Bf baby skinny, too frequent feeding?

[chibi]

Hello, this is my first post, I hope someone can help me...My bf baby is 10 weeks old, and her weight has really plateaued over the last few weeks - she was gaining about 6-7 ounces per week, but then didn't gain anything on week 8, and last week gained only 2 1/2 ounces. for reference, she was 8 lb 14 1/2 oz at birth and last week was 11 lb 2 1/2 oz. I saw the health visitor, who was v bf-positive, she looked at my latch + said it was ok. She suggested I try to feed for longer on each breast, to get more of the fatty hindmilk and now we are - originally about 10 min per side, now closer to 20 min.

However, my baby still looks kind of thin, and we are often feeding every hour and a half, which seems really frequent. I know she is taking plenty in, as we have a healthy amount of wet + dirty nappies, I guess my concern is that what she's taking in isn't satisfying enough, and that's why she isn't gaining/going longer between feeds.
She also seems happy after feeds - slightly dozy and is generally a happy baby.

Is there anything I can do to make my milk richer or better, or how I can alter my feeding of her to satisfy her better, I am really committed to making bf-ing a success.

I really appreciate any help anyone can give!

[ArtistFormerlyKnownAsSOH]

Sounds entirely normal to me, weight does plateau like this sometimes. If she has wet and dirty nappies and is happy then you are fine. Your body knows how to make enough milk. My dd is 14 weeks and still feeds every 2 hours!

You're doing wonderfully.

[ArtistFormerlyKnownAsSOH]

And welcome to MN btw!

[whomovedmychocolate]

That sounds normal - some babies are just skinny!

I wouldn't worry unless she starts plumetting through the percentiles

[hunkermunker]

She sounds fine. Weight gain often plateaus at this age.

If you didn't know how much she weighed, would you be worrying about her?

[luckylady74]

sounds fine and normal to me - but do remember to eat enough yourself - feeding that much is hard - before you know it she'll be going 3 or 4 hours!

[twocutedarlings]

She sounds like a perfectly normal BF baby to me, my dd1 was also a skinny baby and she is now a skinny 4 year old, BF babys are often less chubby than FF babys, try not to worry, by the sounds of it your doing a great job, WELL DONE

[chibi]

thanks all, it is good to have some reassurance! This is my first time doing any of this, and sometimes, I feel really confident about everything, and other times like I have no clue.

Again, I really appreciate the fast responses.

Oh, and as far as plummeting through the percentiles, she was born on the 75th and has fallen to just below the 50th -- this isn't a plummet is it?

[puffylovett]

my ds was on the 91st, had a couple of weeks where he didn't gain much and 'plummeted' to the 75th and now we're on the 95th... remember that these percentiles are based on formula fed babies, who often are chubbier anyway.

my ds is also long and skinny, but perfectly in proportion and has fat rolls in all the right places - just not as fat as some ff babies of his age !!

its not an exact science, sounds like you're doing brilliantly.. one thing i tried btw is feeding from the same side over 2 hrs stretches to ensure she's getting all her hind milk, and burping regularly throughout the feed to ensure she's not full of wind instead of milk..
well done for getting this far and being so committed !

[whomovedmychocolate]

Not particularly, they do move about - dd was born on 50th, now 99.9th (my milk is made of chocolate I think!)

These things all even out over time. Best thing is to only get her weighed once a month and you'll then see a general trend rather than snapshot jumps.

[tiktok]

Sounds all fine to me, chibi - everything is within normal. Looking 'kind of thin' is just something that some babies look like! It certainly doesn't seem as if you need to 'satisfy her better' as she is doing great anyway

No, you can;t take anything to make your milk richer - 'richness' ie creaminess of the milk is not determined by your diet, but by the amount of milk in the breast at any one time (see kellymom for an explanation) and this is controlled by the baby and the feeding frequency....not something to worry about really.

[moosmummy]

That's not a plummet - definitely sounds like a plateau to me and sounds perfectly normal. BF babies just don't gain weight in a regular pattern! I would try putting her back on the same side when you feed again and then swap over. You'll know when your boob is empty and just aim for that.

I have heard that when they're getting too much fore milk their poos are more green than yellow but that might not be true so don't take my word on that!

[chibi]

Thank you all for your quick responses + reassurances, I do feel better now. Sometimes it's easy to lose perspective, especially when you're a first-timer. Thanks for the support, you are all stars.