3w old DD losing weight - what to do?

[RevoltingPeasant]

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 :(

Hi all,

So, mixed results from me. Last week she put on 170g over the course if the week which was not amazing, but good enough, and keeps her on her centile.

So fine!

Except......now I think I am having problems with supply. Last week I started to feel supply was dwindling and I had a duvet day of skin to skin plus started taking fenugreek capsules. Supply rocketed and she fed loads.

But, it's started to drop off again. Whereas earlier in the week I was expressing 2-3 oz at feeds and waking up with the bed sheet wet from leaking milk, now I am down to expressing about half an oz and breasts feel dry.

Argh!! Sometimes I just feel like saying, she's had a month of bf, that's good enough, and giving up. It's such a bloody palaver, expressing, taking capsules, sitting for hours with her up my shirt, being 'rewarded' with better supply for a few days and then watching it all go again......part of me thinks sod it, put her on formula and spend time enjoying her. She is a lovely placid alert baby and a really decent sleeper, so everything is peachy except feeding.

But I don't want to give up :( I love the feeling she is getting the best food and I love the closeness and the little cackle she does when she latches, and the way I can always calm her with the breast.

:( boo.

Sorry, massive whine

Mild try fenugreek capsules, a tenet from Holland and Barrett. I read online you have to take more than the recommend dose, like 2-3 capsules at every meal, but I did find it made a difference, at least temporarily.

I've heard that but unfortunately one of the side effects of fenugreek is hypoglycaemia, and as a diabetic I can't risk it.

Oh no! Well what about skin to skin? Doing it right now with DD :)

Oh also my MW said oats bel, so porridge or flapjacks.

Oats HELP

Hi OP, I have no advice but my experience was exactly the same, I never had leaky boobs, could never express. My DD was not very interested in feeding (she's 7 now and still doesn't have a huge appetite) and it felt like a constant battle to have enough milk to keep her growing.

My DD lost weight at 2-3 weeks and I supplemented with formula, eventually giving up totally at three months. Not ideal maybe but she was perfectly happy and healthy.

Go easy with the fenugreek- it's also a laxative. It did bad things to me shudders

I'm a poor example as I did give up at about your stage- for similar reasons. DS is almost six months and has thrived on formula- I'm yet to find out if it will have any negative long term effects of course.

For me it got too emotionally draining to keep up BFing. BUT you aren't me and for some people if you can get through a couple more weeks it really gets easier. I think you will have to make peace with the really frequent feeding/expressing/sticking DS up your jumper though if you want it to work.

good luck!

Thanks both. unexpected that is helpful and makes me feel less guilty!

Lottie I don't have a problem with all the faff if it's making a difference.... It's just doing it all and feeling it's not helping her as I have too little milk!

Oh I did make these too
newburydoula.co.uk/2014/04/01/lactation-cookie-recipe/
Not sure they helped but they were tasty.

Hi Peasant - feel your pain - had v similar experience with DD, now 4 months. We're still bf'ing though I wouldn't have believed it possible back at 4 weeks!

One thing I wondered - did you know that your body changes the way it produces milk around now? It basically only makes as much as the baby needs, rather than producing enough to feed a small army as it does in the early days. Much more efficient. Most books say this happens around 6 weeks but I read online that it can be more variable and I'm pretty sure this is what happened to me at 4 weeks.

Also, is your baby satisfied when she finishes a feed? My DD used to pull off the breast screaming with frustration, especially in the evenings, and that's when I'd top her up with a bit of formula. But if your DD is popping off of her own accord and seems happy I'd assume you are producing exactly the right amount of milk for her!

What worked for us - fenugreek, feeding a bit more often, expressing after/between feeds, breast compressions to make sure she got as much milk as possible at each feed and, most importantly, taking it a day at a time. If I'd set myself a goal of still bf'ing at 4 months, it would've felt impossible. But still bf'ing at the end of the weekend was doable.

170g weight gain in a week is fine. It's the higher end. What were you expecting? Honestly, it's very hard to see that you have a supply issue now. Expressing yields are no way to gauge. What support and info do you have in real life?

Freia, that is a super helpful post so thank you!! :)

Yes after posting my mammoth whinge last night I read the Alpha Parent blog which discusses the change in supply and I now wonder if that's what's happening.

Sometimes DD's latch is not the best so then I started to think, what if her latch is off enough that it's affecting supply, etc.....

Tiktok she is being weighed weekly by GP due to previous poor gain and he was a bit dubious about " only" gaining 170 in a week so I thought it wasn't so good. Is it okay then? I'm a member of a bf support group IRL and they ate lovely but only meet once a week, and of course on that day her latch is always perfect the little bugger

Oh, and... I do expressing, breast compressions, feed on demand and offer during the day more regularly than she asks, and fenugreek, plus try skin to skin but probably not as often as I should.

So sounds like the right track, not missing any big tricks?

So glad I could help Peasant! Sort of makes my annoying experience less annoying if it can be useful to others

Sounds like you are really on top of things. The only other things I've done is offering both sides at every feed and eating granola for breakfast - kidding myself it's for the oats and not the sugar rush...

I do feel like with breastfeeding everyone has an opinion and it's very easy to feel you're doing something wrong, especially as a first time mum. But it sounds like things are going really well so keep trusting yourself and your baby!

You need to drink loads of water as that helps with supply as well and rest as much as you can. I could never express much so try not to worry about that. Make sure you are putting her back on the same breast she finished on if she wants another feed in less than two hours so that she gets the hind milk and then move her to the other side. It sounds as though you are doing a great job.

What you say about your baby performing perfectly at breastfeeding group is very familiar - that's exactly what my DS used to do, lots of pain and problems at home, but much less so at any groups I went to. I came to the conclusion that at the groups, with someone watching , I was being very deliberate and remembering all the tips I'd had, so the latch was better, whereas at home it's easy to not concentrate. So I tried being more mindful at home, imagining someone was watching, and I think that helped.

170 g is absolutely fine as a weight gain. It makes sense to keep an eye on her weight because of the ridiculous lack of sure weights so far but everything you say about your baby and what you are doing indicates no cause for concern.

No need to drink plenty of water. This is a myth. Drink according to thirst. No need to rest unless you want to. Myth that it has any effect on milk supply. And biggest myth: put the baby back on same side all the time for hindmilk. Wrong!

You're doing fine from the sound of things.

homeaway, sorry, you need to check your info. :(

I think there's lots of things at play here. Firstly my midwife told me scales vary. Also is DH/yourself thin/small/large? I think babies have no choice about how much they eat in the womb but out of the womb they can stop when full. As a result they often find a more natural lower or higher percentile. There's also a good chance your baby's milk demands have increased and your boobs will take a little time to adjust to the new demand. Lastly ensure the baby is held high and close.

Mine all lost weight for the first month. They are naturally small kids but happy, bright and healthy.

Freia thanks :) yeah, inviting her to do second breast and alternating which us the first breast from feed to feed, also porridge fir breakfast!

CObo interesting. I will need to have a look at that! My own sense is, her latch gets worse as the day goes on or when she's fullest do I've attributed it to not being as bothered about milk, but I should look to myself and not just blame her!

Tiktok thanks, good to know!

Peony yes DH family all tall and skinny - bil looks like Bradley Wiggins - and mum's babies were all titchy and gained slowly.

Be careful about putting her back on the same breast if it's within x minutes/hours. That's one way to decrease supply - to feed only from one side at a time.

Family history is really good to know. My cousin's gp hounded her about her baby's slow growth, but her mum and sister both had tiny babies and the child in question is absolutely fine.

This is all so confusing. All midwives and hvS have said that I need to keep offering the same breast because of hind milk.

It is confusing when HCPs who should know better get this fundamental knowledge so wrong :(

An easy to understand explanation is here:

thefunnyshapedwoman.blogspot.co.uk/2011/05/foremilk-and-hindmilk-in-quest-of.html

Mildatheart start a new thread and include some details. Let's see if you can get some helpful info.

Just to say, saw the GP today and DD had put on 180g more over the past week, so he said he thinks she's on an upward trend and I can stop expressing and topping up quite so much, and just try and go with bfing for the minute.

Thanks so much for all the handholding and tiktok especially you have been so helpful and informative - thanks to you I've realised several things that MW and GP have said were wrong!