top up 3wo due to jaundice?

[sofia31]

3wo Ds still has jaundice. Been for blood tests twice but below the treatment line. Am ebf and initially he put on weight well by day 10. Then his weight was up and down but in past few days is static. He feeds every 3 hours and nappies are always wet. Less dirty nappies than initially but mw not concerned about that. Have been advised by mw and doctor to top up with an oz of formula after each day time feed. Anyone have any experience of this. Told we need to flush jaundice out and not let weight stay static or slip back. Feeling worried it will be the beginning of the end if I start this.

[crikeybadger]

I can't say if formula top ups are necessary but 3 hourly is not very much for a jaundiced baby with static weight gain.

Any chance you can get in to bed, lots of skin to skin and just feed at every squeak- two hourly would be better but no need to time feeds.

Hope things improve soon

[keepitgoing]

could you top up with ebm instead? that's what I had to do with jaundice

[Laquila]

I'd agree that it might be preferable to up the bfeeds rather than top up. I don't know whether you're offering both sides at a feed but my boy would only take the second side after a little rest - very rarely directly after.

[Laquila]

Have you tried contacting La Leche League for advice? They have a local group finder on their website.

[TheScience]

I had similar with DS but breastfed more often rather than using formula. So at least 2 hourly in the day and 3 hourly at night til he was over the jaundice.

[quackojuliet]

You don't need to give formula if you don't want to
Jaundice is usually completely harmless in a ebf baby
We had to stay in hospital for first 10 days and as jaundice persisted, have lots of blood tests inc the prolonged jaundice screen
Dd still has a tinge at 8 weeks
I second others advice to try and offer both breasts and encourage more frequent feeding.
You could express and offer in a cup if you want to avoid nipple confusion
Good luck and don't let them intimidate or make you feel there is something wrong. It is a natural process

[quackojuliet]

Oh and try and get him in the sun as much as pos, I'm sure you know this anyway

[sofia31]

Thanks for all the advice. I have been trying to increase bf today, but find when I wake him up to feed, he lasts 5 minutes until he is fast asleep again. Have tried undressing him etc. I do need to perservere with getting him to take both sides, as he usually sleeps after one side, and isn't interested in anymore. He does feed for up to an hour usually, not sure why it takes so long! Theres a bf group I can go to tomorrow so will hopefully get some support. Mw all say latch looks fine, but I know it needs adjusting on one side which is pretty sore. He put on weight so well in the first 10 days, so its disappointing that it has stopped.

[JRsandCoffee]

Hi, I know what you are going through, its a nightmare. My daughter seemed to have a suntan forever and was also prem which made us all even more twitchy. She was topped up for the first week while we were still in hospital and then I was supposed to be topping her up but every time I fed her she just conked out so would be sitting there with the bottle and a sleeping baby. Pointless. I would second what the other posters have all said, just try and feed as often as possible, at the merest squeak and try and get out in the sunshine if it is good enough to appear! I remember it just felt like forever but FWIW I came onto this bit of the site to see if there were any discussions about stopping BF at around the 16-18 month stage so top ups definately not the beginning of the end! Hope it all gets better soon.

[Jellybellyrbest]

Sofia I'm in the same position ATM . Day 10 today...born at 35 weeks & had phototherapy before we were discharged after a week in hospital. Bilirubin levels on d/ c were 193, today they're 215. :-(
His weight increased only v slightly today. Pretty gutted. The Paeds team wanted a 45ml top up of formula after every BF. Have never managed it as DS just exhausted after a v good. 20-25 min BF/wind etc. Can get 20-30ml in at a push. I'm reluctant; feels awful to 'force feed' him. But; I find it really diff to get him to BF when he's too tired whereas topping milk in from a test is definitely easier. TBH I've primarily focused on BF. I figure the more time he's at the breast the better my supply/his suck will be.

[Jellybellyrbest]

Tipping milk in from a teat-on phone.

[blueberryupsidedown]

I did this with DS2 top up with formula, and then I pumped between feeds to increase supply. It was fine. Really, there's no pressure, it doesn't mean that you won't be able to bf long run. Did it for three days I think and he got better very quickly.

[YokoUhOh]

DS had jaundice, went under the lights, and then had to see the specialist at 3 months because he was still bright orange! The specialist said that he had breast milk jaundice and it would disappear of its own accord (he was EBF) - and it did! He's now 15 months and no longer tango-ed, in fact he's quite pale...