3 week old not regaining weight with ebf - seems mixed feeding & much more formula is the only way

[alittlebitcountry]

Hi,
I'm not sure if there is anything more anyone can advise, but it's becoming inevitable that we will have to start using bottles to feed DS, we have been mix feeding already with a cup, but as he is not gaining weight so now need to up the quantity of formula significantly.

My question is, at 3 weeks how likely is this to affect his latch and breastfeeding?

DS is 3 week's old today. He was a good 8lb12 at birth. BF is as well established as it can be, we've had loads of support from the infant feeding team etc. Tongue tie corrected at 6 days old, since then The position & latch look good, he's feeding often with plenty of wet nappies, good colour,& sleeps well but is alert when awake.

But he just isn't gaining weight. At 10 days had lost 12% of birth weight and has plateaued ever since.

I know in the long run it will be fine, but my hormones are still at a level to make it a really emotional choice to introduce bottles. 2 years ago DD never achieved a latch, I was so pleased that wasn't happening this time, but it seems not to be making any difference.

Thanks if you've read this far.

Just bumping for you really as i'm not knowledgeable about this.
If baby has wet nappies and is alert, I would encourage you not to up the formula and to keep going as you are, always offer the breast before the cup perhaps? My DD lost 12% at day five and I was advised to let her go no more than three hours from the start of one feed to the start of the next, although IME she fed more often than that anyway. Good luck, I hope you get more advice soon. Let us know how you both get on..

My dd is 10 weeks and didn't gain weight quick enough to begin with. I was ebf. HV encouraged ff to top up and it's worked. I always offer bf first though.
It's a very personal choice, and I'd say don't feel pressured.
Another option is to express

Thankyou both for your thoughtful comments.

Confused Is your DD having formula in bottles?

For a similar issue we found that simply relaxing more and spending a few days doing nothing but lounging in bed feeding and NOT worrying about weight gain was all we needed - I dropped the formula after only a couple of feeds as I hated the idea and expressing seemed silly as baby could simply take it direct (may have been different if baby not latching and sucking well but it sounds as though yours is).

We had to be brave (medicos NOT supportive) but it seems to have worked :-)

Also recommend having calm older people who've seen it all before around you telling you it will all be fine - perhaps someone from infant feeding team/a grandparent?

Yes dd is having formula in bottles. I've started drinking fennel tea which is supposed to help breast milk production. I also take liquid iron from health food shop and carefully watching diet. Relaxing and spending as much time at home has been wonderful too. I ignore the phone, light some candles and just enjoy dd. I'm gradually reducing giving dd formula and bf on demand.
Lots more experienced women on here than me, but, I'd say go with your instinct, as only you know your baby and the bond you've built up. Good luck

I had a similar situation - DD was small when she was born and lost 13% of her body weight (probably because I had a c-section and the milk didn't come in for a few days). She did regain it a little after 3 weeks, but it was a struggle. I resisted formula top-ups despite some pressure, but I nearly gave in when her weight plateaued at 5 weeks; despite evidence of good feeding (10-12 times a day, lots of wet & dirty nappies) she just wasn't gaining enough. I was really puzzled and insisted on seeing a paediatrician: it turned out she had an infection which was inhibiting weight gain. She's now 6 weeks and since a course of antibiotics has been doing fine.

Just wanted to share this: I felt that an emphasis on whether or not I was breastfeeding successfully distracted attention from the real issue. Every situation is of course different, but if you're convinced that the feeding is not a problem (and it does sound from your original post like it's going well) then it might be worth asking HV about other factors that could be at work.

Really hope you get it sorted and your little one starts to thrive. Oh - and in answer to your actual question, I have (or rather DH has) been giving one bottle of expressed milk a day since 2 weeks, and we've had no problems with nipple confusion.

Hello, It's taken me a while, but I want to thank you for your replies and support again.

In the end I decided that cup feeding was too frustrating and cautiously introduced bottles - BF first followed by a couple if oz formula by bottle at each feed.
It has worked and as of Thursday at 5 weeks old DS has finally exceeded his birth weight by a few ounces.
Happily it has had no apparent effect on his latch, and although it's still hard to judge how much milk he's getting from me, he most definitely is getting some all the time.
I'm a lot more optimistic this means we'll continue to bf for months to come now, although I don't know if we'll be able to cut down on formula - and having the choice has really helped me to give toddler DD some overdue attention.

I introduced a bottle at 3.5 weeks as I wanted my DH to be able to help with feeding of expressed milk. It has had no detrimental effect of breast feeding at all, and DD will happily take either breast or bottle. She's 11 weeks old now.