Weight Gain Worries - Updated

[leash27]

I have taken LO to be weighed this afternoon and by the time I left I was almost in tears She was weighed 2 weeks ago and she was 11lbs 10oz and then today she was 12lbs exactly which means she has only gained 6oz in 2 weeks. They have asked me to take her back in two weeks to be weighed again and they also said to expect a call from my HV as they will pass the info on to her too.

I feel like a big fat failure! I just can't understand what is going wrong so was hoping maybe be of you ladies could offer some advice??

Some background:

- Ella was 9lbs when she was born but she lost 7% of her birth weight within a few days and took 2 weeks to get back up. The MW put this down to her jaundice and a bit of a slow start to breastfeeding. This means she has actually gained 3lbs in 8 weeks.

- She usually cluster feeds between 8am and 12pm with a few cat naps in between and then she will have a long nap in the afternoon. This can be anywhere up to 3 hours, if it does get to 3 hours then I wake her up to feed. She will then cluster feed again between 6pm and 10pm, she usually goes to bed at 10pm and will then sleep until about 4am/5am. When she wakes she will have a feed and then to back to keep until 7.30am/8am.

- My supply has been pretty good since my milk came in on day 3. I can feel my breasts getting full in between feeds and when she has a long stretch of sleep at night. I drink between 6 and 8 pints of water ever day and am eating 3 meals a day (most days) with snacks of fruit in between meals.

Does anything seem out of the ordinary here?

X

 

[CandyDay]

Her weight is above the 50th percentile so why are they concerned? Or do they think she isn't gaining enough weight per week?
Is she active and alert? Are you sore from BFing? Is there a possible tongue tie issue (although it doesn't sound like it)
How are her wet and poopy diapers?
Her feeding sounds normal to me. How long does she feed when she does feed? Does she seem satisfied when she is done?
It doesn't sound to me like you need to be overly concerned. She does sound pretty normal to me. And 12LBs at 2 months old seems good.

 

[leash27]

They were concerned because she was born on 91st centile. I just realised the dumb girl who weighed her has actually plotted her weight wrong on the chart. She has plotted her below the 50th centile when she weighed 5.45kg so should have been above it. They did also say that she should be gaining between 4oz and 8oz a week which Ella hasn't.

They have me worried because I felt like I was being blamed iykwim? She told me to make a GP appointment and then said she would inform my HV to give me a call, it seemed like a massive deal. Ella is such a happy, content little baby who barely ever cries and is always smiling. If I wasn't feeding her enough, surely she wouldn't behave like this and sttn?

Plenty of wet and dirty nappies too!

X

 

[Tulip]

She sounds absolutely fine to me! Rowan gained the same over two weeks a couple of weeks ago and hv said she quite often sees bf babies plateau then, not a problem.

 

[BigAl]

She sounds fine to me. She is only 2oz off their target, did she have a feed before weigh in? Sometimes they just have a slow week and make up for it the week after.

 

[missk1989]

As long as she is gaining weight and not loosing it you have nothing to worry about. I have seen babies that have gained very slowly since birth all the way to 2 years and been absolutely fine.

 

[leash27]

She sounds fine to me. She is only 2oz off their target, did she have a feed before weigh in? Sometimes they just have a slow week and make up for it the week after.

No she was weighed just before she was due a feed so had been about 2 hours since her last feed. Would that make much of a difference?

The only other thing I can think of is that I spoke to my HV a couple f weeks ago as she kept having green poops. HV advised that I stick to feeding on one breast for each feed so I have been. Could these be affecting my supply or how much she is getting per feed?

X

 

[noon_child]

The only other thing I can think of is that I spoke to my HV a couple f weeks ago as she kept having green poops. HV advised that I stick to feeding on one breast for each feed so I have been. Could these be affecting my supply or how much she is getting per feed?

X

I'll start by saying that the weight charts are for THEM to track issues with a child's health and development, you don't have to think about them if you believe your child is healthy. If they had been really concerned they wouldn't have said wait two weeks before next weigh in. It sounds like they just want to check that it evens out after another couple of weeks (growth isn't a steady day by day occurrence). Not helped by inaccurate plotting!

Re your midwife's advice:
Each boob will keep making milk while LO demands it so it is entirely possible to feed a child off just one breast and never use the other one BUT if by not offering the second breast at each feed LO has actually been taking less than usual (if she's easily distracted by toys activities etc. she might not complain that she's not entirely full) then that could explain slower weight gain. However I think babies adapt their behaviour to get what they need most of the time so she may be taking more frequent feeds to make up for only getting one boob, or she may take longer feeds.

As she seems like a good sleeper though it does seem odd advice to limit what milk she takes while she's awake. If a breast doesn't get stimulated for about 5 hours (I think??? don't quote me) there is a hormone in it that feeds back to the milk making cells saying "slow production, we're making too much". It may be worth talking to the original HV and saying you are concerned that the block feeding is affecting her weight but please also mention the fact it was written down wrong.

Please remember nothing is set in stone, you have time to see how things go, as long as your LO is alert and meeting milestones she won't be starving.

 

[pineapple91]

i could have wrote this post sounds like my day exactly. maybe you just caught her before a growth spurt

 

[Night Flower]

I wouldnt let her sleep through the night. That is the issues for lack of weight gain.

 

[Mrsb3]

The only thing I can see is the 7 hour stretch at night without a feed and the 3 solid hour nap might be missing 1-3 feeds off in 24 hours but I'm no expert!

My daughter is nearly 4 month old and feeds 3-4 proper feeds during the day and 3 get me to sleep feeds during the day. She goes to bed at 8pm after an hour feeding session and then feeds again at 10 when I go to bed then again at 12, then cluster feeds 3-7 am ! Ughhh!!!!

However, there all so different and as long as she is having 6-8 wet nappies a day and regular poos then I wouldn't worry too much. I would just enjoy the sleep! wish I could haha

 

[_Meep_]

How does she measure in terms of height? Is she laid back or fidgety and active? Some babies are just long and slim - most of their energy goes into length gain rather than piling on tons of weight. Some are very alert and active when they are awake, burning up lots of calories and learning learning learning.

I hate the way HVs and their stupid charts often don't take into account the TYPE of baby they are looking at!!!

 

[leash27]

They didn't measure her length actually and she is quite long. Her feet were pushing through the bottom of her 0-3 month sleepsuits several weeks ago. She is always very alert when she is awake and she isn't the type to just sit still iykwim? She is always wriggling and moving her head to see what's going on, if she is on her play at she is constantly kicking her legs and pulling them up to try and roll over.

I am going back on Wednesday to have her weighed again as it will have been 2 weeks since she was last weighed. I will ask them to measure her length this time too.

X

 

[Literati_Love]

I would not be concerned about the long stretch at night. Once they reach 11 lb they are metabolically able to sleep a good stretch at night. Block feeding will slow supply but if you were having problems with oversupply then you would want that. It shouldn't lower it beyond what your dd needs as you are still feeding on demand. Make sure you offer the same
Side again after burping her. Perhaps her thirst is only getting quenched and she would still eat more? I wouldn't feel like you are doing anything wrong though. Her feeding schedule sounds very normal and as everyone else said she might have just plateaued a bit for those couple weeks.

 

[annio84]

Nothing that you've said seems like an issue to me - except maybe the person who weighed your baby worrying you.

Does she seem happy and healthy? Are you still feeding on demand? Is she having plenty of wet and dirty nappies?

I hate those growth charts! My daughter was on 98th centil when born and then dropped to the 75th suddenly. That first time my HV wasn't worried and since then she's not been concerned because grace has continued to follow the 75th centile line. All babies are different and people put too much stock in these 1 size fits all 'normal' ideas. It's a one off weight and it sounds like she's doing fine otherwise and she's still gaining weight so I would carry on doing what your doing.

 

[leash27]

Just got back from weigh in clinic and Ella has gained 9oz in the last 2 weeks! I know it's not a huge amount but it is a great improvement and it means she hasn't dropped any further down the centiles, in fact she has moved slightly up. Looking at her last three weigh ins, she seems to be steadily tracking just above 50th centile.

Got to go back in 3 weeks to have her weighed again but I can live with that.

X

 

[CandyDay]

glad you are feeling better about things. You are doing great

 

[Literati_Love]

That sounds perfect to me. Babies don't gain at a perfectly steady weight so you probably just caught her on a slow gain week last time.