Breastfed 6 week old only putting on 3ozs a week. Please help.

[ellaeleven]

I have a 6 week old dd gaining weight very slowly. She was 3678kg at birth, dropped to 3385 at 5 days, took almost 4 weeks to regain birth weight, gained 5 ozs last week but only 3 this week taking her to 3990 today. She is having gaviscon after each feed due to suspected reflux which has helped greatly with sickness over recent weeks and I am feeding pretty much on demand (at least 7 good feeds a day) so why is this happening? I have had recurring thrush on the breast which I am treating and she fusses a little during feeds but fills her nappy twice every day with lots of wet ones throughout. I am so sorry for all of these little details but having googled am starting to panic about possible cystic fibrosis of which slow weight gain is a symptom (although she had the gutrie test but is it possible for false negative?) I would really appreciate any advice or similar experiences. This is occupying my every thought at mo and has took all joy out of breastfeeding .
Thanks for reading.

Firtly - STEP AWAY FROM GOOGLE!!!

I don't have any advice but my DD was similar she never dropped weight afer she was born but didn't gain for 2 weeks post birth but was giving us plenty of wet and dirty nappies and feeding between 7and 10 times a day. She then only gained between 2 and 6 oz a week and now at 16months just weighs 9kg and is a tiny little creature who will eat anything put infront of her but she burns it off with her constant movement.

Have you spoken to your HV or GP are they concerned?

one question- if she hadn't been weighed would you have been worried?

thisisyesterday asks a very good question. I worried about my DS's weight gain too as according to info from various places, he wasn't gaining 'enough'. However, he was doing all the right things, pooing, weeing, feeding lots, latched on correctly, so HV said not to worry.

My DS didn't get back up to his birth weight until he was 5 weeks old. He is just under the 9th centile, but is a gorgeous, happy, healthy little guy. There were weeks where he only gained 3oz.

Obviously experiences can vary, but hope you can take some comfort from that!

what's the health visitor saying?

I worried myself half demented with DS very similar weight gain, even though no one else was concerned. I remember the horrid attention to details you mention! I remember saying to the health visitor that he was small. She said "is he?" . He had dropped form 50th at birth to 9th, where he cruised for aaaaaages, very happily. My solution was to stop weighing him (I was doing this myself at breastfeeding support group). It wasn't an informed choice at all-I was simply going mad and needed to stop and hadn't a clue what else to do . The relief was overwhelming when I started to look at my baby and not at the scales, and THEN we started to enjoy each other and I started enjoying BF! It took him six months to get over that damned 25th centile line (I weighed him when he was six months for the hell of it as I was feeling quite flippant by then), and do you know by then it was a real anti-climax because I really didn't care what the number was.

I guess I'm saying are your worries just yours? If so, step away from the scales AND the books AND the computer...

ella - weight gain is really only one aspect of a baby's health. It is possible to gain weight slowly and be fine, it really is. Cystic fibrosis is absolutely the least likely possibility - the most likely one is that your baby is fine and growing as she is 'meant' to grow.

Having said that, perhaps your HV would give her a good look and a check over and see other things , more than the weight, and talk it over with you? This might be comforting for you.

If there is an issue with her growth, then one easy response would be to feed more often - 7 feeds a day is probably less than most babies of her age, so it should be easy enough to offer more, without waiting for her to 'ask'. She can have at least two breasts on offer per feed - don't stick to one breast only per time.

What do you think?

Ooh, loggrl, my DS was 75th centile at birth, now cruising along under the 9th!

I was told by the HV not to keep making comparisons to his birth weight--'only an indication of how big you grow your babies on the inside, nothing more' she said.

To be honest I wouldnt have worried if the midwives/health visitors hadnt been worried (they are doing weekly weigh ins and have referred her to a paediatrician). She is alert, has good colour, starting to smile etc but she is a skinny thing and my 9 year old dd who was formula fed was always on the 90 percentile so this ( along with breastfeeding) is new to me. Thank you so much for your replies. This place is a godsend when you feel anxious and need some help

I'm afraid I slate my HV a LOT about other things but she was right on this one...

ahh, try not to worry too much. I think HVs and MWs can be hit or miss with their advice sometimes. I went to weigh-in clinic every week too, and the breastfeeding midwife came out to see me a few times in the early days. Difference for me was that they were very reassuring all while doing what they needed to monitor DS.

My HV is old school (she's been a midwife, a paediatric nurse at Great Ormond Street and is now an HV) and she knows that weight is just one part of health for babies. I remember saying to her once, when we saw one another at the clinic one day and dh and I were going to do self-weigh for ds, in response to her 'how are you', 'yes we're fine - as long as ds's weight is OK I'm happy'. HV looked over at dh who was fighting with a shouting, kicking, punching ds to get his babygro off, 'oh I don't think you've got anything to worry about there, do you?'

Will def try to feed her more than 7 times a day (thanks tiktok for your advice, was hoping to hear from you) and thank you for all shared experiences. Might let myself breathe now.

ella - unusual for a baby to be weighed weekly, but all it means is they are keeping a close eye on her, which is reasonable for a baby who takes 4 weeks to regain birthweight, and checking that there is no underlying health reason for the slow gain and from what you say there isn't.

'Twould prob be quite easy to increase her opportunity to take in more breastmilk - have they not suggested this?