Author Topic: 6.5 month old EBF and stopped gaining weight...need guidance  (Read 4878 times)

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Offline Lincolns_Mommy

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6.5 month old EBF and stopped gaining weight...need guidance
« on: November 25, 2011, 13:07:51 pm »
I have exclusively breastfed my little guy since the beginning. He was steadily gaining weight and growing (he's tall!), and at every monthly dr. appointment our doctor was very impressed.

However, between our 4 and 5 month check up, Lincoln gained only a few ounces. Our doctor didn't seem concerned and neither were we. It was around this time that we started on the 4-hour easy routine (we hadnt done any BW before this time) and I had started noticing that his BF times were lessening. I had read that it was normal around this age for babies to take less time to eat, so I didn't think too much of it.

We just had our 6 month check and he, once again, had barely gained any weight. He grew over an inch! When the doctor showed us Lincoln's progress on the growth chart, we could see that weight line is now slowly dropping instead of climbing. Our doctor said that he isn't "overly concerned" but that he recommends that we take steps to increase his weight and to rule out any problems. He suggested that we start supplementing with formula. Then, at our next checkup, if Lincoln HAS gained weight, we will know it was simply due to the fact that he needed to eat more. But if he hasn't gained weight, then we need to do other tests?

I do not want to use formula...which has always been a personal choice for me. However, my husband thinks we should. It is a bit of a tension point for us. I realize that our LO is almost 7 months and I know formula isn't "evil"..but I really would like to try to see if I can increase my milk supply or supplement with BM before we try formula. My husband is ok with that...and we are giving it one week to see if I can make any changes in my supply (talk about PRESSURE!!!)

Since our last appointment (3 days ago) I have been trying everything I can to get more food into my Little guy. I have pumped (an hour after every BF)...but I only get about 1.5 ounces each time. I have not noticed (since pumping) any increase in my milk supply, which is frustrating! I had some frozen BM accumulated and I have been giving him 1 ounce extra (in a bottle) with 2 of his daytime feedings. Also, we introduced solids to him a couple of weeks ago. He took the best to the rice cereal...so 2 times a day I have been giving him rice cereal mixed with BM. He usually only ends up eating about 1/2 a Tbsp each time though. I'm concerned about giving him too much cereal because it is fortified with iron (couldn't find any without) and I'm worried abour constipation.
Also, I was in the process of cutting out his night feedings using PU/PD (we had almost done it!!!) but I have started giving him a NF again.
I have also been working on MY body. I have doubled my water consumption, I try to eat more regularly and healthier...and (hardest part) I'm attempting to sleep more (which is hard when I have to give him that NF).

I don't know what to do. I feel VERY VERY discouraged. I feel like I am doing everything I can to produce food for my baby and it's not working!! Why did it work in the past? Why am I failing at this now? It's a struggle because I think it's getting worse. My breasts feel full but it takes so long for my let-down to happen...my little man sucks sometimes for 5 hard minutes before he gets a full flow of milk!!! This is very frustrating for him...he cries alot more during BF. Once the miilk comes down he is very content.
My nipples are sooooo sore. And my body is exhausted!!!
I don't want to give up on myself and EBF but I want my son to thrive.
And he is thriving right now....the only thing I do notice is that he seems tired quickly. but other than that he is bright, alert, active, LOUD lol, and interactive.
Can anybody offer me any advice?

I need to know...if I am able to supplement with pumped BM...when should I give him this supplement? Before or after he nurses? with his solids? I don't want him to get confused.

Please help...I don't want to use formula :(

Offline Lincolns_Mommy

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Re: 6.5 month old EBF and stopped gaining weight...need guidance
« Reply #1 on: November 25, 2011, 13:08:35 pm »
I just wanted to mention that he was 6"11 when he was born and now he weighs 13"4.

Offline kerry,(kaceys mum)

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Re: 6.5 month old EBF and stopped gaining weight...need guidance
« Reply #2 on: November 25, 2011, 14:32:00 pm »
Hi,,,, I know that when I pumped whilst bf I hardly got anything out,,yet my dd's were defo geting enough milk so I wouldn't trust what you get at pumping as measurment of what your lo is getting whilst on the breast.

I think maybe your lo isn't geting enough food during the day,,,,have you tryed other food,,, like cooked apple or pears,,,,great for breakfast,,,, or cooked turnip and sweetpotato for lunch/dinner.? My lo's are 3 and 4 now so I'm not sure what the guidelines are for feeding solids are but I'm sure that at 6 and a half months they sould be well on their way to eating solids whilst coninuing to bf.
There was a good book wrote by gina ford,,, for starting your lo on healthy solids like I mentioned the apple and pears that I found useful.

Maybe with a combonation of solids and bf,,, your little one will gain weight and also drop the night feed because he is getting more food in him during daytime hours.
Kacey. 06/02/2007
Kayla.  20/09/2008
Robbie 07/02/2012

Offline Lincolns_Mommy

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Re: 6.5 month old EBF and stopped gaining weight...need guidance
« Reply #3 on: November 25, 2011, 14:38:52 pm »
KK mum-thanks for the reply. We have tried apples, pears, sweet potatoe and banana. He wasnt that responsive...clamped his mouth shut. But we also hadnt been really consistant with it either. He really likes the rice cereal though and will actually take the spoon and guide it into his mouth. I was thinking of maybe doing the cereal in the morning and then trying another food in the afternoon.

Offline kerry,(kaceys mum)

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Re: 6.5 month old EBF and stopped gaining weight...need guidance
« Reply #4 on: November 25, 2011, 14:52:38 pm »
Remember they say it takes 16 attempts to know if they actually like the food or not so just stick with it I'd say. Can you add anything to the cerials like a bit of mashed banana?? Or blueberrys??? Just to introduce more flavours??

Lunch/dinner how about some mashed potato?? Turnip,,veg soup?? I found the soup with small bits of bread in it worked well.

I hope that one of the breastfeeding ladies comes along to help you soon but I can't see a problem with your breastfeeding to be honest,, seams to me that you have been doing a great job there,, and your lo is just getting to the age that he needs some food as well as being breastfed,,, I wouldn't offer the formularlike the doctor sugested,,, I'd defo give the solids a bash,, anlong with the bf to see if that makes a difference,,,, just remember the solids are there to copliment the bf,,, don't drop a bf just because he's eating more solids,,,, same amount of bf and the solids are a top up to the bf,,,,, if you remove a bf at this stage,,then your los not really geting the extra food and calories then!xx
Kacey. 06/02/2007
Kayla.  20/09/2008
Robbie 07/02/2012

Offline C&B&E

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Re: 6.5 month old EBF and stopped gaining weight...need guidance
« Reply #5 on: November 25, 2011, 15:35:48 pm »
Have you tried fenugreek to increase your supply?  I find it very effective and works quickly.  Could you try going back to a 3.5 hour easy to get more milk into him?

xx
Claire x



Offline C&B&E

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Claire x



Offline Erin M

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Re: 6.5 month old EBF and stopped gaining weight...need guidance
« Reply #7 on: November 25, 2011, 21:31:33 pm »
Have you ever tried pumping before he latches just to the point of let down?  That way he wouldn't have to work so hard.  Fenugreek has worked really well for some ladies to increase supply. 

Do you df?  I would definitely keep your nf if you're worried about weight.  Babies tend to feed quite well during night feeds.  Solids aren't going to be a hugs source of calories for any time real soon - breastmilk has a lot more fat and calories ounce for ounce.  You could try bfing during solids time too. 

Also, know that this is not totally unusual.  I feel like we have a similar post every few weeks.  At this age, babies are getting more active and interested in their surroundings which means that they might not nurse as well.  Supplementing is tricky, as every bit that you supplement is less that your body will make for him.  I'd take the overall picture into account - is he meeting milestones?  Does he have wet diapers? 

Offline Shiv52

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Re: 6.5 month old EBF and stopped gaining weight...need guidance
« Reply #8 on: November 25, 2011, 21:44:32 pm »
What weight was he at his 4 and 6 month checks?  Was the doctor using the growth charts for BF babies as often they use the ones for FF babies. 

Honestly if he is happy and content, plenty of wet and dirty nappies, lasting between feeds...then I would think he is fine.  My DD2 moved down the weight curves at 4-6 months but by a year had moved way back up again.  Weight gain is only one measure of how well they are doing. 

Another thing that can help get good feeds in to them is feeding at the end of a nap.  So latch him on before he is totally awake and often they'll suck in their sleep and get a letdown going before they realise it. 

I often think doctors are too quick to recommend formula.  Mine did that too and i chose not to supplement.  Just a personal choice here too and my DD2 has been fine xx





Offline shivi

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Re: 6.5 month old EBF and stopped gaining weight...need guidance
« Reply #9 on: November 25, 2011, 22:32:54 pm »
So latch him on before he is totally awake and often they'll suck in their sleep and get a letdown going before they realise it

^^^ this is what worked for me and my two....

Its quite rare at this stage to have low milk supply if you are feeding as often as you do. Much more common reason is that LO is getting distracted and not taking the hindmilk....so feeding in the dark while still semi comotose is a much more likely issue.

Also, the charts, oh the charts.....they can differ an AWFUL lot. So please check the WHO charts as they are the only ones relevant for EBF babies today....

I definately agree that keeping up a DF and/or NF is necessary at this stage....


My kids were long and skinny born and at this stage, had finally caught up on their length but were still very much needing 5 feeds a day even on 4 hr EASY - 7,11,3,7 and DF at 11pm....and they were "easier" than most EBF babies for sure. Partly because they took so well to the feeds at the end of naps. I didn't dare drop the DF till 10 and 10.5 mths respectively!

S x


Siobhain - Mammy to Oscar and Emma, forever spirited, currently bilingual and curly, formerly baldy, extended breastfeeders!

Offline kerry,(kaceys mum)

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Re: 6.5 month old EBF and stopped gaining weight...need guidance
« Reply #10 on: November 25, 2011, 23:05:08 pm »
Glad the other ladies have been able to give better advice than me on this,,,I've been away from bf for so long,,,,looking forward to being on the boards in a few months geting some fab pointers from you guys!xxx
Kacey. 06/02/2007
Kayla.  20/09/2008
Robbie 07/02/2012

Offline *Ali*

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Re: 6.5 month old EBF and stopped gaining weight...need guidance
« Reply #11 on: November 26, 2011, 00:00:38 am »
I just checked the current WHO EBF charts and see he has dropped from about the 25th to below 2nd percentile line having moved from roughly 3kg at birth to 6kg at 6mo so your dr is right that he is not gaining perfectly along a line. But that doesn't mean you have to supplement with FF if you don't want to. On average BM is actually more calorific and fatty than FF.
If you want to try supplementing with EBM I would always offer it after the BF because most babies will take an ounce or two from the bottle even after a full BF so you will likely get more in him this way. But do watch for your baby developing a bottle preference and if he starts cutting the BF short because he is anticipating the bottle then I would stop this. Perhaps offer the bottle at a different time to the BF. Also pump after the BF so that the milk you get is the fatty hindmilk rather than the watering foremilk you would get at other times.
In the UK it is recommended to start solids at 6mo and add an extra meal roughly every week or so. So at your DS's age I wouldn't expect him to be taking a great deal in solids at all. As pps have said milk is his main source of nutrition and has the most calories ounce for ounce. You could try to feed him calorific foods such as avocado rather than veggies that are less calorific. But I wouldn't necessarily aim to increase his solids intake by any large amount since this can actually have the effect of decreasing calories overall if he replaces the BM with solid foods.
Here is a link to some more ideas of how to increase baby's weight gain. It includes some surprising ones like wearing your baby and doing baby massage.
http://www.kellymom.com/babyconcerns/growth/weight-gain_increase.html

My DS1 dropped down the curves around this time having previously gone up them from birth to 3mo. I put it down to his increased mobility, dropping down to 1 NF and starting solids.

I would try not to worry and don't let your dr (or anyone else for that matter including your DH) "bully" you into using FF if it isn't what you want to do.  
Cadan Dec 2009 and Colby Aug 2011


Offline Lincolns_Mommy

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Re: 6.5 month old EBF and stopped gaining weight...need guidance
« Reply #12 on: November 26, 2011, 00:01:02 am »
Thanks for all the advice! It has encouraged me :)

Offline clazzat

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Re: 6.5 month old EBF and stopped gaining weight...need guidance
« Reply #13 on: November 26, 2011, 13:29:51 pm »
I agree with Erin - I would keep going with the bf and try some solids but try not to get too hung up on it. I think that they definitely get to a point where there is a lot of interesting stuff going on and they get distracted from their feed - are you able to feed somewhere quiet and possibly dark for a while to see if he concentrates a bit more?  The other thing that is often going on at this stage is that they are moving a lot more so they are burning more calories and it can take them a little while to adjust their intake to compensate.

It is much more important to look at the overall picture though. If he is happy between feeds, developing the way you would expect, plenty of wet nappies etc., then his weight gain is almost a secondary thing,  iyswim. We had issues with ds gaining weight, and I was lucky to find a hv who focussed on his development rather than the numbers and he is doing great now. Please don't feel pressured into giving up bf as you can do it if you want to.

Offline becj86

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Re: 6.5 month old EBF and stopped gaining weight...need guidance
« Reply #14 on: November 26, 2011, 22:23:32 pm »
Is he a lot more active than he was? That can reduce weight gain as he's using the calories to move... Also, if he's moving earlier than his counterparts (who help make up that growth curve), he will stop gaining as much weight earlier than they do. He looks like a bit of a go-getter in your avatar :)

You could introduce a bottle of EBM to accompany solids - DS coped better with solids when I offered a drink and he takes only a little water early in the day but at dinner he's really thirsty so he gets EBM then so he's getting more calories in.