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not gaining weight

kelsytropicokelsytropico member
in Preemies

Hi- I haven't been on this board yet- I had a 35weeks and 1 day baby. She was basically quite healthy, other than in infection from my broken water (i didn't know it was leaking for 3 days- that makes me sound like an idoit) and a immature digestive tract.  She weighed 5pd 7oz at birth and got down to 4pds 12oz at her lowest.

Violet is a extremelly needy baby- needs to be held/never set down, it's hard to get her to sleep. She is colicky and quite subborn.Just a difficult baby.  Is this normal for a preemie? I tell myself she just needs extra snuggles since she was early :)

Anyway, the new problem is her weight gain. We've been feeding her formula and breastmilk. Yesterday she weighed in at only 6pounds 6 ounces and now the doctor is concerned. We are staying in all weekend feeding her as much as possible since on Monday  we have to go in again and if she has gained the reccomended amount we will start testing. She will be eight weeks on Monday and she hasn't even gained a pound. I feel like a terrible mother!

Has anyone dealt with a preemie that has a difficult time gaining weight? Any tips?

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Re: not gaining weight

  • SportsLoverSportsLover
    How much formula/breastmilk is she taking?  How many total ounces is she getting per day?  Can you pump to start measuring?  Our NICU doc told us to wake up our preemies every 3 hours (even at night) until they got into the 30th precentile.  My niece also has low birth weight.  She's only gained 3 lbs in a 10 weeks.  Her pedi told her to start adding an extra scoop of formula (that would be an additional 20 calories) for every four ounces.
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  • SkypekWithoutACSkypekWithoutAC

    Oooh yes, we've been dealing with this problem, too. Our big issue seems to be BM supply, though, so now that she's on probably 90% formula vs breastmilk, she has been gaining. But the best thing I did was rent a scale from a lactation consultant. I made up a spreadsheet and recorded every day and every feeding how many oz she took in BM and how many oz in formula. We also cut her formula to 24cal/oz (normal is 20cal/oz, preemie formula is 22cal/oz). You should ask your pedi for guidance on that.

    We have just started testing on our DD to make sure there isn't any other reason than supply to explain her weight gain problems. They've done a full blood panel and we have a cystic fibrosis sweat test scheduled as well.

     You are NOT a bad mom on any count, you are doing the best you can with the information you have. Hang in there.

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  • kelsytropicokelsytropico member
    She will eat about 3 oz at a time- about every three hours. At night she wakes up more frequently to eat- 2.5 or 2 and a 1/4 hours. I can pump about three oz during the day at a single sitting, but I have tried to pump every meal throughout a  day. I can tell at night my boobs feel way less "full" they are flat and she never seems satistfied so we started topping her up every night. I have no idea if 3 oz is normal, but the doc didn't seem worried about that amount.
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  • lemen99lemen99 member

    Andrew was too weak for a while and we had to fortify breastmilk with extra calories - he was only released from the NICU once they put him on 24 cal to gain weight.  We fortified with Neosure, and later switched to Nutramigen to help with reflux (dairy sensitivity).

    We actually had to take the opposite approach as far as feeding "schedules".  They wanted to make him eat every 3-4 hours around the clock but if we woke him to eat (in the hospital or at home) he just wouldn't do it. He was too too tired.  

    The doctors didn't want to (too hard for the nurses) but we were forced to go to a demand scheduled in the NICU and he finally was released.  We continued with the same approach at home.  I did not wake him up to eat even though the doctors recommend it.  They said that was fine unless his weight became an issue, but they would see how it went.  The reason was we did wake him up once and he was too tired to eat at all, and then he was too tired for his next feeding b/c of interrupted sleep.  Just some food for thought!

    I hope it gets better!

     

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  • SkypekWithoutACSkypekWithoutAC
    lemen - we went through something similar w/DD as well. They told us once she hit 6lbs she could STTN (of course, no one thought she would). Well, right about 6.5-7lbs, she did start to STTN. The pedi wanted us to wake her in the night to eat, but she just wouldn't do it.
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  • TriciaJoyTriciaJoy member

    Some of what you're describing could be silent reflux. Does she frequently pull off the breast and cry? Do you see her arching her back and crying frequently, particularly at night?

    If she's having silent reflux that will keep her appetite down, plus being uncomfortable a lot actually burns more calories than usual. 

    You are NOT stupid or a bad mom! 

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  • lemen99lemen99 member
    imageTriciaJoy:

    Some of what you're describing could be silent reflux. Does she frequently pull off the breast and cry? Do you see her arching her back and crying frequently, particularly at night?

    If she's having silent reflux that will keep her appetite down, plus being uncomfortable a lot actually burns more calories than usual. 

    You are NOT stupid or a bad mom! 

    True - Andrew had silent reflux too

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  • here4uhere4u
    I just wanted to say GL and I hope they find an answer soon!
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