BF after tongue tie and other problems... but 5 week old slipping down percentiles... anyone?

[lucy101]

Hi there - I wonder if I could get a little advice/reassurance from any wise folk over here.

I posted the full story on the TT support thread so won't write it all out again... but in short I couldn't breastfeed until three weeks ago when my baby was two weeks old (supply, TT and baby refusing breast problems) and have been gradually moving off of formula and aiming for full breastfeeding which seems to be 2 steps forward, 1 step back... but we have now got to fully breastfeeding apart from 200ml formula in the evenings.

However my midwife popped by and weighed him yesterday and at just over 5 weeks he seems to have dropped from the 90th to the 50th which is very disheartening... although because he has hasn't been weighed regularly I am not quite sure if at what point his growth seems to have slowed/stopped.

He was basically 3.98kg (8lb7) at birth then was jaundiced and lost weight but regained his birth weight at approx. 2-3 weeks and now at just over 5 weeks he is 4.68kg (10lb3). Can anyone tell me if I should be worrying about this?

I know we have latch problems as I am in discomfort/pain pretty much all the time feeding and sometimes afterwards, my nipples have a white compression stripe and are mishappen after feeding too (but I am trying to tackle this more today but trying to get someone to come and help with that, I have already seen a lactation consultant but need to get more help I think.).

I am guessing we might still have supply problems even though I am taking fenugreek, blessed thistle and domperidone. I use compression when I BF but can't face pumping any more after feeding all day.

Any advice/help would be very gratefully received as after all my hard work to breastfeed I am feeling very low and struggling...

Your doing fantastic job after a very rocky start. Your baby hasn't lost weight she's still gaining and as you say you don't know when the reduction happened.

You do need to see some one to help with the latch so glad your trying to get help there. But there is no reasion why you can't carry on BF, to up your supply you just need to feed, feed and feed. Nothering is more efficent then your baby at upping your supply. Just get the latch sorted and you'll be fine.

Well done for getting this far.

I'd get more latch help. All the drugs in the world won't help much if the milk isn't being removed from your breasts.

When we got DD off top-ups I first transitioned to ebm top-ups so I was confident in my supply before reducing the top-ups.

It sounds like you are doing marvelously!

If my maths is correct your DS has gaines 700g (sorry I can't do Imperial ) in the last 2-3weeks that is about 250-300g/week which is great in terms of gain. Kellymom has average weight gain for a breast fed baby at his age as about 155-241g/week

So absolutely nothing to worry about in terms of weight gain.

In terms of getting to ebf and cutting out all formula, here is an excellent article on Kellymom (again!). Have you thought about using a supplementer, like this or this instead of the giving him his formula in a bottle?

Have you been to a local breastfeeding support group or seen a breastfeeding counsellor? They may be able to help you with ideas and give support too.

Good luck

Thanks for your wise words ladies - am off to some breastfeeding groups on Friday to take a look at the latch as my instincts tell me that is a major part of the problem... I guess it just feels like we are having endless problems and set backs and breastfeeding was and is so important to me that I feel so disheartened (especially when I am so tired) when it isn't going well.

Feeling better about his weight now too MummyBerryJuice!

Was your DS's Tongue tie snipped, Lucy?

Hi MummyBerryJuice

Yes, it was snipped... but I think it can take a while for them to learn to use their tongue and mouth again.

To be honest it still feels like he has one when he breastfeeds as it is (most of the time) pretty uncomfortable!

Was there a period after it was snipped that it felt better? TT can regrow (crap I know) or it may not have been snipped completely.

It can take a while for them to learn how to use their newly freed tongue properly and it may take some extra tweaking of the latch. It's good that you're going to see a trained person about it though.

Good luck

Hi MummyBerryJuice,

Unfortunately he wouldn't go on the breast for at least 2 weeks after it was snipped... I have been worrying it could have grown back... but he can stick his tongue out now (before it was classic heart shape and very tight) although if I put my finger under his tongue I can still feel his frenulum if I run the finger from side to side... but it doesn't go all the way to end of his tongue like before (and I guess he still supposed to have one!).

I caved today and gave him some formula top-tops in the morning (which was suggested)... but after hating the breast for weeks he now loves it (which is great!) and the formula just seemed to make him windy and sick and he still was breastfed as much (it seems) either side of the topup.

My feeds just seem to blend into one long one and every time I tried to express today it would be time for another feed so I only got one done which was disappointing.

It is hard going struggling with this week after week - I am a breastfeeding problem bore!

It may not have been snipped enough - DS had only a minor partial TT but it made a lot of difference when it was snipped, despite the paed being sceptical that it would. It's a shame it took him so long to BF after the snip, if he'd been able to do it straight away it would likely have stretched enough for him to be ok before it healed.

Your situation now sounds like mine before DS had the TT snipped - I don't suppose they'd do it again, would they? I had to feed DS immediately after the snip was done to get him used to using his newly released tongue and everything went forwards in leaps and bounds after that.