24+5 struggles to gain weight

[Edytka787]

Hi, my little one is NICU now for 3 months and we still struggle to gain weight. That's the main issue. She had stoma on her 5th day of life due to bowel rapture but in day 90 she had reversal as she wasn't gaining weight. It's has been two weeks post surgery/reversal, and we still struggle. She made poopoo on day 5 post surgery back on full feeds 5 days after poo, she keeps milk- no vomits, she is still supported with the TPN and no weight gain 😩. I'm so worried she is 2kg and unless doctors will see some weight gain she won't come home.

Anyone's baby was the same? Please help!

Mine was and still is at 5.5!

She was a 29 weeker. Came home at 1.6 kg if I remember correctly (whatever weight they can go from incubator to cot). She was on milk feeds though. However these were topped up via tube feeds (also milk).

Hope you're ok? It's a v difficult time. To reassure you, apart from being v small, she is fine 5 years down the line. That first year was incredibly tough though.

Thank you! I just wish she would pick up on weight so I could take her home soon. She is feed thru NG tube too. We tried breastfeeding she went for it fo a second the fell asleep. She wasn't hungry I guess. Feels like newer ending story.

Hi Edytka

Congratulations on the birth of your daughter. You must have gone - and still be going - through a really tough time. I assume if you’ve been in NICU for 3 months then you’ve still got a couple of weeks until you reach her due date?

Please don’t get too worried. My boy was a 24 weeker 13 years ago and I remember despairing over trying to get him to feed - for him too it was the final hurdle to getting him home. In his early weeks his weight gain was completely non existent, as he lost weight initially and was 6 weeks old before even getting back up to his birth weight. He eventually came home on Day 120, but it was really only in the final 3 weeks of our NNU stay that he finally worked out that feeding was a good idea! I think he was 2.4kg on discharge, and this was a couple of weeks after his due date.

24 weeks is so very early and your little girl sounds like she’s doing brilliantly. It all takes so much time but she will get there.

Hi, thank you for your message! It gives me hope. Glad your son did so well.

Yes today is her due date 01/02/19. We are on day 107 today. She lost 50g last night she is now 1950🤦‍♀️. We sill continue with skin to skin as I hope this will help her. She is not interested in breastfeeding at all now.

I try really hard not to worry too much but dear lord she needs to pull her socks on 😩 doctors and consultants are trying different methods. She didn't like fortifier added to breastmilk- made her poo in every nappy. So they continue with my milk 150ml/kg and on the top she has 47ml of tpn.

If it's any comfort at all, DS simply couldn't breastfeed. Every time we tried he turned blue and had to have his oxygen levels yoiked up again. Plus I had very little milk to give him anyway. In the end it was agreed that I'd express what little I had, and it was added to extra-calorific formula. He didn't fully get the hang of bottle feeding until a few days before we came home - he just suddenly 'got it' during our 16th week there. I fully credit the formula with eventually getting him home!

Hang on in there, you will get there. Day 109 was our due date and I remember thinking we were still a completely unreachable distance from home. But it happened, quite suddenly, when DS was ready. Thinking of you x

OP, the docs told me to stop breastfeeding and even giving her my milk eventually. The dietician insisted she try high cal formula. She still had one feed of BM for a bit but I was told to stop even that.

Tbh, it didn't make much difference. Have they not mentioned trying to supplement with high cal formula? TPN is just nutrients isn't it? Rather than lots of Cals? I am probably wrong.

She will be home soon

The problem is she had a bowel rapture between small and big bowel. Her big bowel wasn't working for 3 months. Doctors don't want to give her formula as this could possibly complicate things. They claim my milk at this point is best. 🤞 she will start gaining weight soon.