14 week old losing weight - breastfed

[MommyUpNorth]

Hello. I've got a question about my 14 week old baby boy. He was born weighing 8lb 6oz, and is now up to 10lb 8oz. He got up to 11lb 4oz at 12.5 weeks, but is now going back down. He was at 11lbs last week, and this week is 10lb 8oz. He's exclusively breastfed on demand. Has his last feed in the evening around 8pm and then normally sleeps through until about 7 with a feed at some point during the night. We co-sleep so I just sort of roll over without actually waking up so much!

He's already on the pead watch with appointments every 6 weeks. Last time they took bloods and did a full blood count, thyroid check and looked for various viral strains. No results yet (this was about 2 weeks ago).

HV noticed the first weight loss last week and we decided to watch it for a little bit and then decide what to do. The paed is aware. Now we're two weeks on with a tiny bit more weight loss... so getting a little more worrying. HV is very pro breastfeeding, so would like me to carry on (as would I!), but I'm worried it's not working. He's my 4th, so I should know what I'm doing but...

Latch seems fine. He's swallowing milk as I can see it pooling in the corners of his mouth. He settles easily after each feed, and seems alert. He doesn't nap much in the day, but then sleeps loads at night so I guess that's alright.

Ok, this is getting long, but finally a question. The HV says the basic thing is that he just needs more calories in him and would prefer it be from breastmilk. I've tried feeding him a bit more often, but he just brings back a lot of the 'extra' feed. Is there a better way to do this? Can I get him to take more per feed? Or should I eat something that is more calorie rich?? I just don't know what more to do!

Bumping this for you MUN. I wasn't a particularly successful bfder so unable to offer advice.

Good to see that your HV is keen to support your breasfeeding though

I seem to remember being told BF babies weight gain tends to level/dip round about 16 weeks (which was the reason why, years ago, solids often used to be introduced then).
Certainly happened with all of my three.
BUT am not a BF expert or anything...
Hope someone else comes along who is

MUN.....you have what sounds like an informed HV. It's a worrying thing when babies lose even a little weight, but with an otherwise healthy baby it's probably not as worrying as it looks

Other questions: was the weight done accurately, naked, on digital scales?

Why is he under the paed? Purely for slow weight gain?

I suggest getting an experienced breastfeeding counsellor (not a peer supporter/counsellor who are great but not for this sort of thing) to really look at the way your baby feeds - from start to finish. There may be a way of enhancing his position and attachment.

The other obvious thing is to feed more often, even if he does bring back some of it. Your diet will make no difference, and getting him to feed for longer is hard, but worth a try. Offer three to four sides per breastfeed - I am assuming you are already offering two.

Hope this helps.

Hi tiktok. He's under the paed for various things. It started when he was about 5 weeks old and he just didn't seem very alert. Since then we've got a diagnosis of hearing loss in one ear, and we're going through eye specialists to see what/if he can see. He's uninterested in his surroundings/toys/etc... but has very recently started smiling more and having little 'conversations' with us. The pead has referred us for all of these other tests while he runs his own to figure out what's going on. However, this was all prior to the weight loss, so as far as I know, the hearing/vision isn't connected to the weight issues.... ??

The weight was done naked each time, and on the same digital scales that the HV uses.

I'm quite far north in Scotland and the nearest BFC I've seen is 2+ hours away in Inverness so not sure if I can get someone to watch the feeds. I had the HV look, but I know she's not expert in this area nor does she claim to be.

I usually struggle to get him to have both sides. He's very content after one, and recently I've tried doing both sides and he's been ok with that. After 2 he normally drifts off to sleep and even swapping him around to the other side (3rd go at this point) he doesn't wake to feed. He tends to go naturally about 2/3 hours between feeds. Starting in the morning at 8am, he then goes until about 11, then 2 and then 4, 6 & 8. I've tried doing an extra one between the 8 & 11 as he's fairly alert then, but he just pulls away and looks around and doesn't go for the feed. Is there a better way to get him more interested?

Thanks Porpoise. I haven't heard of that before, and our other 3 just gained and gained and gained! So this is new territory for me...

Thanks for the bump Saggarmakersbottomknocker.

MUN.....see if you can get a bfc who's a bit nearer. Ask the Inverness one if she knows of any.

All the things you outline in your post are vague and a little worrying - but exactly the sort of 'symptoms' that turn out to be not very much at all, in most babies...who just turn out to be perfectly fine.

The feeding sounds normal, in terms of frequency.

I think it makes sense to be pro-active with his feeding and continuing to offer even when he doesn't ask, for that third side.

I don't see formula as an answer to this at all.

Thanks again tiktok. I have left a message for the Inverness lady, so I'll see if she knows of anyone. Will keep trying to offer more and hope that he picks up soon.