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Infant feeding

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Original poster

3w old DD losing weight - what to do?

52 replies

RevoltingPeasant · 17/02/2015 17:27

DD was born at 38+4 wand was quite dinky - 3.144kg or 6lbs 15oz. She is bf. Then at her 72 hour check it emerged she'd lost 12.2% of body weight!

Cue various interventions, inc 2 hourly feeding regime, 3 hourly regime with top ups of EBM, 3 hourly regime with top ups of EBM and formula through a syringe, etc....

She put on weight slowly in fits and starts, but then last week put on 80g in 48 hours, then again 80g in the next 48 hours, then 200g over the weekend! She'd made back her birthweight and then some, we were discharged by the MW, everyone was happy.

Except when the HV weighed her again today, she'd dropped again - a whole hundred grams, taking her back down below her birthweight again.

I just don't know what to do. I bf on demand, and always set an alarm for 4.5 hours so if she doesn't feed before then I rouse her. I do both breasts and she typically takes 40-60min feeding on and off. She sleeps next to me in bed and is held pretty much all day. We take a nap together. So no shortage of chances to feed.

My breasts leak milk in the morning when she cries and she seems sated after feeds, dropping off the nipple asleep. She poos loads and wees - we're pretty much keeping Pampers afloat - and has never been jaundiced. So I don't think there is a problem with her health or my supply.

What might be going wrong?? Have I missed something? I really don't want to give up bf but I don't want her to waste away either :(

OP posts:
NotQuiteCockney · 17/02/2015 17:37

That sounds really stressful and unpleasant.

You say she is pooing loads - how many poos per 24 hour period? How many of those are at least as big as a £2 coin?

How do the feeds feel? Any discomfort at all? Have you had any help with the latch?

And have all these weighings been on the same scales? Even digital scales can vary, more than you would think ...

CunfuddledAlways · 17/02/2015 17:40

Is she happy and alert? Well in herself? If so I would suggest not reweighing for a couple of weeks x

BeeRayKay · 17/02/2015 17:42

They do typically lose weight around this time. From what I recall.

Is she alert? (as much as a 3week old can be), wet nappies? Content?

BeeRayKay · 17/02/2015 17:43

Oh and are you weighing her in the same circumstances? If you weigh immediately after a feed one day, but the next time after a bowel movement...well there is gonna be a discrepancy iyswim?

bakingtins · 17/02/2015 17:45

If she'd started to gain and from your perspective is doing well (feeding well, satisfied, wet nappies) then my first thought is either the scales are inaccurate/poorly calibrated ( different scales, am I right?) or someone has written down the weight wrong ( transposed digits etc)
Get her re weighed and rule a mistake out before changing anything.
If she has really lost weight ask to see an IBCLC and get her checked for tongue tie, latch and milk transfer assessed.

CunfuddledAlways · 17/02/2015 17:47

I was advised to weigh dd 3 once a week after dd 2 had various issues putting on weight, but I don't think it gives.a.broad enough picture as just a few.grams at this age.makes.a.massive.difference, so she is weighed once.a month ny a consultant at the hospital on a set.of.scales.that don't move as scales that are moved or on different surfaces or different scales to last time will give.a.different reading e.g. if you weigh yourself.in a carpeted room and then a hard.floor room on the same scales you will get a different result.

CunfuddledAlways · 17/02/2015 17:48

Sorry about the full stops!!

bakingtins · 17/02/2015 17:49

200g over the weekend sounds pretty unlikely, is it possible that one was wrong? The rule of thumb is 1 oz/30g per day so your 80g gains in 48 hours were good, 200g in a weekend sounds like someone was pressing on the scales!

Original poster
RevoltingPeasant · 17/02/2015 18:05

Wow, thanks for all these responses!

Let's see, on poo.... I've stopped counting tbh but maybe 5 poo nappies in 24 hours? Probably 3-4 of those at two pound coin size or larger, at least two will be giant explosive poos that get through to her clothes and/or go on the changing mat. Often a trace of poo in nappy at other times too.

I check her nappy whenever I hear a poo and otherwise every 2-3 hours. It is never dry and is often sodden.

Okay, so.....it is interesting what you all say about the scales! She has been weighed in multiple different scales as she's been weighed by different MW who all bring their own set. But here's the thing - it was a home birth so she was weighed by the delivery MW. The delivery MW then went on leave, and we didn't see her again till DD was discharged.

...meaning that both times she has had an apparent drop, ie after birth and after this weekend, is when she has been weighed on that one set of scales. So I wonder if that particular set is adding on 100g or something?? So then when she is weighed on anyone else's scales she appears to have dropped iyswim?

I did query the dramatic 200g gain but was told firmly that scales were checked regularly and could not be wrong.

OP posts:
CunfuddledAlways · 17/02/2015 18:18

Have they suggested when to get reweighed?? Or.what.to do

NotQuiteCockney · 17/02/2015 18:35

Jack Newman talks about variations of up to 140g being not unusual between scales. People also write things down wrong.

That amount of poo means she's getting plenty of milk. Did you say how the feeds are feeling?

NotQuiteCockney · 17/02/2015 18:37

And yes, the 12.2% loss in 72 hours is unusual, I would wonder what was up with the scales.

Original poster
RevoltingPeasant · 17/02/2015 19:45

Cockney, yes and what made that 12.2% loss even odder is that she showed no signs of jaundice, dehydration, or anything else wrong - she's always been bright red a good colour, alert, weed lots etc.

Sometimes her latch is squiffy but I always relatch. She gets a good latch a lot of the time and feeds comfortably. My nipples aren't sore most of the time, and I go to a bf support group so her latch has been checked. She has a good mouthful, round cheeks and a firm suck and she feeds till she does that tongue-feathery thing and then falls off.

That all sounds right, doesn't it?

OP posts:
Original poster
RevoltingPeasant · 17/02/2015 19:47

Oh, so they said GP appt ASAP - we're on for 8.30 tomorrow - and do top ups of EBM and/or formula and they'll re weigh in a few days.

OP posts:
bakingtins · 17/02/2015 19:59

Makes sense to get her checked but if the GP says she is well and she is feeding, peeing, pooing then I'd resist changing anything or topping up. We bought our own baby scales for similar reasons, I have weighed my three myself every couple of weeks and fill in the red book. So many HVs put the scales on the carpet, or reverse digits, or mark it wrong on the chart. It doesn't matter too much if the scales are 100g out and you are weighing an older baby monthly, but it makes all the difference if you are weighing every few days and then using the results to tell a new mum her baby is not thriving!

Original poster
RevoltingPeasant · 17/02/2015 21:39

Hmmm Baking, must admit getting my own scales had crossed my mind. Do you mind my asking where you got yours and about how much they were?

OP posts:
CunfuddledAlways · 17/02/2015 22:00

I would try to avoid weighing too frequently as it doesn't give an effective view, see if you could have a week or even two as long as you are happy maybe baby is just finding weight she belongs at.iyswim

TheScenicRoute · 18/02/2015 00:18

I share a similar story with my twins, although we still aim for 3 hourly feeds rather than 4. Perhaps you could feed her just a touch earlier, even just half an hour?

bakingtins · 18/02/2015 07:23

I think I bought them on Amazon and they were about £30.

tiktok · 18/02/2015 09:35

:( :( That must be so worrying and confusing :( :(

It is never normal for a three week old to lose weight (BeeReeKay, not sure where you have heard this), and it always needs checking out.

Having said that....the truly bizarre weight pattern you report (200g in one weekend???) indicates an anomaly with the scales, with the person using them, or with the way the weights were recorded....especially as your baby appears healthy in every respect.

A baby below birthweight at 3 weeks having lost 100 g is a baby who'd be showing other signs of something not right.

It would help to speak to someone sensible in real life who can also assess your baby to put everyone's mind at rest. What did the HV say? She surely didnt record a weight loss of 100g in your baby and then say nothing?

Hope you get it sorted.

Original poster
RevoltingPeasant · 18/02/2015 22:57

So we saw the GP this morning who said there's nothing obvious wrong with her and we shouldn't get too hung up on numbers. He said he'd do a paeds referral if we wanted but he wasn't sure there was a need. So we left it that we'll reweigh her on his scales next week.

Phew!

It just makes you so paranoid as a bf ftm. Every time she has a funny latch and needs help, or fusses, or anything, I think omg she's not getting enough calories in.

But she's alert, and pink, and pooing and weeing all the time, and sleeping comfortably for periods of 20-30 min to a couple of hours in the day, and anywhere from 2.5-4 hours at night..... This all seems healthy to me and I'm simultaneously having trouble believing anything is wrong, and scared I'm missing some serious problem which will mean she is starving right under my nose :(

OP posts:
bakingtins · 19/02/2015 07:31

I think rechecking in a week sounds sensible. Keep doing what you are doing and giving her plenty of opportunity to feed, and keep an eye that there is plenty of 'output' and try not to worry. Don't let it spoil your first weeks with her.

tiktok · 19/02/2015 09:03

Gp sounds sensible!

bakingtins · 26/02/2015 10:47

How has the week gone, peasant ?

mildatheart · 26/02/2015 22:59

I could have written this post! My DS is now 29 and has been weighed at least 8 times. He was born at 10lb at 37 weeks( I'm diabetic so it was expected) but lost up to 9.6% of his weight. I'm doing formula top ups every feed and expressing when I can.
The teouble is I barely produce anything when expressing- between 1/2-1 Oz. Now I'm worried his latch is affected and I can't give home hat he needs. Last weigh in he'd put on 130g in 2 days, today he'd put on only 25g in 5 days. I just want him to be getting the right nutrition. I'm worried I'm not feeding him well enough