11 day old ebf losing weight

[Racheyg]

Wow I feel like I live on mn at the moment.

Ds2 weighed 10lb at birth and took to the breast well. His blood sugar levels dropped so toped up with formula as per hospital midwife after 4 feeds his blood sugar levels had risen and I stopped formula top ups.

He doesn't feed on left breast for some reason so I pump and get 4/5 oz throughout the day.

I breast feed on demand and he cluster feeds at night. I saw the midwife on Friday and he lost 10% but she wasn't concerned as he was a big baby.

The hv came round today and he has lost about another 100g or so. I know it's not much but it's not a gain.

He also has a rash which we are getting checked out tomorrow by the gp.

He is pooing and seeing a lot aswell. I'm not sure what my question is but I'm heartbroken that I'm obv not doing enough.

Sorry for long post xx

rachey, so sorry you are having a hard time :(

Here are different possibilities:

• the weighing has not been accurate, or not recorded accurately, or the different scales have produced different results

• the translation from metric to imperial has been done inaccurately

• your feeding needs some tweaking in some way to ensure he gets more milk

• your supply needs boosting

• your baby is poorly - jaundiced or some other thing going on

A loss of 100g should never be ignored - what did the HV say? Surely she has not left it as something uncommented on?

It's concerning that he cannot latch on one side - is this being addressed in some way?

Are you getting a total of 4/5 ounces from that side, or every time you express?

What do you think is happening?

Hi tik tok,

The hv did say it might be because they are different scales. I think I converted it wrong he was 8lb 13 on Friday and today he was 8lb 11. At birth I've just checked the conversion in the red book and he was 9lb 13.

I would love to improve my feeding the midwife has looked at the left and showed me different positions ect but ds2 gets so worked up that I then put him on the right.

The hv said I may need to ff top up if weight is still an issue nxt week. I really didn't want to do this as I know the more I ff the less I produce but I have to think of the health of ds2, so I'm guessing I may have to take this route.

In a day I can get 4/5 oz from the left side. I wish it was more. The left nipple leaks a lot when feeding on the right.

I will try and make it to a breastfeeding cafe in the nxt few days but I went with ds1 and didn't really find it helpful :(

I think RL help and tiktok's suggestions are what you need WRT the weight gain, but feeding on the left...both DS1 and 2 took great umbrage against my right boob for the first few weeks if their lives. Ignoring DH's suggestion that left was chocolate flavoured and right was sprouts I was able to trick them into thinking it was the side they preferred (more successfully with DS2, but then I'd had a lot more BFing experience by then) by having them on a feeding pillow, feeding them off the preferred side then, when ready to switch, leaving them exactly where they were, but turning/shifting my body so I could latch them in the other side without them noticing. It was basically like a rugby ball hold, just slightly less comfortable for me, because I was a bit twisted while they fed, but it meant they eventually got happier about feeding off that side, and I could feed them normally eventually.

DS1 was a 9lb2oz baby who lost 11% of his birthweight. I topped up with EBM and also started doing breast compressions while feeding to improve milk transfer which got him right back up to fighting weight. He's a skinny three year old now

Rachey a baby - even a BIG baby, and 9 lbs 13 oz is big :) - this much under birthweight at 11 days and apparently still losing is a cause for concern. I think it's a shame if all the HV can say to address this is that you might need to use formula next week :(

Elphaba's suggestion of breast compressions is good as well as the ideas for getting him on the left side.

As well as this, would you feel ok about talking to one of the bf helplines? They will talk to you about feeding more frequently ('on demand' may not be enough - you may need to be more proactive) and other stuff like switch nursing. Face to face help in real life from someone who knows about bf will be good.

The help at a group may not be enough. Peer supporters - if that's who are the helpers - are great, but when something is a tricky as your situation, with a baby still losing weight, you may need more input.

How often are you expressing on the left?

I express 3/4 times a day although this morning I struggled with the left and could get much out but I was very full. I did feed ds2 on left for 5 mins this morning, then switched to the right as he kept un latching.

I would love to see someone regarding the feeding, is the breast feeding not the best? Someone has mentioned lll but I wouldn't know how to go about it x

Info on all the helplines on mumsnet bf pages, sorry can't link. Late, speak tomorrow :)

Rachey sorry to hear you are having these issues I know how stressful and upsetting it is as I was in a similar situation with my DD who is now 12 weeks old. Things do improve. I think LLL is a good suggestion. I contacted mine through their local Facebook page - just search. The leaders are generally very approachable and helpful.

I had the same problems with the left side as well - she just wouldn't entertain it initially, but it did get there and now she is happy feeding on that side.

Congratulations on your baby and for doing so well

Thanks. He got weighed again today and is still the same, so the midwife spoke to the dr and they aren't too concerned as he is still pooing, wearing and very alert but needs close monitoring.

I will contact the LLL nxt week as I'm away at my parents for a few days while my bathroom gets done.

I might have to stop the expressing with the manual as it's turned my boob red and sore and I am struggling to get much milk.

Xx

Rachey, you can contact the bf support orgs, inc LLL, without being at home. It would be good, I think, to speak to someone about this.

Congratulations on your newborn! I was in a similar situation when my ds was born (he is now 7 months). He went from birth weight 7lb 6 to 6lb 1 day 6 and 6lb day 10. I was panicking as my midwife was saying i needed to start expressing and using a syringe to feed him but when I showed her how we fed she agreed We were doing it right! The problem with us was my ds was very very sleepy in the beginning and would only ever feed for 1-2 mins before falling asleep again. To turn this around, Instead of waking him to feed every 3 hours, I started waking him every 2 hours to feed for a week or two.. This got us in a better feeding habit and he quickly gained weight. It was tiring at the time but all worth it in the end. I would say that by the time he was 5 weeks old, the bf clicked with both of us and was no longer difficult - in fact it became so natural and easy and also lovely. If you can persevere, it really is so worth it! You really will get there in the end but I know how difficult it is in the early days and breastfeeding can be really tough! Good luck!

I have found a local LLL group and will arrange a visit. I hope to get on top of this. I have had to bf a lot this wkend and my friends and family are trying to get me to top up with formula on the day as all I do is feed.

I have a 23 month old ds whom also needs a lot of attention so I really need to master the art x