10 week old baby bf little weight gain- concerned!

[Luise85]

Just got my son weighted this morning and hv is worried as he only gained 4oz / 160g in two weeks. he used to gain weight well before (3530g birth weight, was on 50th but now dropped to 25th centile). he is fully breastfed and I feed him on demand, he feeds frequently during the day and about three times at night and is generally a happy smiley baby. he doesnt poo very often- about twice a week (fairly big poos but not hard or obviously painful to him)- mil and sil are trying to convince me that he needs water-I disagree. but slowly I am starting to get insecure thinking I must be doing something wrong. Is it my diet (i think i am eating alright and healthy), is it the position he feeds (lying down at night, bed-sharing), the duration of his feeds (ten minutes max), the frequency (anything between 1 and 3 hourss)? please help!

Luise - if all that has happened to dent your confidence in breastfeeding is a drop from 50th to 25th centile and everything else is just fine, then I would ask your HV exactly why is she worried?

If you think he may be short of calories, then the craziest thing would be to give water - totally calorie free, breastmilk is something like 90 per cent water anyway, so MIL and SIL are way off in their judgement!!

If you are only offering one side when you feed, you can delib. offer both...however, he may not always take it.

Your diet will have no effect on the weight-giving properties of your milk.

10 minute feeds 1-3 hourly are perfectly normal.

If you (and the HV) really, really think he needs more calories, then you can offer him i) extra feeds ii)extra breasts ie three or more each time

But it sounds to me as if this is a question of confidence, rather than breastfeeding!

Agree with Tiktok. I once got told that if there is no weight loss there is no problem and as long baby's putting on (any) weight all is OK. All babies fluctuate wrt weight gain and as long as your baby is happy there is nothing to worry about.

I get really at all these health professionals that dent your confidence with their ignorance. Mine got seriously dented at the time and I nearly ended up giving up bf. Thankfully I'm a stubborn old cow.

thank you tiktok!!! maybe all I needed was a confidence boost.
I never took any breastfeeding classes, always thought of it as the best and the only way to feed when I would have a baby and it all went well from the start (well okay, from fourth day when the milk came in). And I guess as long as he gives me all these smiles and is not crying (he barely cries) I should trust in me and 'my milk'. Most times he would fall asleep on the second breast, he definitly appears to be full after one and a bit of the second.I think he's growing really tall, although they wouldn't measure him, he has almost outgrown his moses basket and is about 63cm -thats 10cm in 10 weeks. maybe thats where all his calories went to? (do I sound stupid now?lol)

what do you think about the poo-situation?

that poo sounds normal to me - my DS went to one every third or fourth day around that time.

Normal poo.

Are MIL and SIL informed about bf? Sounds not - they should not be allowed to stick noses in, and maybe dh could ask them to back off?

My daughters both grew 2oz per week and are/were vhealthy as healthy can be. They too were both born on the 50th centile, and over the first four months dipped to their natural habitat (one on the 10th, one on the 2nd centile). They are now 13 and 11, are full of beans, and although still smaller than their contemporaries, are taller age for age than I was at the same time, and are expected to keep growing for a long time (I grew an inch after 18). Ultimately, only you can be the judge of how well your baby is though- all I'm saying is that if he seems well, is meeting milestones etc, small weight gain is not worrisome in itself. You may have to fight the HV/ mil/ sil etc over it though...

Perfectly normal for breastfed babies to poo quite infrequently. If it's soft it's not constipation. Sounds like you're both doing brilliantly.

amazingly SIL has a five month old baby herself and bf as well, giving her water and praises it.I will just keep ignoring, I told them won't introduce bottle or water at any point now but they have not given up 'mentioning' how great it is at every opportunity they get.(rant over, lol)
MIL bf all her three children as well.
Funny enough it's my own mother who really supports me on it, although she never bf us. my husband is of great support and thanks me for bf our son a lot, how cute! (his family blames him for me not taking their advice anyway, lol).
Thank you for your reassurance ladies!

at praising giving water.....blimey! Glad we have restored your confidence

Back when we were young, giving water was normal, even for bf babies. I quickly set my Mum straight on that point, but it's harder with MIL. She thought they needed a different taste.

My son is exactly the same as yours Luise. He's 12 weeks old now and hasn't gained anything in the last ten days despite being weighed three times in that period. For some reason UK health visitors feel the need to weigh BF babies really frequently and drive us mums insane with worry. Anything from fighting off a cold, immunisations or even having a big poo can make it seem like a baby hasn't gained weight. This happens for bottlefed babies too but most aren't weighed as often.

Sounds to me like it is really common and you are feeding your baby just fine. I've heard the phrase 'Look at the baby not the scales' and have adopted it as my mantra. If your baby is meeting all their developmental goals then you have absolutely nothing to worry about. I suggest asking/demanding your health visitor takes head circumference and length measurements if you need reassurance. My son turned out spot on for both of these but lower on their charts for weight. Breastfed babies are leaner than their bottlefed counterparts and it seems that everyone other than health visitors know it.