11 wks and mainly BF. period started and DS not put on weight. is this linked?

[munteria]

hi there

My DS is 11 weeks old and mainly BF. 2 weeks ago i intro a FF at 11pm (i still expressed at 10pm to keep my supply up as I had been doing for a while). consequently he dropped his middle of the night feed.

in those two weeks he hasnt gained any weight and now (i think) my period has started, albeit lightly. he is still settling and looks healthy, and i think my milk is ok.

are these 2 things related?

thanks for any advice

bumping this

I expressed exclusively for a year (don't ask!) and I noticed a drop in 'production' just before I started my period. Supply picked up again after a few days. I've no idea whether weight gain was affected though as I never got round to getting ds2 or dd weighed

If the 11pm formula makes him sleep for longer than 6 hours then yes, I think it is probably linked to the return of your period. If it has also resulted in him skipping one or more night feeds then it may explain his stalled weight gain.

Night feeds are important for your supply and for nutritional value, the smaller stomach of a demand fed bf baby needs to be filled regularly, so perhaps it might be worth holding off on the 11pm formula and going back to exclusive bf and see if it makes a difference.

Does that make any sense?

Hi

greenmonkies yes, it does make sense. I knew the night feed is important for supply but thought at 10 wks bf would have been established?

I intro FF at 11pm as i suffer from anxiety and insomnia so the HV and GP suggested it to help both me and sleep. i couldnt go back to sleep after the night feed and was a wreck the next day and not coping, i also have a toddler at home.

I wasnt expecting the lack of weight gain as DS dropped the night feed himself so thought he didnt need it and would get what he needed in the day? (or that the formula was heavier than bf so made up for it)

If he hasnt put on any weight next time round i will have to consider top ups in the day. I'm not sure i could go back to me not sleeping after a night feed, but i will do if need be. Top up will def affect my supply - i just need to weigh up the pros and cons of both options. what do you think?

I think that if he needs more calories you have them in your breasts - just feed more. Try and do it more during the day if he will take it. Giving more formula is going to be very damaginf for your supply and will likely be the end of BF.

As others have said your period may have come back because of how long he goes without a feed at night. My DD never fed much at night and slept through from 11-7+ from 8 weeks. My periods returned at 14 weeks iirc.

Re the weight thing, I have checked DD's red book and her weight gain definitely slowed from around 14 weeks. I can't help wondering (am not an expert) whether, if a baby seems happy, is producing lots of wet nappies, is still within normal range on those charts (i.e. hasn't dropped off the bottom) and is being fed on demand (being offered both breasts maybe and seems satisfied after a feed), is there really an issue?

yes, good idea. if he hasnt put weight on I oculd up the daytime bf feeds to 5 a day (currently 4 plus the 11pm bottle)

Mrs Happy thankyou for looking through your red book. I know what you mean about the charts - DS has plenty of wet nappies and settles fairly easily.

i think the HV will be happy if DS stays on his birth centile - if not they will want me to do something. If so I will try and increase the no of feeds in the day first.

how long will it take for my breasts to build up suplly for an extra daytime feed?

Only 4 feeds a day??? Blimey, mine were feeding every 2-3 hours at that age, and cluster feeding madly in the evening and not settling for "bed" until about 10.30, when they came to bed with me.

When you say he dropped the nightfeed himself, was it before or after you started the 11pm formula feed?

I have to say it really pisses me off when HV's etc suggest formula like this. It kinda infers that in some way bf is the root of what ever the problem may be. As if formula is somehow a magical answer to all sources of stress! as it is it's actually just given you a different thing to worry about. It's a lazy quick fix from the HV, she should be exploring other ways to help you cope, especially as he is approaching a major growth spurt (at 12 weeks) so you will need to be optimising your supply by demand feeding, not undermining it by introducing top-ups or complimentary feeds, not to mention undermining your confidence in your ability to feed your baby!

I'm confused by the nightfeed leaving you unable to sleep. Most people find it very easy to go back to sleep after nightfeeds, in fact a lot of people find themselves co-sleeping because they can't stay awake during them, because the oxytocin makes you relaxed and sleepy. Was it the 11pm feed that was the problem or the "unearthly hours" one?

I do understand the newborn+toddler issue, there is about 2.5 years between my DD's and the first few months of DD2's life were intense!

4 feeds during the day (plus 11pm one) doesnt sound like much but if he wants an earlier / extra feed then i always give it to him - but sometimes I have to wake him for his feeds so thought he cant be that hungry!

he dropped the night feed after the FF feed at 11pm. i guess because he was more full up

i wish i could find it difficult to stay awake! it was the "unearthly" feed that is the problem. I heard about the hormones making you sleepy but it doesnt work for me, unfortunately. I was hoping that would happen this time but it didnt!

I suffered really bad PNI last time (more anxiety than depression) which started with insomnia which led onto me taking AD's which meant i had to stop BF (i reacted badly to the ones which were ok to take whilst BF).

I guess the HV is concerned for my mental health and consequently the welfare of my children. so weighing it up she felt that is more important than BF (though she def didnt think that intro a ff at 8 weeks and still expressing would affect my supply) which is prob the right thing to do but i wish i could be sane and BF!

OK, so, he's stopped the nightfeed because the formula fills him up and it takes him all night to digest it, so the sleeping for 6 hours+ and the return of your period are almost certainly connected to the 11pm formula feed. I think if you start to offer him more feeds in the day and resist the temptation to give more bottles then you will probably be ok.

Don't let the HV pressure you to up the bottles, as long as he's not losing weight then if he drops down some centiles it doesn't matter. Both mine have fallen down the centiles, DD1 went from 25th to 0.4th in her first year, but, she didn't lose weight, so it wasn't a problem. At the end of the day if he's happy, sleeping well, alert when he is awake, weeing a pooping plenty,looking healthy and not losing weight, then there is no need to do anything. And, he is your baby, your HV can't make you do anthing, she can only make suggestions, and it's up to you what to do, you don't have to do what she says.

The BfN has lots of info onbf compatable anti-d's, if you are struggling with anxiety and insomnia any way then perhaps it might be an idea to look into treating them earlier rather than later?

I do know that my supply drops a bit when I get my period, but it comes back again after a day or two, so don't worry if he's a bit fussy when he feeds, just feed him on demand, swapping from one side to the other and back again, and your supply will pick up again.

DS DID actually lose weight - only 1.5oz so the HV said she is classing it as not having put weight on rather than losing weight(could have been the scales, change in bowel habits etc). if he loses more then will have to reassess. will try and up the no of feeds

my hair started to fallout in the shower this morning so a clear sign hormones changing!

thanks for the link to the bf compatable AD's. will check it out

OMG!!! a whole ONE AND A HALF OUNCES!!!!!!!

Really, that's a small wee or a poo, or a discrepancy between different scales! Please don't worry about it, as long as he's happy and wee's and poops regularly and you feel he is ok, then just weigh him for your own curiosity, and don't think you have to do anything that your HV says.

It is possible that your milk supply has dropped slightly in the last few days as your hormones wobbled but I am not really convinced that dropping one feed a day (or night, unless it was a marathon feed that went on for an hour!!) is going to result in weight loss. So try not to worry about it, feed him every few hours through the day (are you using a dummy in the day time? If so try nursing him instead, which is easier said than done with a toddler to run around after I know) and just see how you go, but don't be panicked into anything by your HV.

Hi

thanks for the reassurance. much appreciated. i am determined to carry on BF so will try as much as possible to hold off offering ore bottle feeds in the day unless i really need to.

He only (well mainly!) uses the dummy at nap times, or i may give it to him if i need to distract bhim (i.e. if giving my toddler a bath) so havent got any extra time really to nurse him - but am trying to give him a bit longer at each BF swapping between breasts at the end of each feed.

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