LO isn't gaining weight well

dalzien

Our DD was born 3 weeks ago and is just hitting her birth weight now (she was 9lbs 8oz at birth on Oct.24th and weighed 9lbs 4oz on Nov. 12) We were told that she should have gained her birth weight by the 3rd week mark. We are exclusively breastfeeding, but I've been diagnosed with an oversupply problem so we are block feeding to help reduce my supply. We know she is getting too much fore milk (she gets the green, frothy poops every few changes), but I didn't realize it was an issue that she still hasn't gotten there yet (I mean she is a big baby, but she put on 8oz from her weighing last week). Any advice? How did others handle this? TIA

mom4liak

My DD was still a half pound below her birth weight at her 1 month check up. We were told that as long as she is gaining we don't have to worry yet at this point. She still has weekly weight checks until she hits her birth weight.

bellie1223

I'm following to see what other ladies have to say.

My daughter lost 14 ounces after being discharged from the hospital, which made sense, it took an extra day or so for my milk to come in. Had a follow up appointment 4 days later and she had gained 2 ounces back, which the doctor seemed happy with and said as long as she was having an appropriate number of wet/dirty diapers she would see us at our one month check up. Then I met with a lactation consultant and she freaked out at the weight loss and got me all anxious. I'm trying to stay positive since the doctor really didn't seem concerned, so I'm interested in others' experiences with the same issue.

cbolton19

Hmmm. Since your baby was so close to her birth weight, I'm surprised they were still worried. My daughter had a hard time at first too. She wasn't quite to her birth weight a little after 2 weeks. She was pretty small though, 6 lbs 9 oz at birth. She got down to 5 lbs 12 oz. I think that at a month, she is now about 7.5 lbs. As long as she is gaining, I would think that is a good sign. You also know that you have had some difficulties with over supply, so you are working on fixing that as well.

Eta: I think you know what you are doing! And baby is gaining weight. Keep it up and follow your instincts. 8 oz gain is a lot!

komorebi

She's fine. That's on the low end but you are having issues that are being addressed. And i bet she'll start gaining much more rapidly now. Most growth charts don't account for bfing and the challenges specific to it. It sounds like you are figuring it out.

ameares721

I have an oversupply too and have to pump about two ounces from each side before feeding LO in the morning (we both sleep 8 hours through the night and I refuse to wake up and pump). If I didn't pump, she would get all fore milk and would have to gulp. This way shes not drowning in milk and she gets to the good stuff. I also make sure to have healthy fats in my diet (avocado, olive oil, fish, etc.). My LO was 6,7 at birth, 6,1 leaving hospital at 2 days old and 6,4 at weight check at 5 days old. At her one month appointment she was 8 pounds 11 ounces!!! Make sure you are taking care of yourselves, eating well and eating/drinking enough.

rue:D

Have you talked to the pediatrician about it? DD hadn't gained her birth weight by her first appointment and our pedi had us waking her up to eat every 3 hours at first (she was also small, 5 lbs 9 oz at birth). By her 2-week she had regained her birth weight and then some. However we are FF so supply wasn't a problem.

VioletandRose

My daughter didn't gain her birth weight until a few days after her 3 week appointment as well. The doctor said they like to see them gain it back by 2 weeks, but some babies just gain weight slower than others. She was not concerned in the least. I really wouldn't worry about it. As long as your baby is peeing, pooping and eating, she is fine.

mizzthang007

When my baby lost more than 10% in the first few days, the ped had me pump out what was left over after feeding, then feed her 10-15mls milk following bf. He had us use a syringe/dropper to feed her (in the corner of her mouth) while having her suck on my finger at the same time. She started gaining 3oz per day doing this! By her 2 wk she was over her birth weight and was pooing and peeing appropriately.

amyadd

We had a weight gain problem as well and what was recommended to us by a lactation consultant was to pump after each feeding session and feed about 1 Oz of it to the baby after the next feeding session. So basically if baby eats at 12pm, pump for about 10 to 20 mins on both breasts after he's done and store. At baby's next feeding, when he's done at the breasts, feed him about an ounce to an ounce and a half of what was pumped at the 12pm feeding. Then pump again and store for next meal. It's exhausting but that was what worked for me. Alternatively, you can switch to feeding on demand instead of feeding on schedule. Scheduled feeding can work fine for formula fed babies but breastfed babies are better nourished when they feed on demand. This is what I switched to after doing the feed and pump drill for about 3 days and found it very exhausting. My baby gained and passed his birth weight at the 2 week Mark following these tips.

Also I'm not sure if it matters but my lactation consultant told me to not worry about the whole fore milk/ hind milk part of things. As long as you out baby to the breasts whenever he signals for food, he'll get just what he needs.