75th to 2nd centile drop, advice please

[hairtwiddler]

typing with one hand here so excuse any mistakes...
ds is 10 weeks and was born on 75th centile full term - 8lb 6oz. He had a 10% drop in first week and took nearly 1month to regain birth weight. Didn't weigh for a month but went today and find he's only 9lb4oz on second centile.

He had a tongue tie which i took him to have cut at 7wks as i felt he was feeding constantly... haven't felt much difference after surgery.

He feeds constantly, hourly during the day apart from when sleeping in sling or in pram and at night every 1-2 hours after initial 3hr stretch 8-11ish. Seems to have a good latch, feeds happily.

He's a happy smiley baby between feeds, although difficult to settle. Rarely falls asleep at the breast apart from after hours of cluster feeding in the evenings. On the plus side - lots of wet and dirty nappies.

Any advice??? HV made an appointment with gp for later this pm to discuss what might be going wrong.
I just don't see what else I can do and may have to supplement with formula.

Oh, and to add to the mix, I have a sprained ankle and currently can't do very much at all!!

No advice whatsoever I'm afraid, just bumping for you. Hope some helpful soul comes along soon but whatever else it sounds as if you're doing everything you possibly can so huge respect for all the effort you've put in so far. Hope you find a solution you're happy with

I think you should get in touch with a breastfeeding expert and get the latch of your baby checked.

ANd I do think it is necessary for you to see the GP because going from 75th to the 2nd percentile is a big drop in 10 weeks.

Do you think your ds might have an allergy? If he has lots of wet and dirty nappies he is probably getting enough milk but he might not be able to take all the nutrients from it. Is he a sicky baby?

thanks, the hv did mention referral to breastfeeding expert but in my tears I think that got forgotten amidst agreement he needs to see the gp.
I'm so downheartened. Ten weeks of constant day and night feeding...

No, not very sicky. He does spit up and dribble a bit but not a great deal. No allergies in the immediate family although my brother was a very allergic child with asthma.

hmm, it is a big centile drop. But if your ds has an allergy, normal formula will not help anyway. I do think you should see the doctor, just in case your ds needs a bit of medical help.

Yes, seeing doc at 430. Worrying of course about all the things that it could be. In fact, think will be relieved if it's only a feeding issue.

hairtwiddler you poor thing. Try to stay calm and remember, whatever help your ds needs, the earlier you find out the easier it is to fix it. And 10 weeks is early.

I hope it all goes well this afternoon. If it helps, my friend's baby only gained 1lb in his first 12 weeks and he is now a very healthy little 2 year old, it was just a feeding problem.

He may be fine, hairtwiddler....most babies who appear fine, even the ones who gain weight slowly slowly like hhim turn out to be fine, and just physiologically slow gainers. I agree - seeing the GP makes sense and possibly a paediatrician.

Do you have a breastfeeding support group or breastfeeding counsellor nearby - someone who could observe a feed and listen to the whole story? Sometimes a slight amend to the way the baby takes the breast results in a more effective feed and larger amounts of milk going in.

I'm assuming you're feeding pretty often (it sounds like it) and offering 'multiple breasts'...that way, you maximise opps. for more calories going in.

Hope the GP helps.

It does help, thanks. My gut reaction is that he's not unwell. He's very smiley, and loves to lie on the playmat and kick his legs and look at his sister. He's sat quite contentedly on dh's knee just now. I do wonder if his tongue tie surgery didn't fix any problems it caused... if the tongue is rooted at the back (posterior tie) then his latch may still not be good. But I don't know....sigh!

hello ht - hope GP good today. Do you know any paeds that you like, or that friends like?

Will call you later.

Very pleased to see you here tiktok - was hoping!
Yes, feeding very often, for a good amount each hour (apart from 2 short naps), and often feed on more than both sides. He's such a frequent feeder it's difficult to distinguish the beginning and end of a feed anyway.
I'm struggling to get anywhere at the moment because of sprained ankle. Currently can't drive, and have 4yr old in pm nursery place, and no family nearby!

I wanted to type this earlier but I had no time. My ds was exactly that weight at birth, 75th percentile. By 27 weeks he was under the 3rd percentile - so a similar drop to your ds, but not as fast.

My ds was diagnosed with a probable milk allergy/sensitivity at 12 weeks, and I cut out milk from my diet.

He is now 15 months and still under the 3rd percentile, still breastfed (I am now drinking cow's milk ) and very healthy, very strong. Walking before 11 months! He has been closely monitored by a doctor for all of this time.

Hopefully it will be the same for your ds! You are absolutely not doing anything wrong, you are doing your best for your ds and getting him assessed by the doctors.

Hi hab, could ask around... think friend from work has godparent to her kids who is paediatrician. Gp we're seeing has young kids and is lovely. Have a lot of trust in him.

Thanks for sharing that story belgo, really helpful. Now I'm having a good cry!

Yes - belgo's story is unusual, but she's one of two I remember on MN. One poster cut out dairy and found it made a real difference. There's no decent research on this that I know of, and obv anecdotal stuff is not research....if the GP says your ds is basically ok, and there's no urgency to get his weight up, see what he thinks of you being dairy-free for a couple of weeks?

Ok, food for thought... if I did need to supplement him, how would I tie that in with possibility of lactose intolerance??

Sounds like you are doing all the right things, hairtwiddler. I had similar issues with my ds (didn't start off so heavy but dropped to below 2nd centile), saw gp, paed etc. I was told by a number of doctors, hvs etc that whilst such a drop needs to be investigated, it is perfectly usual for a baby to 'find a growth line' that is different from the centile they were born on, because there are different factors involved in foetal size compared to baby size. So, they are in general happy if a baby is steadily following any line, even if it is the bottom one.

I hope GP is helpful - they will probably refer you to a paed but I was told it was nothing to worry too much about, and not to bother with top ups if I didn't want to while we waited for the paed appt. I didn't want to, again paed was v helpful and very supportive of EBF, DS stayed on below 2nd centile until about 17 weeks and then weight climbed slowly.

will keep my fingers crossed for you.

I think if he was following a line I wouldn't be worried. It's the steady drop from the 25th to the 9th to the 2nd that is clearly what is concerning. I thought he had found his line and was following it but it appears not. I'm going to ask for paed referral I think.

Forgot to say thanks for reply cleanandclothed.... I really appreciate mumsnet help in times of crisis!

hairtwiddwiddler - there are milks suitable for babies with cow's milk allergy but if I were you, first see what the bfing expert and the GP say. There may be absolutely no problem with you bfing, and no need to supplement at all.

My ds also had eczema which can be a sign of cow's milk allergy. Most babies grow out of this allergy.

yes a paed referral is also a good idea.

Will report back on gp later. Any other tips on what to ask?

Ask about the tongue tie, if you think that it's still a problem.

If it is the tongue tie suspect formula only solution as it's already been cut.