Help - 20 week old not putting on weight

[langharad]

Hi
I've been breastfeeding all but for a 11pm night feed that my husband does (which is normally formula). I had real problems with feeding to start with as my milk didn't come in for 10 days after the birth and my son lost 12% of his birth weight so we were advised to top him up with formula after every feed. I persevered and managed to cut out the formula quite quickly, and the feeding has been going well ever since. He is content, happy & very active, but has recently gone from putting on approx 5oz per week to putting on 5.5oz in the last month.

For the last 2weeks he's been waking in the night again for a feed, and I've been trying to get him to eat more during the day, but is content with a feed every 3hours which lasts about 20-30mins and won't take anymore, although I do feed him before &after his bath before bed. He does feed off both breasts, and he gets quite demanding when he wants to switch.

....any advice would be very welcome.

Thanks!

Hi Langharad - it's always initially a bit worrying for parents on weighing their baby and finding out they're not putting on weight as much as before but you need to check a few things and hopefully set your mind at rest.

Does he seem well in himself and alert,not lethargic? (if no, take him to GP for a check up)

Do you weigh him weekly and has there been a gap of weigh-ins, therefore making it look more shocking at this last weigh-in?

Have a look at what centile he was born on and what it is now - unless it's below the original birth centile, then that's good.

Is he having lots of wet/pooey nappies?

Don't worry about how long he feeds for - babies get more effiecient as they get older and take milk from the breast more quickly.

Growth will slow down as they get older but considering you don't legally have to go to weigh-in clinic (I'm not saying you shouldn't), then if you didn't, you wouldn't be worried unless you saw visable symptoms that aren't normal for him (iyswim?).

If you and he are happy with his feeds and you can rule out any underlying problems, then I would try not to worry too much.

Is sitting up, grabbing at food etc? If he has started waking in the night, he might be getting ready for weaning/want more milk.

langharad, sorry you are worried about this....what does the HV say? It can be normal for babies' weight to slow right down as they get older (imagine what size a baby would be if they continued with a 20 oz a month weight gain all the time....:) )

Most babies don't need to be weighed more often than monthly at the most, once they have clearly reached a state of sufficient feeding (usually after the birthweight has been reached once more) and after 6 mths, the usual recommendation is no more often than every two mths.

If there is some concern about his growth, then the easiest thing to do is to feed more often, which is what you are aiming to do (you might be able to get him to take a 'third' side if he does not want to feed more often). But if he's fine and developing well, with no real worries about his health, then it could well be he does not need anything more and he can be 'trusted' to know this :)

loopy - lots of/lack of pooey nappies not significant at this stage :)

I meant ticktok if the amount of wet nappies/poos had altered significantly as a sign of another health issue; not necessarily about how much milk he's getting .

thanks so much for your replies - it's helpful to get some feedback. He's very alert and happy so I'm not massively worried, just want to know if I should be doing something more. The HV said that he seems so content that I should leave it another month and see where he is.

His poo has become a bit more green than the mustard yellow, but still the same amount of 1-2 a week he's always done. He's dropped from birth at the top of the 50th to the bottom of the 9th (with the last couple of months spent in the 25th). He also starting teething a month ago, and I don't know if this makes any difference but I've had my first period over the last 2weeks which lasted for 12days.

I'm sure he'll start putting on weight again, but I am now thinking about starting to wean him early. He does grab for food (and anything in front of him), but can't quite sit up on his own.

Thanks!