I'm having a wobbly moment. :(

[notthewowy]

I've just had my little girl weighed. She's gained 30 grams in a week. Not huge but I was happy with that.

A bit background: she was born 2.8k just under 3 weeks ago, at 5 days we were admitted back to hospital as she'd lost 320 grams, was lethargic, couldn't maintain her body temperature and was not peeing. 3 days after that she was moved to special care where she was bottle fed for 2 days before being mix fed. She was discharged at 2.62k and now we're working on reducing the top ups. She's still peeing and pooing with gusto and it all seems a good colour.

She's bright, aware, wakes, sleeps, demands food and is breastfeeding at least 12 times a day with expressed milk top ups and some formula on top of that.

I was happy that she'd gained some weight even if it wasn't as much as I'd hoped but now the health visitor has phoned to arrange a home visit for Friday as she still hasn't regained her birth weight. sigh.

Now I'm worrying where I wasn't before. Moral support/fishslap please?

Try not to worry, it sounds like she's doing well. The HV checks are pretty standard on a slow weight gain. Not every baby fits the averages. I had a similar experience with my DS. My DD is now 12 days old and has lost half an ounce in 3 days is otherwise happy and content, feeding, sleeping etc.

Just don't let the HV worry you.

Please don't worry too much, there will be others with better advice but I gave birth to a little one too (2.8kg) who lost 13% of her body weight and we had a similar initial fight. She was taken in 3 days after being initially discharged and I did the 3 hourly BF/ expressing/top up thing too.

To be honest if she is alert and doing regular nappies I really really would not worry.

All babies have their own pattern and some are just small, medical professionals (so I have been told) get a little nervous occasionally with little ones but as long as she is gaining weight you are on the right track.

You may feel pressurised into offering more formula than you would want to give, if that is the case please contact a BF counsellor if you want to BF.

But ultimately the feeding choices are your choices and as I say there is a lot of good support out there.

My DD has ended up being FF (long story and don't want to hijack post) mainly due to illness and intolerances.

But I honestly believe that if she is alert, happy and doing the requisite nappies then there can't be much wrong.

My DD is and has always been dwindling between the 0.4 and 2nd percentile lines whether BF/CF/FF it is just how she is.

HTH

notthe there is some very good advice on here already and there isn't much I can offer really. Just wanted to say well done for continuing in such difficult circumstances .

The HV is bound to make you wobbly but I would recommend phoning a Bfing Counsellor before the visit on Friday. You can talk through your concerns the the Bfing Counsellor may be able to give you some information and support and maybe some help with dealing with the HV.

Is there a Bfing Counsellor in your area, or do you have the numbers of the helplines?

You must be exhausted with all the bfing, expressing and washing and sterilising of bottles but if you can manage to get out I'd also recommend going along to your local Bfing Support Group whether its at your local Surestart Centre, , NCT or Baby Cafe. Hopefully you will find some support there too.

One last thing, has anybody checked your latch in all of this? There is some info here on Kellymom which you may find reassuring and also some information here on what to expect in the first 6 weeks. The weight gain is average though, and not all babies are average.

Keep feeding and keep posting

Don't know what happened with my links, that should have been LLL

hey, yes. Everybody and their granny has checked my latch. My little boy was the same at this age and at 6 is now the height of an average 8 year old, So this time round I've really made a nuisance of myself with all of the available support. I don't know why I'm worrying, I guess it's because I was happy that she was at least getting bigger you know? grr.

Thanks for the support, I just want to pack the expressing and the formula in at some near point, not increase it. It's a lot of faff and expense and it's all very tying.

Thanks for the links. Oh well, she's not coming till Friday and there's not much she can do, ultimately this is my child and my judgement is what matters (though that's wobbly too after the trip to hospital)

Can see why you want to reduce the top-ups, even if its just to free up some time. Here's another link. Like you say though, Friday is a long way off and at the end of the day its your baby and she is gaining weight.

Hey, thanks for the support, Friday came and went and she'd somehow managed to lose weight. I'll keep plodding on, the local BF support co-ordinator is taking me to see her boss Tuesday. Moral support is always appreciated and often needed.

I will continue feeding her, I want to. Even if it mean mixing for the next year or so but every now and then, when I get tired I find myself thinking "why am I doing this? life would be so much easier right now if I just give up and make the switch" which is true but only in the short term. I'm not actually going to do this but I'm sure you know what I mean. I enjoy feeding her, she seems to enjoy being fed...