Tiktok et al, I desperately need your help re slow (actually no) weight gain.

[suwoo]

Have posted quite a few threads now. Well DS2 had his weigh in today and had stayed the same. He is 23 days old now and is 400g less than his birth weight (roughly 11oz?)

The subject of topping up has reared its ugly head and I actually cried to the midwife who was very understanding.

My plan (for the very short term) is this:

Wear my breast shells and use any milk caught with the minimal supply in the freezer to give one 4oz? bottle at night. I will top up with formula to make the 4oz. While DH is giving the bottle, I will express from both breasts to mimic normal feeding and not affect supply.

Does this sound feasible?

Midwife has suggested not waking him after 2 hours, but letting him go for 3 so he may be more hungry and feed more effectively whilst also letting my milk replenish.

Am speaking to the lactation consultant who is looking after us, tomorrow.

Very grateful for any help/advice.

Well, not exclusively breastfed - we did give her some solids from 6 months

notforconsumption who were you before? I am back doing 2 hourly feeds, so yes the pumping is a bit difficult with the 3 kids. This morning I pumped from one and fed him from the other . I'm not sure that was the best plan but hey ho.

Keep your fingers crossed he gains

suwoo, pumping from one breast whilst feeding from the other is a very good way to maximise your "output" (mooooo, sorry! I know I felt like Daisy the cow when expressing), it is just a bit fiddly but if you can manage, then carry on!
Also, if you try to express at the same time of day, ideally after morning feed, you will find that within a few days your supply for the pumping session will have increased.

I hope next weigh-in will be a success.

Thanks pacific. Which is more effective then, pumping after the feed? (and for how long?) or pumping at the same time? Bear in mind I will have the school run to contend with next week too...eek.

If you can pump at the same time as feeding, then that is the most effective - and time efficient it's not something I was every able to master though - althugh I did manage to collect a fair bit in breast shells while I was feeding or expressing from the other boob.

Good luck It really sounds like you have everyting under control. have confidence in yourself.

I can manage it whilst he's still tiny and I can hold him with 1 arm. I barely got more though than I did in the shells.

Thanks for everyones support

I am not sure what is more effective. I double pumped with electric pump every 3 hrs or so for premature DS2 who only every got EBM (I never managed to get him on the boob even when he was big enough), and expressed @ 10am every most days for DS3 just for topups and to store milk for the CM.
I found a huge difference with sticking to the same time.
I sounds like you have an abundant milksupply (I never even needed breast pads as I did not leak at all) so think, do what is practical. If your baby is satisfied with one breast and you manage to pump the other at the same time, that is very time efficient, and may even give you 5 min every day to not be engaged in milkprovision .
As to how long: my understanding was to go for 2-4 let-downs, however long that takes (within reason), as after that you get the law of diminuishing returns, ie lots of pumping, half a ml of milk, v soul destroying.
If you are large of norkage, I found larger breast flanges really helpful. I can dig out a link if of interest?

The other tihng to remember about epxressing, if you have not already been told, is that it is not the same as feeding, where you stay on one boob as long as possible.

With expressing (unless you are feeding at the same time), it is best to alternate boob regularly: say 10 minutes each initially, then 5, then 3, then 1 - or variants of that, depedning on how much time you have and how much your boobs are producing.

suwoo - my DS seemed perfectly healthy and alert but went from 8lb 9oz at birth to 7lb 8oz within a week and didn't gain anything for the next 2 weeks. It ended up that he had a mild tongue tie that wasn't spotted by MW, HV or GP. It was only when we were sent for tests at the hospital and we were left sitting for 2 hrs awaiting results that a feeding advisor came and sat with us. Initially she couldn't see any problem but after 30mins asked to check and noticed it.
He had it snipped when he was a month old and ever since has been gaining weight. At his last weigh in at 13 weeks he was 12lb 2oz.

You may have already had this checked but I felt I had to tell you my story incase.

Good luck and well done for sticking at it.

What is a flange?

I am 32G so might be relevant, so yes please to link.

Ameda Lactaline - I have never heard anybody say anything negative about this breast pump; apart from price that is . Worth the investment if you are going to express a lot.

This explains about flange sizes Flanges are the trumpet-like bit you stick your tender nipples into .

These are the ones I had but I am sure I got them from the site I linked to first.

HTH

"Midwife has suggested not waking him after 2 hours, but letting him go for 3 so he may be more hungry and feed more effectively whilst also letting my milk replenish."

Suwoo I have been following your threads but not posting as I didn't have anything useful to add. But when I read the above I just had to say, this MW does not understand BF at all. I would be very wary of taking her advice on anything BF related. Thank goodness you can speak to the lactation consultant!

If you need to express and are looking for a good machine, I have a medela mini electric you can have for the postage. I too am generous of nork (currently 30G, to the amusement of the John Lewis lingerie department on Sunday) and have always got on well with it. I have been given one to pass on by a friend. Let me know if it would be any use to you.

I think you are doing a great job.

Hmm, now that is interesting pacific. I will get DH to check how my nipple looks in the pump. He is really looking forward to it not

provincialladdy that is so kind of you and I would love to take you up on your offer. I will send it back when I've finished with it of course.

Please email me on [email protected]

Everyone on MN has been so helpful and I know I would not have breastfed DS had it not been for all of you

What goes round, comes around (I hope. I too benefitted greatly from the MN accumulated wisdom - and may need it again, who knows?)

Hi suwoo I was eclairea. I think you sold me some nappies . Another tip re expressing - do you feel your 'let down' when it happens? And does it happen throughout the day not just when you are feeding? Because if so I find expressing much more productive if you can catch the let down as it happens, so to speak, rather than expressing to make it happen. I used to keep the breast pump sterilised and ready at the beginning of the day, and in the fridge during the day, and run to get it whenever I felt a let down.

No, I never feel the let down. I do get a tingly feeling occasionally but not during feeding sessions though. Could that be it?

Suwoo - I never felt a let down either.

hello suwoo i think tiktok is on hols. sorry you are having trouble, i know how upsetting and alarming it is when ones baby doesn't grow to schedule.

what has the lactation counsellor said about weight gain and supplementing? did they say anything re feeding more often rather than expressing?

i think you need more specific help than you can get here. do you have bf helpline numbers? i hope you will ring for another opinion.

The lactation consultant seems very good, she is consistent with the advice given on here. I am still feeding every 2 hours through the day, less at night.

DS is a sleepy feeder, the hope is that the weight gain will make him more alert and therefore feed better. She didn't want me to supplement wth formula and was keen for me to use a cup, but we decided on the breastflow bottle.

Do you think I need to speak to someone else fishie?

DS now looks very skinny and is still only 7.11 amd was born at 8.9, 4 weeks ago.

Well yes, tingly could be it. I also could tell because my breasts seemed to get slightly more full/hard and drip! So if you feel particularly drippy (!) get out the pump! Best of luck, keep at it, we are all with you 100%.

Thats so kind, thank you.

I'm too busy to notice drips- my mum reckons being busy affects supply

i don't know suwoo, that is the point, we are all well-meaning people on a posting board.

i don't like to see posters directly refuting advice given by mws / hv who have actually met you and your baby. but then i do know how bad real life advice can be, having been on the receiving end of it...

ds was quite skinny for a short while, it wasn't good but it was only a few weeks rather than a downward starvation. he never lost weight but didn't always put it on.

He hasn't lost weight after his initial 1lb 5 oz but this week he stayed the same (all on same scales). Initially I was adamant that I wouldn't supplement but felt it was detrimental to him if I didn't. He is getting weighed tomorrow on new scales and on Wednesdays thereafter, with the HV .

Sorry essence, I missed your story as we cross posted. I have a friend who had a terrible time with not finding out her dd had tongue tie so I'd made sure DS was checked in the hospital. Thanks anyway, I know a lot of people aren't aware of it.