Help - almost 5 month old lost weight

[Libby0702]

Hi

I wondered of anyone can help!

My little girl has not put any weigh on for the last 4 weeks and this week when weighed she had gone down slightly :-( she's been on EASY since month 1 and was doing really well - she even slept through the night a few times. However since we moved to a 4hr things have gone slightly bonkers! Other than the weight loss she's started waking up multiple times at night. She is exclusively breastfed.

To address the weight issue The health visitor has suggested putting in extra feeds but when I do this it feels as if she is just snacking. Plus it would throw off our EASY routine. I expressed off some milk on Monday between feeds to see how much I was getting and it was pants! I know baby's always get out more but it was only 40ml. I'm trying to up my milk supply so am taking fenugreek and just started on domperidone. I'm also expressing after a few feeds each day and giving her the EBM at bedtime after breastfeeding - it is about 50ml.

Her schedule yesterday & today has been as follows:

5am wake / fed but put back to sleep as if night feed.
7am wake / fed
9:05 sleep (2hrs - yay!)
11am wake / fed
1pm sleep (woke after 1hr 15mins - couldn't get her back to sleep)
2:30pm fed
4:30 sleep (45 mins)
5pm fed
6:30pm fed - 80ml EBM in a bottle - husband fed her ad I was out running.
8:30pm - woke up absolutely distraught - fed her but it felt like a snack.
10:30pm - dream feed

00:30am woke up -tried to put her back to sleep with shush / pat but ended up feeding at 1am
3:30am woke up - fed but felt like a snack
5am she woke up but managed to self sooth herself back to sleep.
7am wake / fed
9am sleep (2hrs)
11am fed
1pm sleep (woke after 1hr managed to get her back to sleep for another 30 mins)
2:30pm feed
4:45pm sleep - 45 mins
6:15pm feed - BF plus 40ml EBM
6:45 bed

Can anyone advise on what I can do to get her weight up whilst maintaining EASY and not having her snack?I'm not keen on giving formula as I've got this far without it.

Any help would be much appreciated from this knackered mummy! Xx

[*Ali*]

Does she take both sides at each feed? You could also try offering the first breast again after she has had both sides. Or top up feeds after half an hour if she will take it can be good for weight gain as the milk they usually get then is the fattier type.

40mls is a decent amount to pump especially you are feeding full time and this is extra demand. If you continue to pump your body will get the message to make that extra milk and your supply will increase.

[Libby0702]

Hi Ali

Thanks for replying! She feeds off both sides every time - I will try switch feeding and your idea of a top up after 30 mins is a good one. 40ml is from both breasts when I pump :-(

The multiple night wakings are getting worse though - last night she woke at 12:30, 2:30 & 4am - it was only the last one where she fed well - the other two she just suckled / snacked so I re-settled her and she went back to sleep. Any thought??

Thanks, Libby

[Fiver]

This might be a daft question, but during the day, are you allowing her to feed for as long as she wants to or are you determining when a feed should end/you should switch sides?  Also, often LOs who are BF do need to nurse more frequently than every 4 hours because breast milk is digested rapidly.  And some mums NEED LO to feed more often to maintain a good milk supply.  The more frequently the breast is emptied, the more quickly milk is produced.

Also, have you tried breast compressions when she seems to be coming towards the end of the feed to keep her interested a bit longer and to get some more of the higher fat milk from the breast?

[Libby0702]

I'm definitely keeping her on as long as she wants or starts suckling rather than drinking. Will try breast compressions and feeding more regularly but how do you do a 3 hr feeds with 4hr schedule for A time and Naps? Bit confused on how I could adapt it to work?

Thanks!

[weaver]

I had to add in a 'snack' for my LOs on a 4 hr EASY - so they did the big feed after sleep and then about 30 mins or so before nap time they had a little extra feed, one side.  Not in the bedroom, not at nap time, to avoid any confusion.  I didn't do it for every cycle but it was definitely appreciated a few times a day.

HTH.

[Fiver]

^^ That's how most people manage it.  Doesn't have to be a 3h; could be 3h15m, 3h30 etc.  Hopefully LO will still be giving you hunger cues so you can follow her.

[Libby0702]

Thank you ladies! Today we have been mostly following a 3.5hr schedule so have put in an extra feed before bed. Will see how it goes x

[*Ali*]

Good luck. Let us know how it goes.

[Cvbaby2014]

I have a similar issue with my LO who is 4.5 months.
I had a consultantation with a lactation consultant yesterday.  Her opinion was that babies of this age need to feed at minimum 8 times a day, ideally 10-12 times.
Even though I was feeding at least every 3 hours, this isn't enough especially without a few night feeds.  So by doing less feeds over a period of time, even though my LO wasn't complaining, his weight gain slowed right down and my supply is too low.

I am doing intense pumping over the next few days along with feeding at least 7 times during the day knowing that I will do at least 2 night feeds.

Also she advised that domperidone won't work well unless you either nurse more often or pump more often...ie stimulate you breasts more than previously.

This is just my situation, but you might want to look into it.