6 month old really skinny! Need help getting supply up.

[mombegood]

I just moved and stress seemed to lower my supply. I'm worried because we just went to the doctor and while both my doctor and I see a healthy baby, but our 6 month old is in the 2nd percentile for weight. I am full of milk in the morning, but as the day goes on it seems my supply diminishes. I want to continue to breast feed so I'd appreciate any help. The doctor recommended fenugreek, but my husband read it's not FDA approved and is really worried about bad side effects or it being too risky. I'd appreciate any advice you have about getting my supply up and facts about fenugreek.

[EllenS]

There's a lot of reallly good researched info on a site called kellymom.com.  I have used fenugreek and it worked, but a combination of fenugreek and blessed thistle worked better, the product is called More Milk Plus.

Also, it's important that you are eating, drinking and resting enough during the day.  Has your lo's weight gain slowed down or was he always on the small side?  Does he act hungry, like he is not getting enough?  How long is his interval between feeds?

[mombegood]

Thanks for the website I'll definitely check it out. She eats about every four hours (at about 7, 11, 3, and then I cluster feed and dream feed). In the afternoon and evening she seems to get more frustrated while eating and doesn't seem full. I have been giving cereal as well. I can't feel my milk like most women (except in the morning because I'm a little engorged).

[First Time Mom]

I was in your shoes last year! My dd was always between "below, or off the chart" and up to 10% for weight, always gaining slowly. I bf her for 18 months and held off solids until 6 months. The entire time I bf'd I never felt "full", only slightly in the mornings. At 21 months she now eats EVERYTHING (healthy) and actually has some chub and rolls on her frame but will always probably be light weight as dh and I are. Has your lo always been on the light side? If so, I wouldn't worry about the weight.

I tried the Fenugreek and Blessed Thistle combo and it didn't seem to make any difference for me but it did a lot for my mind as I convinced myself it worked so I was more relaxed and not as worried about bfing and supply. I had no side effects.

At what times are you giving the cereal? Just make sure you're bfing prior to giving the cereal as your supply will decrease with adding solids but decrease to what is needed (remember, supply = demand).

Every now and then I shortened feed times to go back to 3ish hours, just to boost my supply but again, it was only temporary, as it would adjust back when we returned to the 4 hour feeds.

Hopefully your stress level from the move should level off now, this will help, and try to get some rest in the afternoon if possible. I find that as moms we do so much in the day, especially before and around dinner time, we are running around always.

Hugs and good luck to you! Hang in there, you're doing a great job with bfing to have come this far along.

[tylersmommy]

After your breasts have gotten the hang of bfing, you won't be able to feel your milk as much as you did in the beginning, and sometimes not at all. Has she dropped in weight percentiles? It's common to fluctuate somewhat between percentiles as your LO settles into what her actual size will be. My DD went up in percentiles from birth to 6 mo, then started dropping back down to her birth percentile. Now at 10.5 mo, she's settled in slightly lower than her birth percentile. So the actual percentile may not be cause for concern.

[dbj]

If both you and your doctor see a healthy baby, why is there concern over weight?  Babies in the lower percentiles that are meant to be small babies (who are not suffering from any circumstances that are causing them to have poor weight gain) are no less healthy than those in the higher percentiles.  Babies come in all shapes and sizes and grow into children and adults of all different sizes.  Overall health is what is important, not the actual weight.

My daughter is 8 months and has been below the chart since between 3-4 months.   My doctor only expressed mild concern in that she'd taken a decline in the pattern of her growth (but she was still gaining, just less than expected.)  I wasn't asked to supplement, and I continued to breastfeed as I was doing, and introduced solids at 6 months.  Since then, her growth has picked up again, and she is back on a more regular growth pattern, but she is still under the chart.  She's just a small baby... a happy, healthy, developmentally on track, small baby.  I think it is also partly genetic, since I was also a small baby and would have also been under the chart.

Anyway, sorry to get off topic of your question about fenugreek.  Though, I don't see why your doctor would recommend it if it wasn't safe to use.  I haven't taken it myself, though anecdotally have heard good things about it increasing supply.  I also found that I was a lot fuller in the morning, due to the longer interval and wouldn't expect to be as full at any other point in the day.  I think it is also quite common for supply to diminish throughout the day.  I always find that I am lower at the bedtime feed and letdown is harder to get at that time.

Good luck! 

[RachelC]

Hi and welcome to the boards!

You have been given some great advice so far.  I will just repeat about the growth charts... some one has to be at the bottom!  That seems to be our babies.  My dd2 steadily declined on the charts until she finally fell off at 18 months.  She was still gaining weight, but still off the charts at 21 months.  We'll see in a couple weeks where she is now.

I bfed her for 22 months... never felt full!  The end of the day is tough... have you tried breast compressions?

https://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=88759.0

Do you pump at all?  You can try pumping after each feed to help boost supply.

Your baby is gaining weight, content, lasting 4 hours between feeds, (how is she at night?)... is she producing at least 6 wet diapers in 24 hours?

It truly sounds like your baby is doing really well.

Here is some more info on Fenugreek (I took it... don't think it helped me, but I know many who were helped by it).
http://www.kellymom.com/herbal/milksupply/herbal_galactagogue.html

Hang in there!

[mombegood]

All your comments helped. You put things into perspective. I won't worry so much about how she compares to others her age. I still think I may try the fenugreek as well, but it helps to know I'm not starving my baby. We'll see how it all plays out.

[EllenS]

I hardly ever feel full anymore either, except sometimes in the AM.  If she is lasting 4 hours between feeds and having plenty of wet diapers, there is NO WAY she is starving.  If she was hungry, she'd be screaming her fool head off WAAAAAY before 4 hours, rooting for the breast, smacking her lips, etc. 

My Pediatrician said two really great things: #1 - each baby has their OWN curve.  The main thing they look for is gaining at a steady rate, rather than how the baby matches "the chart".

#2 - there are two kinds of people who starve themselves - teenage girls and political prisoners.  Your baby is neither, if she's hungry she'll let you know.  (he has kindof a sick sense of humor, but it made me feel better).

Everybody always remarks on how "skinny" my lo is, but she's REALLY active, alert and healthy.

I know how other people's perceptions can make you worry.  I used to worry that, since she is so skinny and I have lost so little of the baby weight, that somehow I was subconsciously "withholding" the calories from her.  Is that ridiculous or what?  But our mommy-minds play all kinds of tricks on us.

Hugs! 

[woopster]

DS1 was a 'skinny' baby.  Many times I was advised to give him a bottle as it 'was better for him'.  I bf him for 17 months, and do you know what? He's 4 now and STILL skinny. That's just his build. Don't know where he gets it from though, cos me and DH ain't skinny!!

[hannahbanana]

Is it really true that a baby will let you know if, for example, she's only getting an ounce or 2 less than she'd like?  Maybe a bottle-feeding mom could answer that.  I'm still not sold on the 4 hour schedule.

I've read the books, which suggest a 4 hour schedule for babies 4 months and older, but I eat more than every four hours!  Why would I think that this little baby would wait that long?  I think about thirst, too, in hot weather, not just calories.  What are your thoughts?

Could the schedule be the cause of low supply and need for fenugreek?

[EllenS]

The 4 hour schedule is not set in stone - my lo does 4h for the first AM cycle and maybe the second one, then later in the day it's more like 3- 3.5.  Now that we are doing solids, she sometimes isn't quite hungry at 4 hours.  She has been on a 4 hour routine for about 2.5 months, and is growing on the same curve since she was born. (25%).  My supply is much better now than when she was tiny.

And whether she is bf or on the occasional bottlefeed, if she is not done, she lets me know!  We have been sent back to the kitchen to get another oz or two, certainly.  Sometimes if she has not eaten well during the day (for example if we've been out and she was distracted while feeding), she will wake during the night to make it up.

Every lo is different, but I would think if a baby was hungry enough to lose weight or jeapordize health, he would cry a lot and be generally miserable.  Same for thirst.  If something is bothering her, she does not suffer in silence.  I would think if a baby (older than a newborn) did not fuss/cry when hungry or thirsty, there would be something else wrong with him.

[RachelC]

The 4 hour interval is only a suggestion that works for many, as it increases the amount taken at each feed, not only in quantity, but also quality.  Many babies do not make it to a 4 hour EASY, but rather stay at 3 or 3.5 or, like Ellen's lo, fluctuate through the day.

No, a hungry baby will not go unnoticed.

[hannahbanana]

RachelC: What do you mean "it increases the amount taken at each feed, not only in quantity, but also quality?"

[RachelC]

The feed has more hindmilk.