any advice? I've got a week to increase LO's weight

[herbalhippie]

Hi ladies,

Can anyone give me any advice / tips? I took LO for his first weigh after birth (slightly late at 5 weeks) and he's only put on 150g! (which apparently means overall he's lost weight ) boo. I feel like I've been feeding him ALL the time recently, but I guess he's just not getting enough. I think there might have been some latching issues, since only today i've discovered a way to fit more of my boob in his mouth lol. The health visitor at the clinic said I basically had a week to get his weight up, and so I've been eating more, drinking raspberry leaf tea and eating fennel seeds like its going out of fashion. Does any one have any more tips on what I could do to increase my milk or get him to feed better?

thanks

 

[Charlie:-)]

Id try and spend a couple of days in bed with your LO, lots of skin to skin and cuddles, have the boob on offer the whole time and just let him feed whenever he wants to. Get yourself a couple of magazines and some DVD's and relax and do very little for a few days. That should increase yoru milk supply and help him to feed more often.

Good luck, hope you do it hun it would be awful to have tried so hard for the HV to then turn round and say you havent managed to do it

 

[Squiglet]

What weight charts is she basing your LO's weight on? Is it the ones for breastfed babies or artificially fed babies? If its the artificially fed weight gain chart, just ditch it. It doesn't reflex the weight gain correctly of a breastfed baby.

Lil miss was born at 4.045kg but went down to 3.4kg by day 2 (she was weighed when she was taken to SCBU with jaundice), she didn't get beyond her birth weight until she was 4 weeks old. The problem is that HV's and MW place way too much emphasis on those charts. He is gaining weight he's just not gaining at the rate an ff baby would, and naturally so, because hes not formula fed, and yes he lost weight, but loosing weight in bf'd babies is totally normal. I don't actually know why your HV said that to you tbh? Babies are born with something called brown fat. Its a store of fat that allows the baby to gain calories before mum's milk comes in, so they will loose weight.

The real way to tell if your baby is doing well is by other signals. Is he alert, content, sleeping, producing at least 6 wet nappies and 2/3 poopy nappies a day? If this is so, he will be getting enough. The feeding all the time is completely normal for booby babies Yes they become leeches for the first few months, but thats because the boob milk is completely absorbed.

TBH Raspberry Leaf is more to make your Uterus contract so I'd ditch that...fennel seeds probably won't do much. What will increase your supply naturally is oats (like porridge), drinking lots of water, and Fenugreek (although the latter makes you smell of curry )

The question is... Are you happy breastfeeding your LO? If you are and your LO seems content to booby feed all the time just stick with it. Put your foot down with the HV and let her know its your kid your rules.

 

[rachie29]

I agree with squig

holly didnt get anyway near her birth weight for about 5 weeks either and she was b/f. B/f can take a while to crack, so as long as you are happy with it and LO is gaining weight and having wet nappies just keep at it.
If you want to increase milk supply then as has been mentioned before I would just take to bed for a day or so.. perfect excuse to chill as well.

I find most HV a waste of time tbh... they work off charts like squig said and give universal advice rather than what each individual mum needs...and when she says you have a week to get LO weight up what is she planning on doing then? forcing a bottle down him against your will? You'll probably find that at around 6 wks you will do nothing but feed as LO will have a growth spurt and you'll see some weight go on then.

 

[maybebaby]

I'm with Squig on this one, tell your HV where to go. Babies develop at their own pace. Please don't feel pressured into giving formula, as long as LO is healthy (wet/dirty nappies, alert etc) and you're happy you're doing a fab job

 

[valentine]

Again, like others, I don't understand what she is trying to achieve by giving you a deadline? Surely this is just pressure? What is she going to do if the week is over and your LO hasn't put on a satisfactory amount? She CANNOT FORCE you to do anything with your baby that you don't want to do, you don't even have to get your baby weighed for a few weeks if the weigh in is stressful and you feel worried and concerned about weight issues, just don't go to the weigh in until you know your baby has put on weight (via clothes becoming snugger or feeling heavier in your arms).

To increase your baby's feeds or the amount s/he takes in a feed, I love the idea of bedding in with your LO for a couple of days if you can - this will help your b/feeding relationship more than you will ever know - lots of skin-to-skin, cuddles, you drink lots of water, eat some porridge and chocolate (!) and just let LO feed, feed, feed - it'll do you both the power of good.

Good luck and keep us updated.

Valentine Xxx

 

[herbalhippie]

thank you all for your support and advice! i'm going to hole up in bed for the next few days, and going to a breastfeeding support group tomorrow, so hopefully that will help. he's seemed fine and happy to me, i just got a bit paniced by the HV, but i'll persevere as i'd really rather not formula if i can avoid it!

i'll let you know how it goes!
xb

 

[kalia]

I know it's not the same because DD is now 8 months old and so far less fragile seeming than your LO but I thought I'd let you know that I am currently refusing to have DD weighed. We are doing Baby Led Weaning and she eats very little - today she sucked on 4 pieces of clementine, sucked on a green bean and ate half the crust from a slice of my pizza. I am sure, because of the amount our baby friends eat, that she will be falling down the percentiles. I also know that she is happy, is drinking her milk and getting all her nutrition from that and is healthy. If she were weighed the HV would start making a big issue and I don't want that so we last saw her just before 6 months and I won't bother seeing her again until her next immunisations at 13 months.

There are rules saying the minimum amount of times that your baby should be weighed - try googling it, it's something like 4 times in the first year. If you two are happy but the HV stresses you then don't go.

 

[herbalhippie]

Hi Ladies

Thanks again for all the advice! When i went to the local breastfeeding support group, the lactation consultant there noticed that LO had a tongue tie... no one had picked this up before ( i just thought it was normal and that his tongue would grow past the tie!!!) So I took him to the hospital and today he had it released. The doctors there are going to keep an eye on his weight and have run a huge array of tests just to rule out any other reason. They suggested I feed him from both boobs, then give him top up of formula (which is exactly what the lactation consultant didnt want me to end up doing!) Anyway, I'm going to follow her advice, since I don't want to mix formula and boobie milk if I can help it, and she didnt seem as worried as the HV's or doctors were about the weight. I'm hoping the tongue release will help!

again, thanks for all the support and advice!
xx

 

[Charlie:-)]

Thats good news that you may have found an answer to why your LO hasn't been putting on a lot of weight and great that they were able to release it so soon. Cant believe the midwives at the hospital didn't pick this up when LO was born. Anyhow thats irrespective now, hope you have a great week this week and that he puts tons on

 

[Squiglet]

Aww thats great news hun... Those lactation consultants are fab...

 

[Steelgoddess]

Is it the ones for breastfed babies or artificially fed babies? If its the artificially fed weight gain chart, just ditch it. It doesn't reflex the weight gain correctly of a breastfed baby.

You really know how to word things don't you love??

Glad to hear things worked out HerbalHippie

 

[purple13]

Is it the ones for breastfed babies or artificially fed babies? If its the artificially fed weight gain chart, just ditch it. It doesn't reflex the weight gain correctly of a breastfed baby.

You really know how to word things don't you love??

Squig's phraseology is correct and is the official terminology used by medical professionals - why dress it up as anything else?

HerbalHippie, I'm so glad you've seen some helpful supportive people; its great that your LO's tongue tie was dealt with so quickly Hopefully you'll go from strength to strength now

 

[clairedoran]

Is it the ones for breastfed babies or artificially fed babies? If its the artificially fed weight gain chart, just ditch it. It doesn't reflex the weight gain correctly of a breastfed baby.

You really know how to word things don't you love??

Squig's phraseology is correct and is the official terminology used by medical professionals - why dress it up as anything else?

HerbalHippie, I'm so glad you've seen some helpful supportive people; its great that your LO's tongue tie was dealt with so quickly Hopefully you'll go from strength to strength now

I think she meant 'formula fed' would have sufficed

 

[MagicMarkers]

My hv asked if Flo was artificially fed, i just thought thats what it was called
I didnt realise it offended people
So glad youve got things sorted and are feeling better about everything hun

 

[Lou]

I'm surprised they now call formula feeding 'artificial' lol How insulting to mums who don't breast feed Does that mean a c-section is an 'artificial' birth? Ridiculous! I think this issue needs to get over to off topic!

I was just going to say that I though most babies lost weight after they are born, although I can't remember the time frame within which they are 'expected' to gain the weight back?

Anyway, good luck

 

[Squiglet]

Is it the ones for breastfed babies or artificially fed babies? If its the artificially fed weight gain chart, just ditch it. It doesn't reflex the weight gain correctly of a breastfed baby.

You really know how to word things don't you love??

Thats not how I phrase things Sharne... Thats how the medical profession phrases it...IF you had noticed, if I am talking about feeding in general I will use formula feeding or FF... if I am talking about something that is done for a medical purpose, such as the WHO's weight gain charts, then the medical profession will classify that as breastfeeding or artificially feeding.. I also use booby juice when I am talking of things in general. Thats my terminology.

If you have hang ups of said phrase for whatever reasoning, I would suggest you write a strongly worded letter to World Health Organisation requesting that they remove this terminology... Although I am not entirely sure why you needed to bring up said argument in a post that clearly isn't about that, a pm would have been far more appropriate considering the manner in which you had to reply (aka ).

 

[Squiglet]

I'm surprised they now call formula feeding 'artificial' lol How insulting to mums who don't breast feed Does that mean a c-section is an 'artificial' birth? Ridiculous! I think this issue needs to get over to off topic!

Hmmm Artifical insemination.... artificially inseminated? I suppose we should come up with a new word for that incase it upsets people... how about preggers by wiggly woos?

For the record... Tia... was artificially fed .... she had top ups from birth and she was moved fully on to formula at 9 months...and I have nothing but praise for a product that saved her life. I don't feel offended by the terminology artificial and yer, I was deeply upset that I had to quit bfing.... but hey ho.. thats the way things go...

 

[Steelgoddess]

Is it the ones for breastfed babies or artificially fed babies? If its the artificially fed weight gain chart, just ditch it. It doesn't reflex the weight gain correctly of a breastfed baby.

You really know how to word things don't you love??

Thats not how I phrase things Sharne... Thats how the medical profession phrases it...IF you had noticed, if I am talking about feeding in general I will use formula feeding or FF... if I am talking about something that is done for a medical purpose, such as the WHO's weight gain charts, then the medical profession will classify that as breastfeeding or artificially feeding.. I also use booby juice when I am talking of things in general. Thats my terminology.

If you have hang ups of said phrase for whatever reasoning, I would suggest you write a strongly worded letter to World Health Organisation requesting that they remove this terminology... Although I am not entirely sure why you needed to bring up said argument in a post that clearly isn't about that, a pm would have been far more appropriate considering the manner atin which you had to reply (aka ).

I only made an observation on the phrase you used. That was all.

 

[Squiglet]

Sure