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Infant feeding

Get advice and support with infant feeding from other users here.

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Original poster

failing to thrive - help!

45 replies

pollybee · 17/12/2004 22:59

DS is now nearly 5 months, and b/f. He is only on the 2 nd centile (started life at 91st) Took him to see gp last week who went pale, seem surprised hv was cool about it - (he's on the thrive line - just - apparantly) GP hadn't heard of thrive line and said ds was far too skinny.

He has been quite unhappy lately, screamy and hardly sleeping. Should I give formula or will that kill b/f? GP WROTE Failing to thrive on his record which really upset me. She was so surprised that I hadn't supplemented up to now. He is healthy but very very skinny.

What can I do to improve milk other than feed often, which I already do, 2 1/2 hourly in day. Are bottles inevitable? Have I compromised his health?

Help MN!

OP posts:

Original poster

pollybee · 17/12/2004 23:33

Socci - how would I know?

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motherinfestivemood · 17/12/2004 23:35

Sweetie, your other friends are quite definitely concerned about other things, I'll guarantee it.

A supplementary bottle may be the solution; or it may not. To my entirely unprofessional mind, it sounds like a lazy opt-out to recommend supplementing without seeing if anything else is a problem. I also know formula won't kill. At five months, you're going to start faffing around with 'solids' pretty soon anyway, so he'd be getting foodstuffs other than breastmilk in any case.

aloha · 17/12/2004 23:37

Please, please don' t think you are a failure. Who knows, perhaps he's screaming because he's teething. Maybe he doesn't need much sleep. Maybe he will always be a skinny minny. And even if he is (possibly) in need of something more to eat now he's nearly five months, that's hardly a crime or your fault. Please, don't give yourself a hard time over this! You sound a wonderful mother.

Socci · 17/12/2004 23:37

Message withdrawn

motherinfestivemood · 17/12/2004 23:38

They - ie the doc - should definitely be doing some sort of bloody testing, I'm thinking.

pixiefish · 17/12/2004 23:38

you definetly need to speak to someone- maybe you could start feeding him 'solids'- baby rice and pureed foods- i did with my dd when she was 4 months

motherinfestivemood · 17/12/2004 23:40

Breastmilk is fattier than purees, though. That's the thing; you don't want him to fill up on less calorific food.

lockets · 17/12/2004 23:41

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

cardigansarenotjustforxmas · 17/12/2004 23:46

Hi Pollybee,
What's his head circumference & height like? - these are also an indicator of growth. If he's been getting bigger in accordence with these centile charts then he could just be on the lighter side for the moment of the weight chart. You could try a babymoon - taking ds to bed for a day & night just bf and having lots of skin to skin contact. If you can, get someone to make your meals & do the nappy changes This time will help you to up the milk supply. Check unicef guidelines for safe co-sleeping www.unicef.org/.

Original poster

pollybee · 17/12/2004 23:47

hv is adamant that we shouldn't wean until 6 months, and said weight gain slows down on solids anyway.

OP posts:

Original poster

pollybee · 17/12/2004 23:49

height and head on 50th. Hence the skinnyness - only 13lb is on the 2nd centile.

OP posts:

Original poster

pollybee · 17/12/2004 23:54

Thanks for the ideas and support everyone.

Off to wake DS for nighttime nibbles and our well-earned rest.

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cab · 17/12/2004 23:54

Pollybee - we've all given you some pretty conflicting advice here. You know your baby best. He aint happy, so you decide what you think MIGHT work for him. Try it. If it doesn't work, try something else. Have faith in yourself.
And ffs don't beat yourself up about feeding formula - if that's what you decide to do. (If I was a hungry baby I don't think I would give a toss where the food came from.)

tiktok · 18/12/2004 10:00

pllybee - has no one mentioned breast compression to you? The bf helplines should be able to explain, or do a web search.

This is a way of getting more and creamier milk to the baby.

Levanna · 18/12/2004 22:46

pollybee, my DD1 was born at the 25th centile for weight. By 5 months her weight was 11 lb 14 oz and her height was on the 91st centile.
I don't believe now that by continuing to breastfeed I compromised her health (though I have often wondered). I do wish however that I had been able to access more support and help in order to make breastfeeding work more effectively for us. Bottles aren't inevitable, a little of the right information goes a long way; I would definitely speak to BFC's and attend clinics or groups if I were there again.
My DD1 (now 2.8 years) is still below the 2nd centile for weight, but she is average to tall in height, happy and healthy. I'm sure your DS will be too .

chocolatecath · 27/12/2004 21:35

Pollybee, I am new here but have attended a B/F clinic. I met someone there whose baby "fell off" the centile chart but she was advised to carry on breastfeeding as being "skinny" compromised baby's health less than giving formula/solids. The BF Counsellor apparently said the baby wouldn't begin to make up the lost weight until he was about 8 months and getting lots of calories from food but that as long as he gained each week, no matter how little, it was ok. I am not a professional so I don't know if the same would be true for you and your baby but I would recommend contacting a BF Counsellor and/or going back to the clinic. I have posted to offer you encouragement to continue breastfeeding. You have done really well to get to five months and it would be a shame if you had to stop now. Get good advice, make sure you are properly managed by a BF counsellor/lactation consultant and I'm sure all will be well. They can reassure you about the screaming and sleeping as well as the feeding. Best wishes to you and your baby, hope that is of some help. C x

Mickj · 28/12/2004 16:20

Pollybee - just wanted to say keep your chin up. I have been in your position and turned to Mumsnet for support and advice and the good thing to realise is that you are not alone. So much advice to take in - I had feeding problems due to incorrect positioning and ended up with cracked and bleeding nipples - but carried on regardless. Got some good advice but, probably like you, became so concerned on exactly how much Finn was getting that I did supplement and although felt absolutely terrible (the guilt and the tears!!!) there was some relief knowing just how much he was getting. But, your milk supply does suffer and now I express so I can be sure he is getting enough. Psychologically, I don't know if I will ever directly breastfeed again as I was so frightened by the mw's response to his 40g loss of weight (threatened hospitalisation!) that I need to see that bottle empty! I am now trying to get the supply up and can only get 30-50ml from both breasts every 3 hours. Hired a hospital style breastpump from Medela which is great, but it is taking forever. The only plus point is that finally I am enjoying my son and not spending the entire time worrying. But, if I could turn the clock back, I think I would have just carried on breastfeeding. No useful advice here just my story - I miss the skin to skin contact but he is bonnie and happy and so is his mum - and I am sure they pick up on that. All the best.xxx

tomkitty · 29/12/2004 22:32

Pollybee, my baby had the same problem but I never had the FTT designation. I was feeding really often. Crisis point came at around 4 months when the baby began getting distracted and fussing at the breast a lot. At this point she actually lost weight. I now realise that I just wasn't making enough milk and hadn't been for some time.

I was doing everything usually suggested. I had a bf hol, fed frequently,etc. Breast compression works for about 2 extra gulps of milk.

I explained everything to a lactation consultant and she watched me feed. She said my technique was alright but thought I just wasn't making enough milk. She suggested that I rent a hospital pump and pump regularly after each feed. She said it was time to stop using DD as a breast pump because it was just making her too upset and clearly wasn't working. She needed more food. She suggested giving formula supplements and pumping 10-20 minutes after each feed. I did this but it was still not quite enough.

Around the same time I read Jack Newman's book (I don't think it's available here but you can order it from the USA using Amazon.com). He says that long sleeps and low milk supply are part of part of a cycle of underfed sleepy baby. 12 hours a night is just too long for some women to go without feeding.

So, in addition to pumping just before bed, I began getting up in the night to pump too. At first I got up twice a night, now just once a night. Only by doing this can I produce enough milk to supplement the afternoon and evening feeds without using formula.

Rent a hospital pump. It's well worth it.

My baby is still petite but she is now chubby and clearly thriving. HV, friends and family are all well impressed. Everybody tells me how healthy she looks.

Good luck.

Mickj · 30/12/2004 19:54

tomkitty - sounds like you have mastered increasing your supply - can I ask how often you express. I am trying to up the supply and at the moment I am only really getting 40-50ml's from both per express but need to be stricter with the regularity I think.

tomkitty · 31/12/2004 17:10

hi mickj

I try to express 5-10 mins after every feed just to make sure the breasts are emptied plus just before bed and twice a night. Sometimes I miss the daytime pumps when I am out. I only get a total of 200-250 ml extra each 24 hours but it has been enough to do the trick so far. I never thought that bf would be like this, but it's what I have to do.

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