Slow to gain weight question from Sept 15

gollygeeitsamy

I'm from the Sept 2015 group and just curious for others experiences with newborns that were slow to gain weight and things you did to help bring the weight up.  My DD is 9 days old and is struggling to gain. I saw an LC yesterday and we've come up with a plan.  I'm making an appt with my pediatrician for Friday for her to be weighed and to get advice.  I've noticed that she is hard to wake up to breastfeed but we bf every 2-3 hours. She seems like a sleepy/lazy eater when at the breast and actually does better if I pump and feed her a bottle.  Any advice or experiences would be appreciated.

heath3er

I had to feed by pushing down and massaging my Breast while Lo was on. I also put hot compress on too.

I started taking fenugreek to increase supply

deviduke412

What is your definition of slow to gain weight? How much did the baby weigh when it was born and how much does she weigh now?

gollygeeitsamy

@deviduke412 She is struggling to get back to her birth weight. She was 7lb 15 oz at delivery and is currently 7lb 1.6oz since Saturday.

SashaDenn25

If she does better with a bottle have you considered EP?? From our EPers it does sound like hard work, but worth it if you still want them to get breastmilk.

deviduke412

@gollygeeitsamy I know it takes about 2 weeks for EBF babies to get back to their birth weight. My lo was born at 7lb 10oz. By the time we left the hospital at 2 days, he was down to 6. 15. At 4 days old at the pediatrician, he was 7. 2. They had us back in at 11 days old for a weight check and he was only 7.5. Another weight check 4 days later and he was at 7. 11. So he finally got back to birth weight at 15 days old. They never were concerned Bc he was gaining, just a little slower rate than they'd like. I know I started to question supply there at the beginning, but I've learned it just takes a couple weeks for EBF babies. As long as she is gaining, I wouldn't worry at this point. It seems like you're feeding often enough also.

Kwest1007

My LO wasn't gaining and had to be seen every 4-5 days for weighs in. I was EBF, started fenugreek and mother's milk tea.. Both helped but not enough. I ended up needing to supplement with formula 2-3x a day (really didn't want to but I wanted what was best for my little one and I wasn't able to provide it yet) and she just had an awesome weigh in yesterday!! I pump after every feed and during formula feeds. I freeze 4-5oz a day to try to get ahead (I have to go back to work soon) and then whatever is left over, she gets in bottle (typically gets 2, 3-4oz BM bottles a day). Despite really hating formula, I've noticed a lot of great changes in my little one and she finally hit the 5th percentile on the weight growth chart which is great!!

Side note: she was 6,6 at birth; came home at 6,1.. Skyrocketed to 6,10 by 1week, 5days and then at 3weeks, 5 days was only 6,15. Started formula and at 4weeks, 2 days she was 7,6.5!!!

monieelmore

If you do give a bottle, make sure to do paced bottle feeding. Or she may get even lazier and only want the bottle in the future because it's less work and comes out faster than your breast. Also, if you have to supplement, maybe consider an SNS or Lact-Aid system? This allows you to feed her the supplement at the breast, which is more work for her (good!), keeps the breastfeeding bond between you two, and helps stimulate your breats to produce more milk. Pumps are not as effective at getting milk out. Good luck!

acgonzalez22

I had to supplement with formula until my supply was in and he was back to his birth weight. It took him 2 weeks to be back up because DS was a lazy eater too. I had to feed him in just a diaper and tickle his feet to keep him alert. Hang in there and don't worry just yet. I have learned just because I worry doesn't mean something is wrong. Milestones just like weight gain are baby specific. And each baby is different. Trust your doctor.

jesselayne8

My first child took 20 days to regain her birth weight. It took my milk 5 days to come in and She lost 14oz. We supplemented 0.5oz of formula once a day for 3 days and that was it. The pedi was happy that she was gaining even if it was slow.

Lalala2326

My LO took almost 3 weeks to get back to birthweight. She was born at 8lbs 3oz, got down to 7 lbs 5.5oz by day 4. I will say, she pooped 14 times in the not even 72 hours we were in the hospital following my c-section, so I say that had a lot to do with it!

She was very, very sleepy and hard to wake up. My spinal wore off midway through my c-section and they ended up giving me dilaudid, morphine and fentanyl all at once in the IV, then I was on dilaudid for 24 hours and then norco till 72 hours after birth when I went off all but Ibuprofen. I think that definitely didn't help. I resorted to ice cubes to wake her up when all else failed and made sure she was eating (well - more ice as needed) every 2-2.5 hours during the day and every 3-4 at night. She finally woke up more towards the end of her second week and has been doing great since then - gaining about 8 oz a week without me having to wake her at all day or night. I never did end up pumping much and never supplemented. Just lots and lots of stressful nursing :P

jessandandy09

my Dr. said to not supplement AT ALL until after 4 weeks. (DD is 3 weeks and still not up to birth weight)  He said that giving a bottle before 4 weeks causes many babies to become lazy/incompetent at sucking.  We stopped supplementing and let her nurse around the clock, but she is starting to look much better and her sucking has gotten much stronger.

kjandericka

I had the same problem. LO took forever to get back to birth weight. I ended up having to supplement with formula. It definitely wasn't what I planned but LO is now growing like a weed. I am still BFing so he gets the antibodies but the formula helps with the weight gain.

gollygeeitsamy

@kjandericka so do you breast feed then give formula at the same feeding or ?? I have a feeling my pediatrician will have me do this. Just curious on how you did it/currently doing it. I still want to breastfeed so bad!

kjandericka

@gollygeeitsamy When he was 10 days old, I started out breastfeeding and then offering him 2oz of formula or pumped breastmilk in a bottle when he was finished to make sure he was getting enough. Now, since he never had any nipple confusion or issues BFing, I will sometimes just give him a bottle (especially if we are out). He is 5 weeks and eats 4oz every 3 hours or so. The older they get, the less you will have to supplement because they get better at emptying the breast.

ChanelLovesB

@kjandericka same thing I do for B. Girl, you are me! Lol! @gollygeeitsamy don't be discouraged. Do what's best for you and your LO. I supplemented as well, baby is past birth weight, latching, and thriving. Consult your doctor. A formula feeding isn't the end of the world. You are doing a great job. This mess is just hard period. And we thought the trimesters were rough

jlo629

Mine was not gaining weight at first. The LC and pediatrician had me pump after 3 nursing a a day for only long enough to get an oz or 2 and then use that after each nursing session to cup feed her an extra 1/2 ounce. Basically letting her eat what she wanted and then force feeding that extra 1/2 ounce to get her gaining more weight. At 2 weeks she was still a tiny bit below her birthweight (born at 6.14 and was 6.11 at 2 weeks) but at 3 weeks was well over (7.7) so then we got to cut down the cup feelings and dropped them completely by 4 weeks.

Kwest1007

jessandandy09 said:

my Dr. said to not supplement AT ALL until after 4 weeks. (DD is 3 weeks and still not up to birth weight)  He said that giving a bottle before 4 weeks causes many babies to become lazy/incompetent at sucking.  We stopped supplementing and let her nurse around the clock, but she is starting to look much better and her sucking has gotten much stronger.

This is also what was originally recommended but then pediatrician said it became "medically necessary" to provide bottles (LO wasn't even in 5th percentile for weight). We just used very slow flow nipples from tommee tippee and we had no change in BF. Plus now she's gaining and healthier.

Kwest1007

kjandericka said:

@gollygeeitsamy When he was 10 days old, I started out breastfeeding and then offering him 2oz of formula or pumped breastmilk in a bottle when he was finished to make sure he was getting enough. Now, since he never had any nipple confusion or issues BFing, I will sometimes just give him a bottle (especially if we are out). He is 5 weeks and eats 4oz every 3 hours or so. The older they get, the less you will have to supplement because they get better at emptying the breast.

This was/is exactly us!

emmacake08

I have firm breast tissue so none of my LOs have been able to BF at birth and empty a breast so I have to pump until their cheeks get stronger. It's a reflex for a baby to fall asleep if they can't work any harder to empty a breast. I don't see why you couldn't nurse first when you are at your fullest and then pump afterwards and give BM in a bottle. You'll know when LO's nursing better fuller feeds and not needing a bottle. You could also use an SNS (which I do with my LO). I see no reason to supplement with formula unless when you're pumping on the back end, you aren't making enough milk. If that's the case and you do need to, no worries just do what's best for LO.

buckleyk

We're in the same boat. LO is 3 weeks (original due date was in August but she held out till September). After fixing her tongue and lip tie at 1 week she was latching much better but at 2 weeks wasn't back up to her birth weight. (She only gained 1.5oz since leaving the hospital) After supplementing with BM after BF-ing for 2 days she's finally back at her birth weight. We're meeting with an LC tomorrow to find out why she isn't able to get more milk out on her own.