low weight gain Formula and breastfeeding
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Topic: low weight gain Formula and breastfeeding
Posted By: JamyzonlyJaz
Subject: low weight gain Formula and breastfeeding
Date Posted: 27 August 2009 at 12:02pm
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I have a 7 week old, birth weight was 3340 grams (3.3kgs) gained 110grams in 4 days. I have been using a nipple shield for inverted/small sore nipples since my milk has come in. Went for 6 week check on Friday and the doctor was concerned about her weight gain as she weighed in at 3875 grams that’s only 535 gram weight gain in 6 weeks the doctor suggested I should give her a top up of formula at her last feed because she sleeps through the night and has done so since 3 weeks old I got Nurture plus gold and mixed up 225 ml feed her and she drank 90 ml at 10.30pm and slept to 8.30 am I was unsure on how much I should give her at this feed and rang the Plunket help line the next day, they said 120 ml max so I feed her 120 ml at 10.30 slept to 8.30 again then I had a visit from the Plunket nurse on Monday after 3 feeds of formula. Weighed in at 3920 that’s a 45 gram weight gain. Since she has been fed formula she has been fussing at the breast and doesn’t like the nipple shield I then tried without the shield and no change still fussy and getting really unsettled. The Plunket nurse suggested I top up about 30ml of formula before a feed and 20 mins max on each side. I have tried expressing and I only get 30 to 40mls and it takes up to an hour. Since I have been feeding her a top up during the day she has been sleeping for 3 hours after each feed before this she didn’t sleep long during the day only a few 10 min naps. I feel so guilty for feeding her formula as I wanted to exclusively breast feed till she was at least 6 months old. I am worried that I’m screwing up her development and growth. I want her to gain weight but cant help thinking what have I done have I ruined the first year of her life… I feel like ive failed as a mother already and have been getting so worked up about it.
Has anyone else been through this or similar? How did you cope? What did you do? TIA ------------- http://lilypie.com">  
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Replies:
Posted By: KazS
Date Posted: 27 August 2009 at 12:32pm
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It really killed me inside to have to feed my girl formula at her last feed - i just had no supply in the evening -she would nurse and scream till she made my breasts sore and she was still starving
Thing is though, in the end i figured i was giving her the majority of her feeds as a breast feed and just had to make up for what nature wasnt supplying me in the evenings! she is happy and healthy and had put on plenty of weight so that settled my mind about it in the end. Dont feel as though you have let yourself and your bubba down, i felt crappy as there are so many "you must only BF" people out there but really, only you know what is best for your bubba and having her happy and healthy and gaining weight is the most important thing as far as i am concerned! |
Posted By: kebakat
Date Posted: 27 August 2009 at 12:49pm
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Bubs is getting fed = you are a good mum
Just remember that, it doesn't really matter if its breast milk or formula, she is still being fed 
I had to feed Daniel formula top ups cause he was a horrible feeder on the breast. Lots of mums do it and lots of mums exclusively breast feed or formula feed. My only thought as to your problems is that she probably likes the bottle because its a bit more lazy, the milk comes easy and they don't really have to work to get fed unlike breast feeding where they need to suck a bit harder at first to get your let down going. Have you tried hand expressing a little before latching her? |
Posted By: Bizzy
Date Posted: 27 August 2009 at 1:15pm
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fully breastfed babies dont gain weight like formula babies... none of my kids were fast gainers, but steady. and length is another indicator of growth that isnt always taken into account. the more you formula feed the less milk your body will make too. also expressing isnt an accurate measure of how much milk you have, so dont use that as a guide.
you may as well stop feeling guilty - there are going to be a million other things that you will get the guilts about and a dozen different people willing to try and give you the guilts too...so dont do it to yourself! |
Posted By: lovingmummyhood
Date Posted: 27 August 2009 at 4:26pm
Firstly, you have not failed! Feeling guilty is only going to stress you out so big  . If only babies came with a manual!
Could you wake her to feed a couple of times at night?? That is a long sleep for a little baby. That might help with your milk production and her weight gain. ------------- http://lilypie.com">  http://lilypie.com">
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Posted By: mumtooboys
Date Posted: 27 August 2009 at 8:00pm
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Well speaking as someone who has had two "poor" gainers I found that by watching the BABY and ignoring the scales made me so much less stressed out.
With DS1 we were on weekly weighs for his first 12 months of life, he had formula "top ups" that were full formula feeds by 5 months and the kid STILL didn't gain weight. I too felt guilty because I was determined to do it all on my own and the thing that we were told would help did naff all! Long story short, he is now ABOVE average for height and weight for his age (just turned 6). Fast forward 4 years.............. DS2 was born and he fed well, on demand and he comfort sucked too for good measure. LOL He was going all guns blazing until he got a cold, and then the chickenpox and then another cold all by the time he was 4 months old. By then he had fallen OFF the plunket charts, but he was still on the 15th centile for the WHO weight for length bf charts. I REFUSED to comp him, offer him more solids or do any of the things I knew for a fact were liable to make the situation WORSE not better. He was ebf for 7 months, he self weaned at 18.5 months and in that time he never had a drop of formula. I also refused to weigh him weekly and I watched HIM. He gave me NO cause for concern and though it was frustrating explaining myself at every plunket visit and having to listen to things that were said that essentially implied that it was MY fault that he wasn't gaining weight "well' like I was starving him or something! Weight gain is an indication that they are getting enough milk BUT contrary to modern growth charts it isn't the be all and end all. Are you getting between 5-6 sopping wet nappies a day? Is he pooing regularly? Has he gotten longer and/or has his head got bigger? Is he content after MOST feeds? If you can answer yes to those then there's probably not a problem. I found that DS2 gained weight or length but never both in the same month. So one month he might put on triple the weight gain he should (not that they were ever happy with that so stopped pointing it out to them) and another month he'd gain length. My poor weight gainer as a baby, is now about 13kg (not sure 100% on that as he's not been weighed in more than 6 months because I refused) and I reckon I have babies who gain weight slowly and then 'bulk up' as toddlers. LOL Seriously though, I was fully ff from birth and I was 'tiny' and I didn't gain weight well, in fact even today it is practically IMPOSSIBLE for me to gain weight. You're not a failure, you've done what you thought was best with the information you had at the time. have you been in touch with a lactation consultant or La Leche League......they are probably better equipped to deal with your concerns than someone who probably knows very little about bf (as is evident by being told to 'top up BEFORE a bf and then only bf for 20 minutes a side; I was told to top up AFTER a bf so your body knows that it still needs to make that milk). http://www.kellymom.com/bf/normal/newborn-nursing.html - Kellymom might be a good place to look in the interim. It has been my bf bible and whenever I had concerns it was usually my first point of call. Good luck and if you really want to bf then do it, it's YOUR baby and no one can force you to do something you don't want to, especially if it's not actually working. Ooh and feel free to PM me if you want, just to have a chat or a whinge or whatever. ------------- http://lilypie.com"> 
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