low weight gain in BF bub? suggestions

[HotI]

Breastfeeding has been going pretty well so far, but my bub has only had small weight gains for the past 3 weeks (90grams, 100grams then 30grams).

I have been feeding whenever she wants. over night this is roughly every 4 hours, occasionally with a 5 hour block. During the day usually every 2 to 2.5 hours, sometimes less and sometimes she will go for 3.5 to 4 hours but the long blocks are not that often. Most feeds she will only feed from one side. I have had fast flow at the start, and the milk overflows and bub will choke sometimes. it is best if she feeds for a couple of minutes, then i sit her up and she has a burp and then she will feed again.

I'm not worried but would like to see if we can increase the weight gains, so am really concentrating on feeding this week. I am waiting to hear if i am getting into the breastfeeding day stay clinic at the local hospital next week. I have been told attachment and positioning are good.

I am trying to get bub to feed from both sides but sometimes feel like i am force feeding her. She feeds from one side, will have a rest, and then i will offer same side, and then the other.

I don't think supply is the problem (i could be wrong). There are 2 boobs there, but she only wants one each time. 2 weeks of low weight gains was ok, but 3 weeks is maybe too much?

Any thoughts?

[Fuzzywuzzy]

I would be concentrating on the frequency of feeds Don't let her go over 3 hours without a feed.

That's what my midwife told me to do with DD and it worked. She would only feed from one side as well and seemed to be quite happy with that.

[~Kim~]

Kate it sounds like you are doing a great job.
Mine have only ever taken one side at that age too, but if you are worried I'd do like FuzzyWuzzy suggested and offer more frequently. We were doing 1.5-2hourly with DS to get him to bulk up a bit.

[~Raven~]

I would be avoiding the long stretch between feeds during the day mostly because if for some reason we had a long break between feeds we ended up cluster feeding all night to make up for it and not getting any sleep. If she is having a weight gain issue then it will also help to wake and offer feeds too after 3 hours.

I really don't think one low week is a worry IYKWIM and there is a good chance she will have a big weight gain the following week. With all of mine there has been a lull with weight gain at 3-4 weeks and then it takes off again. If she is having constant weight gains of only 30 grams then it may be time to worry but try not to be concerned just yet 90g and 100g are pretty good and not far under the "ideal average" which if I remember correctly is 125g. I know it's hard at the time but remember if she is having lots of wet and dirty nappies then she is getting enough.

[HotI]

Thanks.

The MCHN said they are looking for 160-180gram per week. Does this sound right?

[*Beema*]

Aww Kate it sounds like you are doing a fabulous job , like the othrs have said I would increase the feeds, even if it just the one's during the day to 1.5-2hours and if that isn't enough you may have to start waking her to feed 3 hourly overnight. We had to wake DD for months to feed overnight to get her to put on weight.

What was her gains like before that, and just know that some BF'd bubs do only average 80-100grams a week, DD's paed said he wanted 150, but when we saw him at 6 months he said that 80-100grams a week is fine as long as they are gaining. I wish I had seen him again earlier but I know for this time

Goodluck and well done

[black_rose]

It seems a bit high but I guess they want your dd to catch up. It's normally closer to 150 per week.

[Starfish]

I was told that they look for 100-150g a week, but that any gain, even if its only 10g, as long as its consistent is okay.

Is bub generally settled? Does she have good skin tone? Is she generally alert? If yes, then I don't think you have anything to worry about. Trying feeding more frequently and offering the boob as a comforter. Are you using a dummy? If you are, maybe try and avoid it during the day and offer bub the breast instead.

But honestly, from your post, it sounds like you are doing a great job and everything is fine. Remember that everyone is different. MCHNs look for and average gain of 100-150g. Some bubs gain up to 300g in one week others a lot less. Unless there are other problems, this is all normal. HTH.

[black_rose]

Same here beema, mchn wanted 150 but our pead was happy with an average of 80 for dd1, could never convince the mchn though. Had a different one with dd2 and at 37 weeks she wasn't considered a premmie.

[Pandora]

Thanks.

The MCHN said they are looking for 160-180gram per week. Does this sound right?

No not necessarily. It varies greatly between mchns and even paeds.

My mchn is an lc and she said an average of 100-150 is normal

[Pandora]

Same here beema, mchn wanted 150 but our pead was happy with an average of 80 for dd1, could never convince the mchn though. Had a different one with dd2 and at 37 weeks she wasn't considered a premmie.

Yes. I meant to add earlier that the paeds idea of normla was lower than mchn, ours said above 60 was fine but ds was 3 months old at that stage

[onthefly]

Hi
My DS gained an average of 100g per week in the first 12 weeks and our nurse was ok with this since everything else looked fine. I thought 150/week was about average.
I think it's important to look at the whole picture - Output is a good indicator of input, for example. Skin tone is other good clue, or alertness and having settted periods. Is she growing well otherwise?
She's probably fine, but it's always good to keep an eye on these things.

[HotI]

My normal MCHN wasn't concerned by the 90 and 100 gram gains but said we will just watch it. It was a different MCHN who weighed this week, and said 30 grams was a bit low.

It's interesting to see professionals using all different figures. I guess that means there is no 'right' amount of weight gain.

She has plenty of wet nappies, good skin tone, is very alert, 'talks' lots, watches faces, loves singing (yep, as the mum i am sure she is incredibly advanced!) We are having some days when she doesn't sleep well, or has an upset tummy but i think this is just newborn behaviour and us learning each other's signs.

I will try to increase offering feeds this week, to see if it makes a difference when i go back next week. it's also good to know that others had 100grams or less and everything was ok.

cheers

[Kmn]

There is also the issue of when in the cycle of feeding-weeing-pooing she was weighed. When a feed is 150g, and a wee is almost as much it can make things confusing!
Feeding more often is the best thing to try - whenever she is awake and alert offer her a feed!