Mighty oaks from little acorns grow - slow weight gain support thread

[FireworksScareMossyPets]

Thread for those of us whose los are:

• Healthy
• Meeting developmental milestones
• Producing plenty of soaking wet nappies
• Producing several pooey nappies (quantity varies after first six weeks or so)
• Gaining weight...

but just much more slowly than the centile charts tell us they should.

This is a thread for help, support and understanding from other Mums who have "been there, done that".

It's where we can share links, share our stories and what if anything we have done to help our lo's weight gain - or whether we've just ditched the scales and looked at the baby.

However, we also don't want to lull other Mums into a false sense of security; if your lo is not meeting the criteria at the top then it is best to get help from a breastfeeding counsellor (or general infant feeding specialist - not all slow gaining babies are breastfed) or supportive health care professional.

Mossy xx

Carrot what are you like! You should have texted me, we could've met up again! Ah well.

Are you excited about weaning?

Kitty how are things with Ronnie now re: the eating? I know you said on the other thread he seemed a bit calmer, will this have an impact on his eating do you think?

Hi, just thought I'd join in too. Our 5 week dd is gaining very slowly (60g = 2ozish tops, a week) and has dropped from 25th to 0.4 centile (born 6 13 oz, now 7 1oz). Story here. We, too, get the "isn't she tiny" remarks, and everyone assumes she was prem .

Really depressing because we are just so worried and anxious all the time, especially my dw (I'm the dh, y'see) who feels that she is somehow failing our lo because she is not feeding her well enough Not helped when HVs keep pushing formula and hinting that we are starving the lo .

Anyways - this thread has been a big comfort to us, so big thanks to you all!

Hello ILD and welcome to our teeny tiny baby thread.

I have mardy baby on my lap right now but wanted to post & say hi. Will come back later when said baby asleep (or at least less mardy)!!

Mardy (lovely, but mardy) baby is asleep now.

Just a thought - I'm sure everything's fine (the wet & dirty nappies etc. you describe sound normal. As for a week without a poo - around six weeks exc. bf infants start making more efficient use of bm and there is less waste - some babies start this a bit earlier) but just to rule out ineffective transfer of milk, has your dw had her latch checked by a fully-trained-in-bfing-mw, or a bfc? Some midwives are not actually trained in how to check a latch is right / check positioning etc. I got my latch checked by half the NHS & told 'twas okay before someone realised it wasn't!

Have a look at the bullet points right at the very start of this thread. Is your dd doing all of this?

It's horrible when you have your abilities, especially your "milk making" abilities as it can cut right to the very core of your ability to nurture your lo, called into question. I also hate the way some HCPs use formula as the first solution to every problem. I sometimes wonder if they're in the pay of Milupa!

Have you or your dw heard of "catch down growth"? It is where a baby is born bigger than they are meant to be, genetically speaking.

My ds started life on 50th centile. Then gained weight very slowly until he seemed to even out on 9th centile. Then gained even more slowly until was on 2nd centile, at about 25 weeks. Then a tummy bug (and, I think, weaning) put him onto the 0.4th for a bit, and now he is back on the 2nd again.

So according to "catch down" theory, he ought to have been born on 2nd centile, but due to things like me eating too many cream cakes in pregnancy (oh and IV drip, and being overdue) he was heavier at birth than he ought to have been.

Could it be the same thing with your dd?

Also if you do feel she needs top ups, as long as your dw gets support with dd when she is expressing, no reason to switch to formula instead of EBM. If bottle-feeding is working okay, great - if she seems to develop an aversion to the breast ("nipple confusion") you could try cup feeding the EBM. I have a newborn feeder cup I can send if you want it.

Thank RTP, yeah, we can tick all of the bullet points at the start of this thread! It's one of the reasons why we were able to relax a bit in the "Digestive" household and be a bit more objective about it all , well, just a bit.

Had come across the idea of "catch down" growth on here, and yeah, could definitely be that - especially as dw is diabetic which means dd might have been a bit bigger than her genes dictated - but a bit bigger at 6 13oz?!

Might well get the latch checked out - might give our NCT counsellors a call - good shout!

We were on the lookout for nipple confusion (which is why we waited till a month had gone before exploring expressing) - but she seems to cope well with the bottle and the breast, so no worries there. Thanks so much for the offer of the cup, although dw is a paediatric nurse, so I think she ahem might have a few 'borrowed'...

Am going through a really testing time! DS is 5 weeks old and was born at 6lb 6 oz, now at 7lbs 2ozs. A few days ago we got him weighed and he had only gained 75g in 2 wks! He was exclusively bfeeding, but as a result of guilt have given him top ups of formula but he settles after gulping down 3 ozs of the 'fake stuff' am now worried that i was really starving the poor fellow- he is more settled with the top ups- but i don't really want to give him ff- is there any way i can turn this around? he already in the last 4 days has become less patient with the breast and will cry a good 3-4 mins before latching on.... I have noticed that my breasts do not feel as full as they did a few days ago- it was going fine till he got weighed, beacuse his latch was good, and i felt like my supply was good, he was getting into the swing of it- can i ever turn it round, so that he gets the calories he needs from the breast milk and i can ditch the bottle?

hi!
my dd is over a year now, but i remember the same anxiety you are experiencing. if ds is gaining weight while being exclusively bf, you are doing it right. once you introduce a bottle it affects your breast milk supply and can cause "nipple confusion".

and dont worry about how full your breasts feel. they will change in size and fullness and is not really a good indicator of your ability to fulfill your babys nutritional needs. The only indicator of that is consistent gradual weight gain.

of course you can turn it around...it may take a little extra effort and exclusive bf, because it all works on supply and demand. if you have the demand, your body just seems to make how much you need.

and also, it helps to remember that there was a time where bf was the only way to nourish your dc. the body just does what it is designed to do, if you let it.

hope this helps.

Fuzz,

How often are you topping up and with how much formula? How long have you been topping up for?

If the answer is "not often, not much, and not for long" then getting back to exc. bf shouldn't be difficult at all.

However if it's "lots, every feed, for the past four weeks" or something along those lines it might be more difficult, but still possible.

The latching difficulties sound a bit like "nipple confusion" (or nipple preference - the bottle is easier to get milk out of so he fusses at the breast as it's more effort) and it is possible to correct this but it will probably involve ditching the bottles - which again ties in with the earlier question about how much, how often and how long, as to how easy/difficult this will be.

Welcome to our thread btw, hello to you too Nene&Lexi.

Hi RTP,

He is having about 3 ozs 4 times a day and it's been 5 days- if i go totally cold turkey on the bottles, will i be able to give him enough milk in the initial days? ie will he have to be on the breast constantly? (this was a problem early on, he was on constantly, latched on correctly but he still didn't gain the weight- hence the health 'professionals' making me feel a failure at bfeeding...i'm just worried what to do if he persists in refusing the breast..

Hi Fuzz,

Firstly, is there something wrong with your computer? Your posts appear quite a few times!

Secondly, in all honesty, and I am not an expert, I don't think you would be able to go totally cold turkey on the bottles, no. I think you might be better off dropping one feed at a time.

However, if he is starting to refuse the breast it may be that he is developing "nipple confusion". This is where a baby realises just how easy it is to get milk from a bottle as compared to a breast, and starts refusing the breast as a result.

You could try a few things to "woo" him back to the breast - bathing together in warm water, lay him between your boobs and try biological nurturing. He is still just about young enough to have these reflexes.

Try getting him when he's sleepy.

Have to go get baby now will come back and finish post in a bit!!

Back now! (Yes, it pretty much did take that long to get him to sleep.)

Yes, try getting him when he is sleepy. Not when he's in a deep sleep and he's not moving at all, but when he's in a period of light sleep, just twitching around a bit, maybe tossing and turning. Then pick him up and put him to your breast. Might be worth lying down next to him, or trying biological nurturing then.

As for ditching bottles I really don't know enough about this, although I am not sure cold turkey is a good idea. I will do a post elsewhere in the feeding section for you if you like (in case your computer posts it 100 times again!) to see what the experts advise?

Oh just wanted to add, if you need to keep supplementing for a bit, have you considered cup feeding instead of bottle feeding? This means there is much less chance of nipple confusion, as the act of sipping from a cup is much more like the act of breastfeeding (iirc).

Cup feeding (this is a guide for premmies so adjust accordingly):

• Wrap the baby so the cup will not be knocked.
• Support the baby in an upright sitting position.
• Fill the 30 cc medicine cup at least half full with breastmilk or formula.
• Place the brim of the cup at the outer corners of the upper lip, resting gently on the lower lip with the tongue inside the cup. (Some term infants may prefer their tongue under the lip of the cup.)
• Tip the cup so the milk is just touching the baby's lips. Do not pour the milk into the baby's mouth.
• The infant usually laps the milk, or may sip it.
• Allow time for the infant to swallow.
• Let the infant pace the feedings, but limit the length of the feeding to approximately 30 minutes to minimize fatigue.
• Stop to burp from time to time.
• Leave the cup in position during the feed; that is, while the baby rests, do not move the cup from this position.
• Do not attempt to cup feed an infant who is not alert or who is excessively sleepy.

I have a special feeding cup I can send you, email msrlmoss @ hotmail . com (take out the spaces) with your address & I'll send it or I found you can actually use a lid from a feeding bottle!

Fuzz I have asked the question about replacing the supplements for you here.

hi all!!!!!!!!! Callum is now 8lb 15oz!!! He is still having between 100-150mls of high energy formula a day over 2 topups (after breastfeeding) He is still breastfeeding and we have dropped the EBM bottle too. Just want to drop the formula now, but have to speak to the SCBU nurse and see when that can happen

He's doing so well - and so are you!!! I hope the SCBU nurse lets you drop the formula too. How is he generally (health I mean)?

Hi Gals

We're seeing the paediatrician tomorrow, just to get another once-over for the mini babycarrot.

Wish us luck?

Hello all,

Changed my name I was busywithizzy!

Haven't had Izzy weighed for a while as she was ill over Christmas and I fear she will have lost weight!

VLC - Good luck for tomorrow. Let us know how you get on. Will be thinking of you.

SGC - That's fantastic, well done you! Hope you can drop the formula soon.

Welcome Ilovedigestives, neneandlexi and Fuzz77

VLC, good luck! Let us all know how you get on. What is the paed going to check? Is it blood tests etc. or is he just "giving her the once over" as it were?

AngeG, how is Izzy (apart from the weight I mean)? Happy alert healthy pooing weeing etc? You know me, I would say sod the weigh-in too in that case!

I'm not sure what to expect with the paed this afternoon - I'm hoping nothing too invasive, maybe an ecg or something. I just want her to be looked over again at the nearly 6 months / 9lb7oz stage to see if things are still deemed "normal".

I wanted to discuss the unlikely but possible causes such as heart, metbolism and digestive problems, and see if he feels they warrant investigation.

Obviously I'm hoping he'll send me away telling me that babycarrot is perfectly healthy, and not to bother him again!