Need some support please - not gaining enough.

skibunny59

DD is 3 weeks old today and still hasn't reached her birth weight.  She was 7lbs.6oz. at birth and she weighed in at 7lbs.4oz. today.  She only gained an ounce in 10 days.  (She was 7lbs.3oz. at her one week checkup).  The pediatrician wants me to supplement with formula.  As per the pediatrician's instructions, I'm supposed to breastfeed her and then supplement with formula after each feeding.  I don't mind feeding her a little formula just to get her gaining weight again but formula after each feeding sounds like it will ruin whatever supply i may have.  My hope is to supplement now just to get us over this hump with the weight issue and then go back to exclusively breastfeeding but I just don't know how this can be possible with the way the pediatrician wants me to do it.  I've been crying for hours.  I've been working so hard, nursing around the clock and she has the appropriate amount of wet and poopy diapers so I don't know how this happened.  But I'm worried about my little girl.  She has been very cranky after feedings so maybe she really isn't getting enough.

JENandJEH

There are other more knowledgeable women on this board who may have different advice but we we did when DS2 had lost too much weight and I was still waiting for my milk to come in (7lbs 5oz at birth down to 6lbs 5oz at 5 days) was to supplement with formula using a SNS (supplemental nursing system).  This kept DS2 at the breast to stimulate my production but allowed him to get some formula at the same time.  The SNS was a pain in the rear but my milk came in 2 days later and we were able to stop formula and I've had no supply issues (knock on wood) since then.  By 2 weeks, DS2 was back to 7lbs 9oz and at a month he was 10lbs 3oz!

 

Hang in there, it's totally doable!

Zilly13

I completely understand -- I am going through the same thing. DD wasn't gaining enough weight so I went to see a lactation consultant who confirmed my supply was on the low end. I was only pumping 1/2 oz to 1oz total which explained why DD was always hungry. I was devastated about having to supplement and honestly it took me almost a week to come to terms with it. I am still BF DD when she is hungry and supplementing with formula afterwards and I also try to pump as many times a day as I can to stimulate my supply. I also started taking Fenugreek which has helped my supply. Any chance you could get a consultation with a LC for strategies to increase your supply? I know its easier said then done, but just know that any BM you can give your LO is better than none. Good luck!

kristin172429

When we had this issue with DS, I pumped.  I did it every two hours (I would try and feed him from the breast first).  My supply built up really well and DS caught up quickly.  We only ended up using a little bit of formula (maybe 12 oz total over a week's time) to fill in the gaps while my milk supply was catching up.

Now, on the flip side of this, DS was always a very frustrated nurser and didn't like to hold his latch (ouch!).  After having to supplement and having gotten used to pumping, I ended up switching to EPing.  For us, this really works, but I do feel like having to supplement/pump to catch him up (and a jaundice issue) did lead us to EP instead of EBF.  Just something as food for thought.

AmyRI

Try to relax - hope is not lost.

Nursing and supplementing is fine - but when you supplement, you should pump so you stimulate more production and can eventually get off of the formula. 

As to knowing how much formula to use, see an LC or go back to the pedi and do a weighed feeding. Weigh baby pre-nursing, feed, and re-weigh without changing what they're wearing or changing a diaper. Breastmilk is almost exactly an ounce by weight per ounce by volume, so you'll know how much she took. This should give you an indication of your supply and then the LC or pedi can help give you a better idea of how much you need to supplement with. As you pump after every feed, you should get more and more milk and bottle feed that after instead of the formula.

As your LO gets older and your supply gets better, nursing should get more efficient and you should be able to stop the pump/bottle feed cycle. It might take a couple weeks though.

Madringal

I went through the same thing, and I promise it gets better. It took DD 4 weeks to get back to birth weight and we had to supplement with formula for 3 weeks. My pedi had me replace 2 feedings a day with formula and I cried the first few times! I pumped to replace the feedings and it was a great boost to my freezer stash! I would recommend doing it that way. By the time DD was 7 weeks she was back to being on BM and has gained like a champ ever since. The best advice I can give you is to not focus on how easy it is to FF because there will be days when you just want to say 'forget it'. You will get through it, and so will your sweet baby! Good luck!