15 day old ds2 not back to birth weight....

[missjemima]

Should I be worried?

He's ebf and was born slightly premmie (36 +4) we had problems being discharged from hospital as his blood sugar levels were low... Saw bf consultant, latch fine and once my milk came in levels bounced back and we were fine to go home. Took 3 days of two hourly tests though!

Now we've had 3 home visits since and his weight is not back to birth weight - he hasn't lost any though. Born 3.34, then 3.150, then 3.160 and 5 days later 3.160 again.

He's pooing and weeing as normal... So far they've suggested he might not be getting hind milk ( I feed from both boobs, 20 mins on one then offer second... Start from second at next feed) and also that I'm not eating enough ( I have lost my appetite...)

It's knocked my confidence in bf really... Another weigh in scheduled for Sunday...

Anyone had similar scenarios? How did it play out?

Sorry so long! Tia

can only reply quickly right now, but don't worry. some babies yake longer to regain , my ds took 4 weeks (he was full term). apparently what we eat has very little impact on milk prod. the fattier milk comes further into the feed but is more about how empty the breast is rather than time on (try looking this up on kellymom). with ds i was told to feed as muchas poss, lots of skin 2skin.and not let him go longer than 2 hours between feeds during the day. do you limit him to 20 mins or is that just how long he spends?

OK, anyone who suggests that your baby is not getting enough because you're not eating enough is probably not up to date with info on breastfeeding. Is that the health visitor saying that? You would have to be starving yourself for that to be a factor IIRC.

In your position I think I would seek out the help of one of the breastfeeding support phone lines in the daytime (NCT, La Leche League), or a lactation consultant or breastfeeding counsellor attached to a baby cafe/ children's centre if you have one nearby. Not an expert but I think sometimes the guidance for prem babies re. establishing breastfeeding is different from full-termers.

I know for full term babies it's no longer recommended to feed for a timed 20 minutes on one breast, and then swap. I think the idea is just to let them come off when they've had enough or when they seem to want a change.

My good friend had a baby who was more prem than yours; they had a slow start to BF, slow weight gain etc. It all turned out just fine :)

Someone more knowledgable will be along shortly I am sure :)

Thanks, my instinct is that he'll be fine, I think the hospital stay kind of threw me off a bit... I'm feeding on demand, roughly 1.5 -2 hours between feeds in the day. I wait for him to come off the boob usually it's between 17-30 mins on the first one... Guess I'll keep on going as is and hope for the best this Sunday...

Ta x

Yes, I thought the whole 'you're not eating enough' argument was a bit odd. It was a mw who suggested that. She told me to start drinking full fat milk before bed and eat cereal bars during the night!

Well I suppose it wouldn't hurt and it might make you feel one hell of a lot better but... not going to alter your BM production one iota! You sound like you've got your head screwed on, sure you will be just fine.