My DD has spoken!!

~iLoVeHiM~

She WILL NOT take formula, we have tried everything!!

I was looking at some bfing weight gain charts and it says 4 to 7 oz a week. We took her to the Dr on Aug 13th and she was 10lbs. Then we took her this past Tuesday and she was 10lbs15oz. So technically she is only off by a few oz. Factor in the fact that my supply has been low this last week due to being sick may be the reason she was coming up a tad short.

Since she won't take formula, I'm thinking that I just need to work really hard at upping my supply and getting her more BM and upping her weight.

I think this sounds ok but then I see other places that she should be gaining an oz a day and that's double what she did so then I worry that not supplementing as the Dr recommeneded will be bad for her.

 If you were me wwyd?

amiamish

can your doc give you samples of formula, maybe she'll take a different kind?

Keep trying to up your supply and feed her as much as you can I guess, what else is there you can do? (I'm saying that very sympathetically)

Good luck!

goodheartedmommy

I would not supplement. Babies grow at different rates. Have you checked the growth charts on kellymom.com? They are growth charts for breastfed babies. Most doctors use one that was made in the early 70's when most babies were formula fed, and formula fed babies follow a different pattern.

Bella was like that. As long as she's not falling off the curve, I don't think there's anything wrong. I would think about seeing a lactation consultant so you can do a before and after feeding weigh-in for her, and she can do other things to see she's getting enough milk. 

I've dealt with supply issues and drinking weleda brand fenugreek tea helped a lot. I also have taken a lot of fenugreek and blessed thistle. Make sure you're getting plenty of calories and drinking a lot of water. Hang in there. You're doing fine! 

~iLoVeHiM~

What do you mean by falling off the curve? Because she did go from 25th percentile to 15th.

cokt

I have replied to your other posts too, but if it were me I would not supplement. My son gained a few oz a week (yes, per week) for his first few months. He was an incredibly slow weight gainer but he always had plenty of wet diapers, was alert, acted satisfied after nursing, was hitting milestones etc. He was not hungry and was doing fine, he was just itty bitty. My pediatrician had him coming in for weekly weigh ins and never suggested supplementing because of all the factors I listed above that indicated he was getting plenty to eat. I know it is stressful, but stressing out actually causes you to produce less milk. See what you can do to up your supply, try to relax and see what happens. Good luck! FWIW-DS has now gone on a huge growth spurt and is on the charts for the first time ever at 3rd percentile :-)

?

ETA:My BFF's daughter was 50th percentile at birth. She EBF'd and she steadily went down in percentiles until she was not on the chart anymore. She never had any indicators that she was not getting enough to eat, she too was just a slow weight gainer. She is now 18 months and 17 lbs. She is incredibly advanced at verbal skills and everything else, she is just meant to be a petite person I think.

goodheartedmommy

Look at this growth chart:

https://www.kellymom.com/babyconcerns/growth/chart1.html

and then compare it to here:

https://pediatrics.about.com/library/growth_charts/ngirlsbirth.htm

 

I can say that Bella dropped quite a bit, even on the breastfed chart, but her pediatrician was never concerned one bit--in fact, she saw several, and none of them ever acted like it was odd at all. Some doctors like to be extremists, and act like roly-poly babies are what is expected, but the reality is that there are plenty of healthy babies out there who just happen to be small. 

lsufan

I would not supplement at that age unless she seems fussy or hungry after nursing.  If she seems content and has plenty of wet diapers, I doubt it's a supply problem.  From what you've said, it sounds to me like she's just small, and there's nothing wrong with that.  Bennett dropped from 50th % to under 5th % in the span of about 5 months, but our pediatrician has never seemed concerned about it.

Does she take bottles of breastmilk?  If she does and you still want to get her to drink formula, I'd mix them together for a while to get her used to the taste.  When Evan was about 7 months old, I had to supplement because I wasn't able to pump enough for him at work.  He hated formula at first, so for a 6 oz. bottle, I used 5 oz. breastmilk and 1 oz. formula.  He didn't seem to notice the difference, and every couple of days I'd increase the amount of formula in the bottle until he'd drink it by itself.

Good luck!