Sodding lines :x
Need reassurance and/or advice (
Lily was born on the 50th centile and followed it well until about 10 weeks, but since then she's been dropping below it and now at 15 weeks is almost on the one below. She feeds well (I'm bf) and there are no problems like being frustrated after a feed, or feeling I don't produce enough milk.
The HV said there's no need to worry as she's clearly thriving, but if she's not picking up in a fortnight then we can think about introducing the odd formula feed or weaning. I don't feel she's ready for weaning yet and I really, really don't want to give her formula. Please don't ffeeders be offended, but bf is enormously important to me and I hate the thought of even giving her one ffeed a day. Obv I will do it if it means she stays healthy but I won't be happy about it.
I know the bloody lines are just a guideline etc etc and people have been bringing up babies for years without them - I've been on here myself reassuring others not to worry about them - but now it's me in this position I know how you all felt and you can't help but worry. I look at her and KNOW she's healthy, but I still can't help but feel I'm failing her, even though the HV was so nice and unworried
Lily was born on the 50th centile and followed it well until about 10 weeks, but since then she's been dropping below it and now at 15 weeks is almost on the one below. She feeds well (I'm bf) and there are no problems like being frustrated after a feed, or feeling I don't produce enough milk.
The HV said there's no need to worry as she's clearly thriving, but if she's not picking up in a fortnight then we can think about introducing the odd formula feed or weaning. I don't feel she's ready for weaning yet and I really, really don't want to give her formula. Please don't ffeeders be offended, but bf is enormously important to me and I hate the thought of even giving her one ffeed a day. Obv I will do it if it means she stays healthy but I won't be happy about it.
I know the bloody lines are just a guideline etc etc and people have been bringing up babies for years without them - I've been on here myself reassuring others not to worry about them - but now it's me in this position I know how you all felt and you can't help but worry. I look at her and KNOW she's healthy, but I still can't help but feel I'm failing her, even though the HV was so nice and unworried
0
Replies
If i were you unless she is consistently losing weight i wouldnt worry, as long as she is putting it on. They all have growth spurts and slow downs. When you start weaning they tend to slow down anyway so not sure why that was suggested.
xxx
Ollie dropped from the 91st to the 9th within the space of a couple of months and was technically classed as a failure to thrive because of it, yet to look at him anyone with a brain could tell he wasnt - he was perfectly healthy.
you dont have to introduce a ff or start to wean, just have to get your Hv to understand that bf babies gain less weight than ff babies tend to. there are charts for bf babies if you want to print one of those off and use that.
www.kellymom.com should have them.....
xxx
As long as she is still gaining weight I wouldn't worry.
I'm just wondering if she has had a cold or anything, cuz my lo always looses weight when he is ill.
One more thing just keep an eye on is what you eat, I am sure you eat healthily anyway - but maybe try to eat 5 small meals with some protein at each meal and loads of fruit and veg just to make sure your milk is best gold top!
I'm sure your LO is fine hunnie.
Im sure those red books were designed to make mums worry! xx
Bedhead - my HV also said we'd prob be looking at weaning rather than ffeeding, so it's reassuring to hear that from another reliable source. I trust the HVs at my surgery so I'll go with what they say, unless I have really strong feelings about it.
Is my chart still based on ff babies even if it says "breast from birth" at the top?
I was with my NCT group this afternoon and we all breastfeed. Out of 7 of us 4 babies lost a lot of weight after birth and 1 ended up in hospital at 2 weeks. Since then all babies have been gaining weight and are healthy, however 3 babies (including Abby) dropped down from the line they were born on and struggled to get back again. Abby is now back on her line but only because I expressed in order to increase my supply and feed her bottles of EBM. The other two babies are still well below their lines and their mothers are naturally worried. However there is absolutely nothing wrong with them - I watched them play today and they grabbed, lifted their heads in tummy time, kicked, sung and smiled. The lines are just so that professionals can see a general trend but are no use on their own. BF babies often take a while to gain weight but evidence shows that they are likely to catch up later.
I wouldn't set any deadlines on Lily's weight gain. She might not be back on her line by 17 weeks but unless she is showing other signs for weaning then I would leave it. She is a healthy, happy baby and your BM has done wonders for her and will continue to do so - remember it provides a lot more for her than just calories.
Please don't stress too much about it (I know it's hard I was in tears when Abby dropped 2 lines at 3 weeks),
H xx
Horrid stupid charts!!!! I used to worry that Louise was putting on too much weight as she was plotting at a 45 degree angle, the hv's kept saying it will even out eventually and they were right. I'm sure that everyone of us has worried about those stupid charts at some point.
If you dont want to give her a formula feed then dont, she may not like it anyway! I agree with Tyger about looking at what you eat, drinking whole milk is suposed to help your milk be fattier.
But - as long as she is gaining some weight, not loosing it and she is happy then you should be happy.
I did find that weaning made Louise's weight slow down.
Lisa
I think I will look more closely at my diet as you suggest, Tyger & Lisa, as I'm probably not being as careful to eat and drink well as I was in the early days.
The only other thing I can think is that Lily's not getting all the hind milk she used to because she seems to get distracted lately when she's feeding and spends a lot of time trying to stare round the room and talk to me, and seems to forget she was in the middle of something!
Thanks again for the reassurance and advice.