UNDERWEIGHT HELP - How do I increase bubs weight???

[aggero]

Hi all,

Just after any tips/advice on how to increase my exclusively BF sons weight.

My DS is a few days off 4 months and weighs only 4.8kgs (birth weight of 3.14kg). At his last child health check the CHN was very concerned and wanted me to feed him a complimentary formula bottle on a night as she was worried that he wasn't getting enough from me :( (only put on 170gms in 3 weeks) We are due to go back on Tues for a weigh in.

I tried the formula for three nights and have stopped for several reasons...

1 I expressed after each formula feed and I found that I had more milk that what he had drunk
2 He has started to fuss at the breast after having the bottle

I feed him on demand and he feeds until he is sick (only a little) everytime so I know that he is filling himself. Apart from his weight he is a happy healthy baby and meeting all his developmental milestones.

I am at my witts end :banghead: :crying: Please help me!!!

[aardvark]

How many wet nappies are you getting? You should have at least 7 wet cloth nappies in 24 hours if he is getting enough breast milk. If you are using disposables, I think the number is 4-5 in 24 hours, or you can weigh the used ones on the kitchen scales and subtract the weight of the nappy to work out the output.

And is the nurse using the new WHO charts for breastfed babies? The commonly used ones are for FF bubs.

[mumx3littlies]

Not sure if this will help but cud be an idea to think about. Have you thought about introducing a small amount of solids instead of formula? We did this with our 1st DS not becos he wasnt putting on weight but becos I didnt have enuf milk for him. He started having baby rice at about 10 weeks (after his milk feeds) and did really well with it. Maybe it mite help to put weight on without having to go to bottle feeding? :) Sometimes I really think they put too much emphasis on weight gain instead of looking at the whole picture. If he is happy that is the main thing! I'm pretty sure if he was starving he'd be lettin you know.

[aggero]

How many wet nappies are you getting? You should have at least 7 wet cloth nappies in 24 hours if he is getting enough breast milk. If you are using disposables, I think the number is 4-5 in 24 hours, or you can weigh the used ones on the kitchen scales and subtract the weight of the nappy to work out the output.

And is the nurse using the new WHO charts for breastfed babies? The commonly used ones are for FF bubs.

yep, plenty of wet nappies. the nurse isn't using the new WHO charts, but I have graphed him on them and his z score is around the -2.


Not sure if this will help but cud be an idea to think about. Have you thought about introducing a small amount of solids instead of formula? We did this with our 1st DS not becos he wasnt putting on weight but becos I didnt have enuf milk for him. He started having baby rice at about 10 weeks (after his milk feeds) and did really well with it. Maybe it mite help to put weight on without having to go to bottle feeding? :) Sometimes I really think they put too much emphasis on weight gain instead of looking at the whole picture. If he is happy that is the main thing! I'm pretty sure if he was starving he'd be lettin you know.

I have thought about some rice ceral, but if there is a prob I don't want to mask it. I agree with the 'whole picture' outlook being most important.

[MumsieMel]

Oh Dear,

Not sure what to say...

Hmm have you seen your doc about it? Or a paed?

Hope it works soon. :hugs:
Im sure your doing the best you can :)

[aggero]

Oh Dear,

Not sure what to say...

Hmm have you seen your doc about it? Or a paed?

Hope it works soon. :hugs:
Im sure your doing the best you can :)

Thanks Mel. Will see either my Dr or get a referral to the Paed depending on this next weigh in.

[sam's mum]

DS has been small as well, bottom of the scale. BUT, he was consistent on his line at the bottom of the scale. We used the WHO breast fed charts and the child health nurse was happy to use these.

We had him checked by the paed at a 6 weeks, 12 weeks, 6months and 1 year and we go back again at 2 years.

He has done a few different tests and they all came up as negative. We have been told that as long as he is happy and healthy not to worry too much about it.

Once he started on solids we boosted a lot of his food with powdered rice for the extra carbs.

[Phoenix's Mum]

I think it sounds like your babe is a healthy happy babe! Some babies are just smaller.:yes:

If he is/has:
-a happy disposition
-doesn't cry much
-is energetic
-has fat stores ie chubba on his legs/arms
Then he sounds fine!:thumbsup:

I'd also be asking
Are you tall people? If not maybe he is just small!
Did he put on a most of his weight in the 1st 8 weeks? Breastfed babies tend to grow well for the first 8 weeks then plateau, and have growth spurts every now and again.

The only suggestion I have is to have him checked by a paed and see what they say. Perhaps the paed will help assuage your fears. I think if he seems to be a thriving healthy happy albeit small baby perhaps wait another month and see. If he is a small baby breastmilk may be best for him as it is easier to digest. Get a second opinion perhaps?

Maybe you could try to breastfeed him more, someone suggested to me that you should bf your bub every time he moves in the first 6 months! Perhaps he needs to start taking in more breastmilk- I am not suggesting you do not have enough milk, maybe his tummy is still quite small? It takes a while for their tummies to stretch so they take in more every feed. Like when they are born, their tummies are only as big as a marble! Then by 3 months they are nearly as big as a 8 ball! I fed my babe every time he was unsettled, upset or overtired as he didn't seem too interested in the first few months. After that his weigh exploded! Maybe worth a shot?

Hope it gets sorted, but remember: your milk is fantastic, and even if your son was formula fed, it's possible he would be small anyhow. As someone else mentioned, the WHO graphs are different to the Maternal Health Nurse ones in the blue book which are based on FF babies who weigh more than BF babies.:hugs:

[jasminesmum]

My dd was FF and only ever put on about 50g per week.

She is just a small little girl. Even now at nearly 2 she only weighs 10.2 kg.

I am a small person though and she just takes after me.

[stellarella]

If your baby is exclusively BF and you are feeding him often for as long as he likes, it is very unlikely he is "underweight" unless there is an underlying health problem. If there is an underlying health problem formula is not going to fix it and he is better off with BM.

You baby may just be small, if he is happy and looks healthy, has lots of wet nappies etc. I would be changing CHN and GPs until I found one who understood my baby better.

I would be getting second and third opinions anyway.

He is obviously considered "underweight" according to current weight charts however they are currently being reviewed as they do not represent BF babies accurately.

[allysophia]

if your baby is happy and healthy, why follow those ridiculously outdated health charts?? Those charts were made following FF babies in the 50's!

Good luck!

[stellarella]

if your baby is happy and healthy, why follow those ridiculously outdated health charts?? Those charts were made following FF babies in the 50's!



So true :yes:

I dont even bother comparing my DS to those charts, and I dont take him to be weighed either :o ...bad mummy:shame:

DS was on the 98th percentile for quite a while....but im pretty sure he would have dropped right down to the 60th or something now...he has really slowed down....Im sure a CHN would be telling me to put him on the bottle....nuh uh...he is fine :thumbsup:

[Alisonp]

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

Here is the link for the breastfed growth curves.

The only things I could think of are....

1. Try to breastfeed more often. Hard to do if he isn't interested though.
2. If you do introduce solids try to make the amounts small in the beginning. Sometimes babies take so well to solids that they don't want to b/f as much. Since most early solids are relatively low in calories this can make weight gain slow in some babies.
3. Is your bub sleeping well? Sometimes babies who are not great sleepers burn up a lot of energy because they are awake and active while other bubs are asleep. If you could get him sleeping longer he might actually gain weight without needing more food.

I hope this helps :)

[allysophia]

I STRONGLY advise against solids.

WHO says 6months is optimal, even later then 6months, if you can wrangle it :)

[Nowhere]

i would talk to the pead about it as you said you feed him on demand until he is sick maybe he has delayed gastric emptying as that would make him ful quickly and and not hungry as often it may be just a case of him being saml but its always a good idea to discus your conserns with a pead

[aggero]

thanks for all of your support ladies. DS has put on 180g's in the last week so at 1 day off 4 months has finally hot the 5kg mark. I stood my ground with the CHN and said that if she had concerns and wasn't happy with his weight gain then to refer me to the paed rather than suggest formula feeds. Anyway the long and short of it is, we go back for another weigh in in 1 week and if all is good thats the end of it.

[becstar]

When is your babies birthday? I ask because my baby is 4 months in a few days too (he was born Nov 30).

You say that you can express milk after a feed? well instead of topping him up with formula at night why don't you top him up with EBM??? That is what I am going to do (did it first time last night)......helped bubs sleep better.

How often does bubs feed? Maybe you could try more regular feeds during the day? And some cluster feeding before bed? And you could wake bubs up for a dreamfeed before you go to bed yourself?

Don't start solids or formula if you can help it. They recommend 6 months for a reason for solids. I am going to wait even longer to introduce solids DS2 as DS1 has food allergies.........trust me , if there is anything you can do to prevent food allergies then do it. Don't start solids!

Good luck and I hope it works out, keep us updated!!

Bec

[mumofsam]

my bub was the BIG baby at my mother's group and now all the other bubs have caught up. i also have the MHN telling me he is not putting on enough weight now. at 5months he had put on only 400g in 1 month.

but he is the happiest baby - lots of wet cloth nappies - chubba fat reserves too!

i am happy with his weight, he seems happy and so i am playing it day by day.

if you have stacks of milk (like me - i am a cow) dont change your feeding to formula.

one of the mums in my mums group did her final feed at night with formula to help the weight issue and is now fully bottle feeding as her supply dropped too much.

expressing wont empty the breast as effectively as your baby would and therfore you wont produce as much next time around.

good luck, you sound like you have it under control.:fingerscrossed:

[Terrible2+1cutie]

My DS2 wasnt putting on weight when he was around the same age, my Child Health Nurse wanted me to start waking him through the night to feed (he slept through the night from 5 weeks) and i was like no way. He was never a whinger and so i just figured because he was so big at birth (10lb, 4 oz) that he just became a normal size baby. I figure that as long as the baby is happy then dont disturb it.

Sorry if i havent been much help.

[dragonflyblu]

If bubs is happy and hydrated it sounds fine to me as well based on all the info i have read from ABA and WHO. You could try giving more hindmilk. So you would feed on one side and then go back to that side for the next feed or when you would usually change sides. The hindmilk has more fat. But ne warned you end up with lopsided boobys!

If you are really worried I would see another health provider and get another opinion.

[aggero]

Thanks again everyone for your advice and support. It's tough to know what the right/wrong thing to do is with these tiny creatures :)

The CHN agreed that as I am able to express more milk than my DS will drink, its not a supply prob and I don't need to comp feed him. She was also very happy with his weight gain last week. And I think the constant happy chatter :ecomcity: he kept up during our visit alayed her fears that he didn't have the energy to scream with hunger

Will update again next Tues after our next (and hopefully final) weigh in :fingerscrossed:

Thanks again.

[Tam-I-Am]

Excellent news, aggero! Well done for sticking to your guns in giving your bubba the best that you can - I'm sure it must have been a stressful time for you! I'm glad you can see the light at the end of the tunnel :hugs:

[aggero]

Well we have officaially beenb branded 'failure to thrive' :thumbsdown: DS only put on 5g's this week so it's off to the paed for us....

[GraceUnhearing]

Well we have officaially beenb branded 'failure to thrive' :thumbsdown: DS only put on 5g's this week so it's off to the paed for us....

:hugs: to you sweet :(

[allysophia]

Is your baby fussing? Is he upset? Constantly hungry? Or is he a happy otherwise healthy looking baby.

I'd be seeing a lactation consultant, or calling the ABA! Good luck

[Areca]

Don't listen to your CHN! They aren't know it all's and stress mother's out for no good reason!!!
Keep feeding on demand and as long as your baby is healthy, happy, and having plenty of wet and pooey nappies (for him...bf babies all poo differently, it's all normal) then he is fine!!
I know all about slow weight gain, DD was a champ at it. She's fine and catching up. She's just a slim build, exactly like her mummy and daddy!
ETA oops sorry! Should've read the whole thing. If you don't like what your ped says, get a second opinion. The first ped I saw told me to put DD on formula straight away but her reasons for it made no sense, she also yelled at me for still night feeding at 11 months old. I get a full on lecture about how stupid I was and how I'd made it so hard for myself and was to stop that instantly :rolleyes:
I demanded to see a different ped (completely different office, demanded another referral from my GP) and he looked at DD's charts, checked her over and deemed her as perfectly ok! No mention of formula, supported my choice of parenting (stupid original ped, DD weaned herself off night feeds not long after)

It took DD three months to gain 200gms or something ridiculous like that. It is a worry but if he is happy and healthy then chances are nothing is wrong :hugs:

[shed]

Good luck with it mate. Don't let them scare you too much, just remember that SOME babies have to be small and SOME babies have to be big to get the top and bottom of the charts.

And formula is NEVER better than breastmilk and if anyone tells you it is then you need to see someone else, whether they have degrees on the wall or not.