I thought we were doing ok..? CHN just told me to try formula :(

[grub17]

yeah what pp have said!! and stop watching the clock. I did this with ds and stressed myself crazy cos he would feed 5 mins max per side mostly! only at night when he would take his time..

once i got rid of the clock from his room and just went with what he wanted, I found it much better as I could relax. Both my kids only stay on about 5 mins or so each side. They are gutsaches and just got what they wanted quickly. With my daughter, when she was taht age, I would push her out to waiting the 3 hrs to feed because I found she was having lots of little unsubstantial snacks constantly (which didn't work for me with an 18mnth old to run after as well). so when I did every 3 hrs rather than 1 to 2 hours, she would do a much better feed and be fuller longer iykwim (BUT she was a very large bub)

as per weight, i was told anythign over 100g was what they are looking at... so you are fine by that. yep it would be good to see a higher gain, but horses for courses ya'know.

Anoterh thing you could try is to do a dream feed at night if bub is doing a decent stretch of sleep. YOu just sneak in, pick em up and pop em on the boob. It can taek a bit the first couple of times to get them sucking (you need to wake them a bit more) but once they learn it, they just pop on, have a feed, barely wake and go back to sleep.

my ds was 25th and 50th percentile for hs weight so we used dreamfeeds for ages. he was never a great feeder during the day so i liked to squeeze in this extra night feed.

def get onto the aba or a lactation consultant and give that nurse the flick. You are a great mum and of course you are only going to do what is best for your bub so how dare she make you feel like you aren't doing exactly what you need to be.

hang in there love you are doing a great job.

i hope some of that may help in some way.

[Lolpigs]

Don't listen to the CHN, if she is putting on weight happy and contented etc then she is fine. Just ignore them.

Every CHN I spoke too and our pead pushed different things to the point of confusion for me. I just stopped listening and we are much happier

[kateo]

This happened to me but in my case our stupid GP told me to FF and the MCHN thought my babies 100gr a week was OK. I got in touch with the aba went to breast feeding support, pumped and fed "top up" feeds did the dream feed and actually used a total of 200mls of formula just for top ups if I hadn't enough ebm. I also found a wonderful GP who is also a lactation specialist.
Keep feeding your baby. Sounds to me like you are doing just fine. Get a 2nd opinion and only weigh your baby if you feel you need to. Go on wet/dirty nappies. good sleep growing out of clothes etc......
Hang in there you are designed to feed your baby you just might need to work at it for a bit. One useful thing I found was taking a deep breath at the start of a feed and really making an effort to relax my shoulders and muscles......this appeared to help letdown.
Good luck and well done to you for feeding for 7 weeks you are doing very well.

[fionas]

Another thing to bear in mind is that I think MCHNs have to go by the rulebook and suggest FFing if the weight gains aren't on track. My MCHN did at two weeks (DD wasn't attaching at all really) but also put on the disclaimer that that's what she "had" to say and found me a lactation consultant. She was fully supportive of my desire to BF but she also had to go by their guidelines.

So don't set too much store by what she says but maybe find a lactation consultant too.

You've overcome many hurdles, this is just another that I'm sure you'll conquer. Big hugs to you.

[*TripleJ*]

my DD is 15 months and she only gained about that much in her first 7 weeks fully BFed i think its crap shes a perfectly healthy toddler i say nothing to worry about

[beckoes]

i never went to a CHN. for this reason exactly. my daughter was happy, healthy, content and also a short feeder and tiny! shes always been tiny and will grow to be one of those people who eat like a trucky and look like a model. (dd1 is 12 gs at 3 yrs 6 months, dd2 is 10 months old and weighs 10.5kgs...every kid is SO different) if she screams from one end of the day to the other, looks like a sickly little baby and is generally unhappy or you are concerned about something then maybe, but otherwise listen to your inner mummy (who sounds like a wise mummy )and most importantly, your daughter!!

your doing great!!!

[onthefly]

I think you're doing really well! That weight gain is ok. 2-3 poops per day is a really good sign that she's getting plenty of milk.

Talk to the ABA and/or an LC for a second opinion, ok?

[Sunny Love]

Take what she's said on board, BUT make this decision for yourself. Use your gut instinct, research this topic a little more if necessary, and utilise all the support available to you. Some babies just won't gain as much as quick as other babies, there's nothing wrong with that. If you feel Formula top-ups are beneficial then do it.

Have faith in yourself, and work on your confidence, she's your baby and you're her mum, YOU have the power to make this decision.

Hope it all smoothes out quickly and this is just a distant memory soon enough.
xx

[AngelPants]

Step away from the formula tin!!!! if she seems happy and content, is obviously thriving then dont stress!

[trishalishous]

Maybe offer extra feeds? we roughly followed 'sleep eat play eat sleep' cycles with DD, to get an extra few feeds into her.

[Sunny Love]

I think it is important too note that the OP has asked for support more than opinions.
Im not at all 'pointing fingers' by any means because I do feel everyone has posted soemthing that is of a supportive nature, but let's all be careful with our typed words and their perciev-ed understanding.
This is NOT an anti-FF thread after all, and whatever the OP decides should be without judgement or criticism from other members, BUT with support and empathy.

Again, I am speaking on behalf of myself, not for the OP or anyone else.
xx
xx

[LaDolceVita]

Thankyou sooo much everyone! I appreciate each and every one of your replies! You're all right, my Mummy instincts tell me we are doing fine, I'm going to offer her feeds even more and start pumping and topping her up afterwards, as well as heading to my local Breastfeeding Clinic on Monday just to have a chat and make sure we're doing everything we should be and get a second opinion. Formula is my absolute last resort and I don't think we're anywhere near needing that yet! I really enjoy breastfeeding which I never expected and she also seems to enjoy it as well! She is putting on weight (albeit not alot) is alert, happy, settled, has alot of wet nappies, 2-4 decent sized poopy ones a day as well and healthy in every way except for not putting on a great amount of weight.. My DS is naturally a big solid boy and I think my DD is naturally a small petite girl.. I'd never sacrifice her health for any reason at all but I think she's doing ok and hearing all of your stories has convinced me even further that she is! Thankyou so so much to all of you, yesterday I felt so horrible like I had gotten it all wrong and was letting my DD down but you've reinstalled my faith in us, thankyou x

[Trillian]

Alicia, remembering that they are two totally different kids is really important, as you've realised My eldest is a boy and he was huge! Rolls on top of rolls, but when I had his sister, they were fed the exact same way only she was a hell of a lot smaller and more petite. It took a lot of work on my part to stop comparing them and let things be as they are meant to be and stop stressing that she wasn't big enough just because her brother was big.

[misty]

Alicia, remembering that they are two totally different kids is really important, as you've realised My eldest is a boy and he was huge! Rolls on top of rolls, but when I had his sister, they were fed the exact same way only she was a hell of a lot smaller and more petite. It took a lot of work on my part to stop comparing them and let things be as they are meant to be and stop stressing that she wasn't big enough just because her brother was big.

Yep. My three elder bubs were all in the Top 5%, DS2 was actually in the top 2-3% for his age (and I had CHN's trying to suggest I was overfeeding my DD1 and DS2). DD2 is just absolutely tiny in comparision, and is in the bottom 5% in the charts. I figure, that babies need to come in all shapes and sizes, just like adults, so thhat they can draw up these graphs in the first place - so long as they are on the chart, and progressing at a steady rate, its all good.

[LaDolceVita]

Just thought I'd update, DD was diagnosed with Silent Reflux a couple of days ago! So many things make sense now! We started medication yesterday and she's feeling much better and eating alot more now too! I still think she's a petite girl but am hoping she'll start putting on some more weight now

[willow5]

That's excellent! Well not about the reflux, but about doing well. Your mummy gut knew what to do and you did the right thing. You knew something wasn't right, and it wasn't the BF and you were right! So to the CHN! mummy!

[Sunny Love]

Fantastic news to hear!!

[LaDolceVita]

Aw thankyou so so much Willow, you've just made me quite proud of my Mummy intuition when I've been feeling a bit guilty of late so thankyou!!

We got some great news today! Since starting the Zantac 3 days ago, Scarlett has put on 113 grams!! Her average weight gain has been 114 grams a week so to do that in 3 days is a HUGE deal for us! So so happy!!

I really appreciate everyone's support through this, I was absolutely devastated at the thought that my beautiful breastfeeding relationship with my daughter might be coming to a sad end a week ago, if it wasn't for this thread and the great support of my BB girls outside this thread as well, I may well have caved and felt that I was failing my little girl and gone with the suggestion of formula sometime soon as much as I would have hated it.. I'm glad I got to hold on long enough to uncover and fix the true issue while continuing breastfeeding and all of your support was a massive factor in being able to do so!

I can't wait to pay it forward one day to another Mummy in need when I'm the one with a little experience up my sleeve

The biggest of Thankyou's to you all from Scarlett and I!! I can't tell you the huge impact this one thread has had on our lives, present and future! xxx