What would you do?

[lozie2]

Hi every1!

I need advice with what to do with Cassie
I will start from birth so it may be along post!

at birth she weighed 3410,
when we left the hospital she weighed 3200,
at 1 week 5 days she weight 3720,
3 weeks 4 days 4390 l 53cms hc 37.
5,4 weeks 5 days 4760 l 54.3cm hc37.7,
6 weeks 5155 l56cm hc 39,
8 weeks 5415 l57cm hc39.5,
11 weeks 5430 l 57.5cm hc 39.5
then today at 13 weeks 5440 l59.9cm hc 40.

Im breastfeeding, no top ups, no formula no nothing.
the health nurse is worried about her weight, she has said to start topping her up 50mls per feed i really don't want to do this. or to give her an extra feed. i feed her a 7am,10am,1pm,4pm,between 6 and 7pm.

I just want to know what you would do if this was you child... I really don't want to start top ups, they are hard to stop and i want to keep feeding her, i also have her in such a good night routine i don't want to dream feed her.

I was on fenugreek, then took motilium for 3 days and i have milk, i have to express at least once a day sometimes twice (late at night and at around 5am, coz i feel sore, only sometimes)

the DR. said don't worry until shes not sleeping through the night. i'm just confused... Please help!


Also i'm not too worried, as she is settled during the day and at night!

[BigRedV]

I wouldn't worry and just keep up what you are doing.

Babies can't be expected to put on weight all the time.

My MCHN only weighed the babies every month after 8 weeks because she said mums stress out too much about babies putting on weight.

If your baby is happy then she is fine. Just weigh her once a month now :yes:

[Sheer Bliss]

If I was in the frame of mind I was in with my first....i'd say top her up now....however, I am now older and wiser, and i say - go with what you are thinking!! Mums often know best!

Does she have the other signs of getting enough to eat? 6-8wet (cloth) nappies per day, settles, bright eyed, alert, smiling and interacting when she is awake? these are MUCH better signs of how she is dong. She may have plateued off the last month or so, but my DD was the same. I panicked and my supply suffered as a result. After the plateu she started gaining again.

She grew 2cm in length in 2 weeks - no wonder she didn't gain much weight, she was busy growing taller!! and if you average it out over her life so far...3200-5440=2240 then divide that by 13 = 172g average per week....don't newborn b/f babies average 150g per week? so on average she is gaining MORE weight than average, it's just that she did most of that at the start, as with my DD.

Sorry this is long, just wanting to show you how different babies can be...my twins are both b/f, and at their last weigh-in....DS was 650g heavier than DD....she was 110g heavier than him at birth. So she is gaining less than him every week, yet they both eat the same thing. They just eat different amounts based on their needs. If bubs starts waking in the night, offer another feed, as an extra feed at this age can't hurt, usually, but i wouldn't be topping up. :no:

[Bubmum]

Is there a medical reason she is being weighed so much? As this much weighing is not normal at all....most babies are weighed in the first week, 8 weeks, and then usually the same time as the immunisation schedule.
I really would not worry about weight gain (unless she is in the bottom 20th percentile, or is loing weight).
I would feed her to demand though, and not stick to a strict feeding schedule. When babies are having growth spurts, they feed a lot more...sometimes it can feel like it is constant, but it is only for a week or so.

[lozie2]

she was being weighed that often as the health nurse was worried about her weight.
She has a wet nappy everytime i change her! and she has dirty nappies at least twice a day sometimes more and they are full! some times she only has one but normally more!

charlis_mum- i like the way you explained it, she has gained heaps of weight looking at it that way!

I think ill stop lettin the health nurse scare me,,, ill keep going but only for the appointments i need to go to and if she says anything about her weight ill just say im not worried. unless she is unsettled or underweight!

Thank-you every1!

[MagicalLeopluradon]

It sounds like you are doing a great job hun. I think some of the child nurses sometimes need to think before they speak because some of the comments I have had from them and my friends also.....they can really scare/upset a first time mother.

Keep up the good work!

[kotakai]

As the others have said, i wouldn't worry. It sounds like you're doing a wonderful job feeding her.



I think ill stop lettin the health nurse scare me,,, ill keep going but only for the appointments i need to go to and if she says anything about her weight ill just say im not worried. unless she is unsettled or underweight!

Thank-you every1!

Did you know you don't have to see the nurse at all? You can just go to your GP for her shots & if you want to weigh her, you can always go into a chemist or dr whenever you like & weigh her. Is there a particular reason you were seeing the nurse?

[Cheerio]

I agree with the others, if it were me I would keep going, she is gaining and is happy and sleeping/settling well. I would also ditch the nurse!

I had the same thing with my DD at around 12 weeks, her gains weren't as rapid. I was told by one nurse to only weigh her once a month and another nurse told me to do top ups. I ignored the top up nurse and she thrived!

Sounds like you are doing a fantastic job!

[lozie2]

Hi all,, Just thought id update you, Cassie was weighted today, the last time in 3 weeks i told the health nurse... She put on 235grams in 8 days :D i was jumping up and down! Im so happy!

thanks every1 for you support! i guess she just didnt need to grow the last few weeks!