baby lost weight at 6 weeks. help!

[mumatmadhouse]

The hv came for lo check and weighed him. He was 7lb 8 at birth. 7lb 5 at discharge and only 7lb today.
He is alert when awake. Good colour. Good temperature. Wee and poo all ok although he only poos every few days. He did go 2 weeks and I took him to gp. He was examined and gp said to wait it out. When he did go he filled 4 nappies. I want to add he wasn't distressed or straining at any point.
He is with me constantly and at most goes 2 hours between feeds. I wear him and feed in the sling for a few hours each day and we co sleep using a bedside crib and he feeds as often as he wants. My nipples are fine. His latch seems ok and I can hear him swallowing, although his latch and suck don't seem as strong as I remember my daughter being at that age.
Hv coming back on Tuesday but is obviously recommending I top up with formula. I also have my 6 weeks pp check on Tuesday so she advised me to speak to gp too.
I feel awful and like I am starving him:'(
I am going to try pumping but I really don't know what I am doing as I never got the hang of it before.
Any advice on this would be great. Tia x

 

[noon_child]

You are doing everything right. The GP can check there are no underlying health reasons for weight loss. Until then what I would suggest is that although co-sleeping and sling wearing are awesome ways to keep LO close and comforted, they maybe make you slightly less aware of how long he's feeding for and how effectively. It maybe just is that he's been a bit of a sleepy baby and was content to sleep rather than eat? There's no need to stop using the slings or co sleeper, but maybe for a few days try not to do anything else while he's feeding and really make sure he is actively feeding while he is latched, and if he gets a bit lazy try to wake him with tickles to his feet/neck/ears. He may need stripping down to his nappy to be awake enough to feed deeply for long enough.

It may be that you do this already so sorry if this is repeating what you already know.

Can I ask why he was discharged when not up to his birthweight?

 

[SurpriseBub]

I think that at 6 weeks I would do the top ups to get him going. Weight isn't everything, but I think I would want to have seen a gain by that age. Maybe his little mouth just isn't transferring enough at this stage (and he will feed more effectively when he is bigger?)

You can start with something like 60ml top ups, and then try to work them down once he has gained some weight and caught up. If you can do that and then wean back to ebf, that is great. But there is nothing wrong with combifeeding if that is what works for you and baby

Maybe you could pump after 2-3 feeds and end up with enough to supplement? It is ok to change your plan as you go- just do what your little one needs and what you can handle (whether that be breastmilk or formula!)

 

[noon_child]

You are doing everything right. The GP can check there are no underlying health reasons for weight loss. Until then what I would suggest is that although co-sleeping and sling wearing are awesome ways to keep LO close and comforted, they maybe make you slightly less aware of how long he's feeding for and how effectively. It maybe just is that he's been a bit of a sleepy baby and was content to sleep rather than eat? There's no need to stop using the slings or co sleeper, but maybe for a few days try not to do anything else while he's feeding and really make sure he is actively feeding while he is latched, and if he gets a bit lazy try to wake him with tickles to his feet/neck/ears. He may need stripping down to his nappy to be awake enough to feed deeply for long enough.

It may be that you do this already so sorry if this is repeating what you already know.

Can I ask why he was discharged when not up to his birthweight?

Just wanted to add that I had to do top ups at 6weeks due to poor weight gain, but I knew she wasn't transfering milk well as I was in a lot of pain, but I also know that babies who can't transfer milk well get very exhausted at the breast and fall asleep a lot while feeding.

We did 30ml - 50ml top ups after about half our feeds. It is a balancing act between feeding enough to put on weight and keeping them hungry enough to return to the breast. Remember if you top up you will need to pump to keep your breasts producing enough.

 

[mumatmadhouse]

Thank you both for taking the time to reply. I have spoken to bf helpline, the nct and this morning I was very cheeky and rang the birthing centre as I know they are really good with bf.
I decided that I really wasn't happy to wait and see so have been topping up with formula today. He has taken about 3oz of formula over the last two feeds after nursing from me. He seems to get lazy after a while so I do think that is part of the issue. I also think that having on me in the sling ect is a good point, I am not noticing as much as I should regarding the feeding. The main thing, as you have both said, is getting the weight on him right now and as long as I pump we should keep supply up. I may even just pump the next feed and let dh ff as I just want to get some calories in him right now. I need to get this pumping sorted though, as I tried the pump twice today and got nothing. This was after he had fed though. Ended up hand expressing a measly oz from both breast combined. At each sitting. I thought it might be a good idea as that should be higher fat milk and I can give it to him at the next feed if that makes sense. Any advicerregarding the pumping? Xx

 

[mumatmadhouse]

I have no idea how we were discharged before he was back to birth weight tbh. I didn't really register it at the time. The midwife was rather dizzy, which also caused me issues during the pregnancy. It shouldn't have happened though. I feel as guilty as hell about it all. Wish I had gone and had him weighed but I just thought he was slow gainer like my daughter was x

 

[noon_child]

I need to get this pumping sorted though, as I tried the pump twice today and got nothing. This was after he had fed though. Ended up hand expressing a measly oz from both breast combined. At each sitting. I thought it might be a good idea as that should be higher fat milk and I can give it to him at the next feed if that makes sense. Any advicerregarding the pumping? Xx

If you are happy to use formula to top up then it isn't too important whether you get lots of milk while you pump because you are still stimulating the nipple (which seems to be part of increasing milk supply). However if you find hand expressing more effective then do that instead/too, as removing milk from the breast increases supply too. It is a great skill to have that I never mastered. Sometimes people think that the higher suction the pump has the better, but some people respond better to a lower setting, it is trial and error

 

[bundle4me]

I was told baby should be doing at least 4 poos a day as that shows they are getting enough milk.
Is your lo sicky? I know a lady who's baby wasnt gaining weight and her baby had bad reflux.
My midwife wouldn't sign lo off till she'd gained her birth weight.
Hope baby improves by next weigh in x

 

[mumatmadhouse]

Thanks for the support ladies. Zane was weighed on Tuesday and has put on 5oz. The worst is happening with my supply even though I am feeding him before topping up. I am not getting a chance to pump. I have tried, but get nothing and I find it really stressful trying to find somewhere quiet and privacy is a joke in this house. Can't seem to get dh to understand that stress can affect the let down. I am totally gutted but at least he is gaining a bit of weight. I am now convinced that part of the issue is his lazy latch after the initial fullness of the breast goes. We have to be quite persistent with the bottle. I think he would rather just sleep, which is also worrying me. Sorry, I am just rambling now. Just really disappointed with myself. :'(

 

[mumatmadhouse]

I was told baby should be doing at least 4 poos a day as that shows they are getting enough milk.
Is your lo sicky? I know a lady who's baby wasnt gaining weight and her baby had bad reflux.
My midwife wouldn't sign lo off till she'd gained her birth weight.
Hope baby improves by next weigh in x

Thanks. I wasn't happy about the poo situation with him, but gp was unconcerned. I knew they could go a week sometimes and it be okay but that is when they are over a few weeks old. Thankfully he is not a sicky baby or we would have been in an even worse situation with his weight.

 

[noon_child]

Can someone else do the top up while you pump?

He sounds like he is on the right track now. You might want to check with your HV but when I was topping up after about 4 of LOs day feeds it was really getting me down trying to then pump and feeling like a failure with it all, so an NCT counsellor suggested that rather than top up after every feed and have her go 2-3hrs between, I could combine her top ups in to one big feed near the end of the day. Then I could feed her on my breast every 1-2hrs because she'd be hungry, and then in the evening while DH did a 4oz bottle I only had to do ONE longer pumping session which was much easier to fit in. This helped my supply as she was on the breast regularily but I didn't have to worry about weight so much because she had the safety net of the bottle of formula (or any pumped milk I had managed).

More frequent feeding also means fattier milk, but it is harder for babies to suck out of the breast so it is important that he is able to latch and suck correctly. Has anyone checked his tongue? Breast compressions while feeding can help babies get all the milk out too if they get lazy once it gets a bit more difficult.