Baby dropped 2 percentiles

[HariboFrenzy]

Im currently ebf my 13 week old. I thought things were goung great - he was feeding every 3-3 1/2 hours, sleeping a long stretch at night and happy and alert etc. However, he has dropped 2 centiles and is now on 0.4. Family are pressuring me to start formula feeding but im reluctant-its taken a long time to get this far with bf (tongue tie, milk supply slow to come in, topping up with formula in first weeks). Obviously if this is best for baby then I will. BUT when I was mixed feeding he was still dropping on the weight chart allbeit not as fast.

Im currently bfing as much as possible (baby now feeding every 1 1/2 -2 hours, including night time)?pumping for 10 minutes whenever I get chance and taking fenugreek and milk thistle to help supply. The thing is this has taken over my life - with all this feeding and expressing there is no time for anything else and im exhausted. Logically I should just give up and ff, but emotionally I can't do it. I feel like I should be at the 'easy' part now so would be silly to stop now.

This is just a moan really but can anyone offer advice? Anyone been in this situation and continued to bf?

[CultureSucksDownWords]

How often is he getting weighed? Would it be worth waiting to see if you've managed to stop or reverse the centile drop - give it a week perhaps?

The other thing to consider is perhaps replacing one feed with formula and seeing what effect that has on weight gain. It might be easier to protect your supply with replacing one feed than topping up with formula after every feed.

[Elledouble]

I'm going through this with my son (17wks). He started out on the 25th and has now fallen down past the 2nd . At around 12 or 13wks we were advised to start giving him two formula top ups a day. Now he's still not gaining as he should and they've recommended we start weaning. It's heartbreaking. Have you got a health visitor you can talk to? If yours doesn't visit any more then maybe there's a well baby clinic you could go to?

[Plateofcrumbs]

I went through this with DS and despite my best efforts we never managed EBF, but we successfully mix fed and He still gets BFs now at 13 months. I don't know why it didn't work for us, and trying to BF, FF top-up and express was a constant treadmill, but the idea of quitting broke my heart.

Sorry that isn't much help really, other than to say long term mix feeding is possible (and a bit of a PITA)

[flopsybunny45]

I'm in exactly the same situation. Dc is 17 weeks. Started on 50th now 0.4... No weight gain at all in the last few weeks. I am gutted as I thought things were going well too. Dr has tested urine for infection and advised ff top up. No tt, no cleft palate. Milk streams out of his nose when he's feeding but dr says not a problem. If you find a solution - let me know!! X

[flopsybunny45]

Ellledouble - your ds sounds identical to mine... Same age and current weight... Interesting about weaning info - just baby rice?? X

[FattyNinjaOwl]

just popping on to say ff may not necessarily be any use anyway. I ff DS1 and DD from birth and have done so with DS2. DS1 put weight in rapidly and went up centiles, DD started on the 50th and dropped to between the 9th and 25th and has hovered around there since. she was ff and ended up on hungry baby milk as she fed so much but she just didn't gain weight.
DS2 seems to be doing the same as DS1.

[FattyNinjaOwl]

oh, DD is now a happy healthy albeit dainty 20 month old so no problems there, some babies are just small. and she is still a pig with food!

[Elledouble]

Flopsy - we've got some baby rice but only to be used to supplement any mushy fruit or veg apparently . I gave him some sweet potato today and tomorrow I've got to give him more sweet potato in the morning, then some kind of fruit in the afternoon (thinking of trying melon). I'm really gutted about it - I can't quite put my finger on why.

[JiltedJohnsJulie]

Personally I would start weaning unless on the advice of a Paed. Anything you can give him at this age will have far fewer calories than your milk. Don't forget that offering food or formula will reduce your supply further, which might not be ideal if you want to continue bfing.

What are you doing with the milk you express? Hace you tried offering a top up of ebm after a feed? You DH could do this while you go and have a lie down

Could it be possible that the Tt has reattached? It might be worth getting it checked by someone who knows what to look for.

If you do want to continue bfing, I'd give one of the Bfing Helplines a call before you do anything.

[JiltedJohnsJulie]

Have a read of this too

[LibrariesGaveUsP0wer]

Over what time period has the drop happened and how often is the weighing? When was the tongue tie snipped and when did you start upping the feed frequency?

Personally I too would not wean at 17 weeks unless I felt totally right about it and/or a paed (not a hv) had said to.

[HariboFrenzy]

Thanks all. He's only been gaining 4oz every fortnight for the last 8 weeks. Got him weighed today, and what do you know - he's gained 4oz in 14 days. Now below the 0.4 centile

[LibrariesGaveUsP0wer]

It is really hard to tell from your post if there is an actual problem or its just him. Particularly if you are small, remember someone has to be 0.4. And that some babies (particularly late one) come out bigger than there real size.

How is he in himself - alert? Happy? Meeting milestones?

Is there someone more specialised you can talk to. Maybe one of the breastfeeding lines?

Changing to formula is fine. Your baby will be fine. But you might find it very upsetting if you do it and nothing changes re weight.

[LibrariesGaveUsP0wer]

Sorry. Posted too soon.
Meant to say . It is tough.

[MustBeThursday]

DD was EBF, also dropped through centiles from between 50-75th to just above the 9th over some weeks - so not as small as your DS.

HV gave me 2 techniques to try - breast compression, where you sort of squeeze your breast like you want to express each time baby sucks, and offering the "third breast" where, you offer first breast, then second breast when baby has finished feeding, then offer the first breast again to ensure all the fatty milk has come through. DD had small but consistent weight gain and started to follow the 9th centile. HV had been suggesting top up FF which I didn't want to do, but DD was happy and healthy, so I carried on BFing.

I don't know if you've already tried those, but just in case.

It sounds like you've been through quite a time. I hope all gets better soon.

[Flingmoo]

Mine went from 75th to below 25th, GP and HV couldn't figure out why and recommended regular weighings, this just had the effect of worrying me for no real reason - he was always a happy, contented baby, and very active so I assume he was just burning off all his calories by being such a wriggle bottom.

Turned out a few of my EBF friends had the same issues with HVs worrying them by flagging up their babies' slow weight gain. So my theory is that breastfed babies just don't always put on weight at the fast rate the centile charts suggest.

Also, mine beefed up a bit at around a year old when he started walking and building up more muscle. He's still fairly diddy though.

[HariboFrenzy]

Libraries yes he is alert, hvs always comment on how alert/contented he is.

Must thank you, I haven't tried breast compressions - do you move your fingers towards nipple and hold or keep rolling your fingers?

Been advised to try going dairy free to see if that makes a difference. As he only had one dirty nappy every 7-8 days and it's always extremely runny. His cousins havr both got milk protein intolerance so is worth a try... the fun never ends

[MustBeThursday]

It's just a squeeze and hold rather than the rolling motion - I would have baby on the left breast, say, using my right arm to hold her, and the left hand to squeeze- It's a bit of a strange position to be in though, if you've got a cushion it might help take the pressure off your arm. There are some videos I think on youtube and some other info if you google. I think it's meant to get more milk into baby's mouth once initial letdown has happened. Hope it helps!

mamushka I agree RE: centile charts and breastfed babies, although I only really knew one other BF baby. One (very pro-BF) HV I saw was of the same opinion - although the ones where I moved after a few weeks completely disagreed when I mentioned it...

[flopsybunny45]

Wow - Harribo we have twins!
No weight gain in a month and even slightly lower than last weigh in. Chart is useless for us now - thanks all for useful comments very reassuring. Ds now been referred to pead. Urine test also being done. He poos too much though - several times a day here and it seems painful. Dc1 had milk allergy and tt - dc2 is v different but I am starting to wonder if it is an allergy...

[flopsybunny45]

Someone does have to be the 0.4th pc but in the book it also states that only 4 in every 1000 babies at the bottom is healthy (ie meant to be there) ... So hard not to worry!

[LibrariesGaveUsP0wer]

Where is that? I've not heard it before.

[HariboFrenzy]

Flopsy sorry to hear you are in a similar position. Have you had your paed appointment booked yet? Its been nearly a month since I was referred and no appointment yet. Makes me think no-one is too concerned? Have you had referral to dietician too?

[Writerwannabe83]

If I were you I would go straight back to your GP because continued slow weight gain is not normal.

Other signs of milk allergy include baby bring in distress a lot of the time, abdominal pain, vomiting, diarrhoea or constipation. If your baby isn't showing a combination of these signs then I would be questioning the milk allergy diagnosis.

I would be wanting a full medical check-up as I say this not to concern you, but because there are numerous medical conditions that mean a baby just cannot put weight on to a satisfactory level, including cardiac problems. It's great you've had a Paed referral, it shows the GP is acting on your situation but the fact a percentile drop has occurred again means you really need to be seen.

However, if your GP is adamant it's solely a milk issue then tell him your baby needs to see a dietician urgently - or ask if he can prescribe any high calorie milk or any of the 'calorie powders' that can be added to the milk in the meantime.

Good luck and I hope you get some answers soon

[HariboFrenzy]

Thank you writer... HV came yesterday. Only 5oz gain in 3 weeks. Baby now 'flatlining' below 0.4. Have returned to GP who was extremely dismissive- has recorded 'maternal anxiety' on his notes. This despite agreeing he is now failing to thrive

One small glimmer of hope is that Ive been dairy free since Monday and have already seen an improvement in his dirty nappies. So maybe this is intolerance related??

[Kent1982]

I have a 22 week old who has dropped 2 centimes h v sent me to gp. He has referred to hospital but now 3 weeks later and no appointment. It's really a big worry so I am watching this post.