes just fine.

http://www.who.int/childgrowth/standards/en/

big hugs and dont stress:hugs:

[♥Heaven Sent♥]

Try not to stress,easier said than done i know.

My dd was born 7lbs 15oz or 3.575kg but when she left hospital she had lost about 300g,in the first few weeks she only put on between 90-100g but then after than she put on only 90-100g a week.She was tiny and at 1yrs old she was only 6kg with was only 2.5kgs heavier than she was born.She is 26 months old now and is NEARLY 10kgs.She has always been slow to put on weight,she was bf for the first 4 months and then was put onto formula(which i regret) and STILL didnt put on any weight.

Some babies are just smaller than others.

Dd used to sleep all day too and hardly drank(she would make up for it over night though).Some of the ways i got her to drink was tickly her under the chin,or stroke her throat,sounds cruel but it worked.Make sure he is not wrapped or too cosy,skin to skin is best because they tend to not be as cosy and allows them to find their way to the breast.Even if he is not intersted still hold him close to your skin because he might wake up and decide to want a feed.

In the early days i pretty much walked around with no top on and it helped alot.

Ds on the other hand is a BIG feeder,but also slept good,he is an average size baby always has been.

I have i have given you some good advice and hope things get better for you.

It does sound like your doing a great job and he is happy and content BIG hugs its so hard in the early days.

[youngones]

Hi - DD is around the 15th percentile on the WHO charts as at 7mths. She was 4kg at birth and is now only 7kg, but she still takes around 900ml of milk (BF) a day, plus 3 solids feeds. She´s a little hungry hippo, but she is incredibly active. She only stops moving when she is asleep and the rest of the time she is very vocal and very wriggly :p .

Both our GP and our (great) CHN say she is just a very active little mite and takes after her mum (I am very tall and slim ish), so not to be concerned. She has always had plenty of wet nappies.

A number of people have recommended a bottle of formula here and there, or one at night to help her sleep through, but we´ve persevered with BF and now that she is on solids too, her tummy stays fuller for longer. She was steadily ´failing to gain´ - not ´failing to thrive and losing weight´, until we started solids. Fortunately for us, they have had very little impact on how much milk she takes, as I know some babies start to wean when solids are introduced.

I have gone against a lot of recommendations to give breast first and then solids. What I do is keep her BF very separate from her solid feeds. That way, she has full BF at 7am, 11am, 3pm, 7pm and 10pm and huge (about 3/4 cup) solid feeds at 8.30am, 12.30pm and 5.30pm, which we wash down with about 20ml of water.

Good luck with whatever you try, but I´m with the others who say your bub sounds fine - as long as baby seems happy and there are wet nappies and some poos, it is all good. It has actually had another good spin off - DD is still wearing 000 singlets and we have had much more wear out of her smaller size fitted cloth nappies!! :D

[MilkOnTap]

He put on 140grams this week! :yelclap:

Cheers ladies :)

[Tam-I-Am]

Oh, YAY! Awesome - now you can stop stressing for a bit :hugs:

[MummyCharmzy]

thats fantastic news with his weight gain!

We have weight gain issues with my son, he will be 5 in november and omg by those WHO charts he is on the bottom 3rd line.. just!! :D:D:D