Crossed 2 centiles lines - advice?

[StrangeGlue]

Took Ds, 9 weeks, to be weighed today and he's only put on 1.5oz this week so he's now crossed 2 centile lines. His weight gain has always been slow although he lost v little after birth.

He's mix fed - bf all day and night and 1 ff bottle in evening. Hv suggested giving him a morning bottle too. Does that sound right? Would I not be better topping up after feeds rather than substituting a whole feed?

He feeds on demand and clusters for hours in afternoon. Hv asked if I feel like I have enough milk but I've no idea how is tell. He seems satisfied. My breast are softer and I'm rarely engorged now but I thought that was normal. Plus this slow gain isn't new.

Also saw dr who was v nice and said we'll see how he does for a fortnight before referring to hospital.

Any advice?

What line was he on? Is there any chance he is 'catching down' (i.e. born big and moving to his natural size). Does he have plenty of wet and dirty nappies, does he naturally come off the breast after a feed and look a bit drunk/sleepy or is he irritable? I wouldn't go for the morning bottle to be honest, unless medics are really concerned. Can you get his latch checked by anyone decent?

I would get your latch checked (is it comfortable?) and breastfeed more often if possible, at least every 2 hours and offer more sides per feed (switch feed).

He's now down to the 2nd centile and was only 8lbs. He does a huge about if pooh, often big lakes and a lot of wee too.

Feeding doesn't hurt, it did at first, and I did go to a breast feeding session once will go back and get latch checked.

He tends to feed until either he comes off natural and seems chipper or until he's dozy and then goes to sleep.

Will do the switching too. Do you mean 2 hours from start of feed or from end? If from start I literally won't ever put him down!

From start. Sounds like there is an issue transferring milk if he is feeding so often/for so long and not gaining weight. Can you see a qualified breastfeeding person? You can call the NCT and ask if they have anyone local.

Yes I should have said the hv recommended seeing a breast feeding person too. Will look into that tomorrow.

He isn't feeding the whole time I think there's a lot of comfort sucking going on too so I think he feeds and then comfort sucks/snacks for longer.

How long would you expect a feed to take for him to come off happy?

How long would you expect a feed to take for him to come off happy?

Maybe you could try switching sides every time he stops actively feeding/swallowing.

Good idea! Will do

strangeglue they do feed for a long time at this stage especially in the late afternoon /early evening but after the first few weeks there should be some clear periods where they are not actually on the breast if they are feeding efficiently. Babies differ in how long they take to feed and how long they go between feeds but many of this age can go 2 hours from start to start eg. feed for approx 45 mins, then they come off, then you get 1hr 15 mins til the next feed.

One of mine fed for literally 24 hours, coming off only twice in that period when I unlatched him screaming and handed him to DH. He still lost 5% of his bodyweight for that 2 weeks. All the bloody helplines said ooooh, BF babies do feed for a long time/like to stay at the breast. Actually there was a real problem with his latch, and although that sort of feeding is not unusual if baby is trying to increase your supply/make milk come in, it is not right all the time.

The Jack Newman website used to have good info over whether feeding is going well, something like is the baby doing a some good power sucks as well as little feathery things with their tongue.

Thanks junior that's really helpful! Saw bf support today and got his latch checked and it does feel like he's going a bit more efficiently. She said he's probably just a slim baby though as he is alert and doing lots of pooh and wee.

Got some good tips about how to keep him a bit more awake to feed and will check out that website.

Thanks!!