Below birthweight at 4 weeks

[StephHi]

Hi,
I have been bf my newborn. Baby was 4.3 kilos when born and at the week 2 weight check had grown to 4.6 kilos which I was thrilled with. However, after weighing baby at week 4, the weight has dropped to 4.2 kilos, below birthweight. I’m really worried that I have done damage to my baby. I am topping up with formula now and that seems to be working very well but I cannot sleep worrying that I may have caused some physical or mental developmental issues because my child was hungry and losing weight . Has anyone experienced anything similar ? Thanks in advance .

Are you using the same scales?

My baby lost weight at 4 weeks. She is fine!

Isn't a loss expected? So long as baby is getting plenty of wet and poopy nappies, and no healthcare professionals are worried you will be fine. Topping up with formula is a trap, btw, and will affect your supply. What is your intention with bf in the future?

Fairly sure the scales was accurate , even used a 2nd scales to make sure of the weight and it was the exact same …

This is our first , so weight loss is indeed expected but for the first ten days or so , I’m concerned that baby did gain weight but then dropped after week 2 to below birth weight. Long term, I’m happy to gradually move to formula. I’m not at all against it and the scare from her losing weight has made me see the ability of measuring exactly what she is having in a bottle as a major positive of formula feeding.

Thanks Darkdiamond, I got a wee scare from the whole thing and feel very guilty about underfeeding.

Don’t panic! With BF babies especially, some loss in weight is expected.

Speak to your health visitor or midwife, that’s what they are here for. As long as DC hasn’t dropped more than a certain number or centiles, there’s likely no need for concern.

Agree with PP, if you want to exclusively BF in future, be careful topping up with formula as it may mess up your supply and your DC’s appetite and desire to take breast instead of bottle. Breast milk should be enough without formula to fill up your baby, unless there’s an issue with your supply or letdown, or with the baby’s ability to feed eg latching issues. Again, midwife or HV can help.

congratulations on your new baby.

Neither of my DDs regained their birth weight until 6 weeks. They were 4.3 and 4.1kg at birth. Think it was "catch-down" growth as neither DH nor I are big and they are both quite small now aged 10 and 12.

Ps there is no failure in deciding to hybrid feed or exclusively formula feed if you decide it’s what is best for your baby to keep their weight up (or for any other reason). But don’t sleepwalk into it e.g. by topping up, as it is hard to reverse the effect on your supply.

With DC1 I was anxious and topped up on the advice of health visitor. I never managed to get back to ebf and she was completely FF by 3 months. With DC2 I just carried on breastfeeding, but did make sure I fed her often. Both mine had some reflux and one had a tongue tie in case either of those are an issue?

Hi OP. Had similar with my first and like you felt super guilty. Don't! You've not harmed them. Baby is still so small so might be falling asleep when feeding etc. In my scenario I was breastfeeding so was advised to pump after every feed and then give them that expressed milk in a bottle as a top up. Approx every 3 hours. I did this for 3 days, and yes, it was a bit full on. BUT baby's weight shot right back up. Put on the weight lost and more.

Thanks do much for your advice. Her weight had gone back up and she’s bright and alert and feeding better now. It’s was just a shock after the first two weeks going so well to see the weight fall off in weeks 3 and 4. My mind is definitely more at ease now that I see her gaining weight again and giving her first smiles! I just read many articles about the potential damage underfeeding can do on their developing brains that I totally panicked …