Help! No weight gain

can you offer nursing more often to him?

make sure you are well hydrated, and find a lactation consultant or a La Leche League leader www.lalecheleague.org to work with you, hopefully you can find someone today so you don't have to worry about it over the weekend.

i see you have an older child, but will someone be available over the weekend to watch and play with her and you can spend the whole day just lolling around in bed with baby with your shirt off and babe's shirt off and just nurse, nurse, nurse.

pumping is a learned art and does not come easily to most women and is not a good indicator of what a woman can actually produce.



~claudia

If the baby is latching on fine, and you can hear sucking and swallowing, then the baby is fine. I would work on your supply and monitor diapers. I would go to Jack Newman's site and follow his recommendations for increasing supply. I think that you have a really high chance of success in totally bfing your baby.

I would take:

3 capsules blessed thistle 3 times a day AND
3 capsules fenugreek 3 times a day

Pump after feeds for 10 minutes to help tell your body to make more milk-- it is not for him right now, just to increase your supply. You can freeze it.

The baby should have 6-8 wet diapers a day -- that is the best measure of a well-hydrated baby. If you are not getting that number, please seek help from a midwife, doctor or nurse.

Go to bed with your baby for 24-48 hours where all you are doing is resting and nursing. The baby will not get too tired if he is nursing a lot. That is blatant bullcrap. It is good that he is maintaining his weight -- he just needs to start gaining. Don't lose hope Mama -- it will work.

PM me anytime. I am a midwife and can help with breastfeeding issues.

Thanks mommas. I did talk to a LC on Tuesday. We weighed him pre & post feeding and he only gained an ounce. She determined that he isn't sucking very hard and so he's only getting the easy milk and not working for the hind milk. She set me up with a Haberman feeder to help him to learn to suck harder and a hospital grade pump, since I wasn't getting much with my PIS. We are doing ok with this but I still can't pump much (I only pump after he nurses). I am giving him just a little formula (no more than 1/2 oz at a time) to help him to gain weight. I'm letting him nurse as often and as long as he wants too. I can tell that my supply is getting a little better, just because I feel fuller between feedings. He's still having a little problem with the Haberman (lucky for me he still likes my breasts much better). He still isn't sucking very hard but we are going to keep working on it.

Thanks again for all your help and support. Sorry it took me a few days to get back to you all feeding is very time consuming these days, I only hope that we will get through this soon. I have a whole new appreciation for mommas who exclusively pump for their babies.

would you consider some craniosacral therapy and chiropractic for your babe? see here for a chiro in your area trained in working with babies and children (many of them will also be trained in craniosacral work): www.icpa4kids.com

craniosacral and chiropractic really helped our son with breastfeeding when he was about 5 months old and hadn't been gaining weight well because of my supply issues, thrush and his frustration and apparent discomfort with nursing positions. it's very, very gentle and a good practitioner will answer any and all of your questions before beginning a session. working with babies and children is very different from working with adults, in that they tend to simply hold the baby in a supported position that allows the baby to move in a way that will readjust the musculoskeletal system into the alignment it needs to be. most babies do this instinctively, although some become scared when given the opportunity while others simply wiggle into position quickly.

sending you lots of hugs and peace and milky vibes...

~claudia