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Still no weight gain :(

I was back at the HV yesterday to get Phoebe weighed again to see if the increasing feeds that I have been giving her have increased her weight as she had not put on in 2 weeks.



I was absolutely heartbroken to be told that she still has not gained :cry:



The HV was lovely who reassured me that there was no reason to panic as she hasn't dropped a centile! she even got the Dr to check her over.



The Dr too was lovely. He said that people are too obsessed with following charts and don't look at the baby. He said that Phoebe was in perfect health and was alert and thriving which was reassuring but I still felt like a failure. For the last week I have reduced to 3 hour feeding and was sure that she would have put on a little weight image



As Phoebe has been sleeping through for 3/4 weeks the HV suggested to wake her to feed in the night. The Dr was against this saying that there was no point disrupting her routine and instead to try and introduce a dream feed.



I had a good cry last night feeling horribly useless to my little girl and not being able to meet her needs. I even contemplated giving up breastfeeding altogether.



I expressed 6oz to give her at 11pm. Hubby did the feed ad to be fair to Phoebe she took it well and went back down afterwards. She is such a good girl.



On a better note she also had her 12 week jabs yesterday and didn't even cry bless her. She has a sore leg now though but she still carries on smiling image

Replies

  • Sorry don't know why this has posted 3 times
  • Hi there



    Firstly, you are not useless!!



    I agree that some people are obsessed with charts etc, but as your doc said, she is thriving, alert and in perfect health, so I would just continue what you are doing.



    We tried the ol dream feed a few weeks back now, worst thing we ever did to try and disrupt her routine. Not doing that again!!



    Glad her jabs went ok though, it's always a relief when they are over, eh!!



    Stick with it and chin up sweetie, you are doing a great job!!



    Zxx
  • To make you feel better, my Phoebe HAS dropped a centile and we are formula feeding. The HV told me that it was nothing to worry about because she is alert and healthy. She said that because babies become more active at the 3 month mark it is normal for weight gain to slow down. You are doing brilliantly and I so wish i'd been more succesful with breastfeeding. My Phoebe has never been a good feeder on either boob or bottle so i am counting the days until we can start weaning!! Have you considered adding in a formula feed alongside breastfeeding? One of the women in my NCT group added in one formula feed each day just before she started weaning so that she could mix the milk with baby rice when the time came. A lot of the mums seemed to agree that it made weaning easier and helped to get the baby used to the bottle for when they moved on to follow on milk at 6 months. I guess it depends on how long you plan to bf for, I know some people continue on for longer than 6 months so it all depends on what you want to do. Try not to be so hard on yourself though, im willing to bet your Phoebe will have a massive growth spurt soon! x
  • I know it must be very upsetting but please don't blame yourself. If the doctor and hv both think she is thriving then the weight gain shouldn't matter. I suppose as older children and adults we all gain weight differently etc so I'm sure babies are all different too.



    I think it's important to realise she isn't losing weight so must be quite healthy and happy. Also, if you are still keen to breastfed really then don't be tempted to give up because you think it's not enough. Phoebe will be getting exactly what she needs from you. I wish I had not had to switch to formula as I now have slight guilt over it although I had no other options and if you aren't really ready to give up breastfeeding then you may regret it down the line.



    As the others have said, she may be in for a growth spurt, but if the professionals are happy then you shouldn't worry. If you still worry that your milk is not enough then perhaps as suggested above you could give one formula feed a day, but I would give it in addition to the usual breastfeeds not instead of them to make sure your supply is not affected.



    Sorry my reply is so long! Hugs x
  • Thank you all so much for your kind words and support.



    For the last 2 nights Phoebe has taken a dream feed of my breast milk from a bottle. hubby has done it both nights as I am too scared to try incase I fully wake her. So far she has gone straight back down hardly stirring and has then been sleeping through as normal till between 7 and half past.



    If she has not gained any weight at her next weigh in Next Tuesday I think I will try replacing the dream feed with formula.



    Fingers crossed this will work,



    Glitterbug what did your HV recommend to do to increase your Phoebe's weight and has she gained?
  • The HV hasnt recomended anything because she hasnt lost, she just isnt gaining as quickly as she should to stay on her centile. They arent concerned and just told me I should only get her weighed once a month anyway and not to be so obsessed with her weight. To be honest, I really do not have much faith in my HV team, when I was struggling I broke down infront of them and was told that colicy babies were hard work and sent on my way. Im just counting the days until I can start to wean because I really feel she will do so much better on food. Im going to wait until 17 weeks and if she is ready will start with baby rice. Hope your Phoebe gains this week and puts your mind at rest xx
  • Poor you! Hope Phoebe puts some weight on soon.

    I'm so impressed that you can express 6oz for a feed. That would take me about a week!!

    This BF malarky can be bloody stressful. Hope you can keep doing it.

    Hugs,

    xx
  • Glitterbug Im sorry your HV team is so lame. I have to be honest mine have been fab and even lent me their own breast feeding bible to take home and read. Im interested interested that you intend to start weaning at 17 weeks as I too am in the same mindset but think am going to wait until Phoebe is 5 months 9she is currenty 13 weeks.



    MissusG Im finding the expressing hard work and am only doing it because I have got 3 back to work days next week and plus the dream feed. I think it will be a formula dream feed as of next week!
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