Help Moms!! First Baby Didnt Thrive On Breastmilk.. Thought The Second Baby Was Doing Great But Now….?
Posted by Zolly | Under Nutrition Thursday Dec 31, 2009well my first son took almost 4 weeks to regain his birth weight after a 6% loss after birth… his pediatrician recommended we supplement with formula after that, which lasted for about two weeks until he got thrush which tranferred to me and led to the eventual rejection of the breast since i was feeding him more often with those because of the pain. anyways, with that said, i was worried about breastfeeding our second child, hoping they would gain weight faster. she was born at 7 lbs 1 oz and lost 7.8% of her body weight and to my delight, had regained her birth weight by 9 days old! i was so proud, after the letdown of not being able to provide what was “natural” to my son. at her next weigh in, when she was 3 weeks old she was up to a whopping 8.36 lbs! (approx 8 lbs 5 oz), leading to further delight at the incredible job my body was doing and her love for eating. things were great, she eats one schedule and for a good amount of time with no latch issues. heck, she even started sleeping for 5 hrs at a time during the night at 4 weeks! (twice for 7 hours! those were sweet hours…) anyways, this week was another weigh in at 6 weeks. to my surprise – she weighed in at 8.68 lbs (approx. 8 lbs 10 oz), only 5 oz more than last time – she also had just eaten and was wearing one light article of clothing and a diaper – last time it had just been a diaper. now my red alarms are going off and im worried shes not gaining enough weight. she already gets the rare bottle of formula (2-3 bottles per week) which should have helped in chubbing her up.. she doesnt throw up very much either. she goes back when shes 8 1/2 weeks old for another weigh in just to be sure but my dr’s only suggestion was that she was in between growth spurts… i feel like the same thing is happening all over again, just a little later in the game and i dont know what to do.. a huge part of me wants to breastfeed and to be the one that provides that nutrition to my little one for a while longer.. she looks so beautiful when shes nursing. but part of me wants to be sure shes healthy and growing!! my dr was concerned with 5 oz in 3 weeks and from what ive read, hes got a right to especially since she had just eaten (she usually eats 4 oz from the bottle, so im assuming its the same from the breast)….. any tips moms?? i just feel like theres no hope and almost no point since the same thing happened with my son and i completely lost the chance to breastfeed him after 6 weeks…
How is she doing otherwise? Does she have active, alert periods every day? Is she peeing and pooping regularly?
The first thing I would do in your shes is offer the breast more often. That will help increase your supply and give her more calories.
I would breastfeed on demand. That’s what I did and my baby was a big healthy chunker!!
Also, if your baby takes a pacifier, this could take away some of her desire to suck on you. Even if she’s just sucking for comfort, put her on your breast!
And, I think when they’re still this young it doesn’t hurt to co-sleep. We would put the baby down, but when she woke up I would just put her in bed with me and we’d both fall asleep to her eating.
I’ve never met a baby that was as big and healthy as mine that was formula fed.
How often is she feeding? She might be a bit young to go for more than four hours without feeding. As much as we all like our sleep and hate to wake a sleeping baby, breastfed babies generally need to do it more often than bottle fed. I’d ask the doc about that and see how he feels. If you delivered in a hospital they most likely had a lactation consultant, you could call her and see what she has to say too.
Measuring what a baby eats from breast is impossible and hard to compare with a bottle. Bottle feeding is measured based on baby’s stomach size and how many times they typically would nursing during the day…http://www.kellymom.com/bf/pumping/milkc…
Your first goal should be to wean your baby off the formula if at all possible. If you can get your baby to breast as often as possible, you will get an increase in supply and over time your baby will start to thrive!
I allow my baby to stay latched even after she seems to be finished eating. She comfort sucks for upwards of 15-20min following a 15-20min feeding. Sometimes it will even stimulate more let down which gets her nursing again. She often dozes off. Allow your baby to unlatch themselves rather than unlatch when you think she is done nursing.
I understand the concern of weight gain. My daughter had a similar problem in the beginning. I was told to supplement and fortunatley my daughter threw it all up so I quit. Now I have a massive over-supply at 4 months.http://www.kellymom.com/babyconcerns/gro…
Let your baby nurse completely on one side. Once she unlatches, burp, and offer the other side.
Here ya go!
“What can I do to increase my baby’s weight gain?
There are several simple things that have been proven to help with weight gain:
* Stop or decrease solid foods, particularly if baby is younger than 6 months. Most solids foods have fewer calories and nutrients than breastmilk, plus they tend to replace (rather than add to) the higher-calorie, more nutritious breastmilk.
* Sleep with your baby (this increases prolactin and frequency of nursing).
* Learn baby massage — this has been proven to improve digestion and weight gain.
* Carry baby throughout the day in a carrier/sling; get as much skin to skin contact as you can. Both of these things have been shown to improve weight gain.
* Nurse often – at least every 2 hours during the day and at least once at night. Frequent nursing increases baby’s milk intake.
* Make sure you’re allowing your baby to completely finish one side before you offer the other by waiting upon her cues that she is finished; i.e. pulling off herself and looking satisfied, going to sleep, changing from an active suck/swallow to more of a pacifier suck, etc. Always OFFER the second side, but don’t worry if she doesn’t seem to need it. It’s much more important that she be allowed to completely finish one side than that she nurse both sides. By doing so she will be assured of reaching enough of the richer, more caloric hindmilk that helps her to go longer between feedings.
* Use breast massage and breast compression during nursing.
* Pump or hand express for a couple of minutes before nursing. This will remove some of the foremilk so that your baby receives more of the richer, higher calorie hindmilk.
* If supplements are medically indicated, breastmilk is preferred over formula as a supplement (exceptions to this are rare), and the average fat/calorie content of mom’s milk is higher than that of formula. Mom can pump for 5-10 minutes after nursing (don’t interrupt or shorten the nursing session to do this), and offer this higher-fat hindmilk to baby as needed. This is also an option for moms who normally offer expressed milk when they are separated from baby.”
I really hope these tips help you. I know you only want what is best for your precious baby and I can imagine giving formula is difficult. It’s funny you mention it, but my daughter looks so beautiful while nursing as well. It is such a wonderful feeling.
Good luck!!
***Let me add to go with the last point on what I pasted.. don’t ever give your baby a full bottle of formula. Supplementing should only be offered after a nursing session assuming the baby will take it. My doctor advised that if she would not eat it then don’t force it. It means she is full. You don’t want to take away from a full nursing session by giving a bottle unless you plan to pump during that session, which breast is the better option!
I can see how frustrated you are with the situation. What’s important to remember is that you’re doing the best you can. If she needs to be supplemented with one or two formula bottles, it isn’t because you failed as a mom; in fact, you’d be doing the best thing you could do as a mom because, despite the disappointment, you’re getting past it and making sure she’s thriving on whatever nourishment you can give her. And, just to be clear, supplementing is NOT the same as giving her only formula – she’ll still be getting all sorts of benefits from your breastmilk, and get some added vitamins in the formula. There’s absolutely no reason to expect you’ll have the same nightmare experience you had the first time, and you can expect to continue breastfeeding for a long time. If you need more support, I highly recommend you look for a lactation consultant in your area who might be able to help you out in person and provide the support you need.
Edit: I’m sorry, but the people who are telling you to stop giving any formula are NOT physicians. What’s most important for your baby at this stage is to grow properly – without the right amount of fat, her brain won’t develop properly (fat is needed for myelination of neurons). If you can make enough breastmilk, great. If not, you’re not hurting your child giving her the formula she needs to thrive. Keep in close contact with your physician and work through this together. Breastfeeding is great, it’s the best thing for your baby and everyone should do it, but if, for some reason beyond your control, you are unable to only breastfeed, you ARE NOT a bad mother for it. As a measure, babies should be gaining between half and one pound per week (breastfed or not) at this stage of life.
I’m a breastfeeding Mother also and agree with the other Mothers here. stop the formula if you can because it only gets in the way of your supply. Make sure you are eating, hydrated and getting enough rest as well to increase your supply. Nurse often. Wake your baby after 4 hours if possible, especially that young. The more you nurse the more you produce, more food your baby will get at a time too and feel fulfilled. Oatmeal helps and a lot of other foods. I haven’t tried Fenugreek but I heard that works well for supply if you think you need that. If her wet diapers and stools are normal than she is eating enough. Sometimes it’s just genetics that babies and kids are smaller even if they eat just as much as a heavier child.
Are you nursing on demand or scheduling feedings? Stop giving formula all together if you want to breastfeed. For every oounce of formula she gets, your body will produce that much less milk. Are you eating well and staying hydrated? Try eating oatmeal and Mother’s milk tea. ALso, start pumping after every feeding for about 10 minutes to stimulate more milk. Above all, nurse yoru baby as often as possible! THats night and day. She should be nursing every 1 to 3 hours at this age. Stop giving bottles of pumped milk also (unles your nohtere) and just nurse her! Check her diapers daily. She should have 6 plus wet and at least 3 poopie a day. E-mail me!
It’s probably because her doctor is comparing her growth to that of a formula fed baby.
Breastfed babies grow at a different rate. And you’re right, she was probaby between growth spurts when you took her in.
Here’s a great chart on the growth of a breastfed baby. Maybe bring in some of the info to your daughters next appointment.http://www.kellymom.com/babyconcerns/gro…