Health nurse says need more formula

[maz]

After all these months of trying and trying and here's me thinking that we finally found our feet..my health nurse said that we sould give Mateauz atleast 2 formula feeds a day.
the reason

He has only put on 700grams in 8 weeks.

she said that he is already on the bottem end of the scale and he isnt climbing like he should be. She said he looks like he needs a 'goof feed' anyway. Im so upset about this and she knows it. Dont get me wrong, she totally supports me BF and knows I dont want to FF him anymore then need be (he already gets one 180ml formula bottle at night)

im just wondering.....Mateauz does pyhsio work 4 times a day for aobut 10-15 mins...could this burn of alot of calories for him compared to anormal baby?...we have been doing the pyhsio for the last 8 weeks. Its just I know when your baby starts moving and crawling that they loose weight and im wondering if this is the reason behind his slow weight gain.

i really feel like $hiat atm. I feel really numb.

Any advice on what to do would be very much taken on board...and yes Ive rung the ABA but the Melbourne number keeps disconnecting.

and please anyone who is FF dont take me wrong..I have FF 3 babies but after everything Mateauz has been through I really wanted to do BF him and have no objections against anyone who FF's

[Phteven]

Maz, I don't know if it's for such young babies but there is some kind of high calorie stuff for babies who are a bit skinny.
I know some of the girls in the FTT thread used to use it and also a girl with a CF baby.
Maybe you could look into that and mix it into or swap it for the formula feed you already do. That way instead of adding an extra bottle you make the one he already has count more.
I'll try and dig up some posts about it.
Also do you have time to squeeze an extra boob feed or 2 into your day?

[Shellbelle]

Maz we add calories to our prems milk at work. With formula you add polyjoule (pretty sure you can get from chemist) and to breast milk you add HMF (human milk fortifier). These all increase the calories. Normal milk or formula is 20 calories, and you can calorise up to about 28calories. there is different amounts per how much milk - insturctions are on the can. Perhaps ask your paed and if need be you can then get a script! HTH!

[Rouge]

700gms is awesome. I would get a second opinion, check out his graph, if there is an obvious pattern its fine. Like christy said if he's got wet & dry nappies its FINE!

Sorry but I was given similar advice, and later told it was the wrong advice when it was way too late.

[Visitor7]

oh honey, I'm so sorry to hear this. I would definitely go see your Paed about this before you start increasing the formula as I know how much you want to continue with your b/f journey.

[Pretty Butterfly]

Babe, your doing great!!!

I too comp fed Taylah, even though she fed like a beaut, she still didn't gain well.

I too used the high calorie formula, and she took off great. One night bottle of that, and the rest B/F.

So before you give EXTRA ff, maybe try substituting the one bottle with this??

I comp fed taylah for the full 12 months, as it was discovered after many hospital stays, her calories didn't stay in her body long enough to be absorbed. This formula was great. At the time i also got it on prescription, and it was heaps cheaper.

Hope that helps, and good luck honey, your both doing AMAZING!!!

[MantaRay]

Big hugs Maz. You have worked so hard, and overcome huge hurdles to be where you are now. It must have killed you to have someone put these doubts in your mind now.

I agree with the others, I wouldn't be adding a bottle just yet. I don't know whether Mateauz needs more weight or not. But I know that MCHNs are often mistaken when they say that. So definitely get a second opinion first. And also remember that those charts are based on ff babies - bf babies will nearly always be lower on the chart. Also, anywhere on the chart is "normal", so even the bottom end is ok. And if something more is needed, then I would be trying more bfs or the calorie fortifier first before adding an extra bottle.

I totally think that the physio could be contributing. Jack was putting on 400g a week in the early days. Then by 3 months he was mobile and went from near the top of the charts to near the bottom! He was still drinking as much, he was just burning it off more quickly. And there's certainly nothing wrong with his weight or health today. And Tom is in the 75th percentile for height and 10th for weight. Nothing wrong with him either - he is just very active.

You have come this far Maz, you will get past this. I know you will. I know that feeling when you hear something like that, but please try not to let it get to you. I suspect she is just being cautious. Get some better advice and I am sure you will be glad you did.

[christy]

ah man... that would devestate me.

Firstly, he is gaining. At that age, 700gms is great for 4 weeks. How many nappies is he going through? How much is he feeding? How often? Can you try to up the feeds at all? Instead of total demand feeding, maybe feed him every 3 hours rather than every 4, or every 2 hours etc... to boost him up.

At that age the physio would be burning calories definately. Matilda was a stick... from birth... and still is. She started crawling from 4.5 months and that was the first time she lost weight.

Also try a LC. If you can't get through to the ABA, maybe you can get through to a LC on the phone to help you now.

I had to use formula with Jovie when she absolutely refused the breast for 10 hours... I found a LC who got me back on track going back to full-time bf. And honestly it took 3 months, but we did it. you are an amazing woman!