Help! Baby has stopped gaining weight!

[L-bean]

My lo is 3 months old and when I took her to get weighed this morning she was exactly the same weight as 2 weeks ago - 5.92kg. When she was born she was quite a big baby - almost 4kg. She gained weight very quickly in the first couple of weeks and reached the 90th percentile but is now around the 60th.
Sometimes she refuses a feed and can be quite fussy on the breast.
Any ideas why she's not gaining weight? I'm really worried!!

[L-bean]

I should add she is exclusively BF and will not take a bottle. We have been following 3 hour EASY and she usually has one or two NFs

[Erin M]

Weight gain can be a tricky thing -- what is "normal" for one baby certainly isn't for another.  First off, a good link with loads of good info:
http://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=94121.0

Second, it often helps to look at the overall pictures -- does your baby have enough wet/dirty diapers?  Is she generally content after feeding?  Is she getting to the 3 hour mark without much fuss?

Also, are you using the growth charts for breastfed babies released buy the WHO?
http://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=63598.0

You mention fussiness as well.  Is it possible that she has some reflux?  Here are some signs and symptoms:  http://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=654.0

What kind of fussiness are you talking about?  Fussiness through the whole feed, or just at certain times? 

Don't panic!  We'll figure it out -- 2 weeks allows for a lot of variation -- could just be a difference in scales, clothing, time of day, etc if those things weren't controlled for.  What do you think?

[Fiver]

Also, has she started doing anything new developmentally, like rolling?  Is she quite active?

[L-bean]

Thanks for the links and ideas. It has helped me to stop panicking quite so much! The fussiness is sometimes when I try to feed her at the 3 hour mark she refuses to even latch on and will scream if I keep trying but will usually be quite content if I give up. This happens maybe once a day but the time varies. Sometimes I think she just needs to be extremely well rested and will not eat if her previous nap was not good enough. Other times shell eat for a couple of minutes but then start fussing so I take her off and burp her but she doesn't want to go back on. I usually take this to mean she's full but friends who hold her will always make comments like "I think she's hungry- shes going for my boob!" so then I try to feed her again to satisfy them but naturally she screams again!
A normal daytime feed for her is usually 5, maybe 10 minutes and she will seem content after this. However in the night she can stay on for up to 20 minutes. Is it normal for there to be a difference between the two?
I have considered reflux but I think that if she does have it it is not a severe case as she seems generally content (provided she gets enough sleep!) I have her sleeping on a wedge at night just in case and she takes most of her naps in the baby carrier.

Is it possible that scheduled feelings are the cause of the problem? I tried feeding on demand yesterday in my panicked state but I don't know if it made much difference. I've been really doubting the easy routine over the last couple of days because my MIL has been staying with us and makes me feel like I'm doing everything wrong I'm scared to tell her about the lack of weight gain because I fear I'll get an "I told you so"

Sorry if this post isn't v clear. I'm writing it on my phone while walking with lo in the baby carrier so it's a bit tricky!

[L-bean]

Oh and developmentally the main thing I've noticed is that she's found her hands and likes to suck on her fingers constantly now. She can't roll over yet but yesterday looked like she was trying for the first time and got from her back to side

[becj86]

friends who hold her will always make comments like "I think she's hungry- shes going for my boob!"

Yeah, I had people do that too. DS just likes boobs no, actually, he was gassy from feeding too frequently and was looking for comfort. He also nuzzled chests when he was tired

A normal daytime feed for her is usually 5, maybe 10 minutes and she will seem content after this. However in the night she can stay on for up to 20 minutes. Is it normal for there to be a difference between the two?

Yes, this is normal I can't remember the reasoning for it, though...

At this age, she should probably be feeding a little further apart so that may be why she's not wanting to eat after 3hr and she probably needs more A time to be getting better naps. What's her EASY at the moment?

Re: MIL - Pick something you really like about your husband (I like DH's emotional maturity but hate his eating habits) and ask her about parenting in relation to that thing - so I ask about how MIL dealt with emotional issues and that helps her feel she is being useful and imparting her knowledge and that I need her without driving me nuts. I don't listen to her about food choices, amounts, etc. I just say that yes, I have done some research and I think this is the best way for LO. Ignore her other comments. Its hard when she's right there and making lots of comments, but remember that she had her kids a long time ago and what she remembers of how angelic they were and how successful various techniques she used were is probably not reality.

[barbaraz78]

The fussiness is sometimes when I try to feed her at the 3 hour mark she refuses to even latch on and will scream if I keep trying but will usually be quite content if I give up. This happens maybe once a day but the time varies.

We had *exactly* the same issue little after 3 months. I think it was a combination of distraction by the new world he discovered, pain due to an hear infection and not being hungry at the 3 h mark. At that time, I started feeding in the dark and it helped a lot. Then I moved (slowly) to 4 h feeds and I think this was the real key. As yours, my baby was a big baby, so I think he has been ready for delaying feeds earlier than others. What happens if you wait a while (like 15 mins) after the 3h mark to feed?

[Erin M]

Honestly I've found that with breast fed babies, people will blame anything on hunger.  (My dh's fav phrase: "Oh, just give him/her the boob.") 

I pretty much had the time difference between day and night feeds with my girls (ds would happily stay on the boob all day I think...) so I'd think you're ok there. 

Like PP said, sometimes delaying feeds by just a little can make our LOs more interested. 

About her size, are you and her dad big people?  Sometimes the size babies are at. Irth don't really connect to how the end up -- genetics plays a much bigger role in that.  And if you feel like she's taking good feeds if you feed on demand, I might try to note a pattern and see if it tells you anything about her feeding patterns.

[L-bean]

It's so good to have some reassurance. This forum is great!
I think you're both right about needing to stretch a times and times between feeds. TBH whenever I relax my EASY a bit more she sometimes sleeps a bit extra and doesn't seem at all bothered to wait a bit longer for food. Today I didn't stick to easy at all as it was too complicated with spending time with MIL. This meant catnaps all day and feeds at 6.30, 11.30 and 3.20 so far. (tried at 9.30 and 1.30 but these were refused). Anyway that goes to show she's willing to go quite long between feeds. The hard part is getting her a time long enough. She is usually fussing quite a lot by 50 minutes awake so I either lay her down at this point and she can take up to 1-2 hours to fall asleep esp at BT Or I take her for a walk and she falls asleep almost instantly. (usually the preferred option!) also I manage to keep her asleep for a full 2 hours this way but only if I keep walking. Otherwise she would wake after 45 mins which I guess suggests UT! It's just so hard to stretch A time when she is fussing because I'm scared of her getting OT! How long before she falls asleep should I be starting WD?

Anyway I'll try 3.25 EASY tomorrow and see how that goes. Maybe stretch time before I put her to bed to 1 hour?

[becj86]

She could be bored, rather than tired at 50min... Stretch the A times gently though, as she's really used to short A times. For reference, A times are usually just over 2hr by 5 months, with 2 solid naps and a catnap.