Baby Not Gaining Weight

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you want to increase your supply, I would suggest nursing for 20 minutes and then hand the baby over to partner/family member who can give baby a bottle of formula. While that is happening, pump for 5-10 minutes. If you get any milk, give that to baby after next session. As you pump more milk, you can reduce the amount of formula (if you're interested in moving off the formula eventually).

Do this as many times as you can over the next couple of days. Bring the baby back on Thursday or Friday to get weighed.

I know it's really stressful, but try not to worry. My daughter lost more than the 10% of birth weight when we went for a one week check-up. Within a couple of days of this "triple feeding" she was gaining a lot and I was making enough milk for the neighborhood.

And if you're not interested in increasing your supply or trying to continue nursing, that's fine. I'm the biggest proponent of breastfeeding, but I'm a bigger proponent of fed babies and stress-free moms.

OP here. I’m fine with supplementing but I would like to breastfeed if possible. The LC recommended against pumping after very feed because I will become stressed. She said to pump 4-5 time a day ( about half the feeds) for 10-20 minutes.

Can I ask who you saw because flat/nipples, big breasts and large areolas arent really the most likely reason for why your baby is having trouble latching. Its breastfeeding not nipplefeeding. Did she show you how to hold your breast? Provide nipple shields? Work on hand expression? Try to stimulate the nipple via hand or pump prior to attempting a latch? Show you multiple positions including assisting baby latch in those positions?
How much time did he/she spend with you? Did he/she examine baby for suck/swallow reflex, tongue/lip ties, and any other issues that may impede latching?

Just want to say that I struggled with breastfeeding and latching bc my son had a range of issues. Formula was a no-go due to dairy issues and hypoallergenic didnt work so I pumped and pumped and pumped. I tried latching every few days but we both would get frustrated. It wasnt until he had about 8 weeks of PT and a frenectomy that he latched. I wasnt going to be able to sustain pumping around the clock and we couldnt afford amino acid formula.

I saw 3 LCs (hospital, and 2 midwife office ICBLCs) and neither were actually helpful and some just were plain dismissive. Good lactation consultants are worth their weight in gold.

[Anonymous]

Sorry, OP, I know how stressful this is. I’d limit baby’s time nursing to 5-10 per side and then supplement so baby isn’t working too hard to get full. If you are not triple feeding this may negatively affect your supply but IMO triple feeding is 1000% not worth it and just making sure baby is gaining as needed right now is more important than establishing a good supply. And wake to feed for now. Our pediatrician advised every 2 hrs but obviously follow whatever your dr said.

FWIW even after triple feeding for a month my supply was crap - but it was fine. Baby was probably 80% formula fed but I still enjoyed nursing.

[Anonymous]

Sorry that should say 5-10 minutes per side per feed

[Anonymous]

Pump to improve supply , add formula feedings abb no d keep attempting to bf/latch if that’s important to you.

[Anonymous]

I ate those lactation cookies they sell at target. I seriously thought they were bogus but I started leaking almost immediately. Also, make sure you’re eating and not losing weight. That killed my supply

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My baby is almost two weeks old and isn’t gaining enough weight. We had his appointment yesterday and an LC appointment today. The pediatrician said to supplement after every feed. The LC said his latch was bad and I likely have low supply. She recommended a couple of things to help. What else can I do besides this? I’m super worried.

Obviously, he isn't getting enough from you. Fed is best do feed him formula. There is nothing wrong with using formula whereas starving your child is unforgivable.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My baby is almost two weeks old and isn’t gaining enough weight. We had his appointment yesterday and an LC appointment today. The pediatrician said to supplement after every feed. The LC said his latch was bad and I likely have low supply. She recommended a couple of things to help. What else can I do besides this? I’m super worried.

Obviously, he isn't getting enough from you. Fed is best do feed him formula. There is nothing wrong with using formula whereas starving your child is unforgivable.

OP said she was going to supplement.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you want to increase your supply, I would suggest nursing for 20 minutes and then hand the baby over to partner/family member who can give baby a bottle of formula. While that is happening, pump for 5-10 minutes. If you get any milk, give that to baby after next session. As you pump more milk, you can reduce the amount of formula (if you're interested in moving off the formula eventually).

Do this as many times as you can over the next couple of days. Bring the baby back on Thursday or Friday to get weighed.

I know it's really stressful, but try not to worry. My daughter lost more than the 10% of birth weight when we went for a one week check-up. Within a couple of days of this "triple feeding" she was gaining a lot and I was making enough milk for the neighborhood.

And if you're not interested in increasing your supply or trying to continue nursing, that's fine. I'm the biggest proponent of breastfeeding, but I'm a bigger proponent of fed babies and stress-free moms.

OP here. I’m fine with supplementing but I would like to breastfeed if possible. The LC recommended against pumping after very feed because I will become stressed. She said to pump 4-5 time a day ( about half the feeds) for 10-20 minutes.

I’m the poster you’re responding to. The suggestion to pump after nursing was given to me by my LC. She said to do it as much as possible to trick the body into making more milk. I went all in and did it (pumped for 10 min after nursing for 20 min) in a 36 hour period. And then I stopped. By then the baby got weighed again and was gaining. And I went from pumping drops of milk to pumping 5 oz AFTER nursing in that 36-hour period. We were able to quickly phase out the formula and the pumping.

If it’s too stressful to pump after every feeding, don’t do it. Stick with every other feeding. What’s important is to make a plan that you’re going all in for a certain number of days and then reassess. Tell spouse. If you have help from a family member or friend, take it. Let them do laundry and make meals. You just focus on sleeping, feeding baby, and feeding yourself. That’s it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This happened to me, OP, and I made myself crazy trying to increase my supply, fix baby’s latch, pumping 24/7, in addition to supplementing with formula. I wish I’d just switched to 100% formula sooner.

This was me as well. My supply never increased not matter what I did but I pushed myself to nurse and pump in combo with formula for every feed for 9 months with my first. I was miserable and I don't think there was a lot of benefit to it. My second was 100% formula at 6 months with significantly less pumping and it was such a better experience.

[Anonymous]

My DC also had lost more than 10% of weight and it was devastating learning she wasn't getting enough from me. I did triple feeding and pumped every single time I fed her, including over night (breast milk can stay out for 6 hours and our room is cool at night so I would just leave the parts next to the bed and put in the fridge in the morning to make it as easy as possible). If it stresses you out too much, don't do it, especially if you don't have enough help - but if you haven't tried it and think it could work for you, pumping more was by far the thing that helped increase my supply the most. You could also do a marathon pumping session where you binge a show and pump on and off for like an hour straight to try to trick your body into producing more. That plus lots of oatmeal with peanut butter for extra protein plus making sure I was eating balanced meals in general plus some breastfeeding supplements plus staying hydrated all helped. I don't think my baby fully figured out breastfeeding till like three months til I had to go back to work, but I ended up breastfeeding her at least once a day til 15 months and it was something we both ended up enjoying. If you are not enjoying it, fully agree with others to allow yourself to let this go sooner. Even though in the long run I'm happy I stuck with it, I wonder if stopping earlier would have allowed me to enjoy my maternity leave a lot more. A well rested parent is also very important, and pumping multiple times at night did not help with that.

[Anonymous]

It's possible you have a low supply because the baby isn't transferring milk effectively, not because you have a naturally low supply. Both my kids were inefficient nursers for the first few months and I pumped to increase my supply. Then by the time we got their tongue ties fixed/they got bigger I had the supply set. I also supplemented during that time.

[Anonymous]

I was here with both of my kids. I'm sorry, OP - it's super stressful. They are both hearty toddlers now.

With my first, I did the triple feeding thing for about six weeks and then eventually switched to exclusively pumping, which I did for a year. I had a decent supply and was eventually able to pump ~4 times a day to get enough for her, so that wasn't too bad.

With my second, I did the triple feeding for about a week and switched to formula. It was amazing and made such a difference for my mental health and really the whole family. And he thrived.

Hang in there and know you are making the best choice for you and your family whatever you decide.

[Anonymous]

OP: firstly I feel for you, we went through this exact same thing (DS now 13! that went fast) and I remember how horrible I felt and that it was my fault my baby wasn't gaining weight.

The hospital nurses, who are supposed to check latch etc. before you are dismissed, glanced and said "you're fine"! Meanwhile my infant started losing weight because it wasn't fine and they didnt properly show me how to latch. I found an amazing LC who showed me how to latch him the right way and all was well (and like a PP said, its not about nipple or areola size, its about making a sandwich with your breast, pulling down the lower jaw and putting that sucker in!). That said, what is most important is that your baby is gaining weight and that you are doing good mentally so if you need to give up breastfeeding and go to 100% formula, do it. You'll probably wonder why you didnt make the switch sooner and if DS hadn't latched once I knew what I was doing, I wouldve done the exact same thing.

Healthy baby and healthy mom are the most important things. Hugs!!

[Anonymous]

I just want to second that it seems unlikely that your nipple has anything to do with it, the baby shouldn’t be latching right onto your nipple but taking in much of your areola. It can be so hard op! Did your lactation do a THOROUGH check for tongue/lip ties? I had a similar experience as one person described with hospital and post birth doulas completely missing a tongue RIE. A thorough exam would look like fingers in the mouth and last multiple minutes. Difficulty latching and not transferring are often signs of ties (though not always of course). Try following milkmatterspt, aloha.nutrition, and the balancedboob on Instagram. Watch their highlights on ties and see if it seems potentially to align with what you’re seeing. If so, reach out to Susan Howard if you’re in this area. She can help or refer you to someone experienced in ties. In the meantime do your best to protect your supply without going crazy and know that the supplementing is totally fine. You’re doing great mama

[Anonymous]

I just want to add to the good advice you’ve been getting that you should rest as much as you can during this time of trying to increase your supply. Rest, rest, rest and also eat well. Give your body the best possible chance to do what you want it to do.

Congrats on your sweet baby!