Grr HV has started already - how do I avoid being told to mix feed?

[GoldenSnitch]

DD had her 6 week check with the Health Visitor yesterday and already "topping up" with formula has been suggested!!

DD was 7lbs 1oz at birth but lost a lot of weight quickly (she was an ELCS at 10 days early) and was only 6lbs 4oz at her 5 day check. It took 3 weeks for her to regain her birth weight. She's been hovering just below the 25th percentile line ever since but yesterday she had dipped a bit. She was 7lbs 13oz on the 18th and 8lbs 1 oz yesterday - 9 days later.

I was really pleased with the way feeding was going this time. I had such problems with DS and had to mix feed him very early on as it took a while for my milk to get going and instead of supporting me, the midwives gave him formula which in retrospect actually made things harder as my boobs didn't get the stimulation they needed to make more milk and it took a while to drop the bottles again.

I'm loving breastfeeding - it's so easy and feels so wonderful and natural to just whip out a boob an feed my baby without all the hassle of sterilising bottles and boiling water and choosing formula and getting the temperature right (no offense to bottle feeders, I just find it a pain to do) and I really want to avoid mix feeding. I know I'll feel like a failure again if I end up having to top up. I also read somewhere that formula damages the lining of babies intestines and I don't want to do that to DD. The Health visitor said to just look at is as medicine but that doesn't make me feel any better.

So - I'm demand feeding, resting as much as I can when I also have a 2.9 year old who's struggling with the idea of a sibling to care for, I'm up-ing my fluid intake and eating well - is there anything else I can do to up my milk supply and get DD back on that bloody line on the graph to ward off the HV and her bottles?

Well done for posting this question and not just blindly following advice that feels so wrong to you. I have a friend who trains the medical professionals in our area about breasfeeding (ie she knows A LOT about it) and I went to her with a similar question about my DD. What she said is that a HVs have become completely fixated on growth as the ONLY measure of a baby's health, which is utterly ridiculous. She told me about a list she and others are trying to get HVs to adopt, titled "Other than Weighing" with a checklist of things such as meeting developmental milestones, contents of nappies, overall appearance etc. I'm sure you get the idea. The growth charts are a useful tool for catching unwell or underfed babies who might otherwise have gone unnoticed, but lazy HVs have become fixated on them. Go with your instinct GoldenSnitch and I'm sure you and your baby will be fine.

Hi, as someone else pointed out,you dont have to go and see the HV. Expressing with an electric pump is a great idea. Good luck!

Well, I've been feeding at every opportunity for the past couple of days and boobs are definitely feeling fuller now - we've had a couple of fairly amusing squirting incidents today! Just hope it's enough.

Want to say Thank You to everyone that's posted. If I'd had this sort of support, I doubt I would have ever toppoed up DS and feding would have been a much better experience.I'm really enjoying it this time and feel much more confident.

Thank you all for helping me find that confidence

Update - we were right

Got DD weighed today and she is 4.02kgs/8lbs 14oz and once again sticking to her line. She's now tracking just below the 9th percentile line whereas before the formula suggestion, she was just above it.

She's bright and alert, weeing and pooing regularly, has ever increasing periods of awakeness when she lays happily looking around and taking everything in and she has started cooing and smiling in the past couple of weeks too.

She even slept for 6 hours last night!!!

She's fine

So glad all is well

Congrats. I hope other people read this thread and it gives them the courage to be more assertive with health visitors who sometimes seem to give somewhat strange advice.

I have an excellent way to avoid HV's telling you what to do

don't see any!