Week one, baby lost 9.9% of birth weight - struggling to regain.

[sbev]

Midwife came out on day 3, baby had lost 9.7% of birth weight, they came out the following day and she had lost again taking her to 9.9%.

We've been put on a feeding plan of 2oz every 3 hours. Baby had a touch of jaundice when born, but this seems to be gone. We have consistently been able to get around 2oz into baby every 3 hours. Sometimes 1.8oz but then she can have a 3oz feed.

Midwife has came back out today (day 7) and weighed her again and she's now showing 9.7% loss and only gained an ounce.

I'm so worried about this and struggling to find information online. Has anyone been through this? Or have advice.

We're you induced or C-Section? I am convinced mine wasn't ready to feed and my body wasn't cooperating as quick of the mark as it should have been due to interventions. Are you waking to feed? Mine would sleep and sleep (day) also jaundiced and it was tempting to just let him rest but it's important to keep them fed. Could also ask to check for tongue tie? Ours lost 14% EBF day 5 and were readmitted after just one night at home for an infected stump and BF support. Hospital gave me loads of help with getting the latch sorted and he got the hang of things, he quickly gained weight. Hopefully you're at the turning point?

I'm assuming you're bottle feeding - could you try and breast feed too?

Yeah, I was induced at 39 weeks for health reasons. The first 2 days I definitely don't think she was getting enough food. We were advised by the hospital to leave her 5 hours sleeping and then wake. However she is getting about 17oz everyday for the last 3/4 days.

The community midwives have been great at giving us advice and I honestly don't think we could get anymore food into the little one than what we already are. We are waking every 3 hours and she's taking 2-3oz. It's just a bit concerning that the scales aren't reflecting what she is eating, but yeah you could be right maybe this is the turning point and she has just need some time to adjust and hopefully we will start seeing the scales moving on up.

It sounds like you had a similar situation with your little one. I'm glad to hear everything went well.

Unfortunately, breastfeeding isnt an option for me.

I was bf but was told to feed every two hours until they regained birthday weight. Every 3 hours feels like a long time between feeds for a baby who has lost so much weight.

My DD lost the same in the first week, its very early days and it sounds like your baby is now gaining - when my dd was a newborn Aptimil had a 24/7 feeding helpline which I called a few times, I found that more useful than the midwife/HV.

9.7% with no/little gain for a formula fed baby is unusual. I’d try and make sure baby is having 3oz 3 hourly or 2oz 2 hourly and if this isn’t effective consider a medical opinion from paediatrician just to check there’s no underlying reason baby hasn’t yet started to gain weight. I’d also try not to worry about it too much at present if baby is being monitored by community midwives and otherwise appears well, I’m sure they’ll refer on when necessary.

Thank you everyone for the advice, it seems that we're doing everything we can just now and just need to wait until she gets weighed tomorrow and takes it from there.

We were obsessed with it and weighed him in a pyrex dish on the electric kitchen scales 😆 hope she gains weight, once the weight gains it should be the turning point.

My DS lost over 10% of his birth weight and he was only small when born. It was a very slow and steady regain. Then he was always on the lower end

You sound like you are doing everything you can and have good support from health visitors etc.

DD lost over 10% of her birth weight, and took 25 days to get back to it with combi feeding. Also jaundiced, and she had a tongue tie which was snipped privately at 11 days. Even if the latch is good, I’d get that checked by a private lactation consultant if you can afford it. I’m pregnant with number 2 and been told that there isn’t a single midwife qualified to diagnose a tongue tie in the hospital this time around.

It’s v good you’ve got such good support - how are the nappies?

I became a bit obsessed with DD’s weight, and it was a really hard thing for me to relax about. Go easy on yourself - good luck!

How are you both getting on now @sbev?

She is doing great with her feeding and she is slowly increasing her daily amounts finishing around 23/24oz a day.

Her weight is slowly increasing and when she was last weighed on Wednesday she was back at 8lb 7, still a little to go to get her back to her birth weight.

@BunnyRuddington

OP, v glad to hear your baby is putting on weight. Many years ago, one of my twins lost more than 10% of her birth weight, so the midwives wanted me to put her on a bottle - I refused, but I did feed her every two hours and she slowly put on weight. She was only 6lb 2oz birth weight, but once she turned the corner and started putting on weight, she never looked back.

I went through this after a hard birth and a fast weight loss baby, being ooohed at by health visitors and was obsessively watching every ounce for months and attending every clinic until a more wise midwife asked me to look at my baby. Baby was crawling around full of beans and the MW said she was absolutely fine and for me not to come back :)
DD is now an elite gymnast with a naturally low body fat. Keep an eye on it but don’t obsess. Baby isn’t going to starve herself, she’s probably just feeling knackered annd anllowing her liver to clear out after a touch of jaundice and will be a little pudding soon enough. Leave the medical checks to the HV for the obvious things like tongue tie for a few more weeks as your nerves and over feeding could be as much trouble as a little weight loss - babies are designed to lose weight the first week as they sleep off birth and getting their intestines used to food and gravity. Try and enjoy meeting your new best friend ❤️

Did you have a lot of IV fluids when you were induced?
I have found when this has happened etc babies come out ‘full of fluid’ or if you have gestational diabetes babies can be bigger due to the excess sugar and loose it when they are born!
my sister had the same as she had a long induction…emergency c section and she had lots of IV fluids and she was swollen after birth bless her and my nephew was ‘loosing weight’ when he was feeding well! He just came out swollen as well.
what was babies birth weight?
As 8lb 7oz is an excellent weight for a new born and being a week early (my little dot was only 5lb 7 at 2 weeks early).

Ot sounds as though things are working out for you both now. I think you did the right thing in asking for advice on here. Keep us updated on your LO