Help! BF baby loosing weight

[milkmummy1]

Am looking for some advice for my worried friend. Her 12 week old breastfed baby has put on under 3 pounds since she was born. some weeks she has lost weight. She didnt have this problem with her first baby - in fact quite the opposite - and she breastfed for 10 months with no probs. She really wants to exclusively breastfeed but her health visitor has adviced giving the baby formula to get her weight up. Not sure if this sounds right? could there be a reason why baby isnt putting on weight. the baby is being sick after a feed - do you think this has anything to do with it or could the baby not be latched on properly? really want to help her out as she is so worried about her. Luckily i never had this problem as DS1 put on so much weight from my milk.

Will get back to you.

hmmm

It depends on whether its weight loss or slower gain I suppose - slower weight gain isn't that much to worry about - some weeks ds3 put on a pound other weeks a couple of ounces. If the baby is being sick it could have reflux ...

Someone more knowledgable will be along soon!

My ds had this, it was reflux. Formula made it much much worse, even though it bumped up his weight a bit. (he is cow's milk intolerant, as are about 40% of severe reflux babies, I am told)

Meds worked a treat, am still bf at 9 months but am on an entirely dairy-free diet. Within a week of going on medication he was putting on 300g per week.

Sounds like the baby being sick could have something to do with it.

Could the sickness be reflux or milk intolerance? Does the baby seem happy, both at the breast and in between feeds?

sorry, meant to mention that mum doenst think its reflux as the sickness thing has only come on quite recently. also she seems fine and content between feeds.

dd went through a phase of not putting on weight at aroudn 9 weeks. It coincided with an ear infection and her sleeping longer at night. I fed her more often again during the daytime , for a week or two, and it picked up again. She was always slow to gain weight as she had reflux but did so gradually none the less. Still small at 6, some kids just are.

Is her baby being weighed on same scales and in same circumstamnces (time since feed, nappy off etc) ,as that can make a difference.

does anyone know where my friend can speak to a BF counsellor about this issue re her baby not putting on weight? she has been advised by her HV to top up with formula but she doesnt want to. would a BFC come to her house? thanks

Only when I was told to top up by my GP did I do so, as I felt my HV was too quick to advise this. I would take the baby to the gp for a once over esp re the vomitting, then see what GP says re topping up.

My DD1 had gained only 1 lb at 12 weeks and weighed only 9 lbs. Has the lo fallen off the bootom of the weight chart yet, remember ing the chart is made following FF babies???

Milkmummy, my dd sounds similar to your friends baby. She put on weight very slowly, sometimes only 1 or 2 oz in a couple of a weeks and on several occasions lost a bit of weight.
She was the total opposite to ds who had put on 1lb a week, so I was worried sick. My HV just said not to worry about it as she was alert and happy and sleeping well.
She is a small but chubby 2 year old now.

I think all babies are different and if she seems otherwise healthy she is probably fine.

Your friend can call any of the bf helplines, milkmummy, and it is sometimes possible for a home visit, but not always necessary.