"we are extremely concerned about her weight gain". . .

[DonnaBallona]

This is what my doctor said to me at our neonatal checkup yesterday afternoon.

Brooke is feeding every 2 hours (if she manages that long), sometimes even less then that through the night. She is grizzly all the time, and even if I sit with her on my bristol, she fusses like crazy or falls asleep then yells when I take her off. She has been bringing up loads of milk after her feed too, so much so I had to change both our outfits yesterday before going out. She is having Domperidone, Gaviscon and some other medicine I forget the name of now at every feed. I know Iv got milk as it squirts after she's fed but she doesnt seem to want it.

Im absolutly exhausted.

I think I should move her to formula. I dont want her to be the baby that everyone worries about-every week she gets further and further and further away from the bottomest centile. Even though I sort of enjoy feeding her, it IS wearing thin and I dont feel like its the best thing for her any more.

What do you ladies think I should do? I just dont know any more.

 

[reallytinyamy]

I bf chloe for a few days and i was so exhausted it was doing neither of us any good. I switched to ff and things improved dramatically for both of us. I used to put her on the breast every evening as we both still enjoyed that special time until she was 10 weeks. sometimes she took milk sometimes she didnt,

you must do what you feel best for your family hun, only you can make that decision. but it sounds to me like you know what you want to do.

All the best with whatever you decide

 

[Mervs Mum]

What did he say about giving her formula?

x

 

[Pyrrhic]

Have you tried her on any formula before? I find Niamh's reflux is much, much worse with formula

 

[DonnaBallona]

What did he say about giving her formula?

x

Iv got an 'emergency appointment' next week to assess her gain.
If she does not get any closer to the line then they've said they will prescribe her formula anyway. The doctor thinks she is using me for comfort not actually milk which is a little frustrating. she feeds for a good 25 mins usually, too-and would go longer if I let her!! she's not sucking for all of that though, no amount of tickling feet or playing with fingers will wake her either. . .

 

[Mervs Mum]

Here's my two pence worth!

Is she alert? Other than her size, does she seem to be developing well? Is she smiling, responding, cooing etc??

Human milk is designed for humans and cows milk is designed for cows - agreed?

Cows milk is designed with bulk and muscle development in mind so maybe if it's just a bit of bulk they think she needs then perhaps it might be an idea to combine??

Just an idea.....

 

[Pyrrhic]

...looking at your sig, was she a preemie too?

 

[MaryJ]

Iv got an 'emergency appointment' next week to assess her gain. If she does not get any closer to the line then they've said they will prescribe her formula anyway. The doctor thinks she is using me for comfort not actually milk which is a little frustrating. she feeds for a good 25 mins usually, too-and would go longer if I let her!! she's not sucking for all of that though, no amount of tickling feet or playing with fingers will wake her either. . .

Try running your finger along her neck right under her jaw bone to wake her up. I had a nurse suggest that and it worked really well for Danny. Also, if you feel it's best for her it is ok to give a bottle of formula during the day if you think she needs it.

 

[DonnaBallona]

Here's my two pence worth!

Is she alert? Is she smiling, responding, cooing etc??

no. . . but that could be because she's prem maybe? when she's awake she is awake and looking around but she sucks on everything and cries when its not me.

i gave her a bottle of EBM last night before bed and she took 2 oz then slept 4 hours straight. thats longer than she's slept for weeks. dont get me wrong, if she wanted to sit up and feed all night then id gladly do so, but she doesnt! she just yells until i produce the milk and will suck proper for 10 mins.
do you think she's falling asleep because she's weak?? xx

 

[DonnaBallona]

...looking at your sig, was she a preemie too?

yes she was. . . 7 weeks early

 

[MaryJ]

It really sounds like you want to continue on breastfeeding. Why not get with a lactation consultant to work out how to get your supply up to what your LO needs?

 

[Mervs Mum]

I dont think she has a problem with supply...

 

[ryder]

I think you need to do what you feel is best... A premi can be more difficult to bf, but it is do-able.

Every baby is different... they all gain different... one of my co-workers had a premie, they did not get to bf because he was in the hospital for so long... but he is doing very well with developement.

The downside to bfing is that its harder for the baby to get milk then it is from a bottle... There are lots of other benefits...

Your doing a good job... have you thought of topping up with formula in a tube feeder or something? Im sure once your baby got a bit bigger and more developed then she will become easier to bf. The tube feeder is tape in a way that while your baby bf;s off you, they still get bm.

 

[alice&bump]

i'll be honest, switching to FF was the best thing i ever did. unlike you, i was having supply issues, i got told if i'd not stopped BF, we would have been refered to a paediatrician cos she'd dropped that much weight.

tbh hun, from the threads i've seen of yours, she seems to be gaining ok for a premmie, not that i'm an expert or anythin.

like mervs mum said, maybe give her a formula top up if they want her to gain weight xxx

 

[vicwick]

If you want to carry on BF i would definately recommend seeing someone like a lactation consultant. I have been seeing a La leche league leader since Alfie was 2 weeks old as i had several problems BF and she was amazing (and still is) I really wanted to carry on and didn't want to give Alfie formula so i called the helpline. Alfie lost a lot of weight too and he didn't regain his birth weight til he was around 8 weeks but he was gettin lots of wet and dirty nappies and was alert etc so i knew he was ok. In my experience a lot of health professionals are very quick to suggest formula before givin BF a chance but of course its your choice hun. I don't know what your doc's like but mine was pretty poor and basically suggested givin Alfie formula and that was that I was pretty determined (and stubborn) but it worked out in the end

Hope things work out for you whatever you decide

 

[sadiescooby]

Just wondering if you've tried giving a dummy? My LO has been really grizzly last few days and I was sure she was using me as a dummy! Today I got some Mams silk soothers "Feels like mum". She's taken to them really well and they're designed for use when BFing. £4.29 for 2 from Mothercare.

 

[MaryJ]

I dont think she has a problem with supply...

I didn't think that was an issue at first either but when she posted this:

"dont get me wrong, if she wanted to sit up and feed all night then id gladly do so, but she doesnt! she just yells until i produce the milk and will suck proper for 10 mins"

it kinda sounded like there might be a supply issue to me.

Donna -
I don't go over to the preemie side of the forum so I don't know if this has been posted over there but those moms might have some other ideas for you to try.

 

[Wombat]

You don't really need to stop breastfeeding completely. Why don't you try to combine? Like giving her one bottle in the morning and one in the evening and also expressing? That might give her some extra strengh. And on those time when you don't breastfeed try expressing the milk and give it to her after next breastfeed.

As for supply - try eating porridge in the morning (oats) and Fenugreek is supposed to increase supply as well (you can get it in health food shops).

 

[Mervs Mum]

I dont think she has a problem with supply...

I didn't think that was an issue at first either but when she posted this:

"dont get me wrong, if she wanted to sit up and feed all night then id gladly do so, but she doesnt! she just yells until i produce the milk and will suck proper for 10 mins"

it kinda sounded like there might be a supply issue to me.

Oh yeah I can see how it might - I'm going off this and other threads too

 

[alio]

maybe they're saying it for a reason? if they are concerned then i would maybe think about going over to formula.... my 2 pence worth. hope you're ok. xx