We could do with some slow weight gain support...

[ilovegreenbeans]

...seems there's a few people going through this right now including me!

A bit of my history: DD1 was born at 8lb9 and I was very anaemic after her birth. She lost weight continuously until 4 weeks when we started top ups. She then gained well, but unfortunately stopped bf by 13 weeks. She's now 2 and happy and healthy.

DD2 is 9wks, breastfed and her weight gain has been very slow so far. She was much bigger at 10lb14, but went to 9lb12 at 10 days and basically stayed static until 6 weeks. She then gained 2 oz, 4oz and 4oz again this past week. So she's around 10lb6 now. I've had great support and feel really good to still be bfing her but it's such a struggle. She fed constantly for the first 7 weeks and it's calmed down a bit now, but she's still feeding every 2.5ish hours. She always takes 4 sides at every feed. I think it's a bit of a combination of a low milk supply in me (given my history), and some catch-down growth due to her being so big to start. She's lovely, smiley and alert, lots of wet and dirty nappies, long but not very chubby.

So there's me. Is anyone else in a similar boat wrt weight gain? Want to come join me for some support?

Right, I am here !

DS4 is asleep - after battling for 2 hours with feeding on and off and just needing nipple as soother. Sometimes I think his issue is a sleep problem (awake far too much, v fidgety, startles easily and cries a lot) rather that feeding problem but that is a whole other thread...

So, he was born bang on term, weighed 6lbs 9oz, was on 9th centile. First 2 weeks he was quite contented, fed a lot, slept a lot and I was quite smug pleased how well the whole BFing lark was going as I had had lots of problems with previous DSs. Since week 3 his behaviour changed (see above). Feeding him more did not make him happy, he was often more unhappy after feeds than before. Possetted a fair bit but no more than previous babies and far less than ds2 who had reflux after prem birth. From when his stools changed from meconium his poos have been shades of green: grass green to khaki, sometimes light brownish, but never yellow. He has gained between 4 and 8 oz/week every week but is still falling off centiles (was 9lbs 3oz at 9 weeks, 0.4th centile). Literally in the last few days he has become a bit happier with less screaming and occasional naps that last longer than 10min. He feeds every 2 hours during the day, feeds take a LONG time and sometimes one feed blends into the next. At night he feeds 2x on average.

He has been referred to paeds to have him checked out. When I just look at him (when he is not crying) he looks perfect, not skinny (although certainly not chubby either), clear eyed and gives lovely smiles.

I have tried to express but don't get terribly much, have no time to do it regularly or at the same time of day every day, and he was not any happier after feed with expressed BM - and then skipped a feed on me, which kind of defeats the purpose, doesn't it??

If he were either happy or fat , I would not be worried. Unhappy and slow in gaining... .

Thanks, ILGB, for starting this thread.

And tiktok, as ever, a font of information .

BordersMummy, what makes you think your LO might have CMPI? Or have you been 'officially' diagnosed? It is one of the things I worry about and I have been avoiding milk for the last few days (accidently had slice of pizza with cheese yesterday, oops!).

P&P, I've given my tuppence worth to your HV situation on the March thread. Just to say at how you have been treated.

mumof8, sounds like we are in the same boat... DS1 was given formula in the same situation: he did get fat, but still screamed. A Lot. Still Does. He Is 7 .

To make you feel better about 2.5 hourly feeds... my 6 month old will feed hourly if we're at home! (She'll go upto 4-5hrs out & about though, in case I scared you a little there, hehe.)

Fair enough, ladylush - each baby needs to be assessed individually. The guidance is for routine weighing, and that doesn't mean 'everyone'

It's amazing how many people have this issue. Would we be in need of this thread if there were no charts? I doubt it.

HV assistant, who is not remotely as mean as HV was lovely, though I did feel like I was being assessed for neglecting my child. Even though DD has again dropped a small percentage (she's 10lbs 10.5oz and was 7lbs 15oz at birth) the woman did point out that she is a) very long and b) very smiley and alert added to which, as she has had chickenpox in the past week, the drop could entirely be written off to illness. She'll be back in a couple of weeks to check again. Meanwhile I am likely to give up bfing altogether, whih may help with the gain.

jemjabelle- hourly? Eek!

Well, I've just been to BFing support 'group' - I was the only woman present, the support worker knew less about BFing than I did and Joe's wt gain over the last week is around 5 1/2 oz.

I think I will stop getting him weighed until seen by the paediatricians. I SO agree with you, P&P. But then again, HCP get a lot of flak if a reason for 'failure to thrive' (such a horrible phrase, too) is missed .

Just read your other thread, Bordersmummy, v interesting. I have fallen off the dairy-free wagon (after 5 days !). My LO has no skin issues, just the crying, foul, frothy green nappies and slow weight gain. Again, I think I'll wait for paeds verdict.

Oh, gah, I hate this!
Oh, well, onwards and upwards, hopefully!

pacific isn't 5oz + an ok gain in one week? How old is your ds?

ILGB waves.
DD had the same 2-3hr feeding schedule until at least four or five months. And she was tiny. 6lb6 when she was born, and she didn't even hit 10lb until she was 5 months old. But, like your DD2, she was happy and her nappies were full.
HV insisted on weighing her every week. 2oz in a week was usual, any more than that was cause for a party. Everytime I saw the HV she told me to give formula and more or less implied that I was deliberately starving her just because I wanted to breastfeed. She contacted the GP who insisted on us going in, and he referred us to a paed. Much poking, prodding, blood testing...and she's absolutely fine. Just little. Even now she is small for two, despite eating what seem like enormous meals for someone her size.
What I'm saying is that you should trust your instincts. DD is FINE, always has been, but because she has always fallen just below the bottom line of the chart the HV tried to make me feel like a bad mother for persisting with BF.
For me, the weekly weigh-in was hugely stressful. If I were you I would start going fortnightly. Some babies are just little.

hey Pacific- 5.5oz is great weight gain! Well done you.

Ff thank you. The fact that she was so big to start off is the only thing that niggles me a bit. It's been a blessing in some ways because she never lost more than 10% of the birth weight, and has until this past week been above the 50th percentile. But a bad thing in that I can't help but wonder if she's getting enough because she came out with rolls and now hasn't got them.
Can I just ask- what gave you the confidence to keep bfing her when her weight gain was so slow? It obviously was the right thing to do, but how did you know?

Ff, thanks for positive story .

Well, I got my maths wrong, didn't I : he gained 140g which is just under 5 oz. I know that is not bad, so why is he falling off the centiles??

She was always happy after feeding, always slept well, and filled plenty of nappies. It feels glib with hindsight to speak of 'mother's intuition', but i had no alarm bells ringing.

Plus, and this was a huge thing, my MIL is a breastfeeding counsellor and midwife, and never offered me any practical advice. I have no doubt that had she thought anything was wrong with how I was feeding her Precious First Grandchild she would have been all over me. Pacific, I'm sorry your clinic is no help. ILGB, is there anywhere you can go to have someone watch you feed, just to reassure you?

pd 5ozseems very respectable

weighing clinic tomorrow and to weigh or not to weigh is now the question ?logically i'm thinking leave it wait at least another week if not 3 to get a realistic idea of what she's gaining. emotionally ,however, i really want to know if she's gained and how much . she looks much chubbier and is even more settled than previously (settled today at 9pm) .also i can feel and see milk transfer occuring. if i get her weighed and she's not gaining as much as i thought it will just add to the stress.
i think i'm addicted to her weigh ins . i know i shouldn't do it know it's probably not a good idea but have a desperate yearning to see her weight recorded whatever the consequences.i really need to get a life but bf and nourishing lo feels like such a big deal .

mumofeight - I understand your dilemma all too well. To weigh or not to weigh.......... So many times the weekly weigh in has ruined my week - especially when she felt heavier and yet the scales say she'd lost weight or not gained. Weighing at home is the way forward imo - that's if you have to keep weighing. Better to step away altogether probably - at least when they are older babies.

Pacific - if your ds continues to gain 5oz he'll probably stay on a line rather than dropping.

gained 5oz today very relieved is just moving slowly along the 2nd centile line . hv not concerned she feels most of the problem was the time it took her to regain birthweight. she felt 5oz was very respectable and know cause for concern. going to leave weighing her now for at least 3 weeks as i now feel reassured that she is just a petite litlle babyetc

Well done, mumof8!

I am also addicted to weigh-ins, but am now determined to leave it until he is 3 months old ie 3 weeks to go.

Went to baby massage today and it was fun but he only tolerated having 1 leg massaged and demanded boob. .
On the upside he slept in the pram (not on me ) for more than half an hour while I got the big boys' dinner ready, so that was great.

ladylush, yes I am hoping he will grow along a centile now, I'd just rather it was above the 2nd centile than below, gah!

lol the first time I took dd to baby massage she looked at me like But on the second visit she was the noisiest there and trying to get everyones attention

Pacific - your lo is still very young so may well go up the centiles later. But even if she doesn't, maybe she is just following the line she is meant to iyswim. dd is long and lean. She's 10 months old and only 16lb 4oz and she's in 6-9 month clothes. She was 10 weeks prem but even when weight is corrected, she is still very petite. On the plus side, nice to carry around

good weight gain mumofeight dd gained 8oz this week but it's only served to offset the previous weeks where she only gained 3oz in 3 weeks.

Good morning! Looks like good weight gains this week PD, mumof8 and ladylush! I can feel myself stressing over Tuesday's weigh in already and I hate the way it makes me feel.

I have been feeling niggly the past few days about her weight, you know the kind of niggle that something's not quite right? 2 reasons: 1. she looks really skinny and 2. she'll always go on the boob and often gets distracted off it instead of refusing it to finish a feed IYKWIM. I am thinking about trying to introduce another supplement, perhaps in the mornings to see if that helps. I just don't want to go down the slippery slope of supplements taking over bf, but don't know what else to do.

Better go, baby crying!

I had that problem with dd - getting v distracted. It got really bad when she was 5 months old. I'd have given her formula top ups if I could but she wouldn't take a bottle - though will now at 10 months old. Have you tried feeding her somewhere quiet and dark? I found that helped with dd - or feeding her just before a nap.

Re distracted baby: I used to throw a muslin over DS3's head when he went through that stage at @ 4-6 months (can't remember when exactly) and it passed.

ILGB, one of the reason's I have not introduced bottles of formula (yet) is that I did with DS1 and we v quickly slipped down that 'slippery slope' to more and more FF and less and less BF. I offered him breast first, he'd then guzzle 6+oz of FF and when I stopped BFing altogether when he was 5 months old I never had any engorgement - so I am not sure how much milk he had from me at that point; cuddles yes, milk not a lot I don't think....

And I'd go with you intuition: if you feel there is something vaguely not right get her checked out.

ladylush, yes, maybe DS4 is just growing along the centile he was ment to be and I am having trouble adjusting to the fact that he is simply destined to be more petite than his brothers. If only he were happier and his poo less green...

Pacific, that happened with DD1 too, which is why I am so reluctant to supplement more now and have kept the one we are giving to a dreamfeed by daddy. However, I can't shake the feeling that the problem is my supply and that she could do with more milk. I am going to think about it for a few more days and feed as often as poss in the meantime.

Hope DS4 is more settled for you soon.

Hello ladies [waves]!
Sorry for being incommunicado. I had a couple of days away and have had in laws here since so mn-ing just not possible.

We missed weigh in this week and will miss again next week as have another consultant (dermatology) appt because of the (possible) dairy/egg/nut/something else allergy.

Pacificdogwood to answer your question....we don't know for sure about the CMP allergy. Just we had a couple of appointments with dermatology specialists and apparently his symptoms - poor weight gain, bad eczema and some dramatic nappies - are all classic for CMP allergy. So they did a blood test and recommended exclusion diet. No results for the bloods yet but in theory they will tell us whether there is an allergy present. However, looking through MN posts I am sceptical that theresults will be terribly accurate.

Anyway, to be honest I have no clue where we're at with weight so have had a lovely week with my boy not worrying about it. Will certainly worry more next week, after the hospital appointment though!

I hope everyone's well. I will now go back and read everyone's posts, so apologies if I've either a) not responded or b) not sympathise. You do have my sympathy and understanding all I promise!

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/breast_and_bottle_feeding/962986-Failure-to-thrive

sorry - am crap at links. Ilovegreenbeans - Have a look at this thread. It's very interesting. That lady got to see her letdown on ultrasound - how cool is that I had to take domperidone for my supply and each time I've stopped I've noticed a reduction in my supply. It's something that's hard to know for sure though - that's the frustrating thing about bf.

pacific ikwym. ds was a big baby so strange for me to have a dinky one. Mind you, though big at birth he is now extra tall (in age 8 clothes at 5yrs of age)but very lean and I think dd will be a similiar build (maybe not quite as tall though).

Happy Tuesday everyone!

Today's babybean weigh-in: 4oz again! Feeling ok about it, although still toying with the idea of another top-up. Maybe at 12 weeks...
The best part about it though was that she decided to do a massive (2-3 day's worth) poo just before we left and still had gained 4oz! That's cause for celebration I think. Actually, cause for celebration is that we'll finally surpass birth weight this week, and I've been told to start coming fortnightly, which is even better. I might even wait 3 weeks if I'm feeling good...

How are you all doing this week?

hi

Can i join this thread please?
My little girl is 5 months old and really slow at gaining weight - she was born at 36 weeks as I got pre-ecamplsia and was 5lb 5. She took 4 weeks to regain birthweight - and has always been terribly slow to put on weight. We switched her to expressed breast milk as she lost over 10% of her birthweight in 3 days - bef on demand didn't work with her she just wanted to sleep and at 6 weeks moved her to formula as I couldn't keep expressing for her. Last weigh in a weeks and a half aggo - she'd put on 6oz's in 2 weeks - she's on the lowest possible centile line :-( and weighs 10lb 7oz.

I got very down after the last weigh in as she'd been eating loads than had a bad day the day before and it all seemed to go wrong

Hello all. I don't know whether my LO really is appropriate to this forum but I feel a certain empathy with you all...

My DD was born with a weight of 6lbs 5oz. She struggled
with BF and we managed to feed with nipple shields (much to the disgust of the NCT BF counsellor and HV team). She has gained very slowly and is now at 16 weeks only 10lbs 4oz. I am not too worried about her as she is generally very happy and alert, she is meeting milestones etc. I still use the shields ( I frequently try without) but they are not too much of a hassle.

Over the past couple of days, she does not seem to have fed as well and last night had a major screaming fit before bed (so bad that we had to cancel bathtime) is this common or should I be worried? Really don't want to go to HV clinic and get her weighed since I find the whole experience very stressful.