Breastfed baby all of the sudden is NOT gaining enough weight

singingmama13 · September 2013

Hey Ladies,

I need some advice. I'm looking for other moms who may have had experiences similar to mine.

My daughter is 5 1/2 months old. When she was born, she weighed 5 pounds 7 ounces. I successfully breastfed her 4 times in the hospital, and then one of the nurses gave me a nipple shield and told me my nipples were flat. So, being the first time mom that I am, I started using it. Part of me wishes she never would have given it to me, but that's a topic for another day. Needless to say, my daughter won't take my breast without it, when initially she did just fine. (If it ain't broke, don't fix it)!

When my daughter was about 4 weeks, we found out she had acid reflux due to projectile vomiting. We got her on Zantac twice per day. Every time I'd take her in to have her dose adjusted, they would weigh her and make sure things were looking good. She gained on average about a pound per month, every month, and her doctor said she was looking great.

At her 4 month appointment, she weighed 11 pounds 4 ounces. Today I took her back to the doctor because she has been throwing up more, so I felt like her weight/dose needed to be checked and possibly adjusted. I was shocked to find out that she only weighs 12 pounds 2 ounces. She will be 6 months in about 20 days! This means that by 6 months she'll probably of only gained close to a pound. That is only 1 POUND IN 2 MONTHS! The doctor seemed a bit concerned this time. He increased her dose of zantac so I can give her 1 ml, 2X a day!! That is hardly anything, but it's by weight and she really hasn't gained much... just seems to be throwing up more.

My mom always said as a baby that I was super tiny and petite.. and that my daughter looks like I did. Other than weight, she is developing just as she should be it seems. She breastfeeds every 1.5 - 2 hours.. with the exception of the night where she sleeps 8 hours in a row. I feel like i'm CONSTANTLY feeding.. which is fine with me, but I just feel horrible if she's eating that much and not gaining weight. I feed all the time so as far as breastfeeding is concerned I don't know what else to do?

The doctor she saw today is the doctor who saw her for her newborn and 2 week appt. My husband and I moved out of our state for a summer time job, and recently just moved back. During the summer time she saw a different doctor who did all her weight checks (including her 4 month). I'm wondering if her lack of weight gain could be related to the stress of the move, her reflux, or if it's my milk? I just don't know what to do.

My mom said that her milk supply was awful. With her first, she couldn't breastfeed because her milk never came in. With her second she could only breastfeed for 5 months. I wonder if maybe my daughter eats ALL the time because she's hungry, and i'm not producing enough?

The doctor told me to try eliminating dairy, wheat and soy from my diet if I continue to breastfeed her, because of her reflux... then he said give her the proper does of zantac and bring her back for a weight check in a few weeks. I'm debating on whether or not to wean her altogether, or to just try supplementing with formula. The one reason formula sounds appealing is because I could see what she is actually eating, and I could have the peace of mind to know that she's getting enough.

Have any of you ladies had your babies be fine in the weight area, and then all the sudden see a change/drop? What did you do? Wean and switch to formula? Try to up your milk supply? Just try to supplement? I just have NO idea what to do, but i'm so worried about my little peanut. I want her to be healthy. She is overall a very happy baby, I just want to see her grow, grow, grow.

All of my friends babies who are weeks/months younger than her are bigger than her!! Maybe i'm being overly worried. Anyway, any of your experiences or two cents would be greatly appreciated!

jennyshawn0808 · September 2013

My babies just had their 4 month check up. DD only gained one pound in 2 months too, but is growing fine in every other way. The Dr gave me a recipe to fortify her breastmilk. If you add 1/2 tsp formula to 3 ozs breastmilk it ups the calories from 20 to 22 an oz. I don't know if yours takes bottles but you could give it a try so you can still breastfeed. Good luck!

Shoecrazysarah · September 2013

Have you tried pumping after BFing and offering that via bottle?

surpriseaddition · September 2013

Babies are supposed to double their birth weight at 5-6 months, and triple it by a year. Because your LO was small at birth, you can't really compare her to other babies. I EBF and my LO was 9lb 6oz at birth. She weighed 15lbs 13oz at 4 months 1 week. Double her weight would be 18lbs 12oz so she's pretty far off from that at this point. Your LO has already doubled her weight. Thinking of it in this perspective should make you feel better. I wouldn't worry about your supply....it seems like she's getting enough if she's having several wet diapers a day, and a dirty one here and there. I would think the issue is the reflux and would adjust your diet according to what doctor recommended. I don't think you need to stop BF based on the facts you've given, but if you want to that's a different story. It seems like the ped didn't recommend weaning either, which I think would have been the case if they thought it was necessary. Weight gain does slow after 6 months, and since LO has aleady double the weight, maybe the slower rate of growth started earlier for her? That's why they double by 6 months, but only go up 1x their weight in the second half of the year. I also BF every 2 hours at this point too, but LO STTN and goes 10-12 hours without eating then.....so it makes sense she'd eat so much more in the day.

MrsWindyCity · September 2013

If she's not upset and she is having the right number of wet diapers, she's probably fine and has settled into her growth profile.

Both my kids are small and slow gainers. We were all worried with DS1 and we tried a number of things, including pumping & bottle feeding, fortifying with formula, etc. In the end, even when we could track the number of oz. he was getting, he wasn't really gaining any more than he did before. At 3.5 he eats like a grown man training for a marathon and is still around 20% for weight. It's just how he's built.

DS2 started off gaining more quickly, going from 7,14 at his 2 wk appointment to 11, 3 at his 2 month appointment. But from 2 to 6 months, he's gained less than 4 lbs. dropping him from about the 30th to the 5th. Because he was the same percentile at his 4 month appointment, and because our pedi knows how DS1 was/is built, he is not concerned.

Do you see any other signs of a dairy allergy? Mucusy or bloody poops? Eczema, etc? Kids with a dairy allergy have a harder time gaining. DS2 has one, and that's likely part of the reason he is having a hard time, but it's also just how he is.

Can you get a weighed feed, to see how much she is taking in per feed? Keep in mind that you don't have to stop BFing if you don't WANT to. Even if it's an issue of your DD not transferring enough milk, you can always continue to BF and offer her a few oz. of formula here and there. It does not have to be all or nothing.

despmama · September 2013

Have you gone to an LC? I'd start there. I went to a bfing group that was very helpful and they offer weighted feedings as well. My 18 lb 5 month old eats at least every three hours, so it may not be that you aren't making milk.

singingmama13 · September 2013

Ladies,

Thanks for all your advice!

I have to correct something I said... my daughter weighed 7 pounds 5 ounces at birth, NOT 5 pounds 7 ounces. WOW! Can you tell I wrote my post super late last night?

LOL!

So, she will be 6 months on the 15th of October, and has not doubled her birth weight! She'll have only gained about 5 pounds in 6 months. She does have about 8-10 wet diapers a day, and poops every few days!

I've decided i'm going to keep breastfeeding but also start pumping about 3 times a day to save more milk. I'm going to try and bottle feed her more often and add a little formula to each bottle to up the calories... plus that will get her used to the taste incase she continues to have trouble gaining and the doctor suggests weaning.

My mom had a really hard time producing enough milk and I've wondered if I have the same issue. The fact that she eats SO often and still isn't gaining makes me wonder.

I think going to an LC is a good idea! I think i'll look for one and take her! Who knew breastfeeding would be the hard part? Labour is easy!!!

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