Baby lost 8 oz. in 2 weeks

[MamaHavoc]

At my baby girls two month checkup she weighed 14 lbs 8 oz. 2 weeks later I took her in to check out some eye discharge she's been having, and she weighed in at 14 lbs. She's always been a good nurser and I have an abundant supply. In fact, we have had problems with too much milk and fast let down. She spits up and hiccups a lot as a result but recently that has not been as much of a problem. She has not been sick at all and looks healthy, acts alert and strong etc. But, there are a few things I'm concerned about. I've been on antibiotics to treat mastitis and wonder if that is changing the taste of my milk or something. She was checked for thrush and does not have it and I have been giving both of us probiotics to prevent yeast problems. Also, she sleeps longer at night (5-7 hours) which is great but I wonder if I should wake her up to nurse in the middle of it. Also, she has been getting VERY fussy at the breast when my milk lets down and even refusing the breast at times the past couple days. There is a lot of information out there about babies losing weight in the first week but not at 2 months old. Does anyone have similar experience?

[PatioGardener]

Are you sure she was weighed on the same scale both times? Scales can be off as much as a pound. I'd want to make sure the scale wasn't the problem!

[Megan73]

I'm guessing from your first post that it was the same scale.
If so, I have heard that mastitis can reduce supply, which may explain the crankiness at the breast - although eight weeks from the EDD is typically the peak of newborn fussiness. I bet you can get your abundant supply back if you up demand, though!
What I'd do is nurse, nurse, nurse as often as you can and consider co-sleeping at night to get some more good feedings in. Try some breast compressions to keep her drinking and make sure she feeds off the second breast after "finishing" the first. You can also do "switch nursing" - feed off the first breast until baby pulls off, offer the second, then do it again. You could also pump after feeds and give here the EBM with a cup or spoon. Then go in for another weight check in a week or so.
I bet she'll have gained. Hang in there, mama.

[MamaHavoc]

I'm actually not 100% sure if it was the same scale or not. Although, I'm not sure why the docs office would have need for 2 infant scales. I suppose I can ask them to make sure. At first, I just assumed that she was weighed wrong the first time because she didn't seem to have lost weight to me and was just as happy and alert as ever. At 8 weeks she did start nursing a bit less but not drastically less. She just went from nursing every 1-2 hours to every 2-3 hours and sleeping a little longer at night. I thought that was a normal shift for her at that age. She didn't start acting fussy at the breast until I started taking the antibiotic but I also think my fast let down is upsetting her because she doesn't fuss when we're laying down and nursing or when I lean far back. Today  I noticed that she seemed to be favoring my right breast so I made a chiropractic appointment for both of us so we'll see if that helps. Thanks for the encouragement!

[CookAMH]

The first thing I'd do is just keep up nursing, get another session or two in if you can, and go back for a weight check in a week. Look for at least 4-5oz for the low end of average, and 6-8 is very good. Ask for the scale you used most recently. See what you find out then. Many pedis allow you to drop in for a weight check with no appt and no co-pay or charge.   My baby struggled with weight gain this past summer for a couple reasons (one being tongue and lip tie) and is still a slow gainer now and my supply isn't the best. But it is improved from being very low (about 8oz in a month at the low point).  But when I had her weighed often over the summer, I tried to keep from being concerned until I could compare weight checks on the same scale, with a similar setting (naked, similar time frame since last nursing, etc).  And, you might be tempted to weigh her at home on your scale (you weighing with her then without her)....but it is so imprecise that it can't tell you anything.

And, do what you can to ease the letdown issues for her. My dd also struggled with that and became quite frustrated a lot of the time. It went away, but was hard while in the midst of it.

And, if you go back and she gained well, then for peace of mind, you might want to weigh one more time in two weeks, then again when it's time for her 4mo. And keep up with the probiotics for a long time (I'm talking a few months at least).

What are her poops like? What did the ped say?