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My LO needs to gain weight!! Please help!!

FirstTyMomFirstTyMom member
in Breastfeeding

My LC came to visit yesterday and we weighed my son.  He is not yet back to his birth weight, so we need to fatten him up quick!

Since she left, I have been getting him awake every 2.5 hours to BF.  The LC also left me with a pump until Monday.  She said to pump after he finished on one breast to see how much is left.  I am getting less than 1 oz when I do this, so I assume he's eating pretty well??

Question 1:  When should I give him this expressed milk?

Question 2:  Since it is so little milk, can I combine it in the same bottle as today's milk?

Question 3:  How long will the expressed BM last in the fridge?

Thanks for your help.......I'm desperate for advice so I can help my little guy gain the weight he needs!!  Any other tips/suggestions are appreciated!!

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Re: My LO needs to gain weight!! Please help!!

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    cfitz16cfitz16 member
    Are you feeding on demand?
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    FirstTyMomFirstTyMom member

    imagecfitz16:
    Are you feeding on demand?

    I was, but since the LC I've been waking him to eat during the day about every 2.5 hours.  During the night he wakes me at about the same rate. 

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    Temp534591562502098Temp534591562502098

    you can combine milk from different pumpings - just make sure they are the same temp before combining.

    Pumped milk lasts about 5 days in the fridge - about 3 months in the freezer. Freeze as soon as you can after pumping if you wanna keep it in the freezer.

    Warm bottles or freezer packettes in a bowl of warm water - never the microwave.

    When to give? It depends whenever you think is a good time to give your boobs a rest, lol. Its a bit hard cause you need to be nursing as much as possible, but if you have a feeding session where LO is still hungry but you feel isn't getting much out of you - you could try it then. 

     

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    susangilchristsusangilchrist member
    I had the same issue when my LO was a week or so old.  I would pump after nearly every feeding and store the milk.  Once I got 3 ounces or so of milk in the fridge, I'd freeze it.  I gave her a bottle of BM a couple of times and we ended up with her not wanting to nurse anymore because the milk came out of the bottle so much easier.  It was HELL to get her back to the breast after that.  I'd wait until she's more established a breast feeding (6 weeks or so?) before trying a bottle.  As much as I'm sure it's uncomfortable at this point, the more you can nurse her, the better.  I'd pump and store the milk rather than give it to him yet.
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    mandyp121mandyp121

    I had this problem to with LO too. He was not back up to his birth weight until his 3 week appt. We woke him up every three hours to eat until then.

    We would give him the expressed milk if he was still rooting after he was finished nursing. We didn't have any problems with nipple confusion with him but every baby is differen't. We use the nuk nipples.

    I also pumped after ever feeding (he was using a breast shield to nurse). I would cool the milk off in the fridge then combine it and freeze it. You can combine the same day. GL!

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    Rizzo5Rizzo5

    From:

    https://www.kellymom.com/bf/pumping/milkstorage.html

    "To avoid waste and for easier thawing & warming, store milk in 1-4 ounce portions. Date milk before storing. Milk from different pumping sessions/days may be combined in one container ? use the date of the first milk expressed."

    "Breastmilk is not spoiled unless it smells really bad or tastes sour."

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    wwsurf81wwsurf81 member
    I don't have much advice but all I can say is DON'T PANIC.  Your son is less than 2 weeks old.  I don't know why the doctors and nurses say they should be back up to their birth weight in 2 weeks because I don't know ANYONE who did it that fast.  My son took over 3 weeks, I think almost 4 before gaining his back and I know a lot of other babies that took nearly a month to gain it back.  It's not a good thing for it to take that long, but it seems to be pretty normal from the babies I've known.
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    FirstTyMomFirstTyMom member
    Thanks for all he advice ladies....good to know this is not completely unheard of.  I'm going to continue to wake and feed and keep my fingers crossed!
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    Remme80Remme80
    My LO lost a lot of weight after birth (my milk did not come in for 5 days from 8lbs 9oz to 7lbs 10oz), and they told me to feed her every two hours.  At her one week appt she was back up to 8lbs 3oz, and by next week she needs to be up to birth weight.  The Ped. seemed to be very happy with her weight gain, 8oz in 4 days, and said to keep feeding every two hours and she should be fine.
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