What am I doing wrong?

[DecemberWait]

My baby girl is eight days old today. She was born at 7lb13oz and was 7lb4oz upon discharge at two days old. She went in for a weight check the next day and was 7lb2oz. Yesterday, she weighed only 7lb3oz and I weighed her again today...still 7lb3oz! I am getting insanely discouraged. She wakes up to eat every 2.5-3 hours very, very consistently and I can hear her gulping so I know she's eating. She typically does 20 minutes on each breast, sometimes 15 on each. She has TONS of wet and poopy diapers each day. She has mild jaundice but it seems to be slowly going away. I am really concerned by this really really slow "gain." My supply is fine and she seriously does not cry unless hungry so she is settled. What is the problem? I am really close to supplementing with formula because I'm worried about her lack of gain

 

[missbabes]

Edit : Ooops sorry, misread the thread.

Try not to worry though, and don't weigh her everyday. I wouldn't worry and would wait for her next official weigh in.

 

[DecemberWait]

You're doing nothing wrong. Babies naturally can lose up to 10% off their birth weight in their first week. The fact that she's at her birth weight now is absolutely brilliant.

In order to stop yourself from worrying unnecessarily stop weighing her yourself and leave that for appointments which are done on more accurate machines for newborn weight.

She was 7lb13oz at birth and 7lb3oz today...

 

[missbabes]

You're doing nothing wrong. Babies naturally can lose up to 10% off their birth weight in their first week. The fact that she's at her birth weight now is absolutely brilliant.

In order to stop yourself from worrying unnecessarily stop weighing her yourself and leave that for appointments which are done on more accurate machines for newborn weight.

She was 7lb13oz at birth and 7lb3oz today...

Sorry, I hit submit before I realised I read it wrong.

 

[Pielette]

It's recommended not to weigh babies every day. Their weight will fluctuate from day to day but you should see steady progression over the course of a week, for example. Honestly, you're giving yourself unnecessary worry by weighing every day. Plus the scales used by health professionals for weighing babies are much more sensitive and accurate.

You're really not doing anything wrong. It sounds like she's getting plenty of milk and her nappies sound great. Please don't give formula at this stage. She's only a week old and it does sometimes take time to get back up to birth weight. Birth weight is usually a little 'inflated' as they have birth fluid in their system which needs to clear.

 

[sue_88]

You sound like you're doing everything right.....expect for weighing her!! You are only causing yourself the stress.

Babies should not ever be weighed so often, only weigh weekly (if you must), fortnightly is better.

It sounds like your LO and your milk are absolutely fine.

 

[DecemberWait]

I guess I'm just stressed because her ped keeps wanting her to come back every few days for weight checks. He wants her to birth weight by Tuesday. Not gonna happen...

 

[sue_88]

Don't do it, it's very very normal for a BF baby to not regain birth weight for up to a month. If he expresses concern about weight (which will be undue as things look normal from my POV), he could end up suggest something like supplementation etc which will massively hinder your bf journey.

Just keep feeding on demand, and don't give in to your paed. She sounds like she is doing fine, please try to relax. You're doing a good job

 

[leigh5tom]

My little boy was born at 9lb 3oz, he then went to 8lb 14oz, then up to 9lb, then 9lb 1oz and has now dropped to 9lb again I just don't know why he isn't gaining. My mw said that me having mastitis and him having tongue tie could of affected my supply initially, and it's just waiting for it to increase. x x x

 

[JAJuly2013]

I hope you don't mind me responding. I'm not currently BF but plan to when my baby girl is born in june. I did BF my son 10 years ago.

I recently went to a BF class to refresh my memory and get tips and such.

There are a couple things to keep in mind about baby's weight.

Regarding baby's birthweight - were you receiving IV fluids during labor? If so, this could cause baby to weigh more than she actually weighs. So if this is the case, baby may not have actually weighed that much in reality if there had been no additional fluids given.

it sounds to me, based on what I learned in my BF class last weekend tha tyou are doing everything right! If baby is swallowing milk, and is on the breast frequently and having at least 8 wet/dirty diapers a day, I don't think you have anything to worry about. Breast milk is very easy to digest, much more so than formula so this causes babys to eat more often.

I would not weigh baby so much as like the PP have stated, weight will fluctuate. In the BF class, if I remember correctly, they stated normally breastfed babies are back to their birth weight by week 2. However, as I stated above, they may not have baby's actual "true" birth weight if you were given IV fluids.

Just something to keep in mind. I am in no way an expert, just hoping to help reassure you a bit.

Do you have a lactation consultant you can contact? I would highly recommend it!

 

[Rachel_C]

Definitely stop weighing LO yourself! Dr Jack Newman wrote something good about weighing babies: https://www.facebook.com/DrJackNewman/posts/162891607195227

Unless you're weighing LO on the same set of scales she was first weighed on and they have been properly calibrated, it doesn't mean too much. If LO is otherwise happy and healthy, just carry on as you are.

According to the red book (UK baby record book), most babies regain their birth weight by 2 weeks of age, so there's still ages yet and that's only *most* babies, not all babies. Please don't weigh LO yourself, just get her weighed according to the normal schedule for the first two weeks, then once a month after that until 6 months old. I don't think my LO was weighed more than 4 times in her first 2 weeks and she was jaundiced so there were extra checks!

 

[summer rain]

My youngest had only lost 5% of birthweight on day 5 when he was weighed but by day 10 hadn't gained a single gram back from this, by day 16 or 17 he regained everything. Although I didn't have fluids during labour he was born with fluid retention which got worse over the next few days, his hands and limbs were really puffy, so this probably threw off his original birthweight and what probably happened was he lost more between day 5-10 due to losing the excessive fluid and instead of weight being static he had probably dropped below the day 5 reading and by day 10 was steadily regaining. After that he gained 7oz a week for the first few months and then started gaining anything between 4-9oz a week when he got to 4 months. I never supplemented with formula and in your case I wouldn't advise it xx

 

[DecemberWait]

Thanks for the support ladies We are going for a weight check tomorrow so hopefully it'll be good news. She has a ton of output so in theory she should be gaining. And yep I did receive IV fluids during labor...I didn't know that could affect birth weight. No lactation consultant but I'll look into that. Thanks again for all of the encouragement!

 

[lxb]

dont' worry too much. just keep feeding every 2-3 hours

my LO was 8lb at first...then dropped to 7lb2oz.
Week #1 she was 7lb8oz
Week #2 she was 7lb14oz
Week #3 she was 8lb9oz
Week #4 she was 9lb2oz

 

[dairymomma]

I was told that my kids needed to be back up to their birth weight around 2 weeks. Key word is 'around'. I think they reached their birth weights at 2 weeks so just give it some time.

 

[jessicatunnel]

My son was born 8 lb 2oz and was 7lb12oz when we were discharged from the hospital. He dropped down to 7lb8oz and wasn't gaining weight at all. We were in every single day for weight checks. They wanted him to reach his birth weight by day ten. They were pushing formula on me but I refused to give it to him. I just fed and fed and he regained his birth weight by day 15. He was also jaundiced.
Just keep feeding hun. Don't stress about it. Give it time, and DO NOT top up with formula.

 

[lxb]

Oh yeah~ my LO also had jaundice~ but yes, keep feeding~! It just takes some time for milk to come in

 

[DecemberWait]

Thanks for the support but unfortunately I will have to supplement as she has lost 2oz since Tuesday. I'm baffled because her output is insane and she even had a huge blowout at the drs office. She eats and poops and pees and loses weight. I gave her an oz of formula with her last feeding and I'm extremely depressed that I can't make her thrive on my own. It sucks. Her health is top priority though. Thanks for all of the support ladies.

 

[lxb]

there's absolutely nothing wrong with giving her formula. like you said, the top priority is her health!

looking into lactation consultant is a good idea. if you plan to nurse, try to avoid bottles as it will cause nipple confusion.

 

[Rachel_C]

Definitely look into seeing a lactation consultant and I would absolutely not feed her with a bottle as it can cause big issues, as well as getting everybody into the 'how many ounces?' mentality which has no meaning! Consider an SNS or use a syringe or cup instead... I so wish somebody had told me these things existed when I had my first.