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Infant feeding

Get advice and support with infant feeding from other users here.

Original poster

75th to 2nd centile drop, advice please

97 replies

hairtwiddler · 27/01/2010 12:32

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!!

OP posts:
tiktok · 27/01/2010 14:31

It would not be lactose intolerance - lactose is in breastmilk and congenital LI is vanishingly rare. It's cows milk protein, if there is an issue with dairy in babies.

tiktok · 27/01/2010 14:32

Yes, if you were cutting out dairy, you could not supplement with formula...'twould be a bit daft!

Original poster
hairtwiddler · 27/01/2010 14:36

His skin is fine though.. no allergicky signs. Could failure to put on weight be the only symptom of a milk allergy?

OP posts:
tiktok · 27/01/2010 14:37

Goodness knows, hairtwiddler....but it did seem to be the case for one poster, and I can't remember her name or you could search on it. It was about a year ago, AFAIK.

Original poster
hairtwiddler · 27/01/2010 18:33

well gp was lovely....
found nothing medically wrong. Feels allergy would show other symptoms e.g constipation, sickiness. He was very good at listening to the whole story and agreed I seem to be doing everything right. He said he sees cases like ds very rarely but that sometimes a mum can be feeding well and often but baby isn't gaining well. He feels it is a feeding issue.
We've arranged I'm going to see bf counsellor to check latch but we agreed that supplementing is a good idea in his case as ds is heading rapidly down centiles.
Decision also made given background of severe pnd with dd. Too much worry and carrying on like i am could be detrimental to my mental health. Alsohave four yr old dd to consider.
So, any tips on how to do it???

OP posts:
Original poster
hairtwiddler · 27/01/2010 18:36

I would like to continue bf for as long as i can alongside topups. managed mixed feeding with dd for ten months but that was 4yrs ago!

OP posts:
LooL00 · 27/01/2010 19:49

my ds 5.0 did a similar plummet through the percentiles to 16 weeks . i was persuaded (bullied?) by the hv to give formula so my DH gave him a huge full bottle of formula every night at about 10pm. at the time I was unhappy that this was the right thing to do but looking back it didn't affect him breast feeding as he carried on until 8 months when he was eating so much solid food that he didn't seem to want it(bf) anymore. ds has no allergies so far.

Original poster
hairtwiddler · 27/01/2010 20:10

I don't feel bullied or guilty just now, but I do feel sad.... just don't believe i'm doing anything wrong with how i'm feeding and I don't want ds to go hungry.

OP posts:
ExplodingBananas · 27/01/2010 20:12

I had to give top ups due to weight loss and was told to top up after each feed.

Trouble was he got used to the bottle very quickly and then became difficult to latch. If I had my time again I would try to just give one decent bottle a day to begin with to see if that was enough to produce weight gain.

Has the GP suggested how you should go about the top ups?

Habbibu · 27/01/2010 20:15

Oh, ht. You are really tired, you know - the sad can't be entirely disentangled from that. And you do have lovely lovely dd to remind you just how bloody good you are at this mothering thing.

Original poster
hairtwiddler · 27/01/2010 20:30

Don't know what happened to my last post.
Thanks hab, yes am soooo tired now and should go to bed soon. It's been some week.
What I'm not sure about is whether to feed a bottle after a breastfeed, or instead of.
To clarify, I've never been very good at expressing, and with frequency of feeds as they are, (and with dd) I just don't have time in the day to do it.

OP posts:
cleanandclothed · 27/01/2010 20:34

I think afterwards, as you still want the baby to be stimulating you to make milk regularly, so you should be aiming to feed 8 or so times a day - gaps not longer than about 3 hours, to keep up your supply.

Original poster
hairtwiddler · 27/01/2010 20:40

Not a problem feeding that much, probably do 12-14 feeds in 24hours.

OP posts:
willowstar · 27/01/2010 23:55

I have had similar experience...my little girl has dropped from 50th to below 0.4 centile and was finally diagnosed with severe reflux which she is on three medications for. She is still just about following the 0.4 centile line, and as long as she sticks on that the paediatrician is happy.

while everyone else seemed hugely worried about her weight being so low I just always felt that she was fine as long as her vomiting could be treated. I was told to top up after every feed and after a lot of soul searching I went against medical advice and didn't do it, it just didn't make sence and I had faith in me and her. It really didn't go down well with the registrar who told me to do that so I was referred to the consultant who was pro-breast feeding and told me not to top up. but it was a tough call.

Anyway...you are not alone and it sounds like you are doing the right thing in your situation. My little one is the only child i have and so many times since she has been born I have thought about how I probably would be giving formula by now if I had another child to look after as well because she is just so so time consuming.

Original poster
hairtwiddler · 28/01/2010 09:25

well dh gave him a bottle last night after i fed at 11. he took 2oz... then i cried and fed for most of the rest of the night!
Feeling much better this am and tried again but he won't take bottle from me.
Breastfeeding counsellor calling today.

OP posts:
Original poster
hairtwiddler · 28/01/2010 09:27

thanks willowstar for posting, glad i'm not alone. Currently feeling quite angry that this is so tough for me.

OP posts:
knickerelasticjones · 28/01/2010 09:42

Hi Hairtwiddler - bumping this for you and also wanting to send good vibes. Remember that I'm thinking of you.

If it helps, when I started supplementing DD1's feeds I replaced one feed with a bottle. So I gave breast feed first thing in the morning, and then bottle mid-morning, breast at lunch, breast in afternoon and bottle before bed.

But that's only one way of doing it I guess.

You will work out what is right for you - whether you supplement or not. Carrying for 10 weeks feeding 14 times a day is bloody heroic work woman - so pat yourself on the back for that!

Original poster
hairtwiddler · 28/01/2010 10:50

thanks knickerelastic.... sorry couldn't talk long, hoping bf counsellor will ring.
My mum here and looking after dd which is good. Ds has gone to sleep in pram after I hobble pushed it round the utility room.

OP posts:
Original poster
hairtwiddler · 28/01/2010 11:07

Bf counsellor (midwife) coming tomorrow at 11. She rarely does visits but thinks this merits one. Will update on how it goes.

OP posts:
ilovemydogandmrobama · 28/01/2010 11:18

My DS was diagnosed as lactose/cow milk protein intolerant. I know they are very different, but consultant Paediatrician says lactose intolerant, and dietician says another.

Anyway, it was around 3 weeks when his weight dropped significantly, and got the usual from the H/V including getting him weighed every week, suggesting/encouraging formula top ups etc.

When he was an in patient at Children's Hospital as he was extremely ill, a junior doctor went through his notes, and red book and thinks that he developed an intolerance at around 3 weeks explaining why it was such an uphill battle to get him to gain weight.

He didn't have any other symptoms such as constipation, and have been told this is very unusual.

Dairy free can possibly help. It didn't help me at all and he was sick despite it , but know of several people who have gone dairy free and helps with reflux etc.

belgo · 28/01/2010 11:47

It's good that the bfing counselor is coming tomorrow, I hope she can give you good advice. Let us know how it goes.

Original poster
hairtwiddler · 28/01/2010 12:31

Thanks, I will... at the moment I'm having a hard time seeing solutions.

OP posts:
belgo · 28/01/2010 12:42

hairtwiddler - there are solutions and you will find what is best for your baby - and you are doing the best for your baby!

I know how worrying it is to have a baby with slow weight gain, but as mothers, we can only do our best and take the advice of the medical profession and other professionals eg. bfing experts.

LooL00 · 28/01/2010 13:23

when ds had a late evening bottle i didn't bf first. we would wake him and he would have the bottle from dh and then sleep most of the night.he used to drink 8oz and this was his only bottle ,he was bf all day and when he went to bed at7. he put on weight very rapidly.ds was 16 weeks though and maybe you do need a night bf to keep your milk supply going.

Original poster
hairtwiddler · 28/01/2010 13:58

Similar to what I did with dd... DS will cluster feed all evening though and usually goes down about 8-9pm. Think will try tonight after he has a bath/wash and gets ready for bed.
I've been somewhat cheered up by getting a copy of an article I had published today, reminding myself I have a life outside of this currently overwhelming problem.

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