rambly question about hospital and baby weight loss

jerseygirl81 · November 2012

I don't know that this question belongs here, but it seemed like a good place to ask.

When DS was born he lost just over 10% of his birth weight so they made him stay an extra night at the hospital. I stayed with him, because I couldn't bear to leave.

For moms who EBF, isn't the initial weight loss just kind of par for the course? Your milk doesn't come in right away, and their tummies are so small, that it seems like a huge percent of EBF babies must have the same kind of weight loss.

I'm already anxious about how this is going to go with #2, because I was an absolute wreck at the hospital. I wanted nothing more than to go home and the extra night and day was really hard on me. Can I do anything about this? Plan for it somehow? Tell them I want to go home with my baby and promise to see the pedi the next day?

I want to keep the hospital setting, because I'm not dead set on a natural birth (yet). I had a planned epi last time and while I'm exploring the natural option I'm not 100% confident that it's for me.

ncbelle · November 2012

Babies do lose weight although usually 10% or more is the point at which it may be "too much" - can be a sign that baby isn't nursing enough so the best bet is to nurse as much as you can in the first few days.

How big was your baby? Bigger babies can lose more (Eleanor was 10 pounds and dropped almost a pound so 10%). If you had fluids in labor (which I would guess you did with an epi) that can inflate baby's birth weight making it seem like baby loses more than he really does (since he is losing extra fluid weight as well).

So aside from avoiding IV fluids in labor if you can and nursing as much as possible, not much you can do. Sometimes an early big weight loss and/or slow gain can also be due to baby not transferring milk well - have the LC visit early on the make sure baby is sucking and transferring milk well.

Good luck!

jerseygirl81 · November 2012

ncbelle:
Babies do lose weight although usually 10% or more is the point at which it may be "too much" - can be a sign that baby isn't nursing enough so the best bet is to nurse as much as you can in the first few days.
How big was your baby? Bigger babies can lose more (Eleanor was 10 pounds and dropped almost a pound so 10%). If you had fluids in labor (which I would guess you did with an epi) that can inflate baby's birth weight making it seem like baby loses more than he really does (since he is losing extra fluid weight as well).
So aside from avoiding IV fluids in labor if you can and nursing as much as possible, not much you can do. Sometimes an early big weight loss and/or slow gain can also be due to baby not transferring milk well - have the LC visit early on the make sure baby is sucking and transferring milk well.
Good luck!

This is part of the reason I'm looking at natural birth options. So far I've borrowed the hypnobabies home study materials, I just don't know if I can do it. I know that sounds really stupid to say, sorry. He was 7lb4oz, I think? He was right over 10%.

AmyRI · November 2012

Ultimately it's up to the attending pediatrician's discretion. My pedi isn't associated with the hospital where I'm delivering, so I'm stuck with the on-call hospital pedi. Generally, though, anything less than 10% they are ok with discharging. More than 10% would have kept him, as in your case.

As PP suggested, avoiding IV fluids and nursing as much as humanly possible, as well as being discharged ASAP, will help. DS only lost 5% in the 2 days we were in the hospital, but dropped the other 5% in the 2 days before we saw the pedi outside the hospital. If I had had a c/s and been in the hospital that whole time, he probably wouldn't have been discharged for another day since my milk had come in only 16 hours prior to the pedi appointment.

Mrs E in Oregon · November 2012

Even home birthed babies lose around 10%. We've evolved this way. Since they don't have room for a lot of water in their belly our colostrum is thick, lower in water, to give them the nutrients they need. They should lose a bit of that water weight because they are peeing and not taking in a lot of water yet. I wouldn't be afraid of this weight loss unless there are other conditions your baby has that cause concern. If you want, or need an epi, don't let this weightloss scare you one way or the other, a nervous laboring woman doesn't progress well.

jerseygirl81 · November 2012

Mrs E in Oregon:
Even home birthed babies lose around 10%. We've evolved this way. Since they don't have room for a lot of water in their belly our colostrum is thick, lower in water, to give them the nutrients they need. They should lose a bit of that water weight because they are peeing and not taking in a lot of water yet. I wouldn't be afraid of this weight loss unless there are other conditions your baby has that cause concern. If you want, or need an epi, don't let this weightloss scare you one way or the other, a nervous laboring woman doesn't progress well.

I'm not afraid of the weight loss, I'm afraid of being stuck in the effing hospital for 3 nights/days again.

Thanks for the advice, I appreciate it!

pepomntpat · November 2012

Your best bet is to get out of the hospital ASAP. The nurses were making noises about DD's weight loss and that we should consider supplementing after my c/s. We asked to be discharged a day early. At that point she was close to 10%. By the one week follow up she'd surpassed her birth weight again. I knew she was fine and she obviously was.

I think in most cases you can be discharged the day after your LO is born, so just go home.

julyjennifer · November 2012

Our DD lost over 10%, but I'm not sure if we were still at the hospital when she got under 10, i think it was in the days following.

Tips: avoid premature cord cutting. This is just my opinion (I don't have any sources to back it up), but I think that getting all their blood back can be one thing that could help them have the strength and alertness to nurse well in the days following.

Your milk tends to come in sooner with second babies, from what my midwife told me, so it may not even be a problem for you this time around!

With my 2nd child, on day 3 he weighed the same as his birth weight (he wasn't weighed in between, so I don't know if he even lost weight). His older sister was still nursing so that probably helped.

sschwege · November 2012

jerseygirl81:
ncbelle:
Babies do lose weight although usually 10% or more is the point at which it may be "too much" - can be a sign that baby isn't nursing enough so the best bet is to nurse as much as you can in the first few days.
How big was your baby? Bigger babies can lose more (Eleanor was 10 pounds and dropped almost a pound so 10%). If you had fluids in labor (which I would guess you did with an epi) that can inflate baby's birth weight making it seem like baby loses more than he really does (since he is losing extra fluid weight as well).
So aside from avoiding IV fluids in labor if you can and nursing as much as possible, not much you can do. Sometimes an early big weight loss and/or slow gain can also be due to baby not transferring milk well - have the LC visit early on the make sure baby is sucking and transferring milk well.
Good luck!
This is part of the reason I'm looking at natural birth options. So far I've borrowed the hypnobabies home study materials, I just don't know if I can do it. I know that sounds really stupid to say, sorry. He was 7lb4oz, I think? He was right over 10%.

Even if you decide not to go med-free, I think the longer you can hold off the better. Labor at home for awhile, even a delay in the IV/epi could make all the difference.

When I had DD I asked to see the LC as soon as possible. I also tried to nurse every 2-3 hours, sometimes more. Even if she was sleeping I would do my best to wake her up, didn't always work but I tried.

KateLouise · November 2012

Well at the end of the day they can't hold you hostage.

During that extra night, did they perform any extra tests, provide any extra support or advice, check on your LO through the night or keep him in the nursery?

If they didn't do anything imparticular for you or your son then I don't see the big deal in you leaving.

I can't recall how much my LOs lost as a % but they were both slow to gain weight, and no one was worried about them. No one suggested formula or extra checks, they just weighed them regularly and asked about wet nappies, watch them feed to ensure good latch etc.

On the otherhand, if you do decide to stay, what was it about being in the hospital that was hard on you? Being away from SO and family support? Worrying about your LO? Not getting good sleep in a strange place?

I'm thinking if you know what it is that makes it hard then you can emotionally prepare for it.

I remember being very worried when DD1 was slow to gain weight but when DD2 gained weight in the same way it was much easier to feel relaxed about it. I was also able to pull out DD1s notes to show my MW, which helped her say, "oh this must just be how you and your babies, make milk and respond to it."

ETA I had a completely natural birth with DD2 and she was over 10lbs and grotesquely swollen from all the fluid. Who knows why she was so pumped of fluid, but not having an epi doesn't guarantee avoiding this. and just for fun I included a pic about 40minutes after she was born

jerseygirl81 · November 2012

Just wanted to say thank you, again, to everyone who offered their stories and advice. I really, really appreciate it.

I think I was just done with being in the hospital. I wanted to be in my own house, in my own bed, with my own clothes and pillows. They didn't do anything but bottle-feed him EBM against my wishes (I requested they dropper feed him in the nursery while I pumped to try to get my supply going and they completely ignored me - they kept trying to push formula even though I was producing the equivalent amount of milk at the pump). The lactation consultants weren't available because it was a weekend, which really sucked. I think they would have been a lot more supportive.

I mean as far as the birth goes I don't feel like I have anything to complain about, we were both happy and healthy, no c-section was needed, etc. - it's just the aftermath in the hospital that was really hard on me. I'd just like to avoid that extra time there, if at all possible. Maybe we'll get lucky this time and it won't be a weekend, so that I can promise a pedi visit the next day, instead.

KateLouise · November 2012

jerseygirl81:
Just wanted to say thank you, again, to everyone who offered their stories and advice. I really, really appreciate it.
I think I was just done with being in the hospital. I wanted to be in my own house, in my own bed, with my own clothes and pillows. They didn't do anything but bottle-feed him EBM against my wishes (I requested they dropper feed him in the nursery while I pumped to try to get my supply going and they completely ignored me - they kept trying to push formula even though I was producing the equivalent amount of milk at the pump). The lactation consultants weren't available because it was a weekend, which really sucked. I think they would have been a lot more supportive.
I mean as far as the birth goes I don't feel like I have anything to complain about, we were both happy and healthy, no c-section was needed, etc. - it's just the aftermath in the hospital that was really hard on me. I'd just like to avoid that extra time there, if at all possible. Maybe we'll get lucky this time and it won't be a weekend, so that I can promise a pedi visit the next day, instead.

did he have to go to the nursery? could you have kept him with you? what would happen if you refused to let him go to the nursery? Would they be agreeable to you rooming in with LO but then calling them so they can see him nurse?

Nothing stimulates a mother's milk like having their babe with them and putting LO to the breast often.

With DD1 my MW was concerned she was a lazy suckler (when she was a day old) and that she would get into a cycle of not drinking enough and then not having the energy to drink more. She had me express and dropper feed "milk" in between nursing sessions to give her an extra boost. I had to wiggle it into her mouth while she was fast asleep. But it wasn't instead of LO nursing it was as well as. I only did it a couple of times before she was on her way.

Good luck with everything, I hope it all goes smoothly for you, and that none of this ends up being an issue.

stahlop · December 2012

I remember talking to a CNM originally from England about birth weight. She said in England they don't even weigh the baby for a few hours because they don't consider the weight at birth accurate. They wait for the baby to lose the excess fluids and then they weigh the baby. I'm not sure why we make such a huge deal about it here in the states.

jerseygirl81 · December 2012

Just wanted to say thank you, again, and that after reading a few pages on this board I'm going to go ahead and plan for a natural birth. I'm switching to a more natural-friendly OB at the end of the month, and I'm actually getting kind of excited about attempting it. I can run marathons, surely I can endure natural childbirth

Hope to get to know you all over the next 6 months!

jerseygirl81 · December 2012

KateLouise:
did he have to go to the nursery? could you have kept him with you? what would happen if you refused to let him go to the nursery? Would they be agreeable to you rooming in with LO but then calling them so they can see him nurse?
Nothing stimulates a mother's milk like having their babe with them and putting LO to the breast often.
With DD1 my MW was concerned she was a lazy suckler (when she was a day old) and that she would get into a cycle of not drinking enough and then not having the energy to drink more. She had me express and dropper feed "milk" in between nursing sessions to give her an extra boost. I had to wiggle it into her mouth while she was fast asleep. But it wasn't instead of LO nursing it was as well as. I only did it a couple of times before she was on her way.

He did go to the nursery that one extra night, because I was so focused on pumping every hour to bring in my milk so that we could go home. They kept pushing the pump as the best way to get out, so that's what I did.

Charlie was definitely a sleepy eater. I had him on the breast a lot, he just always fell asleep.

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