tell me this isn't the begining of the end!

[kajastarlight]

My son is almost two weeks old and has not regained his birth weight - he actually hasn't gained any weight at all in a week. His Dr.gave me a syringe with a tube to supplement while at the breast and I am pumping so that supplimenting can be breastmilk.... but I am worried that we are going down the road to bottle feeding.
Anyone have a success story for this situation to give me some hope??

 

[noon_child]

Lots of people have issues at the beginning, no need to give up hope yet. You just need to understand what is happening to find the best way to fix it. Has LO been nursing every 2hrs or more frequently round the clock (this frequency boosts your supply and his food intake)? Do you have pain when feeding or misshapen nipples or are feeds comfortable? Does he fall asleep quite soon in to feeds?

 

[kajastarlight]

He falls asleep soon into his feeds. I strip him down and change his and mess with his arms and legs and wipe him down with a wet wash cloth and blow on him and with all that I can get 10 min max before he zonks out and just can't be bothered to nurse anymore. Then he will sleep for hoursand hours if I let him.
His latch is good when he does eat. No soreness, not usually a shallow latch to make misshapen nips.

 

[Beanonorder]

Was/is he jaundiced? My son was very sleepy the first couple of weeks because of it.
Supplementing now doesn't have to lead to bottle feeding. You'll find as he approaches and passes his birth weight he'll be more awake and feed better. Do what you have to now to get him to that point.

 

[noon_child]

And keep him close by or on you. The hormonal feedback of being in contact with each other helps with milk supply and taps in to his feeding instincts. It will feel like a constant round of waking, latching, feeding, pumping, repeat but like PP said, as he gets bigger he'll be more alert and stronger. Falling asleep after short feeds is a normal response newborns have to a hormone produced by sucking. It ensures they don't use up too much energy all at once. So sleep, snack sleep snack is a totally normal. Thing is, when he stirs from sleep and can't smell you, he may go back to sleep. If he is on you or next to you he may latch while half asleep and get more small feeds that way. Obviously if you are at risk of falling asleep with hi then ensure you are set up for safe co-sleeping, even if it is just for a few days.

 

[luna_19]

We went through the whole sleepy baby thing it was so hard, my lo was 2.5 weeks early and right at his due date he woke up and fed so much better! Before tjat it took me about 1.5 hours to get through a feed/pump/feed cycle it was exhausting but so worth it when things turned around. Can you hear him swallowing when he nurses? I was told my lo had a "great latch" by hospital staff but when I met with a lc it turns out he was just putting his mouth there but not sucking at all if you haven't yet I would highly recommend seeing a lc (or even better ibclc) to get some help and do a weighted feeding to make sure baby is actually getting milk while nursing. Good luck

 

[kajastarlight]

Thank you ladies! So far we are hanging in there. He is getting better at staying awake to nurse in the late morning-evening feeds but night/early mornings are still very sleepy times. With any luck things will get easier after his original due date. (May 8th)

 

[BunnyN]

Our little girl didnt regain her birth weight until 6 weeks. We decided not to suppliment because her problems seemed to be digestive, not due to a lack of milk. In the end she turned out to have food allergies. When I changed my diet she improved. I was really worried at the time but other than her allergy issues she has always been healthy and developed well. Try not to panic about the weight, she will get there eventually. And lots of women manage to return to EBFing after supplementing.