Health visitors weighing everyday

[moita]

Not sure what to think at the moment: 2 week old baby was born with a serious heart condition and she is struggling with feeding. The HVs are concerned (as are we).

What is slightly worrying me is that she has been weighed everyday this week...on different scales. She gets very upset about being weighed and wriggles around a lot.

Could this be burning hard earned calories? I'm aware I could be clutching at straws.

She also had a heart scan this week which distressed her a lot and she spent the whole time screaming and moving around. Again I'm concerned this was a lot of activity for her age and would have burnt calories as well. Although obviously the scan was important.

Is weighing every day for weight concerns normal? Happy to go along with medical advice but I hate seeing my baby being upset.

Very normal
They need to make sure baby is ok

Give baby bottles of formula
Better baby gains weight and thrives than Breast feed

Hi,
My baby had weight issues due to feeding problems & was weighed everyday for a week or so, so for me it was a normal thing. I know the intervention is horrible but if the baby is struggling it’s probably the right thing to do.
Ignore comments about formula etc if you are breastfeeding & the medical staff are happy with your babies progress. Make sure you get expert help with feeding if needed, not just from the HV. Local breastfeeding group, Lactation consultant if available, breastfeeding helpline etc. I found irl help really invaluable.
Congratulations on your little one and I hope you are enjoying her despite the worry.
xx

My son is 6 weeks, he is on weekly weigh ins, still screams when he gets weighed, hates being naked. I'd rather he was weighed and screamed for a minute and I knew he was gaining weight than him losing weight and being re-admitted to hospital.

Yes absolutely. Think I'm just clutching at straws to be honest!

She is being combination fed.

No for a baby with medical issues daily weigh ins are essential. My son was in neonatal care at a top London Hospital and they did daily weigh ins. Although not all hospitals do.

Unless she is premature a baby is meant to be active. If a baby can not handle distress, wriggling, activity without losing weight then that in itself is a cause for concern. Babies are meant to burn calories and then fill up. It is not advised to keep your baby away from stimulation to preserve calories because that is not good for neurodevelopmental reasons. The only time that would be recommended again is if the baby was prem and hadn’t reached their due date. If the baby cannot handle, daily handling etc and is still losing weight then that will provide valuable information to medical professionals.

I don't think a few seconds of activity will be burning many calories - don't worry. I know it feels much much longer when you're watching your baby in distress.

They normally cry as they don't like being undressed. But it is useful for her to be weighed daily as it means problems will be picked up more quickly. Try talking or singing to her soothingly or narrating what's happening, it can help (even though of course they don't understand) to acknowledge that it's not nice for her and it will be over soon and she can get all wrapped up warm again. You could also warm a cloth or muslin and ask for this to be placed on the scales (and have them re-zeroed) before she is put on them as it will be a bit more comfy for her.

As a PP said it's better than her being admitted to hospital where she might have to have lots of other procedures, which might be even less nice :(

It is not your job to always shield her from any discomfort ever. It is your job to understand and be sympathetic to her distress, and it sounds like you're doing great

Give baby bottles of formula
Better baby gains weight and thrives than Breast feed

Bollocks. If breast feeding is going well ff is not superior. Breast milk can be preferable in sick babies, better and more easily digested, less filling so they take more. I was told by paeds to keep bf if i could as ff could cause issues- masking underlying conditions by increasing weight gain, for example.

O/p.
I was told that daily weighing can be counter productive and cause more issues. You are looking at relatively tiny weight gains in 24 hours. A pee or poo at the wrong time of day can completely wipe out a weeks gain. Plus unless you’re using specialist, accurate, calibrated scales each time, the difference in accuracy between two sets of scales can again wipe out or make it appear the baby has lost weight.

However, if your baby has heart issues there may be other reasons for weighing every day. Have you spoken to her consultant or paeds? Hv often aren’t well informed and unfortunately are well known for giving bad feeding advice so unless you are very confident in their abilities, i’d get a second opinion. Especially if the hv aren’t specialists in your babies heart condition.

I can totally understand why you are worried but can I offer sone reassurance. My DS wasn’t born with a major heart defect but did have a heart murmur. He screamed pretty much 24/7 for the first few months but I’d now a strapping and healthy teen.

I can totally understand why you are worried about her burning calories but it’s totally normal for her to behave like this, it’s a good sign and you can always calm her with a BF which will add calories and help her development