Baby loosing weight after birth

[GHow]

The mid wife says are twins need to gain weight (only 9 days old). They drink loads and pee and poo fine. Can't see how we can get more milk into them. Any one else have a midwife problem. Are their scales accurate. Good luck to all.

If you are bf, they tend to lose weight after birth, but then regain it. My mw had a shock with dd1 as thought she’d lost too much, it turned out her scales were broken.

Hi there, I used to be a midwife (emphasis on “used to be” as my input may not be up to date).

In my experience there is usually a weight plateau or even loss after birth as babies get to grips with feeding and also lose the brown fat which sustains them in the very early days of feeding.

You don’t have a feeding problem as they are peeing and pooing well.

Midwives used to be told that losing up to 10% of birth weight is normal but anything over that needs investigating in case there’s an issue with stuff like lactose, metabolism etc. I am assuming that is still the case.

The scales should be accurate, we used test ours once a month I would hope they still test weigh scales.

You may find that having lost weight, your twins will suddenly start to gain and that this will be the start of growth.

Best of luck, I am in awe of you managing twins, I only had one baby but he felt like twins at the time. 😊

Congrats on your twins! My DD had lots of problems with feeding and the HV told me that whilst it's normal for baby to lose weight after birth, baby should be back to birth weight within 2 weeks. So at 9 days, you still have some time i would guess? Are you breastfeeding? I ended up topping up / combi feeding for 9 months as even though DD would feed for ages and do lots of wees, my supply was clearly just a bit rubbish because she dropped below the 0.4th centile. DD was in NICU with sepsis after birth so it was all a bit traumatic and I think probably affected things. But once we were in a routine with breastfeeding, pumping and then top ups, she got back on track and stuck to her 9th centile line.

Thanks for reply, we are breast fed but through bottles. I'llask about the scales, if they are checked, thanks

Thanks for the info, it helps. Yes its early days really. The problem is possibly there could be better communication from mid wife, and its different one each time. Many thanks.

Thanks for reply, it does help talking on here. I'm the granddad, my daughter and partner are living here till there new home is built. I think it is early days, timeand routine are the answer. Difficult to watch your daughter worry over twins. However they are drinking and pooing, so all good.

Took my Dd2 ages to regain her birth weight - maybe 3-4 weeks. Midwife was concerned and encouraged me to do three hourly feeds which meant waking her etc. I did it for a bit but Dd was clearly fine and thriving so went back to on demand. They worry because it can be an indication of you not having enough milk/tongue tie/feeding problems etc.

I had extra midwife visits because my son hadn't gained weight by day 10 (he lost 6% initially then didn't put on) by day 14 he was up to his birth weight. I dont think there is anything to worry about at this stage but easier for me to say as at the time I was nervous wreak as a first time mum!

It is impossible to say over the Internet. If a baby is not regaining weight after an initial loss then it is important to look at why.

The type of birth, gestation, blood loss, underlying endocrine problems for mother, fertility treatment and much more will all have an impact.

Whether the twins were initially feeding at the breast before switching to expressed milk and when the switch happened will also affect things.

What bottles are being used.

How expressing is going and what volumes.

How long it takes the babies to feed and how much? How well they feed, do they double dribble milk for example.

In other words I would hesitate to say you have a midwife problem. Rather it is a complex issue and while there may not be any concerns with the twins or is also possible that there is. They need, if they have not already had one, a full feeding assessment which takes into account the whole story. If there is a problem then a comprehensive feeding plan needs to be implemented so that everybody knows the expectations and it needs to be a plan that is sustainable for their parents too.

I remember nearly stopping breastfeeding my DD when the health visitor said she was losing too much weight and it was very concerning. I had a lot of other horrible things going on in my life at the time, so it was the last straw really. After 10 really awful days I was told on taking her back to be reweighed that the scales were inaccurate as they had been weighing babies and toddlers on them without re-setting. They then had the fecking cheek to wheel me in to the GP as I had been upset when they told me, who patronisingly reassured me that I was worrying over nothing as it was obvious the baby was feeding and thriving. Lost all faith in my immaculately turned out and made up HV at that point and avoided her as much as I could. She had also referred my son for a lisp which the specialist told me was a normal part of speech development at that age and my DD for a squint which turned out not to be a squint at all. I thought I was going mad when I couldn't see it. I learnt that most HVs are great but some can destroy your confidence as a parent.

Thanks, yes 3 to 4 weeks, I agree

Wow what a journey, my brother in law, stopped them visiting, to upsetting, thanks and good luck

Yes I agree, not really mid wife, but they could handle new young parents a bit better. More info would help. Then I wouldn't have to come here for info. Thanks for reply.

Thanks, that's encouraging, cheers

Its strange really, we can see the twins are fine and thriving, and the MD says that too. But then remarks about weight and feeding and takes away our confidence. thanks for reply.

HV sent us to hospital urgently on day 7 because of the amount of weight our baby had lost. After a mad dash to a&e where the doctors were waiting on us (DD had just been released the day before after being premature and having two lots under the lights for Jaundice) it turned out the HV scales were broken and she was perfectly fine 🙈

@GHow the early days with babies can be very challenging. Unfortunately, as everyone is aware NHS services are desperately stretched and so staff cannot always give as long as they would want to at visits. As you say the problem is then made worse by seeing several different people. Ultimately it is the families who are left confused and upset. The system needs to change, but you are living this now.
If you are in a position to pay for some support, it would probably be very worthwhile looking at a few visits from a private midwife or a lactation consultant. They will be able to visit an do a full assessment and give practical and structured advice (and weigh the babies)
If that isn’t financially possible, I suggest you ring the postnatal ward and ask to speak to a breast feeding specialist to get their input and advice.

@GHow what are the babies weights? What were they at birth, 5 days and now?

It's hard enough with one baby, let alone two! Things that people say are really worrying and you overthink it for hours because you are so strung out on tiredness and hormones. If the babies are clearly thriving, have wet and dirty nappies etc it's probably just a question of time and they will start to gain soon.

The other thing to bear in mind is that newborn breastfed babies often have a degree of jaundice (yellow tinge to skin) and this makes them sleepy and less likely to feed, then they don't gain weight. Midwife should check for this though. Hopefully you have a lovely midwife who guides you through it!

And yes I've also experienced the 'broken scales' thing and worried for several days needlessly!

Wow, nighmare, well done

Thank you for your message and advice, makes a lot of sense.

Thanks, that makes sense.

Hi, good weights, 6ib 5oz and 7lb 11oz. Both breast fed, drinking well now, so will wait for next weigh in.