Slow weight gain - supply issue?

freezorburn · January 2013

DS is 8 months this week and we just did a weight check today ... his weight gain has really slowed down. His curve looks like he has been gaining about 1/2 lb. per month going back to 4 months, and is dancing around the 2nd percentile line. From 0-4 months he bounced around from 15th percentile, to 3rd, back up to 25th, and now he has really tapered off to 2nd...

He is a pretty happy guy, doing a lot of rolling and pre-crawling and getting better at sitting without support. He is a beanpole, just doesn't have a lot of chubb.

Is it possible to have a low supply even though I seem to have a forceful letdown? DS will latch on, get the flow started, come off coughing and milk will spray everywhere, and then he will settle down and feed for a while. I tend to have more milk in the morning, I sometimes even feel engorged. I know he is still getting milk in the evening because I can feel it letdown.

We are offering him solids twice a day -- in the morning and at dinner, but I nurse him first. He doesn't eat a ton, so I guess that means he's pretty full on breastmilk.

I've done the whole supply-boosting thing before, when he was 3-4 months... took fenugreek, pumped after feedings to stimulate milk production, then I tapered off both things when it seemed that we had things pretty well established. I wish I had weighed DS at 5 months but we moved to the UK and it took me a while to get him registered with a practice here. Wonder if I should try the fenugreek and pumping again, or is there something else going on with my supply?

Would love to hear any ideas/wisdom that the board has to share!

EDIT: he has only been gaining 1/2 lb. per month since he was 4 months old.

alie78_80 · January 2013

I would think that if milk is spraying when LO comes off the breast that your supply is fine, but I don't have a forceful letdown so I don't know for sure. I would make sure that LO is draining one breast completely to get the fattier hind milk. Can you do a weighed feeding to see how much LO is getting?

Personally I feed DS solids about an hour after BF him. My son still nurses every 2.5-3 hours even with eating solids.

Perhaps try to feed him higher calorie foods like avocado.

freezorburn · January 2013

There is a breastfeeding support drop-in on Friday, I think I will go to see if they have a scale.

BTW, I mis-typed in my original post -- DS has gained only 1/2 pound per month since he was 4 months old. He was about 13 lbs. at 4 months and today he is 14.8 lbs. at 8 months.

TJ1979 · January 2013

alie78_80:
I would think that if milk is spraying when LO comes off the breast that your supply is fine, but I don't have a forceful letdown so I don't know for sure.nbsp; I would make sure that LO is draining one breast completely to get the fattier hind milk.nbsp; Can you do a weighed feeding to see how much LO is getting?nbsp; Personally I feed DS solids about an hour after BF him.nbsp; My son still nurses every 2.53 hours even with eating solids.Perhaps try to feed him higher calorie foods like avocado.nbsp;nbsp;

I agree with all of this... Hind milk, weighed feedings, and calorie dense food. GL, and I think the bf support group is a great idea, I loved mine.

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Slow weight gain - supply issue?

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