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Infant feeding

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Original poster

Please help - 8 day old Baby still losing weight?

22 replies

Lucy1977 · 15/12/2006 10:29

Hi

I am posting this for my sister.
She had a (planned) c-section last wednesday, baby girl born weight 8lbs 8oz. Milk came in at day 3 and they were also discharged from hospital day 3 and baby weighed 7lbs 14oz. Baby was weighed yesterday and is now 7lbs 13oz at 8 days old.
The midwife called the hospital for a 2nd opinion whether the baby needs to be admitted to hospital. The hospital said just to closely monitor the baby, wake for feeds every 2 hrs during the day at 3 hrs during the night, to make sure baby feeds for 20 mins and weigh again on Saturday (tomorrow).
Baby is giving around 4 dirty nappies and lots of wet nappies a day.

Any advice for my sister? I have only spoken to her on the phone (live 450 miles apart but going to see her tomorrow). She says her boobs were hard and lumpy and engorged when the milk came in but not are not engorged at all now (she thought because she is feeding baby often). She doesn't have any pain from feeding and has not got sore or cracked nipples and midwife said baby has a good latch. The baby often falls asleep during a feed and my sister tries blowing on face, tickling hands, wet cloth, stripping down to vest, changing nappy etc.

She's really upset and worried because her baby still hasn't put on any weight, this is her first baby and she does want to breastfeed but is really worried about her baby losing more weight.

Anyone got any advice? I suggested she call the breastfeeding helplines and she said she would but I also think she has the baby blues and she's so tired that she's trying to nap whenever the baby does so not sure when she'll get round to phoning them.

Thanks

Lucy

OP posts:
maewestyemerrygentlemen · 15/12/2006 10:36

This must be very worrying for her, but sounds like she is doing all the right things, we had a similar situation with our DS (now 4 months).

Is there a bf group near her that she can actually have someone watch her feed. I know she's prob knackered, but this really helped me.

FWIW we ended up being admitted to hosp (DS was also jaundiced, which was why he was falling asleep during feeds). He was put under lights to treat the jaundice whilst I continued to bf him, as well as expressing which the staff topped him up with by cup. He is now an extremely well fed and contented bf baby.

Hope she gets the help she needs xx

maewestyemerrygentlemen · 15/12/2006 10:38

Oh and not feeling engorged is normal - should be a sign that her milk supply is adjusting to the baby.

DINOsaurmummykissingsantaclaus · 15/12/2006 10:49

Are they sure that baby is not jaundiced? My DS3 had jaundice and was too sleepy, and it took him about 2 weeks to get back up to his birth weight.

There is no reason why she can't carry on breastfeeding, but I agree with the advice about now letting him sleep too long and not lettiing him fall asleep on the breast (hard not to, I know).

What I also did with DS3 was to express milk and give him a little top-up from a cup after breastfeeds. It is a faff to have to start expressing so early, but obviously better than having to resort to formula. It would definitely be worth a try if baby doesn't start to gain weight soon.

Best wishes to her

Original poster
Lucy1977 · 15/12/2006 11:01

thanks for the replies

What type of cup would you use to feed the baby? I have a doidy cup - should I take that down to her?

No mention of jaundice, I asked my sister but she said noone has said if the baby is jaundiced but that she didn't look yellow (are there any other signs?)

I was surprised her boobs have settled down so quickly - mine took about 5 wks to not be hard and lumpy and DD was feeding frequently. I'll be passing on all the advice/comments to her so I'm glad otehr people's boobs settled down quickly too.

I was told to offer my DD (now 10months) both breasts each feed, she has only been offering one - what's the advice on that please? Also, if she offers two when will she know the baby has finished no 1? My DD used to come off of her own accord then I offered other breast.

Thanks, really appreciate your advice

Lucy

OP posts:
DINOsaurmummykissingsantaclaus · 15/12/2006 11:07

Hi Lucy, any kind of small open cup will do - you could use the cap from an avent feeding bottle for example. My DS looked like he had a suntan, rather than actually looking yellow.

NotQuiteCockney · 15/12/2006 12:44

Cap from an avent feeding bottle is ideal for cup feeding - we used that for DS1.

Questions:

  • is the baby being weighed naked on an electronic scale?
  • how often was the baby feeding?
  • is the baby only having breastmilk at this point?

This doesn't sound that worrisome, but obviously it would be better if the baby were gaining. I think a newborn should maybe have more dirty nappies than that?

whensantagotstuckupAITCHimney · 15/12/2006 12:53

i was told my latch was fine by loads of midwives and host BF people. it was only when i accessed specialist BF help that we realised it was a bit shit actually. looked good, but the baby wasn't feeding that hard, iykwim?
however, it does sound to me that she has loads of wet and dirty nappies, but then DD had hardly any. she didn't regain her birthweight til she was a month old, but she was never taken into hospital, we went for checkups every two days (PITA). i noticed that a good poo or pee could bring her weight down substantially, they're measuring in such tiney increments.
the bfing specialist said that they see babies who haven't regained their birthweight at 8 weeks... it's not a good thing, but it's not necessarily the huge panic that some docs make it out to be. in my case i topped up with formula (which i bitterly regret) because dd wasn't pooing or having enough wet nappies, so they were worried about her kidneys.
google 'dr jack newman' and encourage yoru sister to look at the video clips of bfing on there. if it'd seen them earlier i'd have realised that my latch wasn't right earlier and things might have been different.
anyway, whatever happens it'll work out, it always does... congrats to your sister on her new baby.

NotQuiteCockney · 15/12/2006 13:04

(Can I preen, briefly, about the fact I've met Dr Jack Newman? He liked my brownies.)

tortoiseBells · 15/12/2006 13:09

Hi, what are her poos like? If they're yellow, and it sounds like she's having lots of poos each day, that's a good thing.

It's possible that she isn't actually losing weight, but that she went a bit below 7lb14 and is on the way back up iyswim. Probably a good idea to keep a close eye on the weight, but remember that a big wee/poo, or a big feed can affect the weight - if you weigh straight after a feed, this will be significantly more than before a feed but after a big poo!

That's good advice about feeding frequently, and waking up during the feeds. Hope she starts putting weight on soon.

mears · 15/12/2006 13:19

This doesn't sound a major problem TBH. Agree that baby could actually have lost more and is on the way up. Can take 3 weeks to regain birth weight. I would feed 2-3 hourly just now - no need to start cup feeding yet as that can put a great deal of pressure on a new mum. Make sure baby is skin-to-skin at mum at each feed. When baby falls asleep switch sides, a few times. Baby may not want to feed for 20 minutes though. Baby sounds as though she is getting milk with planty of wet and dirty nappies. Very reassuring.

whensantagotstuckupAITCHimney · 15/12/2006 13:24
alison222 · 15/12/2006 13:27

My Ds lost quite a lot of weight when he was first born- the midwife said it could be up to 15% of their birth weight ofrBF babies because the milk doesn't come in for a few days - obviouysly with formula this is less as you feed them straight away.

At about day 13 he still had not regained his birthweight but it was on its way back up - but by 5 weeks he was putting on weight at an incredible rate.

Only one ounce down at 8 days does not sound too awful to me based on my experience of DS.

tortoiseBells · 15/12/2006 13:33

Tiktok is always saying that the weight itself is not the only thing to look at, it's whether the baby seems 'dry'. My mw said 10% was the amount beyond which they might want to monitor in hospital, but two of mine lost 15%, without hospital intervention.

helenhismadwife · 15/12/2006 16:25

From what you are saying the baby sounds well, and is obviously feeding well because baby is having plenty of wet and dirty nappies she is only day 9 or 10, from experience babies often dont get back up to their birthweight until 2 weeks plus.

If the baby falls asleep during the feed I would say to leave the nappy change until that time, very few babies enjoy this and it wakes them up, she may find that the baby will then go back to the breast and feed for longer.

Tell her not to worry (easier said than done I know) she is doing everything right by the sound of it, I hope tomorrows weigh goes ok

Original poster
Lucy1977 · 15/12/2006 16:40

Hi

Thanks for the advice, keep it coming if anyone has anything else to say!

To answer the questions:
yes, baby has been naked and always on electronic scales

only breastmilk being given to the baby and only via the breast.

Good point about going lower and her weight is coming up. I hope the midwife comes tomorrow when I'm there to ask things if need be (on permission of my sister of course, don't want to interfere but sometimes helps with someone rememberign what you wanted to ask).

Thanks

Lucy

OP posts:
tiktok · 16/12/2006 10:05

I agree with mears - not enough info to know if this is a problem or not, but on the evidence here, things sound ok. Day 3 weight might not give the very lowest weight - and the nappies sound ok. It also sounds like the midwife has observed a feed (lets hope she knew what she was looking for). Hosp advice is not that great - baby may not feed for 20 mins at a time, but yes, to increasing the frequency and to watch the baby. I would add lots of skin to skin and cuddling and encouragement to feed that way rather than the face blowing thing (which in my experience hardly ever works and which is not very kind!)

sammysam · 16/12/2006 13:47

That is exactly what happened with me and my DD-she was 8lbs 14oz when she was born and went down to 8lbs 1 oz by th time i first saw the hv when she was about 2 weeks old.

Since than shes been slowly but surely gaining weight and i've come to the conclusion that she just wasn't ment to be big- shes very long and slim (21weeks tomorrow and just over 14lbs and 66cms).

I was (and still am in a silly way0 worried about lack of engorgement-as its then that at least you know you've got milk! But i have to just tell myself that shes happy and alert and still gaining-there really is no problem! And especially if there are dirty and wet nappies i don't see there is a problem.

I would suggest she sees a bf councillor but mainly to go with her gut feeling-as i have come accross some very pushy and forceful ones who can make you feel bad if you don't do things exactly their way!!!

Not sure if this makes sense + sorry about mistakes-in a rush!

Tell her not to worry and shes doing a fantastic job-i know how hard it is in those early sleep deprived days x x

sammysam · 16/12/2006 13:55

Oh and she didn't regain her birth weight til she was about 5 weeks-but my hv wasn't too concerned as she said every baby is different, bf was good, like i said she was alert, happy and dirty wet nappies

CouldEquallyHaveBeenAnAardvark · 16/12/2006 13:55

I would imagine she's lost weight and is on the way up - I had just this with DS1. He didn't regain his birthweight till day 9. I realise this is just my experience and isn't necessarily relevant to her, but it can be helpful to hear that you're not alone, I think.

She's doing the right things, her baby's pooing and weeing decent amounts.

Keep us posted.

Original poster
Lucy1977 · 16/12/2006 20:47

Hi everyone

Thanks for the advice and information.

I went down to see my sister today, the wee baby is absolutely gorgeous and made me very broody! Unfortunately I only got about 3 hours with them because I had to come back home this afternoon.

Baby was weighed today and she'd gained 3 oz since Thursday , sister was over the moon and made her feel much better. The baby was a bit jaundiced but the MW today said it's nearly gone. From seeing my sister feed the baby it's reminded me just how tiny their mouths are in the early days and how it's really hard to get them to take more than the nipple.

Yesterday the midwife advised her to express and give a cup top up feed after some breastfeeds but her DH only got the equipment (steriliser, Medula feeding cup and breastpump) today so I don't think she's going to do that unless the baby loses/doesn't gain at the next weigh in.

Thanks for all your help, she really appreciated me telling her the advice on here.

Lucy

OP posts:
maewestyemerrygentlemen · 17/12/2006 17:03

That's great Lucy, glad things are going well

mears · 17/12/2006 23:02

That's good news

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