BF confusion

[FirstTimeMumApril19]

Hello
I have a 10 day old who has a great latch (it's been checked by midwife, feeding specialist and bf expert). I also have a good milk flow as it comes out of the-breasts even when I'm not feeding

My problem is my baby has lost almost 10% of her birth weight. I have googled how to bf and have got myself into a pickle and am quite emotional about it as I feel I'm starving my baby. Would you say the following routine is along the right lines:

Feed from boob 1 for 25 minutes- if baby detaches themselves before this, wind them and try again up to 25 minutes

Switch to boob 2 for 25 minutes- if baby detaches themselves leave them to be, if baby doesn't and goes another 25 minutes switch back to boob 1 and start the process again.

In regards to short feeds if a baby detaches themselves from boob 1 after15 minutes, would you try them on that boob again and if no luck assume they're full and put both boobs away.

Thank you xxx

Congratulations on your new baby! Has your midwife/hv said anything about weight loss or given you advice/a plan? It kind of sounds like it since you are speaking about switch nursing and timings.
Here's my 2p worth....
Is your baby actively feeding all that time? I.e. can you hear swallowing after a few sucks or is baby sort of flutter sucking for comfort/falling asleep? Baby might not be transferring milk "efficiently". Have you tried breast compressions while feeding to squeeze more milk in? If baby is falling asleep at the breast you can wake her up and either switch then or reattach.

Can you get yourself a haakaa or similar - if you are leaking anyway you might as well catch the milk! You can then get it into baby somehow- syringe or cup if you are worried about nipple confusion, bottle otherwise.
Are you catching your baby's early feeding cues early enough? I vaguely remember seeing something saying if you catch the very early ones you can probably fit another feed in which might help.
Are you getting fed enough? You need calories too! (I was a fan of a bircher muesli effort back in the immediate post birth haze- oats, yogurt and frozen fruit bunged in the fridge overnight. Fat, carbs and fibre all in a format that can be eaten one handed!)
Good luck- it's a horrible feeling.

Please don't worry about sides or minutes.

First of all, as PP said, what has your HV said? Losing some birthweight is absolutely normal.

Secondly, if all is well with latch and you are happy that baby is swallowing and is satiated, then carry on. BUT be led by baby. That's the beauty of BF. You don't need to worry about times, intervals, minutes etc etc. Just feed baby when they fuss. And carry on til they don't want to feed any more. Switch sides if baby wants to (you can only know by trying). BF is a wonderful way to parent. If in doubt, offer milk; it solves all manner of ills.

And yes, the Haakaa is a wonder.

Just feed as much as possible. I was feeding mine every 1-2 hours at this point. As much as they wanted. 10% weight loss is very normal. My first lost 12%. The midwives will continue to monitor things, but really just feed as much as possible on demand. Sounds like you’re doing a great job.

I thought upto 10% was considered normal? You haven't said if hv concerned or whether you're just worrying?

Congratulations on your baby!!

Are you trying to keep baby on a feeding schedule or are you just feeding whenever you see her cues? I don't really have any knowledge or advice about her weight loss but I think it's important to let her feed for as long as she wants on each one and always offer the second side.

I definitely think a haakaa would be useful as pp said. I leak a lot so I just use it for each let down and it goes in the freezer

Good luck

Thank you for your replies, the midwife has mentioned being referred to a paediatrician due to the 10% weight loss (this is the standard policy). I was just trying to explore whether it was me feeding wrong as I can obviously change but from your comments it doesn't seem as though I've totally messed up!

If I keep the bf up I will certainly look into saving the milk from my leaking boob!

Thank you for help and advice.

Has your baby been checked for tongue tie? (not a cursory look by a midwife, really needs someone specifically trained to do it).

DS lost 9% initially and I was told that there was nothing wrong with the latch etc by all the midwives that we saw along with the health visitor. Although he was back up to birth weight after 2 weeks it took almost constant feeding to get there as he wasn't feeding efficiently and was falling asleep during every feed because it was such hard work for him.

It was only after I suspected that the constant feeding wasn't normal newborn cluster feeding (DS was my first so I wasn't really sure what to expect!) that I sought help from a proper lactation consultant and discovered that DS had posterior tongue tie. Had it divided at 3 weeks and he quickly jumped up from 25th centile to just above the 50th.

Might be worth getting it checked if you feel something isn't right 🤷🏼‍♀️

Was your baby weighed at day 3/5 or just at day 10? A baby still losing weight/not gaining at day 10 does need a review.

How often is baby feeding? Can you differentiate active feeding from ineffective? Babies love to hang out on the breast which but it’s important for you to know how to recognise the signs of milk transfer (slow rhythmic jaw movements, swallowing noises). How many wet/dirty nappies is baby having? Are your breasts comfortable? Is the latch comfortable?

In general if concerns exist about weight/milk transfer feed on breast 1 until active swallowing stops, then either start breast compressions or switch to the other breast. Do the same again, switching sides as many times as baby needs.

You may also express and feed baby top ups but this should be temporary ideally while you tackle the milk transfer issues.

You should having feeding observed by someone who knows a lot about breastfeeding (with the greatest respect to midwives often they are not the right people! Ditto paediatricians). Ideally a lactation consultant or peer supporter.

Both my babies have lost significant amounts of weight in the early days (for different reasons), both exclusively breastfed afterwards with no issues!

I wouldn't worry if you feel like he is feeding often. My DS lost 12% in first 4 days, took him 3 weeks to get back to birth weight of 9lbs 4 but then he started "bulking" really quickly.

Does baby have lots of wet nappies? Are they actively swallowing? - my DS would do much shorter feeds than 25mins each book more like 10/15 but he was feeding intensely... once he stopped swallowing I swooped him sides or latched him off to protect my nipples.

Try not to worry too much, just keep an eye on the weight and make sure you're offering boob frequently, and check his wet nappies. (Wet not poo, as BF babies don't always poo constantly but the wet nappies indicate they are hydrated)

What was the weight taken on day 5 and has baby continued to lose since then? As pp has said, a baby who doesn't start to regain the initial and expected weight loss on day 5 does need monitoring.
Also want to correct another pp - dirty nappies are crucial at this point. It's only after around the 6 weeks mark that they can go a couple of days in between poos. At the stage you're at, OP, baby should be producing several dirty nappies a day - is this happening?
How often are you feeding would you say?

@Chickchickadee555

I was told by midwives and the health visitor 7 weeks ago that they measure wet nappies rather than dirty nappies when I was worried about my son regaining his birth weight - that's why I relayed that, I don't want anyone to think I was giving bad advice. OP obviously please check with your own care providers.

@redbedheadd
Sorry that you were given such bad advice. Before 6 weeks babies should be producing several dirty nappies a day. If they're not, it always warrants further investigation.
If the lack of dirty nappies is coupled with slow weight gain it's a clear sign that baby isn't getting enough.

I'm having 2-3 dirty nappies a day and 7 plus wet nappies a day - this quantity is spot on for current standards. I think I'm going to do a formula feed once a day to top up.