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4 month old not gaining weight, doctor concerned, mommy stressed!

BFawnBFawn member
in Babies: 3 - 6 Months

My 4 1/2 month old was born at 38 weeks and only weighed 5lbs 4 oz. he seemed to be growing well until his 4 month checkup. From 3 to 4 months he only gained 2 oz, weighing 10 lbs 9.5 oz. he is breastfed so I wasn't sure how much he was getting. For the next week I fed him longer on each side and in that week he gained 2 oz. the doctor was still not happy and had me feed him 4 oz every 2 hours with a bottle (ugh) for the next week... That week he only gained 1.5 oz. so she has upped his intake to 6 oz every feeding. He has always spit up, but since he has been taking a bottle is spitting up a LOT more, after every feeding. He is also now on a medicine for acid reflx.

Other than his weight he is perfectly happy, meeting all his milestones and growing in height and head circumference. His doctor said if he does not gain in this next week she wants to send him for testing at a hospital 2 hours away from us. My mother was sent to the same place to have testing done on my brother, and said it was awful-blood drawn all kinds of tubes in him- and they found nothing. Turned out he was just a small baby. 

 

Should I get a second opinion? I do not want to put my baby through all of that just to find out there is nothing wrong. He has already doubled his weight and like I said is happy as could be. He was doing so much better when breastfed as well.. Sorry for the rant just very stressed about all of this! 

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Re: 4 month old not gaining weight, doctor concerned, mommy stressed!

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    ForeverEverAfterForeverEverAfter member
    I would definitely get a second opinion. It sounds less like reflux and more like the baby doesn't want to eat that much! If supply is an issue a lactation consultant could assess your feeding or do a weighed feeding. No need to bottle feed if you don't w
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    ChristinaMcGuireChristinaMcGuire member

    I say get a second opinion. If your baby isn't crying all the time and hungry for more...maybe he is satisfied. Sounds like he was a small baby to begin with... Don't stress. Good job on breastfeeding and go with your mama instinct.

     

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    milwaukeejmilwaukeej member
    Definitely get a second opinion. You could also try fortifying the bottle feedings of mother's milk with preemie formula, for extra calories - ask the doctor for advice on how much. Our little girl was preemie and that's what we did.
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    allybabyo24allybabyo24 member
    Do you know what growth chart they use? FF babies and EBF babies grow differently, google it. The WHO makes a growth chart based of BF babies. Check it out :)
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    BFawnBFawn member

    I think we will definitely get a second opinion. I really REALLY do not want to give him formula, but unfortunately have given in to the peer pressure and tried it a few times... He does not do well with it though! Even though the doctor said to give h

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    milwaukeejmilwaukeej member
    Fortifying breastmilk with formula doesn't have any negative effect that I'm aware of. Your LO still gets all the benefits of BM will some added extra calories (and nutrients).
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