Mastitis and Poor Baby Weight

[mommyabroad]

I recently posted about a bout of mastitis and just bought an infant scale this week. I had the sense that DD wasn't gaining and sure enough, she'd only gained about 6oz in 18 days. I had the mastitis a week ago Thursday but was feeling run down a few days prior. DD had also started sleeping a good 4-5 hour block at night and going longer between feeds while sleeping in a sling. She is two months old exactly. Last weight at doctor's on 7/13 was 8lb 6 oz; today weight on the scale I bought was 8lb. 12 oz. (after a feed). Even if the scales were off a bit, that's still very little weight gain.

I had also had an oversupply early on and with the mastitis, I think everything lessed tremendously. So, do I try to boost up supply again (although now that it is down her reflux and gas are much better), go back to block feeding to try to increase hindmilk intake, chalk it up to a bad two weeks with exhaustion/mastitis and just nurse more, or something else?

Thanks -- I was devastated to see the scale reading today. I think every mother wonders about her milk at some point. But this really concerned me.

[titania8]

i just stumbled on this but couldn't read without responding. it must be so tough for you right now! mastitis is horrible, and to be worried about weight gain on top of it too!

here's what i think. scales can be off by as much as a pound. so don't take too much stock in your one reading. i'd go with the block feedings and give it a few days- a week. when i was doing block feedings i had to get up to 8 hours on each side, but i was doing it for other reasons (fore/hind imbalance). i only mention that because most of the references to block feedings talked about switching every 4 hours, and for me it wasn't enough.

best of luck to you, i know the worry can be so exhausting. don't hesitate to get in contact with LLL either.

[MacKinnon]

Moved to the main Breastfeeding forum per guidelines. Best of luck Mama!

[crystal_buffaloe]

I would be concerned that block feeding might decrease supply I'm sorry. I would just try to nurse more and then weigh again in a week. How are things going now?

[goodygumdrops]

It is normal for babes to gain anywhere from a 1/2 ounce to an ounce a day. Some babies really are on the low end of weight gain and that is totally ok. Your really better to judge that your babe is getting enough by looking at the wet and poop diapers, 6-8 a day. If your baby seems satisfied, then I wouldn't be worried much about a slower to gain babe.

As far as mastitis, this can decrease supply mainly because your ducts are clogged over a period of time that the mastitis is occurring. As long as your continuing to nurse or pump, then you should build your supply back up pretty rapidly.

DO not block feed. I don't know who told you to do this but this is not indicative of raising fat content in milk. This is NOT evidence-based practice and can actually decrease supply. If you are having real concerns, than you need to work with a IBCLC and get off the internet. Everyone has an opinion...including me

Sorry mama...I hope that helps and I hope that your situation improves soon.

[mommyabroad]

Thanks for the continued input.

Well, things don't seem much better a few days later. I bought a Saltar scale and it appears that DD hasn't gained more than an ounce total this week (we checked the scale accuracy) -- and I'm not even sure it's been that much. She's alert and interactive, sleeping and napping well, but sucking on her thumb/hands a lot.

She's been very gassy and as it turns out, I have not been able to block feed because she won't stay on any one side long enough! Until the mastitis, I had an oversupply and forceful letdown and an IBCLC suggested block feeding to cut down on DD's gas, reflux, etc. etc. So that's where the block feeding started. However, with the mastitis, my supply dropped like crazy. Now, nursing on the left is still awkward and I don't feel as if DD is fully draining the breast (we never regained our ease on that side), although the right side is comfortable and will let down multiple times during a feed.

I have been trying to feed DD every two hours during the day but often she fusses at the breast so I switch sides to see if that helps (which I'm sure isn't helping the gas). She'll suckle after a feed on the right side but only on the left in the middle of the night.

Her poops have picked up (1-2 good ones a day) and her nappies are wet, and her poops are sticky/mucus-y -- yellow though. We've tried mylicon and gripe water for the gas (Ped recommended).

I have tried More Milk Plus and it seemed to help at first but now I'm not so sure. DD took one bottle of expressed milk yesterday but other than that, she is solely on the breast.

Where to go from here? The lactation consultant I spoke with on the phone didn't seem very concerned (because of the poops/wet nappies) but I am -- DD just isn't gaining and it's such a drop in gain from where she started and was after one month.