Baby gaining less than average weight.

[buttonbaby]

My son was born weighing 5lb 3, initially he didn’t suck at all and was NICU, being tube feed and trying bottles until he eventually sucked, when he arrived home he did suck but is slow to feed, he has improved a lot, he sucks well but only takes small amount, completely refusing the bottle after a while.
He is 6 weeks old yesterday and 2 days ago he weighed 6lb9z,(most of the weight gain was in the last 4 weeks as he was 5lb 2 at 2 weeks and his weight increased since) the doctor who weighed him was not happy with his weight gain (the public health nurse and midwife seemed happy with it), the doctor recommended I feed him like sp…every 3 hrs but wake him every hr also so on the first hr get 3, oz in and then, 2 on the next hour 1 oz so he gets 5 oz every 3 hours.

I am finding this very difficult, he takes ages to get the first 2-3 oz in, then on the 2nd hr he is just finished taking the first 3 oz and wont take more and I know (as haven’t been able to successfully do it yet) on the next 3 hr mark he wont be hungry to take 3 oz again.

What I was doing is  before this doctor visit was feeding him every 3 hrs in the daya dn every 2 in the evening and when he woke at night.
It is very hard to feed him at night, will only take 10 ml unless he wakes himself where he will take a little more.

Just wondering if anyone has any advice on how to help him drink more and gain weight?


Does anyone know if this would be suitable and if he would take to it being almost 2 mths old and having used regular bottles until now.

Also the hospital talked about added something to the mil which would add calories, does anyone know anything about these and if they require a prescription.

Many thanks in advance for any advice you might have,.

[Lolly]

Have you tried a faster teat or a vari flow teat? A friend had a baby who wouldn't suck well at birth and they ended up using a faster teat and keeping him more upright when they fed him.

How is he during feeds? Does he have any sign of reflux - that can have an impact on feed size. That said he is still very little so his tummy is very little too so it won't hold much! How much is he actually taking at feeds?

There are higher calorie milks and I think calorie/ nutrient additives they add in special care to get weight on but you would need a prescription for these.

{{HUGS}} for you.

Laura

[buttonbaby]

Lolly..thanks for your reply.
We did try a faster teat and it helped a little but not loads. What is a vari-flow teat?
He was taking 3- 4 oz in a  feed maybe 2 in the evening feeds every 2 hrs but now he is taking 2-4 oz (4 oz are only the odd time not very often) in a feed.
During feeds he is v noisy and fidgety but usally once we wind him he is ok for  a little while so think that’s just wind? He very rarely spits up anything.

[Lolly]

A variflow teat is one the baby controls themselves by how hard they suck, it can be better than normal teats because they don't generally have the constant drip and some babies do feed better from them. Not all bottle types do them, Tommee Tippee closer to nature are good ones, Avent do them but that one would be too fast.

Have you had him checked for tongue tie - that can effect feeding and latch/ suck. With reflux if it is silent reflux they don't spit up much if at all. My DD is a silent refluxer and went from taking 5oz feeds to 2oz feeds around 8 weeks old. She would happily suck down 2oz then fight, arch, scream and cry and refuse to take any more. If he is a noisy feeder and gets very windy a different shaped teat may suit him more. Which bottles are you using?

Laura

[15milner]

One thing to think about - my mw said that she counted the weight gain from the lowest weight that they dropped after the birth and not from the weight they were born?  Would that make a difference in terms of weight gain.

Alex

[buttonbaby]

Laura, I have never heard of tongue-tie.

I’m using Dr Brown bottles.

He is a little snively at night…..maybe he has a slight cold and that is affecting him? Looked up signs of reflux and he doesn’t seem to have those signs but he does what you describe and fuss after 2 oz and refuse the bottle but he doesn’t really cry and scream, just a little in the evenings, but sometimes I can get a little more in after a break.eg. nappy change.

Alex.. He left hosp and 2 days later was 5lb 2 s o after that they said feed him every 3 hrs (initially they  aid every 4hrs but I was feeding him every 3 hrs mainly as he work then). Since then he has gained an average of over 5oz per week but in the last 3 weeks the average has been under 4 oz!


Thanks you both for advice, am feeling a lil concerned , have appointment made for 6 week check up and will let the gp know my concerns then.

[buttonbaby]

I added up all his feeds in a  24 hr period..he was taking more but today’s was 15 and a half and it should be about 16ish oz, read you multiply their weight by 2.5 to see what they should be getting. Not really far off but I struggled getting that in. He was taken 4 oz at some feeds but today it was 3 max and usually he would stop at two dn I had to work on the last oz for ages.
Lolly..is that how you knew you dd ahd reflux…fed size dropped and screaming after 2 oz, ds often doesn’t fuss just calmly refuse, not sure what type of teat to try..will go to pharmacy to have a look.
Thanks again,
Fiona

[Lolly]

If he's not in any pain or discomfor then it probably isn't reflux - my DD had other symptoms like terrible hiccups, not able to lie her down flat, wet burps etc as well.

Dr Brown's do a variflow teat but it's a Y cut one for thicker fluids so won't be any good. Whether you try a different type of bottle is up to you really, but could be pricey . The tommee tippee closer to nature variflow are the best I have come across and the teats are a bit narrower than the Dr Browns. If you want to try something different I would just get one to start with.

With the tongue tie they can be tricky to spot but have a look at his tongue when he sticks it out - you may notice that his tongue doesn't come out very far and has a groove at the end which makes it look a bit heart shaped. Both my kids have it - they get it from me, it means that there is extra skin underneath the tongue which doesn't allow it "normal" movement. Some ties are really obvious, some are harder to see but if you google for images there are plenty around.

Laura

Laura

[buttonbaby]

Hi laura, I will get 1 of those bottles and teats..worth a try and if it helps Il get more!
Just looked at tongue tie images..will keep an eye on ds.
Did ur Lo’s need anything done to help their tongue tie?

Thanks for all you advice,
Fiona

[Lolly]

Unfortunately in my area dealing with tongue ties means visits to the pead and referrals to the maxo-facial team, other areas will snip ties at birth if they are present. I wasn't able to breastfeed them, they couldn't stay latched but neither had issues with bottles. It doesn't seem to be causing any speech issues and they eat solids mostly fine. They do both have quite sensitive gag reflexes but I'm not sure if that is from the ties or their reflux!

Laura

[buttonbaby]

Awh hope it contiunes not to cause any major probs for them! They are cuties!

[Lolly]

Thank you ! Although DD is not being such a cutie at bedtime at the moment....

Laura

[buttonbaby]

Tried the varifow..feed amounts were the same, his feeds were smaller today so went to the out of hours doc, he has gained no weight since wed so am going to the children’s hospital to sea a paediatrician tomorrow!

Laura...hope your LO settles are improving :/

[Shiv52]

{{{hugs Fiona}}}

Just seen this.  Hope tomorrow goes ok.  In terms of the weight gain is he staying on his growth curve with the weight he is putting on or dropping down the curves do you know? 

[buttonbaby]

Shiv, I dont know, hopefully all this will be explained tomorrow! Thanks for the hugs..I need them