Weight Gain Slowed too Early?/Now nothing at all?

[*Ali*]

Make sure they are the most recent ones from around Oct 2009 Katie or they will still be based on the FF babies.

[katie80]

Hi Girls... I'm back.  I dug up this old thread as I'm back to the same old concern.

After initially posting, you all were right and things went along tickety-boo.  It seems G's growth slows for a month, and then picks up the next.  So... months 3 and 5 were less; months 2, 4, and 6 were bigger (he did actually do the weight-double thing right at about 6 mo).  Leading us to month 7, where he gained nothing.   He was 7 mo a week ago, so I weighed him again on my parents' bathroom scale.  I got basically the same reading as at the ped's office for his 6 mo appt, give or take an ounce.  I know that BF'd babies weight gain slows a bit the second half of the year, but do I need to be worried about a gain of nothing? 

He's constantly on the move (army-crawls everywhere, hardly sits still even when being held) and is quite distracted while nursing.  He has two solid meals a day; doesn't ever eat too much in the morning, but does pretty well at 'supper.'  I started taking More Milk Plus (an herbal supplement with fenugreek and blessed thistle) at about 5.5 mo as he was seeming ravenous, before we started any solids.  I still BF ~6 times in 24 hrs (there have been only a few days of only 5 times).  He seems satisfied after nursing, but does seem to take more if offered an hour or two later.  He was sick for a couple weeks in this month, during which I pretty much nursed on demand as he got pretty stuffed up and I never knew if he was getting a good feed.

I guess my greatest concern is that somewhere in all this my supply has diminished.  Claire's weight really plateaued around this time as well and I dropped her NF with PUPD (because everyone thought she should be sleeping through at that point), which has always bothered me (like, did I cause her not to get enough calories ), so those feelings are playing into this as well.  Another thing that bugs me sometimes is often in literature (i.e. Kellymom, a couple nursing books I have), it seems they're so dead-set on demand feeding and against schedules/routines that they say if you've always followed one, your milk supply won't keep up.  I wonder then what does that mean for the BFd baby on BW?

So... do I take steps to feed him more during the day?  Should I call my ped's office and check in with her?  Or do I wait another month and weigh him again and see what's up?

[*Ali*]

Katie, please don't worry. I found with both my boys their weigh has hit a plateau when they started solids. This is common since solids have a lower calorific value than breast milk.
Cadan slowed down when he started crawling too. G has both these things coming at once so I think it is understandable that his weight gain would slow.
I BF boys my boys on 3- then 4-hr feeding routines, with some flexibility, and have never had a problem with supply. I think if someone is prone to supply issues or the Lo is less than 6wo then it may be an issue but if he isn't fussing for a feed before the 4hr point I would stick with that. It will be even less of an issue soon with him taking more solids as he probably won't have the time or room for more frequent feeds.

[lilisuze]

Katie, did you ever read my thread on here about DS? between 2.5 and 3 years old, almost 6 months to the day he gained 50g. yes 50g!  and the health team and the doctor were highly unfazed.  I know it's different because g is still a baby but as Ali says there are all lot of things going on that are known to affect weight gain. iiwm I would bridge the gap and get him weighed officially in 2 weeks. we can hold your hand while you wait.

[clazzat]

I read somewhere that the most often that bf babies over 6 months should be weighed is every 4 weeks because any more often than that is going to be worrying because they don't put on weight that quickly. Looking at x's red book (the health record they keep for children in the uk), he hasn't put on any weight in about 6 weeks, although I haven't had him "officially" weighed for a while.

As Ali said, the combination of crawling and starting solids is likely to have had an impact on his weight gain, and as long as he is satisfied between feeds then there is nothing to worry about. I am feeding x 3/4 times a day and I have no problem with supply or him being fussy so if you are feeding more often than that I wouldn't say that it is the feeding schedule that would be causing supply problems, iyswim. I also think that it is unlikely that you are having supply problems if he is happy to wait for his feeds.

Weight gain is one of those things that we are all pre-programmed to obsess about and feel guilty about, but if he is happy and developing on schedule then there is nothing to worry about. Incidentally, all of mine have gained weight in fits and starts, and dh says that he did too so it is common and normal.

[clazzat]

Oh, and x hasn't quite doubled his birth weight yet at 9.5 months!

[atlantamomofthree]

I think if someone is prone to supply issues or the Lo is less than 6wo then it may be an issue but if he isn't fussing for a feed before the 4hr point I would stick with that.

^^This^^ ((hugs)) Katie. It's hard not to worry when we're basically prone to do just that!

[katie80]

Yes, why are we so pre-programmed to worry and stress about this?  I guess because it's very personal.  We're mostly on a 4 hr routine, although often the afternoons are more like 3.5 hr, sometimes 3 due to still not consistent naps and I do think genuine hunger sometimes.  He probably could be eating more solids, but I don't really know where to add in lunch (the nap thing ) and sometimes in the morning, he's not all that interested.  I don't think I have a supply issue (not sure how I'd really know, but surely I couldn't get him to 6 mo successfully and then just lose it ), so we'll continue on our merry way and I'll weigh him again at 8 mo. 

Thanks, girls.  Again, I appreciate your encouragement and support.

[teilvnav]

Hugs Katie!! It really is such a pride thing, isn't it? I take it so personally that Anna is small, especially since she was 9.5lbs at birth. She is quite tall but is so skinny that anything bigger than leggings falls down. And I worry constantly. Sigh. Just keep puttering along as much as you can! You are doing well!

[katie80]

Thanks, Amy.  The thing is, I knew this day had to be coming, as neither DH nor I are big people (DH is tall, but not overly so), so it's not practical that G would continue at the very top of the charts (where did that 10 lb baby come from? ).  But, it is hard not to take personally, you're right. 

And to top it all off, he's now starting to bite me (might need to make another thread ).  Probably because I keep shoving my boob in his face, like, "Are you sure you're done?"   Hopefully, I'll be laughing at this in a couple months.  I've just cooked him some chicken, sweet potato, and apple for tomorrow, so feeling good about that.