Please reassure me - EBF 5 week old has only gained 7oz in a fortnight...?

[Rach8341]

Can any BF pros help reassure me?

I may be being a bit over sensitive here as I failed miserably at BF DC1, but here goes.

DC2 is 5 weeks and EBF. Latch is fine since birth, fed really well and on demand. I would say she feeds at least 11 or 12 times daily & I offer both breasts if she's not satisfied/nodded off after 1st. I have DC1 aged 4 and have been, i feel, massivley dedicated to BF DC2 and determined to get it right, although this has been a stress trying to entertain DC1. She has taken a bottle of EBM a couple of times a week since 2 weeks old so DP can have her for the odd couple hours to give me a break.

She lost a small amount of weight & had regained by day 10, she was weighed at 3 weeks and had gained 10oz. I took her to be weighed today and have been told that her gain of 7oz a week is "OK" by HV. She was not much help other than saying I should offer both breasts although I had already told her I do this.
I feel v. down that this is not enough, and have already began I obsess over the bloody red book which I was so determined not to do this time...

So is this as bad as I think, are we on the slippery slope to topping up feeds/intro of formula (HV not suggested this but I am sure she will if weight gain continues not to be up to scratch)??

The only other thing that worries me is that her bowel movements are typically only every 3 days since she was 2 weeks old however I have been reassured this is fine for an EBF baby?
She has at least 6 wet nappies a day and is happy/v. Alert

Not sure what i am asking for really, I just feel so deflated.... Ironically I have read in the red book tonight that babies should not be weighed more than once a month once birth weight is regained so not to mislead so is it just that the weight gain can fluctuate?

Would love to hear any advice / from those who have been in similar situations ..

TIA

A good poop can be 3oz so it's worth taking with a pinch of salt. That she's gaining and heathy are the two things I'm taking away from this. Not all babies can follow the exact centiles - they're a statistical average.

My ds bounces around the bottom of the chart and nervous mum as I am I had him weighed a lot in the early days.
Looking back at the dots all over place it's clear weighing that frequently is meaningless.

The most important thing to do IMO now is relax.

I'm sure I've read that 4oz-7oz a week is average, so 7oz in 2 weeks seems ok to me especially as the week before was a really big gain. Some weeks they might gain nothing and then the next week double.

In your position I think I would leave it a month before weighing again.

Sounds great. I also have a 5wo and the week he put on 7oz I was told he was a "really good feeder".

A nappy does indeed weigh several ounces. Timing the weighing the wrong side of a feed and a poo in consecutive weeks can easily make 4 or 5 oz difference.

My hv recommends weighing monthly to start with. Then the poo/feed discrepancy makes less difference.

Sounds like you're doing brilliantly and

One measurement is nothing to be concerned about. As pp said, weight does bounce around with big and small gains - the lines on the chart might be smooth, but individual babies don't put on weight as precisely as that! And moving up to 2 centile spaces is normal as well over the early weeks.

Some of what you said sounds really positive, like regaining birth weight in 10 days. I have some trouble following the pattern after that though (probably my sleep deprivation) - was the 10oz gain over his birth weight or the lowest point? Could you possibly give the actual weights?

My first 2 dcs both gained tons with ebf so was a big worry when dc3 didn't. He lost the normal amount after birth and gained it back by day 10 but then when HV weighed him on day 20 he had lost 7oz :( HV was talking about formula top ups which I was keen to avoid as I had successfully bf before. I got a second opinion from the midwife who said it's not uncommon to dip again as baby becomes more wakeful/alert as they metabolise quicker. As long as baby is having wet/dirty nappies, is alert and settled all is well! Have avoided the temptation to take him to clinic weekly and am hoping for a big gain at his 6week check on Wednesday! Use your judgement of your baby and don't always listen to your HV, your baby sounds fine, well done and good luck with the bf :)

Thanks all. Logically I know she is doing well and I am stupidly fixating on this one measurement but I think it's because it's all a bit emotive what with struggling 1st time round.

Geeka - in answer to your Q, she was 8.12 at birth, went down to 8.6 and regained this by day ten. At 3 weeks she was 9.3, at 5 weeks she is 9.10

Thanks again to you all for replying :-)

Rach, that weight gain is in normal range! Always measure from the lowest point, so if she's gone from 8.6 to 9.10, that's 20 oz in 5 weeks. And 4 to 7 or 8 oz a week is a typical average gain for a bf baby. Have her weighed again after a little while - a fortnight or a month - and see how it goes.

In the meantime, keep doing what you're doing by letting her finish on her own and offering both boobs. You can also offer third boob - as in the first side again - when she's finished on the second and she may feed a bit more.

I didn't ask about night time feeding, but do try to make sure she feeds at least once in the 12-4am period. It's important for establishing your supply at this stage as well as getting food into her! You could try dream feeding her if she's not inclined to wake herself at that time.

But most of all, relax and enjoy her. You're both doing well You might like to get some RL support - a La Leche League meeting or a chat with an NCT or ABM bf counsellor could provide a good sounding board for questions and worries that we all inevitably have!

Good luck!