Losing Weight - Should I wake him to feed?

[Renee_AW]

Our 9 week old son has been sleeping through the night (from around 8:30pm - 7am) for about the past two weeks.

My husband noticed the other day that he had lost some weight & since he was only weighed last week in his 8 week check-up I had him weighed again today. Last week his naked weight was 5.5kg, this week he is 5.42kg.....he has lost 80g.

Although this is not a lot of weight we are a bit concerned that it is associated with him not feeding during the night and that the weight loss will continue.

Other than losing the weight he is healthy, alert and has lots of wet & poo'y nappies. He usually has two feeds in the morning when he wakes i.e. both breasts on waking, a play for about 45 mins & then both breasts again. After this he feeds every 2-3 hours, depending on how he sleeps.

Since he has lost weight we are wondering whether I should get him up once during the night to feed or whether I should leave it another week and see how he goes?

Any thoughts or experiences would be much appreciated.

[onthefly]

A weight loss is always a worry I'd try not to freak out at this stage - it may just be a one-off drop and he'll be back on track the next week.
How many feeds is he having all up? Having plenty of wet & dirty nappies is a good sign. Any other changes in his demeanor?
I'd recommend calling the ABA or speaking to a lactation consultant for specific advice - that would be the best way to get a clear idea of whether there is a problem and what you can do about it.
All the best

[Renee_AW]

How many feeds is he having all up? Having plenty of wet & dirty nappies is a good sign. Any other changes in his demeanor?
I'd recommend calling the ABA or speaking to a lactation consultant for specific advice - that would be the best way to get a clear idea of whether there is a problem and what you can do about it.
All the best

I spoke with ABA before I knew he had lost weight & they said that as long as he had the prescribed number of wet & dirty nappies and was not listless or had changes to his energy/behaviour then not to worry. It is the loss in weight that has us concerned.

He feeds about 7 times a day. Nappies are good and his demeanor is unchanged - he is still an alert, smiley & chatty 9 week old boy.

[kelebek]

it is scary when that happens and I would probably call the ABA and check what they have to say. It could have just been the week that things dropped off a little and next week you will have a gain. Where the scales the same? maybe that can explain the difference?
I personally would try to see if he would take a dream feed, keeping in mind that it can unsettle some babies or maybe squeeze an extra feed in there somewhere. Does he take both breasts when he feeds? if he doesn't you could try and offer both breasts?

Oh those early months are hard and I do think from the sounds of things you are doing a really good job!!

[onthefly]

Well, the only harm in waking him up to feed him is that you may stuff up the lovely sleep you're geting. so you can certainly try that if you want (assuming he'll cooperate and actually feed)
Maybe give it a week and see. I'd get onto an LC if there is continued weight loss or any other change that concerns you though. Sounds like he's doing pretty well for the time being anway

[Renee_AW]

Well, the only harm in waking him up to feed him is that you may stuff up the lovely sleep you're geting.

I am waking up once or twice during the night to express milk because the ache or engorgement wakes me up....I would much rather feed than express. I have once gotten him out of bed to feed in the middle of the night (a few weeks back now) and he didn't even appear to wake up - not sure how he would respond now.

I might phone the ABA & see what they say.

[onthefly]

Ah! Well then yeah, your biggest problem may be getting him to wake up.
Hopefully they'll be able to help you

[kelebek]

some people find they can do the whole dream feed and others won't. It can mess with thier systems and it sounds like you might have trouble waking him and then it might cause problems getting him to sleep.

I hope they can give you an answer too.

[Renee_AW]

I just spoke to the ABA & they told me that they do not use weight as an indicator of how baby is doing. She said to check his length & head circumference & if he has gained in these areas since last week it is likely that he will have lost weight....growing takes energy. Seems weird that he could be longer & have a bigger head but be lighter but I double checked this and she confirmed it is what happens.

She said the key indicator is wet nappies (4 to 5 per day) and that poo's are mustard like & runny. DS's nappies are good so she said not to wake him for a feed during the night.

She told me to trust that my baby knows what he needs!

[kelebek]

and I have to agree with everything she said

[Barb Glare]

Hi,

Your baby does need to be gaining weight overall. However, one apparent weightloss isn't cause for panic - it's just an indicator that you should look into the situation. I have seen many panics initiated because of a variation in scales, but on the other hand it would not be prudent to "do nothing". In the short term the simplest thing would be to wake your baby and feed him in the night. Most babies will still wake to feed at night at this age, but some get a bit too settled a bit soon. You can wake him anytime it suits - some mothers might give a late "dream feed" before midnight - others prefer a good block of sleep and might wake the baby later. Get your baby weighed on the same scales in a weeks time. Babies should be feeding 8 times or more in 24 hours at this stage.

[Renee_AW]

In the short term the simplest thing would be to wake your baby and feed him in the night. Most babies will still wake to feed at night at this age, but some get a bit too settled a bit soon. You can wake him anytime it suits - some mothers might give a late "dream feed" before midnight - others prefer a good block of sleep and might wake the baby later. Get your baby weighed on the same scales in a weeks time. Babies should be feeding 8 times or more in 24 hours at this stage.

Hello Barb,

I am confused now as the advice I had from phoning the ABA was not to wake him for a feed, I see you are also with the ABA but are giving different advice. I go to bed at night thinking I will wake him but when I wake up and he looks so peaceful I change my mind.

We measured his height in relation to what I was told when I phoned the ABA; that it is possible that if he has grown in length he may have lost weight, he has grown 4cm in 9 days. That is more than he has grown between 0 and 8 weeks (he is now 10 weeks). His total growth since birth is 7cm (with 4cm in the past 9 days).

He has just started to sleep a little better in the day now & yesterday woke at 7:30am after 11 hours sleep and then went back to bed from 9am - 12noon. This meant he had only one feed in over 15 hours. That worried me. With this in mind all of my instincts are telling me to give him a night feed - at this rate he had seven feeds yesterday.

If you have any thoughts in addition to your advice above it would be appreciated.

[onthefly]

If you feel he needs it then give it a go.
I'd then go back to the same scales in a week and see where you're at - 4cm is a massive growth spurt, so he can't be doing too badly!

[Renee_AW]

If you feel he needs it then give it a go.
I'd then go back to the same scales in a week and see where you're at - 4cm is a massive growth spurt, so he can't be doing too badly!

Thanks Marcellus. I think I am worrying too much because he is a beautiful, happy & alert baby! People have commented since he was about 3 weeks how alert he is and I notice the other babies in groups I go to that are the same age and older (to 12 weeks) & there is not one that is as alert as he is.

[Miss E]

Just a quick thought... When you're talking about an 80 gram weight loss it could very well be the difference between him being fed before being weighed the first time and then the second time being a couple of hours after a feed.

I think it is a great sign that his nappies are on track and he is alert etc. My DS was very slow to gain weight in the first month or so, so we were waking him every 3 hours overnight to feed, once his weight gain got on track we stretched it out to four hours, then six and then let him go for as long as he could. That said I kept up a 10pm dream feed until he was 7 or 8 months. TBH I would be concerned about him only having one feed in 15 hours... Personally (and I'm definately no expert, just a BF'ing mum) I would try doing a dream feed before you go to bed for a few days, if it works great, and if doesn't you really haven't lost anything.

[MantaRay]

Hun, as your instincts are telling you, 1 feed in 15 hours is not nearly enough at that age. When babies aren't getting enough milk they lack the energy to wake for feeds. When this happens it is very important to wake them and feed at least every 3 hours. Out of interest, how have his nappies been in the last couple of days?

With regard to the conflicting information, Barb is correct that weight loss can be an idication of a problem. The counsellor you spoke to on the phone was also correct in saying that weight is only one of the things looked at, and is not necessarily an indication of a problem. It is important to look at the other signs though and rule out any issues. Changes such as a baby becoming sleepier are another indication of an issue. Two potential signs of a problem certainly suggest that this should is something that warrants being investigated further.

There is a great article on the ABA webiste that I can't link to right now, but would be worth a read. It's called Baby Weight Gains and it's at the bottom of the first column of articles under the "Information" tab.

It would be a good idea to start waking frequently for feeds, and to see a LC or child health nurse to look further at what is going on. It might be just that you need to increase feeds for a while, but there are other things that could be going on.

All the best hun.

[Renee_AW]

Out of interest, how have his nappies been in the last couple of days?

MantaRay, his nappies have been good. I get what you say about not having the energy to wake for a feed - I was wondering that this morning while I was eating my toast & watching him waiting for his eyes to open. He starts making noises as if he is going to wake up at around 5:30am - lots of noise & then quite & more noise, more quiet. I wondered whether he had been trying to wake up but for some reason couldn't.

In conflict with that is how alert & active he is. His uptime is always 1.5 hours - he is not ready for sleep any time before then during the day & when we are not feeding he is on the floor with me playing & doing visual stimulation, dancing, tummy time...whatever I can think of. He laughs, talks to me, has rolled over from tummy to back a few times...looks like he is almost ready to crawl when he is on his tummy. He has so much energy.

All that said, I am concerned and the last time I didn't listen to my instincts I got mugged! So, I will feed him during the night - no matter how peaceful he looks. Breast milk is GOOD and will make him even more peaceful when he goes back to bed.

I love my little man & hate the thought that I might not be feeding him enough.

[Barb Glare]

Hi,
I'm glad to hear that you are going to wake your baby to feed him during the night. It is important that you get him weighed again, soon, on the same scales. At this age babies shouldn't really be losing weight. However, we all have bad weeks, and sometimes the scales don't reveal the full story. There can be a discrepency in the scales. Or as some-one else mentioned, it could be the difference between having had a feed and not, but I think it's better to know what is happening. If you identify he is not getting enough milk, it is easily rectified by feeding more frequently. It would be much harder to deal with if you let the situation go on and then found there *really* was a problem. Weight is only one indicator of well-being, but your little one does need to be gaining weight over time.