Lack of weight gain breastfeeding

ashhsa · January 2016

I'm feeling disheartened- my little one only put on 35gm this week and should have put on over 100gm.
I'm so confused by all the advice Im reciving- every nurse says something different- I really do want to breast feed and I feel like I'm feeding her all the time. Still over the last two weeks she is almost back at her birth weight but since we have been home her weight is not increasing as it should- is this normal? should go seek out a lactation consultant or am I over reacting?
I really felt everything was going well- we are having 6 wet nappies and 6 dirty a day!! This all seems normal?
I was using nipple shields but I've stopped today. Will this help? Gahhh!! I'm so overwhelmed.

arghhhhhhhhh · January 2016

Mine lost weight for a while then plumped up like a champ. If you have access to a lactation consultant I'd use it. I would hate for your breastfeeding to be undermined unless the health of your baby really were in question and it seems like (at least for me) my pediatrician was really quick to dismiss breastfeeding and suggest supplementing.

I think you can call la Leche league and speak to someone over the phone if I remember correctly.

BAUMGC39 · January 2016

arghhhhhhhhh said:
Mine lost weight for a while then plumped up like a champ. If you have access to a lactation consultant I'd use it. I would hate for your breastfeeding to be undermined unless the health of your baby really were in question and it seems like (at least for me) my pediatrician was really quick to dismiss breastfeeding and suggest supplementing.

I think you can call la Leche league and speak to someone over the phone if I remember correctly.

^^^what she said. Contact your local LLL
best of luck

LisaLelik · January 2016

May be a stupid question but are you weighing on the same scale?0

kmo8986 · January 2016

I am afraid we are headed the same way. I am praying for weight gain, we have to go back to the doctor Wednesday to do a weight check. My little one is tongue tied so we have an appointment with an ENT on Friday to see if it needs to be fixed. She is nursing well, it is painful for me, but it seems like she is eating well. Hopefully for both of us these little a start packing on the pounds!

ambercakes92 · January 2016

I have been really stressing over weight gain too. My pedi told me to supplement with formula, but she hasn't wanted any after nursing...I'm nervous she isn't getting enough nursing, but figure she would take a bottle of formula if she was truly hungry. We won't be weighed again until this coming Monday

willashbaby · January 2016

Same for my LO, tongue tie and latches but not well enough to really suck, then he gets frustrated and screams. I've been pumping for him and my supply is increasing but slowly. I tried giving him formula yesterday to supplement and he spit it all up. I talked to my local LLL over the phone and she said no formula and get the tongue tie clipped. I'm working on it! Don't give up and pump if needed to get LO the milk. I always let LO try to nurse before giving him the expressed milk and I give him the bottle with him propped up and slowly to mimic the slower flow of BFing as much as possible.

krrpe99 · January 2016

I totally feel for you. I am super frustrated with the conflicting advice. The fact that your baby has the dirty and wet diapers is a good sign. I have to tell myself that all babies are different and the guidelines are good, but aren't going to fit every baby exactly.
I had to start supplementing because I could tell my LO wasn't getting enough. I then had a lactation consultant come out to help me -(which helped with the actual feeding but also gave me some piece of mind.) if you are worried, then definitely get help. Stressing yourself won't help the situation any. (Which I have to remind myself every couple hours!)

ashhsa · January 2016

Thanks so much for your responses. They were different scales but both by the maternal and child health nurse. I'm in Australia so we don't have LLL but we do have a hotline I can call so I think I'll call it tommorow. It's just so hard when one nurse says 30 mins each boob one boob at a time- the the next says 10 minute increments each side working your way up to an hour- then they say hold the beast this way no hold it that way- my boos is blocking her nose, no it isn't.. And you get the point. It's sooooo confusing!!!!

ambercakes92 · January 2016

ashhsa said:
Thanks so much for your responses. They were different scales but both by the maternal and child health nurse. I'm in Australia so we don't have LLL but we do have a hotline I can call so I think I'll call it tommorow. It's just so hard when one nurse says 30 mins each boob one boob at a time- the the next says 10 minute increments each side working your way up to an hour- then they say hold the beast this way no hold it that way- my boos is blocking her nose, no it isn't.. And you get the point. It's sooooo confusing!!!!

Yeah literally everything I read online and then what my pediatrician told me have been different. It's so hard to know what to do! My pediatrician said to feed her 10-15min on the first breast, then 5-10 on the second. Not to go over 30min because then she will be burning more than she's taking in

and to supplement if she's still hungry after 30 minutes. It makes me feel like a bad mom to think that maybe she isn't gaining weight. I'm not even opposed to supplementing anymore (although I'm trying to find time to pump rather than formula, but it's hard to do that because I'm convinced my supply is low), but she spits out the formula most of the time. It's hard

and I'm pretty sure it's giving me anxiety!

ainverso · January 2016

Some babies take time to gain weight and same gain right away. Keep at it and definitely get the tongue tie clipped to make nursing easier for u and baby. I have a wonderful pediatrician who let me try nursing exclusively and weighed to make sure baby wasn't losing weight . By one month he was good and gained adequately and continued to gain. Don't let them make u supplement unless baby is losing weight if that isn't something u want to do

KimC2010 · January 2016

I understand. I can't get her to stay awake long enough during the day to do anything. She stays up all night hungry constantly. As in i nurse for 50 mins and she's still rooting and sobbing. I just broke out the breastpump and I pumped blood from my right. Neither cover the bottom of the bottle. I don't know what to do.

ChrissyD1203 · January 2016

Yes I heard that after 45 mins to an 1 hr to stop her as she will be burning more calories.

Also if this is any help - my baby cluster feeds - 5-7 minutes and falls asleep and then in 30 minutes will do 10 mins on the other side. Then she will sleep for 2 hrs and do it again. I was worried that she wasn't eating enough - but she gained a lb in a week so the dr said it was fine. So it seems not all feedings need to be long to be filling.

Wicked4589 · January 2016

It may be unpopular advice but im going to say skip the LC. I felt like I was given different info every day depending on who I talked to. In the end, I am doing what works for us. I only feed from one side until he falls asleep. Then the next time I do the other side. It works for us. Play around with he different options and see what works best for you and your child.

Grassieta · January 2016

I'm a LC and funny enough I sort of agree with PP. You need to do what works for you and your baby despite all of the conflicting advice. All the latest research points to never limiting the time they are on the breast (after all, clocks and watches are a recent invention in human history and most mamas in the world don't have access to those). Actually by being close to your body they conserve calories because you help them regulate temperature (as in kangaroo method).

We're not talking about a malnourished preemie. We're talking about a healthy baby who has in just two weeks almost gone up to birth weight and is filling diapers.

Nipple shields, while they can be a blessing for some, can be a burden for others. Some babies find it harder to latch on them and to properly empty the breast, so if your baby is latching well without them it could definitely help.

If possible at all, don't hold your boob. You could block some ducts while doing it. And don't worry about the nose, as long as your hand is not holding baby's head (it should be supporting baby's ahoulderblades and neck) baby can move freely to free the nose or unlatch if needed. Obviously I'm not saying you shouldn't be careful about it, I'm just saying that people usually stress way too much about it.

ashhsa · January 2016

@Grassieta thanks! That all sounds great. It's just so stressful. I am dissapointed as I honestly expected them to weigh her and say she had put on more than enough. I was shocked when she hadent. It feels like a personal failure- I never expected I'd take breastfeeding so to heart!

willashbaby · January 2016

For the nipples, you have got to take care of them. I've had zero bruising, bleeding, cracking, and minimal discomfort even with pumping every 2 hours or so. I use coconut oil before and after after every pump. It's been miraculous.

ambercakes92 · January 2016

willashbaby said:
For the nipples, you have got to take care of them. I've had zero bruising, bleeding, cracking, and minimal discomfort even with pumping every 2 hours or so. I use coconut oil before and after after every pump. It's been miraculous.

I second using coconut oil. It's pretty expensive to buy a big jar just for nipples (if you won't also use it to cook or something) so to save a few dollars, I bought a small container of UpSpring WellMom Organic Nipple Balm at Target. It has coconut oil as the main ingredient and has really helped me a ton. After a couple days using it, my nipples were virtually painless.

And thank you for your post, @Grassieta! What you're saying makes perfect sense, but as a FTM it's easy to be overly critical of my actions. I just want my little lady to be as well off as I can make her!

claireloSC · January 2016

The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding book is a good resource to help with breastfeeding. Good luck mamas!

Grassieta · January 2016

@ashhsa I know what you mean. My first dropped from the 50th percentile to the 7th, I had a thousand issues with breastfeeding (the whole reason why I got certified as a LC was to pay forward all the help I got in those first months) and always felt at guilt.
Now I'm 39w5d and still nursing that baby who never averaged a weight gain of more than 90g/week, who only doubled her birth weight at her first birthday and who now at almost 3.5 years old is doing great, is super strong, active and well... still skinny! But it helps when she asks to be held.
Now I fear battling the same demons again with this little one. We'll see how it goes.

Achae · January 2016

@ambercakes92 TJ Maxx has decent priced jars of coconut oil! I picked up a large jar to try and combat my daughters diaper rash and it was like $6!

willashbaby · January 2016

I got my big organic jar from bj's for only about $12.

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