Baby only gained 1oz in last 7 weeks - help please

[clanger]

I have just had my 4 1/2 month old ds weighed today and he has only gained 1oz since the beginning of December. So he now sits betweem the 2nd and 9th centile line. Up to the seven week check he had been gaining almost a 1lb a week. He has grown in length though - from 50th to 75th centile. He looks healthy - in fact several people have told me recently how well and big he looks, although he always seems tired and won't sleep very long in the day. Anyway now I have been told that I must supplement him on formula immediately and have him weighed every week. If I don't then I will be risking the baby's health (which obviously I don't want to do).

This is my second child and I had no problem bfeeding the first one until he was 2. I am worried that if I supplement now then that is the end of breastfeeding. This has happened to several of my friends. I don't want to put him on formula if I can help it as there are lots of allergies/ asthma in the family and ds already has excema. I am going to the doctor tomorrow to have him and me checked out as I have lost a lot of weight recently (without meaning to) and the HV suggested this could affect the milk supply too.

At the moment I am still in shock but should I get the formula now or should I wait for the results of the tests? In my recent experience of the medical profession they tend to want a quick fix without investigating the underlying causes. But he is clearly not gaining the weight he should. On other threads about weight gain people have suggested getting a referal to a paedetrician - would this be a better route if I can persuade the doctor?

I don't think that some formula would ruin your bfeeding relationship. the trick is supposed to be keeping the feeds consistent; so you could alwyas give one bottle at 3pm and one at 9pm and breastfeed rest of time, but... can you express? I mean, if you could measure how much milk is going in, you'd have a stronger reasons for not bothering to go to formula. The other thing is to get very accurate scales (your HV could loan her hers, even) and weigh baby before & after feeds to see just how much milk is going in.

Good luck; my son only put on 4 oz in wks 12-16, so I know what it's like to be hassled.

I am sure people better informed than me will have loads of good advice, soon. But for what it is worth, I would probably put off supplementing for a short while. First I would want to be sure that baby is having lots of wet nappies - and at least some dirty ones. Then I would try to increase the amount of times I was feeding him - this is the best and only way to increase your supply. I would certainly want a referal to a paed before deciding to supplement.

I don't actually think that this is that unusual - some babies (boys especially) do put on weight in fits and starts. As long as he is passing plenty of urine and looks fit and well then I wouldn't panic - but it is always worth getting further advice - just in case. You will probably find that by next time he has put on a chunk and the HV will be happy. (This is why I haven't bothered getting my baby weighed more often than every 3 months!)

Hi Clanger - you could be me 5 months ago. These are my thoughts for what they are worth.

The growth in height not weight, you loss of weight, allergies and asthma the whole lot is so similar I am actually wondering if you are me in a parallel universe.

I didn't buy the formula and didn't give up feeding, waited until 26 weeks until introducing solids and it was all okay in the end. Although he is still "medically" small everyone always says what a big lad he is. So scales aren't everything.

Weekly weighings will do nothing except put worry on you and undermine your breastfeeding. As long as he is fine in all other respects then ask for longer - I agreed 2-3 weeks. This was enough for him to put on a decent amount of weight.

I think if you absolutely refuse to give formula each and every time you see a health professional they are much more likely to actually do some decent tests to rule stuff out. My doctor refered me to a gastroenterologist for a gastroscopy, and my ds was refered to an allergist and will soon be going to a dietician. The allergist was about as much use as a chocolate teapot about coming up with solutions that didn't involve switching to hypo allergenic formula so I asked my GP for a referal to one who would support breastfeeding.

I certainly would not believe the HV that you are "risking your babies health" by not giving formula if the only symptom is lack of weight gain. The charts are not based on bf babies and become less relevant with each month precisely because mothers whose can't make their babies stack up to the charts with breast milk are pressured into giving formula. If he is getting longer I would suggest there is not a problem, he's just having a plateau before putting on some weight.

Surely you don't have to go to the HV each week. Can they make you? Can they make you give formula? I am in NZ and I feel it would have to be a higher body than a HV to say you must give formula for it to be enforced by a child welfare agency.

Sorry if this is a bit rambly or ranty but its close to home and it bugs me when HV treat these charts as gospel and tell mothers they are losing their milk and other rubbish.

Sounds fine to me.... they can't gain a pound a week forever
If you are happy that he is growing in length (buying bigger clothes), he looks happy, poos and wees.... than why would he not be fine ????

But increase your milk supply and the offer of the breast if there is a genuine concern. Breastmilk is still better than formula and you can quickly increase your milk supply.

Is there any possiblity that he has been weighted in a different scale or the the scale was in a different place than the previous time? when DS was 3 weeks old the HV told us he had lost 800 gr in a week, I was so worried that I even got myself damaged trying to extract as much milk as I could, as I was afraid that he was not having enough, the only thing I did was to get myself strssed enough to cause a reduction of milk, at the end it was the scale (HV placed it over not very stable table and got a bad reading), 2 months ago she told me DS had only gained 10 gr (1/25 of oz) in 6 weeks and again it was the scale. I would see the doctor and if he recommends you to introduce formula I would follow his advice. You have given him already the most important months, and you could continue to extract the milk or breastfeed him, I believe they are only going to suggest to top up with formula.
And here comes a sort of trade secret from my experience as an eczema baby mother...doctors, mw and hv are not allowed to talk about the different brands of formula though I'm sure they can see a pattern about them on children, every child is different but if you are going to give him formula try Aptamil first, I have found his eczema and digestion are slightly better specially now that they have added probiotics to it...

I wrote an almost identical post (no weight gain in 9 weeks) about 2 weeks ago - and then she gained 10oz in 10 days! It's hard not to be worried isn't it? I know I'd read these posts loads of times and didn't realise how I'd feel until it was me.

Is he an active boy? Rolling around? It could just be a change in activity.

Hi clanger - I've joined the same club - ds is now 13 weeks and only gained 2 oz in the last 4 weeks. HV says we'll have to 'consider formula' but I took him to GP who says he may have slight chest infection and is happy to maintain a watching brief for a few more weeks as long as I'm happy. DS is weeing and pooing, sleeping well and seems happy in himself and so I am trying (hard) not to get too hung up on statistics. GP did say they sometimes level off for a bit...

As they seem to have stopped weighing pregnant mothers, why don't they now try to calm down about weighing babies. For instance after 12 weeks of good growth not bother. It seems a lot of babies have a pause (and after all that growing wouldn't you) especially when they get more active and before they start on solids.

The health visitor probably feels she has your baby's interests at heart, but boy, what a lack of knowledge.

If she really thinks your baby is lacking in calories, why has she not suggested you breastfeed more often?

This is the quickest and most effective and healthiest way of getting more calories into a baby.

Your own loss of weight will have no effect on your milk supply.

To put a baby on formula on the basis of one single weight reading....to tell a mother she 'must' supplement...to say she is risking her baby's health....well, if you can, change your HV!

Here here, Tiktok.

Thanks Tiktok, that's what I wanted to say, but much shorter and better phrased.

If the baby was originally weighed just after a feed, and this time just after a poo, and no feed for a few hours that may well make a few ounces difference in weight. I would want to see a consistent lack of growth before I changed what I was doing.

If he is getting longer then he is growing. All 3 of my kids have bumped along the lower percentiles - despite one getting up to the 50 % line in the early weeks. Maybe your boy is like mine and is designed to be small ! By the way - I was expressing exclusively and occasionally supplementing with formula so I knew for sure he was taking lots of milk. The health visitor never made any comments. In fact he was getting the same as his identical twin who had been happily following his own route and never got anywhere near the 50% line.

And as someone said - those charts are for formula fed babies and breast fed babies are known to go their own way in growth patterns.

I suppose you could try and feed for longer on each side to make sure more hind milk gets into him. Does he actually seem hungry ? For you - make sure yo uare getting lots of fluids and good food. And try not to stress about it.

Hi,
Right or wrong i have refused to weigh my baby this time. Fortunately i have a fab HV who fully supports my belief that i would weigh him if i was concerned.He wees poos feeds well and looks pink and healthy !
By the way if you use the same "red book " as we do here then the weight graphs are based on bottlefed babes not BF, and its a fact that they put weight on quicker and more steadily.
You sound like your doing a great job and well done for not jumping to the formula without questioning.

Tiktok is completely right. I had a v. similar problem with my daughter at the same age. Her peers were regularly gaining the right amount of oz's and she was either gaining v. little or even sometimes losing a little. But then suddenly she'd have a little spurt and gain loads in a couple of weeks, then it would slow up again. I used to get so upset and tearful about it but I never considered giving up b/f, I just tried to get her to feed a little longer and a little more often but she didn't really want any more. It must have been some metabolic thing.

I now agree totally with mothernature, if I had another child I wouldn't bother getting them weighed unless worried. There are far better ways of telling if your baby is ok than a set of weight scales.

Just wanted to say thanks to everyone for your support. Took ds to the doctor who thinks he looks perfectly healthy. Also have spoken to a couple of b'feeding counsellors who have been brilliant. The one at my hospital has been particularly good. They have been really supportive about not jumping in with bottles as it could be down to me not eating enough. So I have been stuffing myself. Ds has also been sleeping a lot better today - which might been down to the more fatty milk apparantly - which has made me feel less exhausted. I shall have him weighed on Tues and with any luck he will have gained weight.

Hi Clanger, we're living parallel lives! so glad your doc has been supportive. I've been on the fruit cake and wholemilk yogs today to try to improve my milk for ds who has his big 'weigh in' on Monday - if he's not gained (has now slipped 91st to 9th centile) they are talking about further investigating why he's not doing so well as he should.
Good luck for Tuesday, I'lll be thinking of you as I try to get a similar result!

Just to add that my ds was seen by a paed this week (about allergies) and he looked at him and said "he is well nourished". Now he is a skinny wee muppet and still in clothes for a baby half his age, but there must be other ways they can tell - muscle tone? Not all babies have to be huge and have rolls of fat.

Clanger, all the scientific evidence (and there is a LOT) is that maternal diet does not affect the quantity or the composition of breast milk, so don't feel you have to stuff yourself to feed your baby better. Fat in you does not equal fat in your milk, you know! Good luck anyway. Your HV sounds really ignorant.

Clanger, no bf person who knows what she is talking about would suggest you need to eat more in order to make more milk or milk of a fattier quality.

The evidence is entirely one way - it makes no difference.

In fact, I use the suggestion of diet to change quality of milk as a marker: if someone says this, I know they are likely to be talking out of their a* on all other matters pertaining to bf

Having said that, great that you feel better about the whole thing.

Have been having problems with my internet connection so haven't been able to post for a while. Had ds weighed today and he has gained 2lb 3 oz in a week! He is now back to what the HV thought he should be ie going along the 25 centile line. They now admit last week's weight may have been wrong!!! Grrrrrrr... Have decided not to have him weighed again.

Anyway thanks for your support. It really made me feel better.

Classic.

Isn't that just typical?

Well, well, well. Why does that not surprise me