Weight Loss and Supplementation Help

[mandaa1220]

We just went to our first pediatrician appointment. My son was born not even 48 hours ago.

His weight at birth was 7lb 14.7oz. Yesterday morning, he was at 7lb 12oz I believe at the hospital. At the doctor's office, he was at 7lb 6oz. The doctor wants us to come back tomorrow to have him weighed again. He is looking slightly jaundice too.

The doctor said he wanted to try to avoid supplementation, so it won't interfere with breastfeeding, but I'm worried I'm going to be told to supplement and I don't know what's normal for weight loss, but of course as a FTM of a not even 48 hour baby, I'm panicking. I don't want to have supplementation interfere with breastfeeding, but I'm also worried I'm doing something wrong with feeding him. The lactation consultants and nurses at hospital all said he had a great latch and was doing great.

Sorry it's all mumble jumbled. I'm just a mess as usual.

 

[purplecupcake]

Relax. Has your milk even come in yet? breastfed babies will lose weight until your milk comes in. DS was 6lbs 2oz at birth and 5lbs 10oz 3 days later. My milk came in 2 days after he was born. He started gaining weight rapidly after that and doubled his birth weight by 7 weeks.

Don't let them scare you into supplementing - this will only hurt your supply. Continue to breastfeed him as often as possible, eat well, and drink plenty of water.

 

[RaspberryK]

They don't even weigh babies that soon in the uk, weight loss is normal, my milk didn't come in for 5 days and I never supplemented.
Xx

 

[mandaa1220]

Relax. Has your milk even come in yet? breastfed babies will lose weight until your milk comes in. DS was 6lbs 2oz at birth and 5lbs 10oz 3 days later. My milk came in 2 days after he was born. He started gaining weight rapidly after that and doubled his birth weight by 7 weeks.

Don't let them scare you into supplementing - this will only hurt your supply. Continue to breastfeed him as often as possible, eat well, and drink plenty of water.

No it hasn't come in yet. The pediatrician asked that today and I told him it hadn't. I thought that everything was going great, because his latch seems to be great and he's nursing regularly, but then the pediatrician scared me when he mentioned supplementing if he doesn't gain weight.

We go back tomorrow morning and they will weigh him again. I don't know what to say if he doesn't gain and they start talking supplementing? I don't want to do wrong by my son and it seems like a bad choice to ignore the doctor's recommendation, but I don't want to mess with nursing either.

 

[luna_19]

It is so normal for bf babies to lose up to 10% of their birth weight waiting for milk to come in and are not expected to get back to birth weight until 2-3 weeks old. Not sure why they are being so anal about it, jaundice is also very common. The important thing right now is to monitor diaper output to make sure he is taking in enough colostrum while waiting for your milk.

 

[pinklightbulb]

Eamon lost 10% and Liam 0% in the first few days, and my milk came in at the same time with both boys. Every baby is different. Some lose, some don't. As long as it's not more than 10% you're good. Eamon was also jaundiced but picked up quickly.

 

[mandaa1220]

To update- lo had gained an ounce and jaundice was looking better the next day. My milk also came in a few days ago. We go back tuesday for another weight check

 

[NotNic]

DS2 was slightly jaundiced a d had some weight gain issues at week 2. We were told to supplement after a few other things we tried didn't make a difference. We were told either to pump and give him a bottle or offer a bottle of formula after nursing. We were also encouraged to pump for 10mins each side if DS2 only snacked or refused to feed. By the third week he regained his birth weight and is now gaining. We no longer supplement unless he has another light feeding day. For us supplementation was necessary as he was a very quick feeder -10mins and he was asleep and they wanted to ensure he ate more as he was reluctant to feed for longer - possibly from being tired from nursing.