Reassurance needed please.

[Mrsappleton]

Hi all,

I am new, and although I have been reading posts, I haven't posted anything until now. 

I am a mum of 3, the youngest being 11weeks old, and EBF.  When George was 6weeks old he got bronchiolitis and for 10days we battled with feeding due to him coughing, and unable to breathe when latched on. We even spent time in hospital, so not good for the little guy.  Thankfully, he is now back on track and better than ever.

Frustratingly though, he only put on 1oz during those 10days which led to a drop in centile on his growth chart and now our health visitors want him weighed weekly.  At his last check, he'd put on 8oz in 10days, which I thought was great. But they are still making me feel like he's not getting enough from me.

What more can I do? I'm starting to obsess over his feeding, and I'm just not relaxed about it anymore. I want to enjoy it, knowing he's getting what he needs, but I'm being made to feel like I should give up and offer formula.

Surely the fact he's putting weight on should be good enough?

Thanks for listening.

Gemma

[*Ali*]

Ignore the pressure hun. It is understandable that he didn't put on while sick. I would just concentrate on feeding him frequently as often as he wants even at night.

[Fiver]

I totally agree with Ali.  8oz is a terrific weight gain.  You might point out to them that he's been unwell and that BF babies often find their own centile line, which is not necessarily the one on which they were when they were born.

Our DD was a slow weight gainer and we had a period of weekly weigh ins until they were happy that her weight was increasing and she'd found her own curve (which was at least 2 lines below where she was plotted at birth).

If they're not actually saying "supplement with formula", it may be that they are just taking a pragmatic approach and seeing what happens over the next couple of weeks.  If you're happy with the weight gain the next time you go, you can always suggest coming back less frequently if they don't bring it up.

[Erin M]

It sounds like you're doing great hun.  It's often suggested to look at things like wet/dirty diapers, seeming generally content, and meeting milestones ok.  If he was sick, I'd certainly expect some slower weight gain for a time. 

[zebstiredmum]

 big hugs - sounds to me like ur doing fine too - my HV was keeping an eye on DD as she was dropping centiles (she went from 50th to 9th) but I didn't get too much pressure about formula - my HV said same as Erin above - if there are plenty of wet or dirty nappies and baby seems alert and content then try not to worry about weight gain - they will probably ask to weigh every couple of weeks, but before I knew it she was 6m old and it was time to wean!  Hang on in there  X

[eva026]

Hugs, been there with Drs going on about your babies weight.
I agree with the others, if you feel your LO is doing well and has plenty of wet nappies then don't stress about what they say.

[Mrsappleton]

Thank you ever so much every one for your responses.

I am going to trust my instincts and not worry so much.  He's such a happy content little boy, and we have 2/3 decent poops a day, and wet nappies every time I change him, so I'm confident he's getting what he needs.  He sleeps well at night too.

Next weigh in on Thursday, so hopefully he's gained enough to stop them putting on the pressure!

Thanks again.

Gem.x

[Erin M]

I am going to trust my instincts and not worry so much.  He's such a happy content little boy, and we have 2/3 decent poops a day, and wet nappies every time I change him, so I'm confident he's getting what he needs.  He sleeps well at night too.

This all sounds really good. 

Fingers crossed for some great weight gain so they leave you alone. 

[Mrsappleton]

Hi all,

Just wanted to update you very quickly on our latest weight check.  Little man has done so well.  He went from 9lb 14oz to 10lb 10oz in 8days! 

The health visitor was so happy with him, we will have another weight check in 2weeks time, and then they are going to leave us alone and let me get him weighed when I feel he needs to.

Am so pleased I persevered and didn't give up.

Thank you everyone for the support and reassurance I needed.

Gem.x

[Fiver]

GREAT update!  Well done, mumma and little man!!  Woo!

[Erin M]

Great news!

[*Ali*]

Yay!