Advice re weight gain of 3 week old!! I'm panicking!!

[Excited2meetmyprincess]

Hi
I don't know if this is in the right place. My little girl was born with a cleft pallet so is still seeing the nurses on a regular basis.
She is doing well with her feeds (or so I thought) and takes around 60-90mls per bottle. In total she gets about 400mls a day but we try and push her to the 450mls.
The nurse has just been to weigh her and she is 1oz under her birth weight and they said if she doesn't gain it by Tuesday they are taking her back to hospital!! Obviously I don't want that bit I don't know what to do because she will not take anymore than she is and when I have forced it she has vomited.
In total she has gains 5oz since leaving hospital 13 days ago.
Should I be worried or are they being overly cautious?? X

My DS dropped weight post birth, @ 12 days old still under his birth weight but by 19 days old he had just overtaken it (his birth weight). He is now a strapping 15 month old on the 75th centile. He didn't have a cleft palate, just took his time to get there. I did use formula top ups (we were b/fing) as told to by the midwives. I was also threatened that he would be taken back to hospital etc
I have two regrets 1) doing the formula top ups 2) getting so upset and stressed by the midwives.

you are doing a fab job, keep going and definitely make sure you feed every three hours (wake up if needed). As long as there are plenty of wet & dirty nappies you will be fine. congratulations on your baby :)

Thank you. It is so hard with her having the cleft as well as she has to work so much harder to take the bottle in the first place.
I am going to ask her specialist about higher calorie milk because she can't take anymore than she is so think this would really help her x

And don't worry if you have to go to hospital - it's just because health visitors, midwives etc aren't qualified to say everything's ok even if it is.

Both our twins were admitted to hospital for different things (one for slow weight gain) and both sent home with no action needed.

It took my ds (without cleft) 3 weeks to get back up to birth weight, some babies are just slow to get going-once he started putting on weight he was more consistent. 1oz isn't much, I would think there's every chance she'll make that by Tuesday.
You are doing a fab job, try not to worry and just enjoy your baby x

My ds didn't gain, ultimately down to. Tongue tie. The midwives that time 'threatened' hospital and reduced me, a knackered, hormonal mess to a sobbing wreck on the floor. Second time around I had different midwives who worked with me to find the cause and they suggested dd might need checking, totally differ net el

Sorry, wriggly baby, touchscreen!

Second time around it was a totally different experience. Hospital isn't a threat. It's where specialists are based and where they have extra resources. You mentioned asking about high calorie milk-you don't have to wait until your appointment to contact them. You could call the dept/secretary and ask for a question to be passed on or ask your GP if they could email them directly.

Good luck OP-enjoy your baby, keeping feeding regularly, ask for help here and in RL.

Sorry didn't mean to sound weird about hv and midwives - they were wonderful for us! what I mean is, at a certain point it's wise for them to refer to a paediatrician.

Friend's little girl didn't recover birth weight until 5 weeks old; had a series of infections until then. She's now a bonny nearly 7yo. Try not to worry, you'll get thru this.

My DD with no health problems didn't regain birth weight until 3.5 weeks. I was breastfeeding so just offered every 2 hours or even less, I had a great midwife who was very supportive.

Has your daughter otherwise been gaining steadily?

It's so stressful whrn it feels like feeding is an issue . You have my sympathy.

If she is solely bottle-fed I think probably good to get some hospital advice TBH. I'll bet my bottom dollar she will be absolutely fine and dandy, but given her palate issues it's no bad thing if you get extra help. Sometimes babies who get tired feeding don't take in enough calories, get tired, dont take in enough cals, and so it goes on....

Hi cal milk sounds like a good idea. Also does she have a special bottle teat for babies with clefts (haberman - SP?!)