HV says that 11 week old isn't gaining enough weight..........bit long, sorry.

[2cats2many]

Hi All

My breastfed 11 week old was on 98th centile at birth. At 6 weeks, he was still on 98th centile. I just took him to be weighed and he's dropped down to the 75th centile in 5 weeks.

I've posted before about how he is a speedy feeder and I was worried that he wasn't getting enough (usual feed is about 5 minutes long). The general consensus (which I agreed with) was that if he was happy, alert, sleeping well, having lots of wet nappies, etc there probably wasn't too much to worry about.

The HV now says that he isn't getting enough, I should be supplementing with formula because my milk might not be nutritious enough (especially at night) that she's worried about the drop in weight and if he's still dropping weight in 2 weeks i@ll have to take him to the GP.

I don't really want to supplement with forumla (especially in the middle of the night when the boob is quick and easy). And he isn;t dropping weight- it's just that the rate of growth has slowed down.

Is this kind of slow-down normal in BF babies or should I be supplementing him?

My understanding is that yes slow down is normal. Personally I think your hv is talking crap. Of course your milk is nutritous enough - what does she think you're producing - slim line breast milk?? You don't have to him weighed at all and in your shoes I would leave it a few weeks if you have no concerns. Don't let this crap undermine your confidence in your breastmilk. As long as you are feeding him whenever he looks for it and aren't trying to limit his feeds your supply should be matching his needs. You've obviously got a very efficient young man there!

I would agree with advice previously given and if he seems happy, alert etc and you're happy with him then ignore HV and just don't bother getting him weighed. That's just my opinion though

i'm not sure, but if you google a thing called 'catch down growth' that might be what this is.

She also said that I shouldn't let him snack, even if he was crying. Instead I should give 'good' feeds (whatever those are) and make sure they are spaced out so he doesn;t just get the foremilk.

I thought that the whole idea with breastfeeding was that you fed on demand.

Stick with it- I had all the 'failure to thrive' crap with my first and it was crap and I put myself through the mill. She is now nearly 5, healthy,tall and willowy after being born on the 98th and plummeting to under the 25th.

Monitor it yourself but give the HV a wide berth!

Ignore your HV
Your child is gaining weight
They don't all follow one line on the curve
Feed on demand if it suits you

2cats - very poor advice and info from your HV indeed.

good thread here

It sounds like she knows nothing about the physiology of breastfeeding. Milk is made on a supply and demand basis so if you start restricting feeds and supplementing with formula, especially at night, then you will make less milk, then will have to give more formula, and so on. There is nothing wrong with 'snacking', your baby will get what he needs if you let him set the pace.
Obviously I haven't seen your baby but from what you are posting here everything sounds fine. And he hasn't lost weight, he's dropped a centile, still gaining, just at a slower rate.
that HCPs are coming out with this nonsense.

Sounds like she has very poor knowledge of breastfeeding, and you can comfortably ignore her.
Feed the baby when the baby wants feeding, always offer a second side (or more) and don't worry about foremilk.

thanks eveyone for the words of encouragement.

I could kick myself for taking him to the bloody baby clinic. I KNEW it was a bad idea! All they've managed to do is make me blummin' anxious.

Just a thought, but is there a different clinic you could go to? I used to go to one where there was a HCA who just weighed the babies and plotted the chart. If you wanted to see the HV you had to make an appointment. It was a good way of checking the weight but only seeing the HV if you wanted to.

You should be able to go to the clinic without your confidence being knocked as it has been. That's entirely down to your health visitor - who is talking through her hat.

What a fucking lunatic.
No snacking
Supplement with formula if not on 98% centile until he is 73.

She wants shooting, she really does.
I wouldn't trust someone like this with advice on feeding a small rodent, let alone a human baby.

Don't hold back moondog - say what you really think!

I totally agree with you

Oh I love letting rip on HJV threads.
Seriously, who are these numpties?

I don't know - mine were always really good - but then again with dds2&3 I never went near them really so they didn't have much opportunity to accuse me of producing skimmed not gold top. I mean how ridiculous was that - 2cats that 'your milk isn't nutritious enough' comment has really stuck in my head and everytime I come on this thread I have the urge to jump up and down and shout 'bollocks'

sorry - I blame Moondog - she encouraged me by bad example!

Agree with the others, well said moondog.
I didn't ever bother to take DS2 to the HV to be weighed after exeriences with DS1, think all the obsessive weighing is often a waste of time (after the first couple of weeks) and many HVs seem to be poorly informed when it comes to feeding issues, esp if you are exclusivley b-feeding (as I was too).

As a HV can I just say your HV is talking nonsense. (although moiondogs assessment above may be more accurate ).
Your DS is normal - most babies take a good while to adjust to the growth line they will follow - your DS has just gone to the 75th centile - big deal. This might be the growth line he will follow or it may not. HV's like yours irritate the hell out of me - I've even seen such crap advice written down in case files and it always makes me growl.
She's talking crap and has NO understanding of how centile charts work - too many HVs seem hell bent on believing that babies should follow the centile line they were born on but they are wrong. The centile line a baby is born on often bears NO resemblence to the one they are following at a year - DS was born on the 98th centile but from 6 months has been on the 50th centile - nobody told me to give formula.

Does the hv think you're producing skimmed milk all of a sudden.

Believe me, I went to see mine religiously for my first baby. She worried me to death. Dd was right near the bottom of the chart, and then dropped to the very bottom after a few weeks. That had the hv pogo-ing round the clinic.

"Supplement her" she cried.

Fuck that, I thought.

"Take her to see the gp" she said.

Gp prodded her, and pronounced her "fine, just a lightweight baby".

Needless to say, I never took my second baby to the hv at all.

Must say also that ours are fab.
I would have lodged an official complaint had a 'professional' given me such seriously misleading and erroneous advice.