Only gained 4 oz in a week and almost no poopy diapers- 2 weeks old

[Hope83]

Sorry Ladies,
I feel like I keep asking the same kinda questions...

My girl is just over 2 weeks old.
My lo has gained about 4 oz since last friday (6 days). The doctor said she should gain about 6 ounces in a week, so she is behind target.
She also doesn't poop regularly. Last time she pooped was tuesday ( alot at once though- normal mustard color but not seedy anymore).
She has plenty of wet diapers!

I only supplement once in the evening now (1.5 ounce) due to a slow milk supply at first. Do I have to top up more often to ensure proper milk intake?

Please give me some feedback.
I know my doctor will just advise me to give more ff but I don't want to if I can help it!!

She nurses very frequently, has good feeding sessions imo. Milk usually runs out of her mouth, she sleeps fine in between feeds.
I don't know when and how and why I would mess that up with ff top ups...
I'm so worried....

Please tell me what you think! TIA

 

[kiwii]

My advice is do not supplement unless your baby is losing weight and you've run out of other options! Your milk is going to come in slow because that's just how breastfeeding works. Each time you use formula, you are lowering your opportunity to increase that milk supply. If milk is running out of her mouth then I'd say you are definitely making enough! Any gain in weight is better than no gain. 4oz is great IMO. Your baby should be back to their birth weight by the end of week 1 and if I remember correctly, should gain a average of 1-2 oz a week after that. Don't get discouraged! You don't seem to need formula at all!

 

[Hope83]

My lo has not regained her birth weight.
She was 3752 grams at birth then lost a total of 500 grams (3240 gr).
She only started gaining weight as of Oct. 28 (10 days ago). She is now at 3610 grams.
The only reason she started gaining was due to ff top ups cause my milk was barely there at first and she showed signs of dehydration.
I'm down from a total of 9 ounces ff top ups in 24 hours to 1.5 ounces in 24 hours.
I'm using a feeding tube attached to my breast when supplementing. She does not get a bottle!
I think I could live with the 4 ounces weight gain if she would poop like she should but the combination of the two has me worried.

 

[Bevziibubble]

I honestly wouldn't supplement. The main thing is your LO is having wet nappies and is gaining some weight. Unless your LO loses weight there is no need to supplement, it sounds like you've got a good supply so it's not a good idea to mess with that. Breastfed babies can go a while without pooping, it's completely normal. Have faith in your milk, you're doing great

 

[summer rain]

I would keep an eye on things and see what happens next week, even a small amount of formula can cause some BF babies to have a more infrequent stooling pattern so that could explain the lack of stools. With the BF though if possible could you consult with an LC or someone trained in looking at latch? It could be there is something minor that when tweaked makes a massive difference xx

 

[DianaB]

The 4oz weight gain is actually what my DD has been doing each week and the doctors, nurses and lactation consultant all say that is fine as long as it's not any less. They've told me from the beginning they like 4oz a week gain or more so that sounds fine to me.

 

[Hope83]

I would keep an eye on things and see what happens next week, even a small amount of formula can cause some BF babies to have a more infrequent stooling pattern so that could explain the lack of stools. With the BF though if possible could you consult with an LC or someone trained in looking at latch? It could be there is something minor that when tweaked makes a massive difference xx

Thank You summer rain. Do you think that 1.5- 3 ounces of ff a day is really potentially enough to mess with babies stooling pattern?
I'll call our local LLL today. Will see if I can get a hold of somebody.

 

[Hope83]

My worries were taken to a whole new level

I'm supposed to take my baby for a second blood test. Her initial newborn screening test came back with high levels of IRT. Which can indicate cystic fibrosis. I'm scared to death...
I can't believe my child might be seriously sick... So devastated and anxious right now...

 

[Bevziibubble]

My worries were taken to a whole new level

I'm supposed to take my baby for a second blood test. Her initial newborn screening test came back with high levels of IRT. Which can indicate cystic fibrosis. I'm scared to death...
I can't believe my child might be seriously sick... So devastated and anxious right now...

I'm so sorry, you must be so worried As hard as it is, try not to panic too much, as these things can be flagged up as just a precaution and doesn't automatically mean anything is wrong. It's happened a few times in threads in Baby Club but all turned out ok and hopefully all will be ok in this case too. Thinking of you

 

[Hope83]

My worries were taken to a whole new level

I'm supposed to take my baby for a second blood test. Her initial newborn screening test came back with high levels of IRT. Which can indicate cystic fibrosis. I'm scared to death...
I can't believe my child might be seriously sick... So devastated and anxious right now...

I'm so sorry, you must be so worried As hard as it is, try not to panic too much, as these things can be flagged up as just a precaution and doesn't automatically mean anything is wrong. It's happened a few times in threads in Baby Club but all turned out ok and hopefully all will be ok in this case too. Thinking of you

Thank you. I try to be positive. I just talked to the health nurse and she said they've had quite a few cases especially with the testing for CF were the initial test was elevated and nothing came of it. I'm praying to God that this is the case for us as well...
The next week is going to kill me though. I'm not good at waiting

 

[summer rain]

I hope everything is ok! Yes even an ounce of formula is enough to drastically alter stooling patterns especially if baby has an underlying dairy sensitivity which is quite common xx

 

[Hope83]

I hope everything is ok! Yes even an ounce of formula is enough to drastically alter stooling patterns especially if baby has an underlying dairy sensitivity which is quite common xx

She received her last top up (1.5 ounces) thursday evening. She pooped friday morning (no more seeds though!? )
She seems to being doing really well on breastmilk only and I'm hopeful that my milk is sufficient enough moving forward.
Her doctor didn't seem too concerned about her lack of dirty diapers. He is hapy that she is gaining weight and said breastfed babies can go days without a bm because they can fully digest the breastmilk (though I thought that wasn't supposed to start until they're 4-6 weeks?).

Regarding the diary sensitivity: is there anything I can do to find out wether or not thats an issue?

Thanks!!

 

[9jawife]

I hope everything is ok! Yes even an ounce of formula is enough to drastically alter stooling patterns especially if baby has an underlying dairy sensitivity which is quite common xx

She received her last top up (1.5 ounces) thursday evening. She pooped friday morning (no more seeds though!? )
She seems to being doing really well on breastmilk only and I'm hopeful that my milk is sufficient enough moving forward.
Her doctor didn't seem too concerned about her lack of dirty diapers. He is hapy that she is gaining weight and said breastfed babies can go days without a bm because they can fully digest the breastmilk (though I thought that wasn't supposed to start until they're 4-6 weeks?).

Regarding the diary sensitivity: is there anything I can do to find out wether or not thats an issue?

Thanks!!

Well done mama. It sounds like you did the right thing getting her off formula. As for the dairy sensitivity, you can cut dairy out of your diet for 1-2 weeks and see if that makes a difference. Some babies are able to tolerate it after six months when the gut has matured, others can't.

 

[Hope83]

I hope everything is ok! Yes even an ounce of formula is enough to drastically alter stooling patterns especially if baby has an underlying dairy sensitivity which is quite common xx

She received her last top up (1.5 ounces) thursday evening. She pooped friday morning (no more seeds though!? )
She seems to being doing really well on breastmilk only and I'm hopeful that my milk is sufficient enough moving forward.
Her doctor didn't seem too concerned about her lack of dirty diapers. He is hapy that she is gaining weight and said breastfed babies can go days without a bm because they can fully digest the breastmilk (though I thought that wasn't supposed to start until they're 4-6 weeks?).

Regarding the diary sensitivity: is there anything I can do to find out wether or not thats an issue?

Thanks!!

Well done mama. It sounds like you did the right thing getting her off formula. As for the dairy sensitivity, you can cut dairy out of your diet for 1-2 weeks and see if that makes a difference. Some babies are able to tolerate it after six months when the gut has matured, others can't.

Thanks 9jawife!
She keeps gaining weight and its been 3 days without top ups!
I'm very happy with our progress. I've weighted her this morning (after a big poop ) and she has almost reached her birth weight - 3.71 kg! Only 2 more ounces

Regarding the dairy sensitivity: if baby has that, her stooling can be affected if I consume dairy products? Sorry if thats a silly question! i just have no clue how that works...

 

[9jawife]

I hope everything is ok! Yes even an ounce of formula is enough to drastically alter stooling patterns especially if baby has an underlying dairy sensitivity which is quite common xx

She received her last top up (1.5 ounces) thursday evening. She pooped friday morning (no more seeds though!? )
She seems to being doing really well on breastmilk only and I'm hopeful that my milk is sufficient enough moving forward.
Her doctor didn't seem too concerned about her lack of dirty diapers. He is hapy that she is gaining weight and said breastfed babies can go days without a bm because they can fully digest the breastmilk (though I thought that wasn't supposed to start until they're 4-6 weeks?).

Regarding the diary sensitivity: is there anything I can do to find out wether or not thats an issue?

Thanks!!

Well done mama. It sounds like you did the right thing getting her off formula. As for the dairy sensitivity, you can cut dairy out of your diet for 1-2 weeks and see if that makes a difference. Some babies are able to tolerate it after six months when the gut has matured, others can't.

Thanks 9jawife!
She keeps gaining weight and its been 3 days without top ups!
I'm very happy with our progress. I've weighted her this morning (after a big poop ) and she has almost reached her birth weight - 3.71 kg! Only 2 more ounces

Regarding the dairy sensitivity: if baby has that, her stooling can be affected if I consume dairy products? Sorry if thats a silly question! i just have no clue how that works...

Congrats! Yes, dairy sensitivity can sometimes, but not always, cause mucous and blood in the stool.

 

[AmeliePoulain]

Both of my daughters took 3+ weeks to regain their birthweight and my eldest only ever gained 4oz a week but she gained 4oz a week for her entire first year, which I guess is unusual as she went up centiles post 6 months when other level out a bit.

My elder daughter is just very petite even now x

 

[Hope83]

I think we are on the right track!
4 days without top ups, baby feeds off of boobs like a pro and even had 2 beautiful breastmilk poops today
I'm finally starting to relax...
Now if only the next blood test comes back all clear, I'll be one happy Mama!

Thank you all for your help and suggesions!