Slow Weight Gain

[Grace24]

Anyone else have weight gain issues? We saw our ped this a.m. and he thinks Oliver's gaining too slowly. He was 9 pounds at birth, 8 when we left the hospital, 8 pounds 7 ounces at 1 week, and 8 pounds 10 ounces at his three week today. So I'm supposed to try to pump next time I get a 4-hour break from nursing, and report back on how much I get, to see if there's a supply problem, and we're going to check his weight in a week.

I'm just wondering if any of you EBF-ers have had this issue, being told your otherwise healthy, non-dehydrated baby isn't gaining well? My friend told me this a.m. that peds just don't see a lot of breastfed babies so they compare them to formula fed ones. She read somewhere that only 20% of women breastfeed, and of those, 30% continue past two months! Wow!

But then I read my LLL book this a.m. and it said he should've passed his birthweight in two weeks. So maybe there really is a problem?

How are all of your babies gaining?

[*Lindsey*]

So sorry you're going thru this.

It sounds like he is having enough dirty/wet diapers, right? How often does he nurse?

Originally Posted by Grace24

So I'm supposed to try to pump next time I get a 4-hour break from nursing, and report back on how much I get, to see if there's a supply problem, and we're going to check his weight in a week.

this is not the best idea. Pumping output in no way indicates how much milk you're making. A lot of mamas don't pump well at all but have adequate milk supply. A better idea would be to weigh baby before he nurses, and then after to see what the oz difference is. A LC should have a sensitive scale for this.

My girls are gaining ok. H was 6,12 at birth (lost 6oz at 24/hr discharge) and at bw by 2 weeks. She is now 9lbs. L was 7,12 at birth (lost 60z at 24/hr discharge) and was at bw by 2 weeks. She's now 10lbs.

s

[sbgrace]

I had a kiddo who wasn't gaining well and it did mean something. The issue would be gain...not what they weighed.
That said, the pumping idea is rotten. It won't give you an accurate amount at all. Instead, see a lactation consultant. She will be able to weigh the babe before and after a feeding. Then she can help you determine whether supply is adequate.

[Curlita]

I agree with your friend about peds not seeing as many BF babies, and I agree with Lindsey about the uselessness of measuring pumped milk versus weighing baby. The gain does sound a little slow. Have you seen a lactation consultant? They can be really helpful in making sure that you and baby have effective feeding sessions.

Both of mine have gained slow for the first month, then started packing it on.

[renaissanceed]

Another vote for forgetting the pumping idea. Especially if you are not pumping regularly, it can take time & practoice to get milk when pumping. (For instance I have no supply issues aside from oversupply but when I first started pumping with DD it took me 15 min to get 3 oz & even that's a lo for some people! Months later I was getting 8-10 oz in 5 minutes. Same pump, same boobs, just more practice.)

If he's happy, alert, pooping & peeing enough I wouldn't panic but would definitely see an LC for the before & after feeding weighing. Babies typically should have gained back their birth weight by 2 weeks but if you had lots of IV fluids then that would have inflated baby's birth weight.

Also, are all those weights on the same scale? Different scales can give different results.

Again, if he seems otherwise OK I wouldn't panic but would look into it further.

BTW DS was 8 lbs 12 oz at birth, lost to 8 lbs 6 oz at 4 days and back up to birthweight by one week. He did dip a little his 2nd week but has been gaining 12 oz a week since then & is 11 lbs 8 oz as of being 5 wks old.

[thekimballs]

My Dr. sees mostly breastfed babies, and he says birthweight at 2 weeks, or about 1 oz/30 grams per day. So his gain does sound slow to me. Zuzu was 8.12 at birth, 8.5 at 48 hrs, 8.8 at 5 days, 9.5 at 2wks3days. He said that was right on target.

[GinaRae]

As long as he's gaining, he's fine. The pumping might just alarm the doc if you get only 2 ounces or something when Oliver is getting much more.

He doesn't seem fussy at the breast? That's a sign he's not getting enough. Otherwise he might be just a slow gainer.

[pixiesmommy]

I vote for seeing an LC. It was $200 for mine for 2 hrs, but WOW was it money well spent and so much cheaper than formula in the long run (formula itself, bottles, health probs it causes......)

Hugs,
Manda

[Grace24]

Thx all...

He's not fussy at the breast, I thought he was doing ok! I spoke to my Bradley teacher who agrees with all of you that pumping and measuring is moronic, said trust my gut and don't worry if I really feel like he's doing ok (his dipes are fine and he nurses plenty), but if in a few days I'm' still concerned to call her back... her best friend is an LC who would love to help. So I'll try that probably.

I never get much when I pump cuz I still don't understand my pump! I only ever get a half an ounce from one breast at a time! :

Thx for all the responses, seriously. You guys rock.

[monocyte]

Originally Posted by pixiesmommy

I vote for seeing an LC. It was $200 for mine for 2 hrs,

some insurance companies will pay for a portion of an LC visit these days (I'd get a script from your pedi and start calling your insurance company to see if they will.

[tiffanymm]

nak

you're not alone. dd was 10lbs at birth, low of 8.8oz at 6 days old. 9.3 at 2 weeks 3 days. birth weight may not come until closer to the 1 month point for us.

she is gaining so i am not stressing. i do think that i dont have a ton of milk. i have never leaked once and dd nurses all of the time. since she is gaining .5-1oz per day i am happy with that.

[*Lindsey*]

Here's a great link:

http://www.kellymom.com/babyconcerns..._increase.html

[thekimballs]

I want to disclaim that I am 100% in favor of exclusive breastfeeding, but here are two reasons that you may want to keep a close eye on low gain and really work on getting your supply up:

1) Many babies who are not actually getting enough to eat are quiet at the breast. They may be sleepy, conserving calories, or they may not know what it feels like to be full and milk-drunk, so whatever they get feels like "enough" for them. Last year I worked with a good friend of mine for MONTHS, battling low supply; her son was always quiet as could be, and seemingly happy, at the breast. He nursed all the time. But he missed his weight milestones and the situation became more and more critical. When she began supplementing, within a month he put on several pounds and several inches.

I also have experience with failure to thrive, specifically a foster baby who came into care at 8 weeks. She was not only extremely quiet, she spit out the bottle after only an ounce or two. Her foster parents fought for weeks to get her to *want* to feel full--when that finally clicked, her intake (and weight) skyrocketed.

2) As a spin-off of the last sentence, you have got to be VERY careful not to fall into failure-to-thrive territory. FTT is very damaging to the infant (remember, brains are mostly fat, and a baby needs a lot of fat intake to properly develop brain tissue and mylenate the nerves).

I'm not saying that panic is warranted, nor am I saying that supplementation is on the horizon. But I DO think that there are good medical, sensible reasons that normal weight gain is made such a big deal of, and if your baby is not meeting weight milestones it's a good idea to keep a very close eye on things.

[Grace24]

Lindsey that's a great link, thx!

Joanna thx for your input too... that's why I am gonna call the LC today. My Bradley teach was all like, well what does your gut tell you, do you think he's ok? And I'm all, well shoot, I'm a brand new mom, can I really rely on that (gut feelings) exclusively? So it's good to hear your experience... he eats EVERY time I offer no matter how long it's been so he may be hungry all the time! Plus sometimes I feel pain when he latches and I don't think that's right. So I'll call the LC... when it comes to something like my baby's nutrition, it's never too soon to call in the pros, just in case. You said you worked with a friend on this, are you an LC or were you just helping her out?