7 week old diagnosed with Failure To Thrive. What the hell!

[aimeeeleanor]

I’m so deflated right now & need to know if anybody has been in a similar situation

My son is 7+1 weeks old. He was born on 13th July weighing 7lbs3oz. Born on Dropped down to 6lbs9oz at first weigh in. Then has verrrrry slowly been gaining weight since. Approx 10g per day. He now weighs 8lbs2oz & is small

• He is EBF
• Had a tongue tie cut at 2 weeks old

He seems otherwise healthy - Alert, has started to smile, seems strong (can lift head for short periods etc), tracks objects in front of him, makes cooing noises

The only issue we seem to have with him is wind. He burps a lot after a breastfeed (despite having s good latch) & seems to struggle some of the time when passing gas from his bottom or pooping. He writhes around when on the breast & also when trying to poop on his changing mat. Plus he goes A LOT. Like 10+ dirty nappies a day. Mostly yellow runny poops with one green one on an evening every other evening or so

Health visitor said he has dropped 3 centiles from birth yesterday on weigh in, he’s now on the 0.4th centile

She sent us to the GP who sent us straight to the Paediatrician at the hospital for peace of mind. Paed commented on him being a long but skinny baby who didn’t seem unwell in the slightest. She said he seemed ok & it wasn’t uncommon. Have suggested I cut out dairy & soy, though i’m not convinced as he doesn’t seem to have any symptoms of an intolerance or an allergy

Also said to stop letting him sleep through 5-6 hours on a night & to feed him every 2 hours during the day, 3 hours on a night

I was feeding on demand before but didn’t realise timings were from start to start, so he was definitely going longer than 2 hours between feeds (sometimes napping for 3-4 hours during day). I was also taking him off the breast whenever he pooped & seemed to have gas, which i have now been advised not to do.

Blood tests & pee / poo samples have also been taken to rule out anything related to that

Has anybody else had their child be diagnosed with FTT & they’ve turned out ok? I’m devastated thinking I have failed him. Unfortunately babies don’t come with a hand book & I thought we were doing a really good job. Obviously not :(

thank you x

@aimeeeleanor

We had this with one of ours. He was falling asleep at the breast, losing weight and was referred to hospital.

I can't remember now what the actual problem was, but it was something to do with his tongue getting in the way of feeding or latching on, which was making feeding exhausting for him. The medics said to bottle feed him and wake him up every two to three hours to feed.

The baby who wouldn't grow is now a strapping young man of 28.

I mean this kindly - If she's in age 2-3 clothes at age 4 then she sounds very malnourished.

. Paed commented on him being a long but skinny baby who didn’t seem unwell in the slightest.

So he isnt unwell
He is fine
Keep going

I’d also say give your baby formula. Please don’t listen to the breast feeding fanatics, what’s important is your babys health and you.

Why is everyone suggesting formula when a health professional is querying a dairy allergy?

Don't be downhearted - it sounds like you are doing a great job and getting help in a few areas where it may benefit you both. Follow the paeds advice and give it a few weeks to work

I also had a breastfed 'failure to thrive' baby who slept too much which made her too weak to feed properly. I wish someone had just said to me 'it's not good that she's sleeping so long, wake her up every few hours and feed her' - a few weeks of (fairly awful) waking and feeding every few hours all through the day and night and she put on weight, got more energy and we slowly went back to breast feeding on demand.

She's 15 now and an absolute joy! Good luck x

@Fairylightsongs i am not a breastfeeding fanatic. I mixed fed my eldest and went back to work when she was 5 months and she always had formula when I was at work as I got fed up of pumping all the time. I EBF my eldest mainly because she refused a bottle and She has CMPA and rejected the specialist dairy free formula.

i am pro-feeding choice and pro-listening to medical experts. Both mum and doctor are happy for baby to continue to breastfeed. So she can crack on.

The people saying don’t give formula are not ‘breastfeeding fanatics’. They are simply people who read the OP, where it says that the paediatrician, who I’m going to hazard a guess is more qualified than you to advise, suggested cutting out dairy. You are aware formula is dairy, yes? 🙄

Echoing others in that the symptoms you describe are typical symptoms of non-ige cow's milk protein allergy.

Typically CMPA of the non-ige variety presents itself in gastro-intestinal symptoms. Eczema, swelling, breathing problems etc tend to be symptoms of an ige allergy. They're both very different. A non-ige allergy can't be diagnosed by blood tests or skin tests so cutting dairy is the only way to find out. About 50% of babies with CMPA are also allergic to soya so it makes sense that they're suggesting to cut that too.

As your baby is reacting through your breastmilk I would absolutely not try dairy formula. The protein in breastmilk is broken down; the fact that your baby is reacting to it would suggest a fairly strong/sensitive allergy. The protein in standard formula is not broken down so you'd be likely to get more severe symptoms.

All this to say- follow the advice given by the consultant.

OP, sounds like classic allergies. If you would like to give formula please make sure it is diary free. Push for neocate formula. Your little one sounds exactly like my daughter.

Hi OP, didn't want to read and run. I was in your shoes 18 months ago and started combi feeding and we are still combi now, he's a very active and independent toddler who loves the boob but also guzzles down a big bottle of formula when it's offered.

It would no doubt be wise to speak to HV team, GP or Paed to find out if you should supplement with a dairy-free product or not - the number of poos is a lot so it does seem possible there's an allergy issue there.

I am supportive of every mum's desire to BF her baby but in my experience it bought me great peace of mind when I dropped the pressure to EXCLUSIVELY BF... you have supply now (well done!) so your baby will always be able to get the benefits of your breastmilk even if supplemented with top ups.

Wish you and baby all the best <3

Quite. If a paediatric specialist didn't suggest it, it isn't necessary at the present time.

I would take his clothes off and feed him in a block from between 5 and 7 every evening. Tickle his toes if he starts nodding off. 15 minutes on the breast then 15 minutes off being stimulated.

Are you eating enough and taking care of yourself I.e nice warm baths and early to bed?

Yes I had this with DD. I added formula - alongside breastfeeding - and everything improved.

Because this baby is,formally diagnosed as failure to thrive and sleeping through which indicates exhaustion

for some of us it’s fed is best. It’s not breast at all costs.

The writhing, wind and bad nappies absolutely indicates an intolerance!! Listen to the docs and cut out dairy.

Are you telling our story? Only difference is my dd also had silent reflux. She failed to thrive and was also tiny.

i entirely breastfed but added a thick bottle (not gaviscon) in the evening and she made huge progress.

I breastfed until she was around 3.5 years (very little towards the end) and now at 6 she is a very healthy, albeit tall, girl (who is sassy to boot!).

don’t worry, take on board any advice from the paediatrician and keep strong!

FFS, recommending following Drs advice to keep breastfeeding a child does not makes me fanatical!

Formula is not the answer to everything - it is extremely important to those that need/want to use it - but it's not a magic bullet.

Should say I EBF my YOUNGEST, doh.

also if in a few weeks the weight is still not improving and the dairy free diet has not worked, the paeds may well suggest switching to formula and if so I would definitely follow their advice. You could continue to mix feed if you wanted so baby was still having some breast milk (which obviously has a number of health benefits over formula, even formula companies admit that). But until then why on earth would OP go against medical advice if she is happy to continue breastfeeding?

Have you had his Tt rechecked? They can reattach. Also have you seen a bfing peer supporter?
You sound like you're doing brilliantly. Xx

Definitely don't let him sleep for too long, feed on demand + when he's gone more than 2 hours without waking for a feed.

You need plenty of fluids and rest when you can to keep up the demand and you should cut out dairy and soy (as best as you can). He has some obvious signs of allergy/intolerance.

You're doing a great job, he is loved and healthy, just needs a bit more support and some changes. He'll be okay x

Check he doesn’t have an allergy then give him formula. Breastfeeding isn’t the be all and end all. My GP said there are plenty of environmental toxins in breast milk. Formula can eliminate these too.

I read a few months back that a green nappy is due to cmpa...I'm not sure how accurate my source was but as soon as I cut dairy out of my diet by DS poo went the yellow colour. He has a confirmed dairy allergy now.

In terms of feeding do what you want to do, don't feel you have to bottle feed. My DS weight keeps dropping but he point blank refuses a bottle so I bf and have accepted the percentile lines are not suitable for a baby with allergies.

I mean this kindly - do you realise you're talking utter nonsense?

Honestly, a child of four wearing clothes age 2-3 as opposed to 4-5 is totally normal. Just as it would be if that child were wearing age 5-6 because she or he is tall.

Also I would avoid ff as it will interrupt your supply (sorry if that's already been mentioned)