?Duff advice from breast feeding support clinic: what is "normal" wt gain in BF baby??

[Mummyfor3]

Somebody please help: I am having BFing wobble following visit to BF clinic!!

DS is 11 weeks old, fully BF, looks good, smiles, lots of wet and dirty nappies, etc etc. He was 7lb 12oz at birth and is now 11lb 12 oz. I attended the BF clinic as he spends HUGE amounts of time at the breast, day and night, and I was hoping on some tips how to make him a more effective feeder, if at all possible. He is also very often unhappy when he comes off the breast. I thought a wt gain of 4-8 oz/wk or 1 lb/month was ok, however was told they would hope for 1 lb/fortnight.

Now I am less secure than I was this morning! Tomorrow I am attending my first ever LLL meeting and hope they will not be too touchy-feely as that would not suit bolshy little me at all .

So, am I starving my baby? What is normal Wt gain? Is there any such thing? HELP!!

Have you looked at the WHO bf baby charts?
[finds link via Kellymom]
here you go

you need to convert from imperial to metric to use them though - there are tables in the red book

so long as he is roughly following the curve and not shooting away from it in either direction you sound like you're doing fine

Mrs Badger, good point, I forgot to mention, he dropped from just above 50th centile to just above 15th . The centile chart I use is the WHO 2006 standard, which I understand was intended for ALL babies, no matter which way they are fed. I shall look at the link you sent, thanks for that.

Yep, same chart you were suggesting, damn!!

This sounds very undermining for a bf clinic - though I would be concerned about a baby who is 'often very unhappy' when he comes off the breast, and I'd be looking for a reason for this.
What else did they say to you? Do you have to go again?

LLL should be fine - don't know what you mean by touchy-feely but if you mean 'will they touch me?' the answer is no, they won't.

They suggested I switch feed him, ie give one side, then when he slows, offer the other, then back to first. Also suggested change to how he lies in my arm: his lower arm to be tucked behind me.

I have in the past (with DS1) had very "hands on" BF help, hihi, so no, not worried about being touched as such . I suspect, that I am worried that I am turning into mad-fanatical-"I will BF at whatever cost" deranged woman, and am projecting own insecurities on LLL ( with whom I have never had contact before and I am sure will be lovely, but has anybody READ "The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding"?? No chapter on "wanting to BF but not enjoying it", all about how lovely it is, and I am not finding it all that lovely - I am hoping, just not yet. Sorry about rant).

oh yes, the lower-arm-round-waist thing revolutionised feeding for me & dd
much comfier.

Mummyfor3 - what they told you sounds fine. I think they are trying to ensure your baby has a 'happier' feed so he is not unhappy and while the weight gain is not an issue in itself, they may be aiming to maximise his opportunity to get more milk. The fall down the centiles may be linked to his behaviour, and it makes sense they would take this into account.

The Womanly Art is an American book, and this, I think, affects its tone. You will be seeing real people - some of whom will think everything about bf is wonderful and lovely but there will be others who have not had a wholly positive experience, and a leader who should be trained to put you at ease whatever your experience and outlook.

Good luck

Thanks, tiktok. I will certainly carry on and see how I get on tomorrow. Since I made all these appointments last week, thins have been a bit better. Maybe it is also that he is growing up a bit - magic 3 months not that far away

Hi, Starlight, had to interrupt for frantic bed time, but thanks for your response. I am tempted to start a support group for mothers who are keen to bf for all the known reasons, but JUST DO NOT LIKE IT . Good to know there are others like me and I am very impressed how long you kept going. I am tempted to make return to work end of August excuse to stop.. we will see - today was a good day, after a good night, so I feel quite positive.