2 week old EBF baby not gaining weight

[georgie22]

Bit of history first - I'm quite anxious about bf working out this time as had lots of issues with dd which led to me expressing for 6 weeks. Ds is now 2 weeks old - he was 8lb 1oz at birth but had dropped to 7lb 5oz by day 5. His weight increased to 7lb 9oz at day 7 but has now only increased by 40g in a week. He is feeding 2-3 hourly and we're having lots of wet and dirty nappies with mustardy yellow seedy poos. Breastfeeding advisor feels latch is fine although he does have a very slight tongue tie. He settles well after each feed.

Guess I'm looking for reassurance as I really want bf to work this time.

Georgie, hope it goes better :)

Have you had a chance to call any of the bf helplines? They will listen and help you formulate a plan for making this situation easy and rewarding.

Feeding 2-3 hourly is usually not sufficient for a young baby and is actually quite infrequent for a baby whose weight is causing concern. Your baby may just be a 'slow grower' but with your history, and the small weight gain this week, it makes sense to make sure your baby has plenty of opportunities for more bf.

You need to make sure he gets the offer of a breast at every feeding cue, and that you switch him to side 2 when he shows he has had what he wants on side one.

This should do the trick - think in terms of maybe 12-16 feeds in 24 hours rather than 'every 2-3 hours' as it would be very normal to have 1 or 2 cluster feeding sessions each day, too.

I'm no expert but an IBCLC told me that if a tongue tie is significant enough to have been identified then it can definitely impact on milk transfer, however 'slight' it may seem. Are you planning to get it snipped?

Thanks for the advice tiktok. Ds1has been feeding more over the past 2 days and he is cluster feeding each evening. He is feeding from both sides at each feed too. Hoping he will have put some weight on next week.

LadyDowager - the specialist midwife who deals with tongue ties is on leave till 18th. I'm planning to get him seen as my nipples are still quite sore which makes me think the tongue tie may be an issue.

It's not unusual for nipples still to eb sore at 2 weeks, but I hope that you get good action from the specialist midwife - tongue ties can look like they're not a problem, but can cause problems with feeding.

Keep feeding him as often as he wants it - usually way before he starts crying :)
when DD was that age, she was about an hour between each feed

Thanks nickelbabe - my nipples feel so sensitive and feel 'fizzy' especially when ds is about to feed. The initial latch is very painful but eases once he's latched and feeding as long as his position is OK. I'm lathering on the Lansinoh after each feed.

When ds2 was born, we were in a similar situation. My midwife borrowed a hospital-grade breast pump for me and as well as bfeeding ds2 I also expressed and fed him that in a cup. I fed him on demand, and it was exhausting, but he started to put weight on about week 3. His tongue tie was decided to be minor enough that it didn't need correcting, and after that short period, he thrived. Good luck Georgie.

that description sounds totally normal.

it's when it's still hurting throughout the feed that it's a problem

"slight" tongue tie is often said about it's appearance (usually by people who don't really know about tongue tie).

It's bugger all to do with how the tongue tie looks.

It's all about function.

Where are you based?

We're in the West Midlands, mawbroon.