EMERGENCY baby now losing weight

Slow Down. If I understand correctly, you are (actually you are being made to
worry) about a 2 oz loss in the midst of Britian's worst recorded heat wave
ever. He's just about 12 weeks or three months old. He's due for a growth spurt
within a week or so. Shame on your HV for freaking you out. How many nappys a
day is he producing? 5 or more plus one or more poopy? Then he is probably ok.
To be sure he is doing well, take him and yourself to bed for a day. Turn on
old movie or bad tv and just let him nurse all day, skin to skin that should
pump up your production. Also, offer every hour or more. Plus make sure every
time you nurse him, have a big glass of cold water. Good Luck, Sue

After not being weighed for a few weeks last Monday my baby weighed 8lb
13.5oz aged 10 weeks 5 days. Today aged 11 weeks 5 days he was reweighed
on the same scales he weighed 8lb 11.5 oz, a weight loss of 2oz in a week.

This week I have been eating well (oat meal for breakfast) and feeding him
as much as possible, usually every 2 hours, at least every 3 hours,
except for one longer sleep of 4-7 hours. My latch has been checked and
everything seems fine. He was checked by a ped last week after we found
blood in his nappy, she seemed to think it was from his foreskin.

The health visitor is now very concerned, I have until Thursday for him to
start gaining weight before she recommends we give him 1 bottle of formula
per day, I do not want to do this, but equally I do not want to harm his
long term development.

He seems to be a happy sociable baby, some fussiness when he is hungry,
needs a nappy change, or gets over stimulated, he doesn't sleep that much,
probably around 12 hours per day. He sleeps in his own room.

I feel terrible about this, I am desperate to breastfeed him exclusively
for 6 months I firmly believe breast is best and feel a failure as a
mother that I do not seem to be giving him enough for him to grow.

-----------
Anne Rogers

Tupperware without the party???
Shop online at my website.
http://my.tupperware.com/SueBurton

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Anne Rogers wrote:

After not being weighed for a few weeks last Monday my baby weighed 8lb
13.5oz aged 10 weeks 5 days. Today aged 11 weeks 5 days he was reweighed
on the same scales he weighed 8lb 11.5 oz, a weight loss of 2oz in a week.

This week I have been eating well (oat meal for breakfast) and feeding him
as much as possible, usually every 2 hours, at least every 3 hours,
except for one longer sleep of 4-7 hours. My latch has been checked and
everything seems fine. He was checked by a ped last week after we found
blood in his nappy, she seemed to think it was from his foreskin.

The health visitor is now very concerned, I have until Thursday for him to
start gaining weight before she recommends we give him 1 bottle of formula
per day, I do not want to do this, but equally I do not want to harm his
long term development.

He seems to be a happy sociable baby, some fussiness when he is hungry,
needs a nappy change, or gets over stimulated, he doesn't sleep that much,
probably around 12 hours per day. He sleeps in his own room.

I feel terrible about this, I am desperate to breastfeed him exclusively
for 6 months I firmly believe breast is best and feel a failure as a
mother that I do not seem to be giving him enough for him to grow.

-----------
Anne Rogers




Has he been checked for a UTI?

Clisby

The health visitor is now very concerned, I have until Thursday for him to
start gaining weight before she recommends we give him 1 bottle of formula
per day, I do not want to do this, but equally I do not want to harm his
long term development.

Ok. I think we really need to figure out what is going on here.

1. Is he wetting/dirtying diapers? When he nurses are you seeing milk in his
mouth? Do you hear him swallowing? Do you feel let-downs? Do your breasts feel
fullish before feedings and softer afterwards?
Does he seem content after her feeds?
If so, there is no reason to assume that your milk is inadequate, and no
reason, therefore, to assume that giving formula will solve the problem.
If there DOES appear to be a supply problem, and you've done all you can to
increase it, then some supplements may indeed be necessary. (But that does not
mean that you are a failure! It just means that you have a physical problem!)

2. I would be pursuing the blood in the nappy issue more agressively. Did the
pediatrician do any actual tests? A cathed urine sample? Blood in the urine can
be a sign of a wide range of problems, some minor, some serious; any of which
can affect a babies weight gain. If you can find and treat that problem, if
any, you may well solve the weight issue.

3. It is usually not advisable to weigh a baby before and after feeds (just
tends to stress out mom...) but if there a question about supply, this might be
a good step. You'll need a good, very accurate scale, but it will let you know
how much milk baby is actually getting at each feed. Can the HV or pediatrican
provide you with a scale?
Ample milk intake combined with poor weight gain would point to a physical
problem with the baby rather than a supply problem.

4. It's good that you are feeding more often, but I'd try feeding more often
still. You say you are feedng 'usually every 2 hours, at least every 3, except
for one longer sleep of 4-7 hours.' It's hard to estimate how many feeds that
is, but I'm guessing somewhere around 8? Which is still pretty low for a young
baby with weight gain issues. Try for every 2 hours during the day, and no more
than 4 at night. 7 hours is way too long for him to be going without eating.
(Can he sleep in your room, even if not in your bed? That will make night feeds
easier, and he may actually wake more often for night feeds if he senses your
presense/smells the milk.)

5. Have you tried pumping at all? (I don't remember from your earlier post.) I
don't
usually think it's such a hot idea, but,
especially if baby isn't interested in nursing as often as he should, pumping
may stimulate your supply, and if you do
end up having to give some supplements, you'll have some EBM on hand to offer
rather than formula.

6. Remember, remember, remember that
your milk will always be the best thing for your baby. Even if you end up
having to top it off with something else because the quantity isn't adquate,
the QUALITY is
exactly what your baby needs, and every drop of breastmilk you can give him
will benefit him, and give him something that no-one else can provide for him!

You're doing great!


Naomi
CAPPA Certified Lactation Educator

(either remove spamblock or change address to to e-mail
reply.)

Anne, what is his nappy output? Is he dehydrated?

my hubbie and sister have been changing his nappies so I'm not exactly
sure, but it's getting changed around 8 times per day and when I quiz them
they seem to be wet and dirty, so unlikely that this is the problem. I'm
in the UK, we had a heat wave recently, but in the last week it has cooled
down temps around 25 degrees C, I drink plenty so its dehydration is
unlikely.