HELP ME Baby not gaining weight

[WJK00]

11 week old ds was weighed today as he suffers a little with reflux and the health visitor wanted to double check he was gaining.

He had been putting on weight fine but past two weeks has put on minimal amount (not sure why as nothing has changed (feeding wise/nappies ect)

He is EBF with one bottle of formula at around 11pm for a dream feed. Health visitor suggest to do some top ups with formula but I really really don't want to jump straight to this I don't want him to get a bottle preference and I really really love just breastfeeding him.

She didn't suggest any other alternatives or what else I can try first.

SO What can I do to try help my baby get back to gaining a good amount of weight?!? I really want to carry on EBF. It's got me right down tonight I keep crying 😭

Speak to a breastfeeding support group either in real life or online. Plenty on Facebook.

Can you not offer more breastfeeds rather than formula

Why did you get his weighed? Have there been any concerns about him?

Around 11/12 weeks there is a big growth spurt and that means they use up a lot more of their milk and don't gain as much.

If he hasn't dropped more than one percentile, I wouldn't worry.

I can see why you are not keen to jump to formula top ups. Seems potentially unnecessary if he is gaining, just slowly.

A couple of things you could try:

Breast compressions during a feed, particularly if baby seems to be asleep at the breast. It wakes baby up and they start actively suckling again.

Expressing for 10 mins or so after a feed to increase supply, plus you can always offer the ebm too. Don't worry about the amount, just the extra stimulation will encourage a supply boost.

@Twizbe Nope no concerns. A very happy and healthy baby. He has been putting weight on so well up until now.

The HV booked us in as I mentioned his reflux at the last app and she just wanted to check he was gaining but he hasn't in the last 2 weeks so she has book him in to be weight next week again now.

Just paranoid and over thinking it now which is stressing me out!!

Thank you.

He isn’t EBF though if he’s having a bottle of formula to make him sleep better at 11pm?

I don’t see what’s wrong with introducing another bottle at another time of day in this instance. He’s already drinking formula and having a bottle? I imagine the risk of breast refusal is small!

@BigSidLittleSid
Yeah just seems a bit of a jump to offer the top up when we have seemed to get on so well with breastfeeding and not tried anything else!

Thank you! Will deffo try both of these

If you add in more formula, baby will be missing more breast feeds and your supply will decrease. Make sure at 11pm you are pumping, so your body is maintaining its supply. Get some face to face support to check the latch.
if baby has reflux the weight gain may be down to the vomiting and whether he’s having formula or Breast milk will make no difference to this so the suggestion of more formula is pointless (and also will damage your supply)
offer breast more, lots of skin to skin, feed in more upright positions rather than cradle hold and keep baby upright for 20 mins or so after a feed. See GP if you’re concerned about reflux. Look in to cows milk protein allergy if there are any other signs (reflux is often a symptom rather than a condition on its own)
if baby is well, urine and stool output normal, feel free to decline the HV visit and postpone for another week or 2 to give you more time to get on top of feeds and to avoid becoming obsessed with weight and centiles!
I know you need your sleep but formula will essentially stop baby feeding for longer than usual as it takes longer to digest and therefore youre missing a feed or 2 around that time you’re giving formula. This then effects your supply.
Write down how many feeds baby is having in 24 hours. It should be 8 or more.

As a PP has said, please go to an infant feeding support group or lactation consultant and talk through what's happening IRL.

It's a bit unusual for weight to plateau at this age, so important for someone who can see you and your baby to understand what's happening.

Though politely asking why you are weighing fortnightly at this stage as monthly is more usual.

@Jellybean100 Thankyou that's very helpful!!! I will try all off this and hope to see a difference. Saw the GP today for the reflux and she has prescribe some gaviscon but said she doesn't like to as can't make babies constipation.

@teelizzy yeah I will have a look and get in contact. Thank you. It's not me weighing him it's the health visitor. She was happy with his weight two weeks ago but suggested to bring him to clinic to see how he is getting on as I mentioned my worry with the spit ups.
And now wants to weigh him again which is fine but making me feel stress and obsess a bit.

Could you increase the breastfeeding? Like really focus on it for a few days and let them feed whenever they want? I did this to get the HV off my back in similar circumstances and once weight gain was clear I told them I wouldn't be weighing my baby again but would come back for the one year check.

Yeah I am really going to just feed feed feed the next week or so and see how it goes.

Im not a fan on my health visitor. She's not been supportive at all and tbh made me feel pretty shit since she first visited so I just want to never see her again tbh. Dread going to see her every time.

Thank you. Hopefully he gains a good amount and gets back on track.

Are the scales correct if it's a sudden stall in weight gain? I once took DD to a different clinic (same HV team) for a weigh in. She had apparently lost weight. The next week we went to our usual place and she'd put on a shit load for a week. I concluded that the scales in one of the venues were clearly a bit off and she'd probably put on her usual amount each week but the 'new' scales were weighing a few ounces under. I even got a friend to test my theory and they had the same issue when they switched clinics for a weigh-in.
If he's producing plenty of wet nappies and doesn't appear to be starving hungry or unsettled, I wouldn't stress too much off the back of one disappointing weigh-in.

@mrsfoof Oh really? Maybe. He was weighed at my house 2 weeks ago and then today in a clinic.

I am really surprised with the minimal weight gain as nothing has changed in those two weeks feeding wise so not really sure what's happened. Even with reflux he has always had spit up from about 4 weeks and was gaining.

I feel awful about it though as I feel I've starved my baby. He never shows any obvious signs he is hungry inbetween feeds and I feed on demand so always offer it. No routine. He is very content and smiley little boy and hitting all the development milestones for his age. He feeds every 2-3 hours max sometimes even less and has wet nappies and dirty ones every other day more than not.

@WJK00
Who on Earth would suggest mixing formula with natural Breast milk?
You will surely be producing enough?
You will produce what your baby needs-
Just feed him more often :)

Would you have known his weight has stalled if you hadn’t weighed him? My baby was weighed at her 8 week check and then I didn’t weigh her again until her 10-12 month check. I very much doubt her weight gain was linear that whole time. If you’re happy he’s gaining, producing the right amount of wet and dirty nappies then I would trust your instincts and do what you think is right.

@WJK00 Our DS used to regurgitate a lot in first few weeks
If your baby was hungry, you’d know!
He sounds a happy baby from what you write here, so just carry on as you are and maybe their scales were awry?

I'd probably keep going as you are for now from what you have said. He's happy so most likely no problem.

Weighing more than once a month in an otherwise healthy infant is not recommended even when there are concerns about weight gain. Babies don’t grow linearly, they grow in spurts so frequent weighing often leads to either static weight or a massive gain.

If there are concerns babies should be weighed naked on the same scales so as these are different scales I’d be very unconcerned.

A drop of less than two centiles is generally unconcerning and within the normal range.

the first step when concerns are identified should not be formula but should be a medical evaluation. Slow gain/weight loss and reflux is an indication for proactive treatment. Also an evaluation should rule out rarer medical causes of weight issues

the next step should be breastfeeding support. Formula is only indicated when it is apparent supply is an issue or milk transfer is poor and using EBM isn’t possible or desirable.

Thank you everyone. I will take what has been said on board!

I am going to carry on doing what I'm doing and offering the breast that bit more. He is otherwise so healthy and no other concerns.

I am getting a breastfeeding specialist to review my latch just to rule that out. They have also pointed out that sometimes babies pause weight gain when they're growing in length so something else to consider.

Really started to doubt myself. Hopefully can get back on track and feeling confident with it again.

Your hv is poor at bf support. If your baby had good gain then your supply is good. The easiest way to increase milk intake is just to feed more often. Sometimes babies get distractible at this age but it could be the scales or a cold or just a blip which is why gain is looked at over longer time periods.

Your only real problem is your hv.

I would also consider asking to see a different HV if you’re feeling unsupported. I have EBF my little one for 17 months and has nothing but support from mine even when he struggled with weight gain in the first couple of months. They did go crazy excessive with weighing more frequently (which stressed me out!) but the advice was never to formula feed, it was all about keeping him actively feeding, lots of skin to skin and giving loads of opportunities for him to feed. It’s important for you to be relaxed rather than feeling stressed about it all.

sooo he has been weighed again today (6 days later) and he has put on a 1lb so back to following the corrected line 🤷🏼‍♀️

Least I can stop worrying so much now and just keep doing what I've been doing!!

Thanks for all your replies!

Good job op, mine (5.5m now) did similar, just stopped putting on weight for a few weeks at about 10 weeks. I did ‘the reset’- basically didn’t do much except sit around and feed baby minimum every 3 hours for a couple of days, drink lots of water and hot drinks, plus expressed every day and gave them that days expressed milk after the evening feed. Luckily we were all isolating so dh was home and I didn’t have to do all the school runs etc.

Exactly this