Advice needed! Not gaining weight

[Dreaming87]

Hi everyone.

My baby girl is 7 weeks today and isn't gaining weight. She was 7lb14 born and went down to 7lb1 at her lowest. She is up to 7lb9 but hasn't put any on since last week. She started on the 25th percentile and is under the 2nd now. Hv been today and said to get appt with gp. She said she looks happy and alert and checked my position and said that was fine.
She is a really good sleeper at night but not through the day. She doesn't poo very often but the doctor said she isn't constipated as when she does go it's still watery she just doesn't like the sensation.

Can any one offer advice or put my mind at ease? Doctors is closed for training today but I will ring first thing in the morning

 

[TXJen]

How is her wet diaper output? Is she having plenty of those?

 

[Literati_Love]

How often are you feeding her? Do you wake her up for feeds? Make sure you offer both sides (or the same twice after burping the first time)?

 

[Dreaming87]

She has a wet diaper about 5 times a day. She sleeps 6 hours then nappy change and feed then 3 hours at night and through the day it's every 1.5-2 hours and feeds for 20-30 mins at a time.

 

[Literati_Love]

I wouldn't let her sleep more than 3-4 hours at night until she has regained her birth weight and is steadily gaining after that. In the beginning they are very sleepy and sometimes don't realize how hungry they are. Once she is gaining steadily you can let her sleep again but for now I would definitely set an alarm at night and feed her.

 

[Dreaming87]

I tried that a few weeks ago but when she is woken she gets really upset and won't feed properly or settle and she was unsettled the full day each time we tried it so I'm not keen to do it again

 

[sethsmummy]

i know youve just said your not keen BUT i think this is the advice a gp will give him. My son was formula fed but i had the exact same issue (although he was much smaller at 5lb 14 at birth). I HAD to wake him every 2 hours for a feed, strip him down to nappy to make sure he stayed awake and try feed him. Its stressfull but sometimes it just has to be done. That didnt work with my son so he was tried on all sorts of milks before being sent to the hospital where he was diagnosed as reflux and failure to thrive.. he was put on a special double calorie milk that he was on till he was 1 year old. When they are not gaining the weight they should you just have to put your own needs/wants aside and do anything possible, its a hard road but they get there. my boy still has trouble gaining weight and at just over 4 and a half has just hit 31lb.

I hope you can get some answers and your baby starts gaining soon hun otherwise i would be prepared for some time spend in hospital (I was told this would happen with my son if he didnt start gaining with the special milk)

good luck hun and lots of lovexxx

 

[noon_child]

It is really difficult isn't it when you are being told they haven't gained enough and you think "Well I'm feeding her…what else do you want me to do?".

The most common reason for poor weight gain is poor milk transfer caused by a poor latch (had this myself) but you don't mention if you are in any pain during feeds or whether your nipples are misshapen after feeds. From what I recall at that age 5 wet/dirty diapers is a little on the low side but all babies are different.

Night time hormones are some of the best for milk production but if your LO feeds enough in the day it might be that she just wants sleep more than food at night. You want to be aiming for about 10 feeds or more in 24hrs.

I was told to feed every 2hrs round the clock till my LO regained birth weight. However it was really hard and I often wondered if it was really necessary as some people aren't told this and their babies thrive! However as your LO is struggling it might be something you want to consider for a couple of weeks. I won't lie, trying to get them to latch when sleepy/asleep is the most stressful thing I've ever experienced but I only had to do it for 10 days and LO's weight was back on track.

Less common causes are down to your baby's ability to absorb nutrients. Does she sick up a high proportion of full feeds? Is there anything like coeliac disease in your family?