Is she gaining enough? (Long)

[Janene2005]

My DD was born on Oct 23 via c-section weighing 6lbs 3oz. At 3 days old she was 5lbs 10oz. She was back to her birth weight by 15 days old and was consistently gaining an oz a day until she was 5 and 1/2 weeks when she developed reflux. I took her to the dr and they prescribed her some meds and I've been giving it to her religiously. She still spits up a lot though and her weight fluctuates constantly. She'll be 8lb 12oz one day then the next she'll be 8lb 10oz and then it will jump to 9lb 1oz. (I have a scale at home) She's really happy after she eats, calm and always smiling. She has 6 to 8 very full wet diapers and at least 2 seedy, mustard color poops a day. She's already rolled over from her tummy to her back, can hold her head up almost all by herself and she sleeps for 7 to 8hrs a night. I've never given her a bottle, she hardly ever takes a paci and I let her feed whenever she wants for as long as she wants. Her pedi said she should gain 2lbs a month but this month she's only gained 1lb. I had this same problem with my 2 year old DS, not gaining, reflux and at 3months had to switch to formula completely. I've tried so hard to do everything right with this one but here we are again. Is there something I'm doing wrong? I have PCOS and I know that effects supply but I'm taking supplements for that and seem to have enough. I'm just so frustrated.

 

[Pielette]

Ok firstly I would say it's not recommended to weigh small babies that often, as their weight fluctuates greatly day by day and you don't get a good overall picture of how well they're gaining. I tend to get mine weighed every 3/4 weeks. You can also have one week where they gain a lot and the next it's slowed down a bit. That's ok and totally normal. I think it would be much better for your peace of mind to weigh her much less often, and then you will be able to see her overall rate of growth.

Saying that babies 'should' gain x amount every month - all it does is instil anxiety in parents when they don't do that exactly. What matters is your baby is gaining weight well. A pound in a month sounds good to me. In addition what matters is wet and dirty nappies, which sounds perfect too, being calm and happy after feeds, and developing well. She sounds like she's doing really well!

Can I ask what exactly happened with your DS where you had to switch to formula?

Everything sounds really good to me You're not doing anything wrong, you're feeding her on demand and she's a happy, healthy baby.

 

[Janene2005]

Can I ask what exactly happened with your DS where you had to switch to formula?

When I my son was born, he refused to nurse for the first 1hr of his life despite my trying. It was weird, although we had been in labor for 36hrs after I was induced so maybe he was tired. We had latching problems in the beginning, I had a low supply and he wasn't gaining any weight. I EBF for 2 months by breast and bottle but it was always a battle at the breast and he shredded my nipples. Finally he just refused to nurse, he would push my breast away and wouldn't open his mouth. I pumped for a few weeks after that but I would hardly get anything bc my supply was so low at that point from all the stress. At 3 months we switched to formula completely which in the end was better for both of us. I really didn't want that to happen with my daughter so I've been trying to do everything I can to make bf work. She nursed right from birth though and has never had a problem latching at all. I thought everything was going fine until she stopping gaining like she was in the beginning. But from what you said, she's doing fine so I guess we're ok.