Weight Gain

[25weeker]

I have been told by the HV that a baby should be putting on 7oz a week but wondered is this the same for prem babies once they have reached term.

Holly put on 4oz over 6 days although is still only 5lb 10oz so is below the lines in the graph for her corrected age of 2 weeks. She is being breastfed and when I express into a bottle she can take 3oz without any problems and has plenty of wet & dirty nappies.

In one NICU she was on EBM with fortifier and then when she was transferred they didn't use fortifier so went on to 50% EBM & 50% pre-aptimal to help her weight gain. I don't want to switch completely to formula just yet so was wondering has anyone subsidised a couple of breastmilk feeds with formula and got and increase in weight gain from that?

I have attached a couple of photo's as I have been told they are a must on the forums

 

[twinklestar]

sorry hun i dont know the answer

your LO is a little stunner though x

 

[Marleysgirl]

Andrew was a tiny baby (IUGR) and at his due date, still only weighed just over 4lb. He was fed EBM with fortifier up until April, and his weight gain on that has only ever been around 100g/wk (about 4oz/wk). He's maintained his own wee curve on the graph, around the -4SD curve on preemie growth charts. At the end of March, at the request of the Paed Consultant who was still concerned about his growth rate, we stopped EBM and switched him to high calorie formula (Infatrini). Since then his weight gain has increased, but not substantially - now around 130g/wk (5oz/wk). At the end of April, the Consultant finally admitted "Perhaps he's just destined to be a small baby".

 

[clairec81]

This is a first (me giving instead of receiving advice!). My LO was born at 33 weeks and weighed 3lb. She gained fine in the NICU but once home it slowed down. She has never remained static or lost weight but typically puts on between 4 and 7 oz a week. She too was put on Infatrini and has made some but not great progress (now 20 weeks and 8lb 11oz). Erin lies on her own wee line below the 0.4th centile but its curving upwards and I have a feeling she too will simply be a smaller or slimmer wee girl. I think as long as your LO isn't dropping weight or tailing off too much then just keep going and try not to worry. I have been told so many times that they 'catch up' in their own time.

 

[Laura2919]

my girls started off at about 8oz a week and one point chloe put on a whole 1lb! and then it slowed right down to about a lb a month and now its not even that but I dont get them weighed as often anymore as my consultant doesnt need to go by weight.. Depends on the milk too.. but to be fair my HV didnt know much about prem babies just the basics I think I taught her a lot more then she knew lol

My girls are fully on solids and they only have 2 bottles a day!

 

[_Mayas_mum]

Maya is on full formular (Nutriprem 2), but her weight gain is really all over the place.
One week she can gain 1 oz, and another week 10oz.
Nobody seem to worry a lot about it, even though she is trotting along on the very last centile on the chart (sometimes just under it)....
NiCU seems happy enough and my HV says she is eating fine so apparently Maya also just want to be a little baby for a bit longer....
She was born at 28+6 weeks weighing 2llbs 9oz, now she is 24 weeks and weighs 9lbs 2oz.

Take care
x

 

[Fiestagal]

I've been lucky that I've never been pressurised to increase weight. C was fully bf and really varied with his weight from 4 oz a week to half a lb. It's slowed down again now. He was 9lb 14oz at 6 months actual and 12lb 2 at 8 months.

 

[Marleysgirl]

You are really lucky not to have been pressurised. Our Paed Consultant has been a real PITA about this. It doesn't help (IMO) that she's plotting his weights at the bottom of a normal weight-centile graph, so he floats well under the 0.4 centile with no obvious curve. I downloaded the WHO graph for low-weight babies which has additional centile curves marked (-1SD down to -4SD), and Andrew was following the -4SD curve but is now slowly rising up towards the -3SD. It's much easier to see that he is now increasing his weight gain.

 

[Fiestagal]

Marleysgirl, I'm sorry that you've had a different experience to me. We've only seen the consultant paed twice since we left hospital at the end of Sept, we have another appt in 3 weeks, but also have a genetic appt in August.

I downloaded that chart too, (I think you posted the link), he has risen from below the -4sd to between the -4sd and -3sd. It gives a better view of progress doesn't it?

 

[keldac]

I posted a similar thread about this a while back.
Mikayla was 4lb born and has never gained very well. She is 15 months now and still a tiny dot at 17lbs - my consultant was fab and said 'normal' graphs shouldn't be used for preemies. he has no nocerns at all and I keep in touch with lots of other prem mums and all there babies are slow growers to!
Best things come in small parcels