Baby loosing weight

Hi all,

I had a little boy, 3 weeks ago tomorrow, we had him weighed again yesterday and he has lost weight, was already giving him one FF feed a day and expressing and topping up before bedtime for the past 4 days and he has been sooo settled and happy, but he has still lost weight. Left hospital 290g lighter than birth weight, 5 days later he had put on 85g, but today had lost 50g, so only 35g heavier than when leaving hospital and still 255g lighter than birth weight & he is 3 weeks on friday!! He has at least 6-8 pooey & wet nappies a day, is happy, sleeping well, very alert & active and he has grown 2.5cm in length but is just not gaining weight.
The midwife suggested topping up with formula at least 3 times a day(which i am fine with cause i want my little man to be thriving, not starving), switch feeding (5 mins a side, for a total of 30 mins) then expressing after feeds which i have been doing anyway(even if i can't get anything just to stimulate the nipple is great!!), and we re weigh next wednesday!! I have been beside myself all yesterday afternoon & in tears as i only want whats best for him and i hate to think he is wasting away and this next week is going to be sooo long!! If no improvement by next week, she said we will have to re-evaluate the BF again.
I think DH is going to ring the hospital , as when we were in there they said if we were ever worried about how much breastmilk he was getting to come in and weigh him before & after a feed (fully dressed so even if he wees etc it will be in nappy), so i think we may do that to try and put our minds at ease a bit or so we can about this the way we see best, has anyone done this and is it accurate??
Anyone's opinions or advice would be muchly appreicated, also can low breastmilk be hereditary as my nan, mum and sister all seemed to have low supply. I have made lactation cookies and been eating these for the past week as well.
Thanks in advance.
Sorry for the rant, just upset and needed to let it out!
Hope you are all well and i will get to persies tomoro xx

Congratulations!
These types of not-weight gains are very scary, but usually fixable.

There is a rare condition where breasts do not develop enough milk-producing tissue - I'm not sure whether it is hereditary.
How often are you feeding him - 8+ feeds a day is normal for little babies - if you aim for every 2 hours during the day and 4 hours overnight does it help?
Has anyone suggested using a supply line for the top-ups - this means that bub is still stimulating your supply while having his formula.
You need to see a lactation consultant to check for any underlying issues as well.

The before and after feed weighing is accurate if and only if you and bub are able to relax and feed as well in that situation as you do at home. Doing it in the environment of a lactation day stay, where it can be looked at over several feeds is better than a one-off measurement.

The phone number for the ABA is 1800 Mum2Mum - they are very useful at times like this

good luck!

:hug: What a worrying time for you

First, is your nurse a lactation consultant? It woudl be best to get advice from one if she isn't. Or definitely call the ABA - they can give you advice also and help you find an LC in your area if can't.

Lots of wet & pooey nappies and growth sounds good - so you're obviously not far off here. The one-off "test weigh" can be very misleading as babies tend to take differing amounts of milk at different times. You might get a big gain or a very small one, but it doesn't necessarily reflect your supply.

How many feeds is he having in 24 hours? On the face of it, it seems there's a reasonable amount of milk going in so it's worth talking with an LC to get at any underlying problems here. Is it a supply problem? Is it a feeding problem? Is there someone else going on stopping him gaining weight? And so on. Sometimes just adding supplements isn't the answer.

Anyway, as I said, it doesn't sound like you're far off here. He's not starving, ok? He's just not gaining weight like you would want :hug:

Congratulations on your new bub!!

Weighing your baby can be really really stressful, 50g could just be the difference between outfits he was wearing at each weigh in, or wether he has done a poo a couple of hours beforehand. I would follow the pp's adduce and speak with an ABA councillor for advice before moving to three top ups per day. The info you have posted to me sounds like he is thriving, so i wouldn't be concerned about low supply and you definitely aren't starving him!

How about spending a couple of days in bed doing nothing but feeding whenever he wants. This will really stimulate your supply, allow for extra bonding time and some rest and relation for yourself!

Good luck :)

Hello Sparkles, my heart goes out to you as I know how worrying lack of weight gain can be (we have also experienced but when DS was around 4 months). You don't mention where in NSW you are but if you are in Newcastle/Hunter area I can recommend and excellent Lactation Consultant who helped us.

Private Message me if you want her details.

btw....I did the same as you with expressing after feeds, I did this about four times a day plus fed about 10 times a day and after two weeks my supply is definitely up and DS is gaining well. I am still feeding about 10 times a day (DS is now 5 months + 5 days) but no longer expressing. I didn't top up with formula but I guess it is different with a very new baby. Also as Kmn mentioned there could be other factors so best to consult an expert. The most important thing I can offer is to listen to your Mummy instincts. We sought expert advice from LC & Paediatrician which was brilliant (esp. LC) but I did what I thought was right & guess what...it worked!