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Need to pick some brains....!

Ladies I need some ideas, see if any of you can shed some light for me.....

My nephew is 10 wks born at 8lb 4, dropped an lb & 2oz below birth weight and isn't back to birth weight now 10 wks on... I think he is 7lb14 (not sure what centile but apparently is scraping the bottom of the graph).
He's breastfed and topped up with 2 sma bottles a day. He's constantly on the boob, he feeds for no longer than 10 mins but doesn't get 'milk drunk' or pass out, usually within 30 mins he is back on feeding. Eventually my SIL caves in and he gets a bottle, sometimes this will be enough for him to sleep for an hr.... He gets 4.5oz but never drains it, usually leaves an oz falls asleep and has the rest when he wakes. So if he isn't draining a bottle, he must be getting something from her?
He's colic'y, constipated, screams all the time (probably a combination of wind, lack of poo's and hunger).
He is alert but also looks vacent , I remember at my lo age she was smiling, and starting to gurgle.... he isn't but then I know no 2 babies are the same and boys develop differently to girls

She is on weekly reviews with her hv, but nothing seems to be getting done i.e a referral to paed's? They're doing all the usual remedies for the colic and I've suggested the Osteopath

Any thoughts? If he was my baby I would have been concerned weeks ago (the weight has always been an issue)

Thanks xx

[Modified by: MrsT on 10 March 2009 22:35:32 ]

Replies

  • Sometimes he is sick yes, but not every feed. If he was mine I'd be banging on my gp's desk but I think maybe cause the hv isn't doing anything she is ignoring her instincts
  • He's on sma
  • Don't know, wasn't aware there was a difference? (were fully bf) I did suggest that the milks are all slightly different and some babies suit different milks
  • Hi hun this sounds the same as Ashton was. He was born 8lb 5.5ozs however he dropped to 8lb 2ozs and stayed there till he was 8 weeks old. He was breast fed but after about 6 weeks I started to top him up with formula and he would bring back up normally every other feed. We were referred to a peadiatriton who did some test and we were waiting for the result however I spoke to my Gp and hv who referred him back to the hospital and we were kept in! Anyway he was diagnosed with cows milk protien intolorance and can't have any dairy products at all, he is now on prescription milk called Neocate LCP. This milk has been fab for us and now at 8 1/2 months he is on the 91st centile for his height and weight! Was only on the 2nd for his weight at one point.
    Definatly get on to the Hv and Gp about this and demand that he is referred to the hospital so that he can get some help! If you need any more advice then just shout! xxxx
  • Has he been checked for tomgue tie? It's easily fixed but will make it VERY hard for him to feed (especially bfed) if he has it.
    xx
  • Hubby saw her last night as he called round to drop something off, said she looked tired and stressed :cry: Things are obviously starting to get to her.
    Don't know about tongue tie, spose it could be possible but wouldn't he have problems latching on? From the distance the position and latch look ok.
    My MIL who is about as useful as a handbrake in a canoe say's he'll just be tall and skinny and the reason he isn't back to birth weight is because he was very swollen with fluid when born?!!? To me they aren't satisfactory reasons, but my sil is listening to her!! She also said (mil) that sma is the nearest to breast, but I thought Aptamil is and it is isn't it?
    I said most of the things you girls have written, about intolerances, prescription milk.

    Its very concerning - she said herself she wishes she hadn't allowed herself to be bullied into topping up with formula and stuck at bf
  • No he wasn't swollen like Ruby, he just looked a big baby with chubby cheeks (and he was 8lb 4).... but then hes lost so much weight that 'look' has gone now so people say he must have been retaining fluid
  • hmmm had he lost it before he was discharged? cause they shouldn tof discharged him if he had.
    xxx

    Yes I think he may have.... but he was only weighed again once home and I know by 2 wks he was on top ups after every breast feed, things have gradually snowballed since. They've tried cutting out sma completely, then they've stuck to giving him a set amount each day, bottles only at night, 2oz after a bf and so on....

    Things are in abit of a mess really
  • Aptimil is the nearest to breast from what I've been told.

    By just snacking it doesn't allow the milk to digest before the next feed. My son lost 1lb 2oz in a week and wasn't allowed out of hospital until he'd gained around half of what he lost and kept it on for a day or so. He's now up nearly 5lb from lowest weight at 13 weeks and doing ok. I do top up with formula, but only at night. Other than that I made him work for it!

    I would be concerned as it sounds like he's not getting enough nutrients and gaining enough. Looking at the charts I would pester for a referral as there could be a problem why he's not getting nutrients from the milk.
  • Tongue tie would affect him latching on but it wouldn't nesecerialy (sorry, I can never spell that :lol: ) be visible that he wasn't latching properly. It's something that you should be able to see, does he ever stick his tongue out? If he does then he propably doesn't have tongue tie. If he is just snacking when he is bfeeding then he's not getting the rich hind milk that he needs. It sounds really mean but has she tried making him wait for a feed? If the only problem is him snacking then if he is left to get REALLY hungry he may well take a proper feed.
    xx
  • hey,

    the adverts are over part of your first post, does it say that he never feeds for more than 10 minutes? If so I agree that he is probably not getting the fattiest breastmilk.

    I think bedheads idea of making him wait longer between feeds is a good idea, maybe give a dummy between feeds to help comfort him.
  • I spoke to SIL earlier, he is back to birth weight.... Her attitude was a little defensive, although I've not done anything and she has been asking me my opinion/advice.... think I'll back off for now and go back to watching on the sidelines. Her hv has adviced to continue with formula top ups, as many as 3 bottles a day if he requires them

    Thanks girls
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