EBF 5month old slow weight gain help!

[Pipanchew2]

Anyone experienced this/ got any tips or ideas for me?...

Baby has dropped from 75th to 25th centile and not sure why. He’s EBF, lots of wet nappies poops roughly every other day and is otherwise developing well. Possetts after most feeds but usually small amounts (around a tsp) GP has started on infant gaviscon but neither me or GP is convinced it’s reflux as it’s small amounts of sick and he doesn’t show signs of discomfort. So we’re going to try for a couple of weeks and review.
He has always been a bit fussy on boob: looking around lots and pulling off frequently. I have a strong let down which caused him to pull off when younger but he seems to cope with it now. During the day feeds are roughly every two hours but super quick - around 3mins - I’m not sure if he’s getting enough but he screams if I try and put him back on and will keep refusing breast until I give him the dummy (which he loves!).

At bedtime and nighttime feeds are roughly every 3 hours (7pmish, 10pmish, 1am, 4am approx) they last longer and are less fussy as he’s half asleep.

Any ideas/ advice would be welcome. Do I need to ditch the dummy? Am reluctant to do this as he is a very content happy baby with it and I don’t want to cause him upset especially as he’s harder to feed when he’s upset.
Also I’m confused as if it was a supply issue would he not have less frequent poops/ wees? Could it be a ‘quality issue?’ ie not getting enough hind milk or intolerant to something in my milk?

Thanks in advance.

I only have a couple of possible suggestions and it may be that you have thought of these already. I have a four month old who is my third child and he's breastfeed but he can sometimes be fussy when feeding and I've found a couple of things help -
From what I understand, the first milk that they get when feeding, the 'foremilk', is the thinner, more thirst quenching type. It's then the 'hindmilk' they get after this initial let-down of milk that is thicker, has a higher fat content and keeps them fuller longer. If my DS is being fussy when feeding, I usually try to rule out any trapped wind issues first, then will try rubbing/patting his back rhythmically whilst I feed to try and soothe him, and if nothing else works I'll try music or another stimuli to distract him whilst feeding.
I have two older DC who, if DS is being fussy whilst feeding, I sometimes have to request play a bit quietly or I go in another room for a few minutes to avoid too much visual distraction.
DS is often much fussier when he is tired, and I've noticed a pattern of times he has napped and will feed well. I tend to put him straight on to feed after a nap as he's rested and hungry, then try to get a good quality feed at that point.
I also try to remember that not every feed is going to be like that, and that sometimes just like us, babies will only want a snack or a quick drink rather than a full meal. I guess what I mean by that is, try to identify times in the day when your baby seems to want a full meal and can manage to feed well when they aren't too tired and there isn't much else distracting them, and otherwise don't worry yourself too much with how quick the other feeds are. It sounds like you're doing a great job

Thanks for the response @saveallyourkisses distraction from big sister is definitely an issue! He feeds so frequently tho I’d hoped that would make up for the quick/ fussy feeds.... maybe he is getting too much fore milk like you said. I’m going to have to wean him with butter and double cream!

Has he settled on the 25th, or is he still dropping centiles? I only ask as dc3 and 4 were breastfed, they fed every two hours and only fed for 5 mins at a time, they also dropped from the 90th and 100th centile down to the 40th and thats were they stayed, i quite often expressed off till i could feed them the hindmilk to see if they would climb back up the centiles but this never happened. HV and dr were not worried as perfectly healthy and put it down to the fact that i grow babies too big, and they were never supposed to be big. Both dc are now 5 and 4 and are still 40th for weight and 70th for height, tall and slim, cant get trousers to stay up but perfectly average!

Hi @Phillipa12, he’s still dropping 😞. DC1 was totally different just tracked her birth centile (60th) the entire time with the odd explainable dip if she was ill. So I think I’m finding it worrying as it’s unfamiliar too.
Hopefully you’re right and he’ll start to level out soon and maintain a centile (and chub up a bit!)

They will probably gain weight as soon as you start on solids. Could you top up with formula - hungry baby milk should have more calories? I guess this isn't what you want to do though.