Daughter still isn't gaining, been told to supplement. Surely theres another way...

[MrsClark24]

DD is 18 weeks. I got her weighed 2 weeks ago and she had dropped a percentile, the health visitor was concerned but said to see her again in 2 weeks. So I went yesterday, in the two weeks DD has only gained 0.2lbs. HV has said that I need to supplement as she isn't gaining enough weight.

I'm absolutely gutted. I kept asking if there was anything else I could do and she just said that she didn't know as I am breasting feeding on demand. I don't feel as thou she was very helpful.

Anyone been in this situation? I really don't want to formula feed at all, anyone got any tips? HV just seemed set on formula and didn't give me any advice.

I'm on fenugreek, taking oatmeal and I hired a hospital grade pump and nothing has made a difference so far.

 

[fieryphoenix]

I'm a little fuzzy on the details, but I've heard of giving double cream milk, essentially you pump, refrigerate it, scoop off the creamy top, add it to more breastmilk and serve its good for gaining weight because of the extra fat.

 

[MrsClark24]

I'm hardly able to pump more than .5oz from each boob at the moment. Otherwise I certainly would try that!

 

[cat lover]

Could you see a lactation consultant? Or try domper:idone? Or could lo be finding her natural weight? Its hard for me to advise as both mine had terrible weight gain so i have combifed both. There is noshame in that though, 18 weeks ebf is fantastic

 

[missk1989]

How often does lo feed? I would try to offer feeds every 2 hours (except at night). Other than that im not sure what else to suggest.

 

[MrS. MaBrEy]

search for a local milk bank and use donated human milk. I have Insufficient glandular tissue and only make around 8-10 ounces a day (which is up from what it was a couple weeks ago) and donor milk kept my son off formula for an extra month. Now he gets all of my milk, 50 ounces of donor milk, and then formula each week.

 

[summer rain]

How was weight gain before this? At some point in the first six months all of mine have gone through a phase of poor gain, possibly losing a small amount, and all have dropped several centiles if you're counting from birth and at least one if you're counting from their lowest weight after losing weight shortly after being born. Overall they have gained average or above average amounts most of the time and grown hugely in length and head circumference at the same time. My youngest now consistently gained 7oz a week up until the past two weeks when he gained an average of 4oz a week. He is 12 weeks and I would not be surprised if there comes to be a time soon where he doesn't gain anything for a few weeks. My current GP who was a paediatrician prior to going into general practice is not concerned at all and doesn't see weighing as the main measure of health so much so she doesn't have any baby scales in her surgery at all. She said any weight worries come to her but its important to look at the bigger picture before assuming there's a problem.

One thing that helped slightly when my second youngest went through this phase was dream feeding him at night. At 18 weeks some babies may be past the stage where you can slightly rouse them just enough to latch on and feed without actively waking them. I found with my son he would feed up to two hours in his sleep and though it didn't completely solve the poor weight gain he roughly kept up with his centile and I felt reassured he had at least one very good feed xx

 

[Crazydaizy]

DD is 18 weeks. I got her weighed 2 weeks ago and she had dropped a percentile, the health visitor was concerned but said to see her again in 2 weeks. So I went yesterday, in the two weeks DD has only gained 0.2lbs. HV has said that I need to supplement as she isn't gaining enough weight.

I'm absolutely gutted. I kept asking if there was anything else I could do and she just said that she didn't know as I am breasting feeding on demand. I don't feel as thou she was very helpful.

Anyone been in this situation? I really don't want to formula feed at all, anyone got any tips? HV just seemed set on formula and didn't give me any advice.

I'm on fenugreek, taking oatmeal and I hired a hospital grade pump and nothing has made a difference so far.

I have been through a similar thing with my son he has dropped nearly 3 centiles since being born, he is 5 months old. I was first told to express after each feed and to wake him every night between 2/3. At night(this is best time for hormones that produce milk). This helped a bit he didn't drop any more centiles. But h v wanted me to suplement still so i gave a bottle of formulae every night for a week but this made no difference so I stopped. However the health visitor was still concerned so referred me to the gp who then in turn referred me to the hospital to see a specialist who said my son was perfectly healthy and was not worried at all about his weight gain, she put it down to I'm being a very active baby. How is ur lo health wise? Is she meeting milestone targets and getting enough wet and dirty nappies?
Have you told your hv that you really don't want to supplement? Have they observed a feed to make sure latch is ok? An checked for tounge tie? I defiantly wouldn't rush into doing something you don't want to do. I'd defiantly get a second opinion first! I new to begin with there was nothing wrong with my son
but after a while thy really had me worrying, got me totally stressed over feeding when there was no need to be

 

[special_kala]

Is your LO happy? Healthy? Hitting milestones? Wet nappies? Content after a feed?

If the answers are yes I would stop getting baby weighed and carry on as you are. Maybe weigh once a month.

HVs put too much emphasis on those stupid charts.

 

[MrsClark24]

She was 6.6lbs when she was born and rapidly gained weight. She hardly dipped in weight in the first few days and the HV was really impressed. It's just now that she's just not gaining a lot.

In herself she's wonderful, 1-2 poos a day with anything from 4-7 wet nappies a day. All developmental milestones she's hitting, and she's happy in herself. She is very small though, she's got a little bit of fat but not a lot. I get a lot of comments about how small she is.

I told the HV I do not want to formula feed. Her reply was that she didn't know what else to do, baby needs to gain weight. The only other thing she said was that DD would be weaning soon... not sure what difference that makes to us now...? DD was checked for tongue ties and latch very early on, there's no problem there. (She wouldn't feed the first night out of the hospital so we went back and saw the breastfeeding people)

Tonight I did a test. I managed to express 5oz throughout the day. I got DD ready for bed as normal and I breastfed her like normal. I let her do her thing, she drank from both boobs and she was very drowsy as she came off the boob. I then offered her the bottle with expressed milk straight after, she took another 2.5oz before falling asleep!! So I just don't think she is getting enough from me.

Thank you all so much for your replies! They are so helpful and lovely to read that people care and offer advice!

 

[bunnyg82]

A 2 week gap in weighing is just too soon. In fact if I remember rightly it even says in the red book for under a year don't weigh more frequently than once a month. It really isn't helpful. As above, If baby seems happy and having frequent wet and dirty nappies I wouldn't be concerned. I got quite caught up in getting my first weighed frequently. Will definitely not be doing it so much with this one. With pumping, I found first thing in the morning was the only time I'd get a good amount. The issue with introducing formula is that itself could affect your supply. It's a shame the Hv wasn't helpful

 

[special_kala]

She was 6.6lbs when she was born and rapidly gained weight. She hardly dipped in weight in the first few days and the HV was really impressed. It's just now that she's just not gaining a lot.

In herself she's wonderful, 1-2 poos a day with anything from 4-7 wet nappies a day. All developmental milestones she's hitting, and she's happy in herself. She is very small though, she's got a little bit of fat but not a lot. I get a lot of comments about how small she is.

I told the HV I do not want to formula feed. Her reply was that she didn't know what else to do, baby needs to gain weight. The only other thing she said was that DD would be weaning soon... not sure what difference that makes to us now...? DD was checked for tongue ties and latch very early on, there's no problem there. (She wouldn't feed the first night out of the hospital so we went back and saw the breastfeeding people)

Tonight I did a test. I managed to express 5oz throughout the day. I got DD ready for bed as normal and I breastfed her like normal. I let her do her thing, she drank from both boobs and she was very drowsy as she came off the boob. I then offered her the bottle with expressed milk straight after, she took another 2.5oz before falling asleep!! So I just don't think she is getting enough from me.

Thank you all so much for your replies! They are so helpful and lovely to read that people care and offer advice!

A hungry baby will not be drowsy ready to sleep

I am confident in my milk supply and have no concerns with Foxs weight but i am also sure if i offered him a bottle after a feed he would still take it all. Bottles are so easy they will drink even when they dont need it.

Is your LO content after a feed?

 

[Crazydaizy]

Your little one sounds fine! If you are worried then ask the health visited to refere you to the peadatician like they did with me just for the extra reassurance. I rally wouldn't worry to much though, just sounds like you have a naturally small baby. I was reading the baby led weaning book the other day and in there it says that at around 4 months babies weight gain naturally slows down due to the fact that they are starting to get more active. You baby honestly sounds fine. What was her weight when you got her weighed last? My son was 8.1 at birth and 13 lb at 18 weeks x

 

[x-li-x]

I've been through this recently, an its only just settled. Noah put on weight fast in the first couple months. He drooped first couple weeks then put it on like a trooper that we use to call him chubs lol, but then suddenly at just after 3 months when he was weighed he had only put 2oz on in a month from the last time he was weighed hv was concerned and asked us to bring him back in a week. We weren't concerned though as he was happy and healthy. We didn't go back or another 4 weeks as we went home to visit family. Once we were back she had us go in and weigh him, in those 4 weeks he had gained nothing ! She wasn't too happy, we still weren't worried but she really kept going on , made me feel rubbish, I refused formula so she have us another week (by now he had gone from 25th centile to 0.4th) we again went back like asked the following week and he had fined 3oz and was now following the 0.4th centile, yet again this didn't seem to make her happy and she referred us to the gp.
I really let her get to me this time, even though I knew Noah was happy n healthy not starved and meeting milestones, I started panicking about everything , was so stressed and upset I almost gave in , but couldn't , and thankfully I didn't, as we sure the gp and luckily she was lured up with breast feeding and how sometimes breasted babies just slow right down , some don't of course but she said its normal for them to start gainer slower after a few months, and drop centimes and one health visitors just panic too much, she wasn't impressed I had been made to feel stressed but was happy I stuck to my guns. She then checked him over said he was great , keep going as I was and just tell hv I'm only weighing once a month, and only worry if he starts loosing dramatically or seems unwell.

I think I was lucky I saw one who really understood n didn't just look at charts.

I'm sorry you are now going through this too, but I would say if you think things are ok , just ignore her and go with it. Weigh once a month and only worry if she's dramatically lost or seems unwell. Too me she sounds awesome, like my boy, plenty of wet and dirty nappies, happy , healthy and just small

Here if you need to chat

 

[x-li-x]

Forgot to say Noah was 6.15 when born at 37 weeks and last time he was weighed was last Friday and he had just hit 12lbs x

 

[teal]

Is your LO happy? Healthy? Hitting milestones? Wet nappies? Content after a feed?

If the answers are yes I would stop getting baby weighed and carry on as you are. Maybe weigh once a month.

HVs put too much emphasis on those stupid charts.

Completely agree!

My HV stressed me out to no end with her need for me to supplement. My son lost over 12% of his birth weight, took over 4 weeks to regain his birth weight and then fell through the centiles to 0.2% that red book was the bane of my life.

I seen GP and she assured me LO was healthy but the HV kept insisting I supplement. I did buy an electric breast pump so I'd be supplementing his feeds with more breast milk rather than formula. This just resulted in him either refusing the bottle completely or just sicking it up so it made absolutely no difference to his weight gain.

If you're LO is healthy and happy I'd just carry on as you are.

The best thing is, my son caught back up on his weight and at his 2 year check my HV had the cheek to tell me to make sure he doesn't gain too much (after a jump back up the centiles)

xx

 

[Angelica]

She was 6.6lbs when she was born and rapidly gained weight. She hardly dipped in weight in the first few days and the HV was really impressed. It's just now that she's just not gaining a lot.

In herself she's wonderful, 1-2 poos a day with anything from 4-7 wet nappies a day. All developmental milestones she's hitting, and she's happy in herself. She is very small though, she's got a little bit of fat but not a lot. I get a lot of comments about how small she is.

I told the HV I do not want to formula feed. Her reply was that she didn't know what else to do, baby needs to gain weight. The only other thing she said was that DD would be weaning soon... not sure what difference that makes to us now...? DD was checked for tongue ties and latch very early on, there's no problem there. (She wouldn't feed the first night out of the hospital so we went back and saw the breastfeeding people)u

Tonight I did a test. I managed to express 5oz throughout the day. I got DD ready for bed as normal and I breastfed her like normal. I let her do her thing, she drank from both boobs and she was very drowsy as she came off the boob. I then offered her the bottle with expressed milk straight after, she took another 2.5oz before falling asleep!! So I just don't think she is getting enough from me.

Thank you all so much for your replies! They are so helpful and lovely to read that people care and offer advice!

A hungry baby will not be drowsy ready to sleep

I am confident in my milk supply and have no concerns with Foxs weight but i am also sure if i offered him a bottle after a feed he would still take it all. Bottles are so easy they will drink even when they dont need it.

Is your LO content after a feed?

Will lo really not be drowsy unless content? It wouldnt b bcoz they hav got tired of sucking?

 

[MommyJogger]

She was 6.6lbs when she was born and rapidly gained weight. She hardly dipped in weight in the first few days and the HV was really impressed. It's just now that she's just not gaining a lot.

In herself she's wonderful, 1-2 poos a day with anything from 4-7 wet nappies a day. All developmental milestones she's hitting, and she's happy in herself. She is very small though, she's got a little bit of fat but not a lot. I get a lot of comments about how small she is.

I told the HV I do not want to formula feed. Her reply was that she didn't know what else to do, baby needs to gain weight. The only other thing she said was that DD would be weaning soon... not sure what difference that makes to us now...? DD was checked for tongue ties and latch very early on, there's no problem there. (She wouldn't feed the first night out of the hospital so we went back and saw the breastfeeding people)u

Tonight I did a test. I managed to express 5oz throughout the day. I got DD ready for bed as normal and I breastfed her like normal. I let her do her thing, she drank from both boobs and she was very drowsy as she came off the boob. I then offered her the bottle with expressed milk straight after, she took another 2.5oz before falling asleep!! So I just don't think she is getting enough from me.

Thank you all so much for your replies! They are so helpful and lovely to read that people care and offer advice!

A hungry baby will not be drowsy ready to sleep

I am confident in my milk supply and have no concerns with Foxs weight but i am also sure if i offered him a bottle after a feed he would still take it all. Bottles are so easy they will drink even when they dont need it.

Is your LO content after a feed?

Will lo really not be drowsy unless content? It wouldnt b bcoz they hav got tired of sucking?

At 18 weeks, it's not much of a concern if they're having wakeful periods throughout the rest of the day. That's mainly a concern in babies who are young enough to sleep most of the day away and fall asleep at the end of every feed. An 18 week old is going to have times where they'll eat and then be awake for a period of time. If they're hungry, they're going to get angry instead, lol.
I 100% agree with special_kala. I breastfeed my son and pump to supply donor milk to twins. My supply is ridiculous, but if I were to offer my son some extra after a feed at any point in his life, he would shotgun it with relish.

 

[summer rain]

Has she been measured in length? Head circumference? Some babies grow more in length and head circumference and it takes a great deal of calories and fat to grow long and for their head circumference to keep up with its centile. The three weeks my second youngest had the worst weight gain and even lost 4oz, he grew 7.5cm in height (an inch a week!) and jumped a centile in head circumference. He went from having to have massive turn ups on his trousers to not needing any turn ups at all.

People are crazy. My youngest is between the 25th and 50th centile (born nearly on the 91st) in weight yet people keep saying how massive he is and am I sure I'm not feeding him formula on the sly! Yet my second youngest is quite big for his age and I always get comments as to how small and slim he is xx

 

[Crazydaizy]

Has she been measured in length? Head circumference? Some babies grow more in length and head circumference and it takes a great deal of calories and fat to grow long and for their head circumference to keep up with its centile. The three weeks my second youngest had the worst weight gain and even lost 4oz, he grew 7.5cm in height (an inch a week!) and jumped a centile in head circumference. He went from having to have massive turn ups on his trousers to not needing any turn ups at all.

People are crazy. My youngest is between the 25th and 50th centile (born nearly on the 91st) in weight yet people keep saying how massive he is and am I sure I'm not feeding him formula on the sly! Yet my second youngest is quite big for his age and I always get comments as to how small and slim he is xx

That's interesting how come the health visitors don't know this aye? My son is 98th for length and 9th for weight and head