Too little baby weight gain

[Ericadm]

I have been to weight my breastfed two weeks old baby today. he has only gained 80 grams in a week and he is just below the 9th percentile. it seems too little to me (my first baby was bottle fed and gained 300 grams on the second week) but the midwife seemed unconcerned. Does anyone know if that weight gain is ok? I would not worry if it wasn't that he had jaundice and has not been feeding well initially. He is still very yellow although he is feeding better now and passing a lot of pops and pees.

[TheScience]

If he's started gaining weight then that sounds very positive, especially if he was jaundiced. Is he back to his birth weight?

If you are worried about weight gain the best thing to do is to keep feeding frequently, at least every couple of hours, feed him at night and offer at least both breasts at every feed.

[MyNameIsSuz]

Breastfed babies do gain weight a bit more slowly and usually in steps, so little one week then a lot the next, then little again. If the midwife isn't worried I'm sure it's fine! Maybe go back next week and weigh him again. Mine dropped down the centiles from the 9th at birth to below the very bottom one! Partly due to reflux which was only caught at 6 weeks and partly because he was sleeping for 5-6 hours overnight which was too long to go without a feed at such a young age, I should have given him a dream feed and started setting my alarm to do so. He's now a strapping 30th centiler!

[tiktok]

(Suz, it's not true that breastfed babies gain weight more slowly - this is only correct after about the age of 5-6 mths).

Erica it's reassuring your baby has been seen by the midwife and he is weeing and pooing a lot, but you are right that 80g in a week is not a lot...this is something to keep an eye on, by maybe weighing again in a few days, and by ensuring your baby feeds often day and night, and with at least both breasts each time as TheScience suggests.

[Ericadm]

Despite of the jaundice he lost very little birth weight ( we stayed in hospital 5 days during which was fed with a cup expressed breast milk and formula every three hours). He than gained about 150 grams and passed his birthweight by day 9. But in the last 7 days he has only gained 80 grams. I don't normally offer a second breast as I am don't think he really empty the first one. He comes off the first breast two or three times during a feed but only because he falls asleep rather than it be empty I think.

[Ericadm]

Despite of the jaundice he lost very little birth weight ( we stayed in hospital 5 days during which was fed with a cup expressed breast milk and formula every three hours). He than gained about 150 grams and passed his birthweight by day 9. But in the last 7 days he has only gained 80 grams. I don't normally offer a second breast as I am don't think he really empty the first one. He comes off the first breast two or three times during a feed but only because he falls asleep rather than it be empty I think.

[NotQuiteCockney]

You're saying you don't think he's really emptying the first breast - could you explain what you mean by that?

Does breastfeeding hurt at all? Are your nipples sore?

For sleepy babies, a technique called breast compression can help perk them up a bit and get a few more calories in. This page looks pretty good.

[TheScience]

You can't really empty a breast, milk is always being produced. If he comes off the first side by himself (whether coming off or falling asleep) then offering the other side is a good way to get more milk into him. If he comes off the second side you can always switch back to the first.

[Ericadm]

My nipples are a bit sore and it hurts but only the first couple of minutes. I am a bit confused about the whe one or two breast issue. How do I know if he has finished with one? I can't relay on him pulling of it because he does that all the times, either because he falls asleep or he wriggles and loose the nipples ( my nipples are quite small and it is always a bit of a gaff to have him latched).

[TheScience]

If he falls asleep I would switch over.