Need encouragement… Dr wants me to stop BF, close to failure to thrive, slow gain
- Thread starter kars
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@kars I knew ONE mama who’s milk simply did not have enough fat in it. She basically never made hindmilk, only foremilk. This is very rare and may not be your situation. I mostly bring it up now because I want to emphasize that it is also very rare and extremely concerning for a baby to lose weight between 2 and 4 weeks. I would follow your pediatrician’s advice here.
If you want to try to pump while exclusively bottle feeding for a while (formula or pumped milk; again, follow pediatrician’s instructions) you certainly can but your baby needs to be adequately fed and to be with her mama. You can meet both these needs without EBF or even breastfeeding at all.
If you want to try to pump while exclusively bottle feeding for a while (formula or pumped milk; again, follow pediatrician’s instructions) you certainly can but your baby needs to be adequately fed and to be with her mama. You can meet both these needs without EBF or even breastfeeding at all.
@kars I struggled with supply at first, doctor advised me to pump in between feedings to increase it. I chose Lanisoh’s manual pump, had lactation vitamins and tea. Lots and lots of water. Body armors too. Also helps if you take deep breaths and relax to stimulate let downs. It sucked ass and was a lot of work but it helped. Stuck w it for a few weeks. Now i have no supply issues. I don’t have to pump anymore or do anything extra. You got this!!
Also no shame in giving formula if absolutely necessary. Do not suffer when you don’t have to. Not being able to EBF doesn’t make you any less of a mother.
Also no shame in giving formula if absolutely necessary. Do not suffer when you don’t have to. Not being able to EBF doesn’t make you any less of a mother.
youthpastor500
New member
@kars Did you do weighted feeds before he recommended exclusive pumping? Intuitively, I'd do that first? Because transferring to the pump is always less effective than direct suckling, so you'll produce more milk if baby is straight on the tap. And the weighted feed should give you the same information as having giving the milk from a bottle.... Right?
But I'm not a doctor. Maybe I'm missing something that has ruled this out?
If no one talked about weighted feeds at all to rule out that option, then I'd get a second opinion for sure. From another doctor and another LC.
But I'm not a doctor. Maybe I'm missing something that has ruled this out?
If no one talked about weighted feeds at all to rule out that option, then I'd get a second opinion for sure. From another doctor and another LC.
@youthpastor500 Babies are definitely not ALWAYS more effective than the pump. A sleepy baby or a baby with a tongue tie for example can have trouble transferring milk even if the supply is there.
A weighted feed does provide some important data but one downside is it's not really possible to do at every feed, so it's harder to know the overall feeding pattern.
A weighted feed does provide some important data but one downside is it's not really possible to do at every feed, so it's harder to know the overall feeding pattern.
sassnnbide
New member
@teresacr I second this, my baby didn't transfer milk effectively at all due to being very sleepy, and due to partial tongue restriction (which I didn't know about until he was 4 months old by which point feeding was going better). I was told to pump as the health visitor thought it was a supply issue, and I ended up pumping so much I gave myself an oversupply but baby still didn't transfer enough to gain weight any faster.
@youthpastor500 I think weighted feeds aren’t a very reliable measure, especially if you don’t have a medical-grade scale. At this point, there’s a big difference for a baby at risk for failure to thrive drinking 2 oz vs 1.5.
princessbychrist
New member
@youthpastor500 You can get them at most drugstores for under $100!
youthpastor500
New member
@princessbychrist Ah! See, I'd totally try that 
christianinthewilderness
New member
@kars My baby was born low birth weight and we came close to her having to stay in hospital due to not gaining weight for so long. Our pediatrician compared nursing as a baby not gaining weight to expecting a toddler to run a marathon. For babies struggling to gain, especially low birth weight babies it often expends more calories than what they intake. Hence the importance of triple feeding and supplementing.
I saw a LC weekly for the first 10 weeks and did weighted feeds, triple fed for 8 weeks cause I was that stubborn (but I had an amazing support system), and had regular appointments with the pediatrician. We adjusted the supplementing amount as she gained weight. But in the beginning at the breast it was more for her to be used to it than to actually get nutrition from it. Most of her intake came from these little syringe feeding things. She was so out of it in the beginning we couldn't even do bottle feeding.
I would call a LC immediately and be seen for a weighted feed then thay way you know how much to supplement. It can be done the way I did it, but it was pure hell.
Also...set a timer for every 2 hours. Don't wait for baby to cry. Every 2 hours feed the kiddo, wake for feeds at night for now until baby starts gaining some.
I saw a LC weekly for the first 10 weeks and did weighted feeds, triple fed for 8 weeks cause I was that stubborn (but I had an amazing support system), and had regular appointments with the pediatrician. We adjusted the supplementing amount as she gained weight. But in the beginning at the breast it was more for her to be used to it than to actually get nutrition from it. Most of her intake came from these little syringe feeding things. She was so out of it in the beginning we couldn't even do bottle feeding.
I would call a LC immediately and be seen for a weighted feed then thay way you know how much to supplement. It can be done the way I did it, but it was pure hell.
Also...set a timer for every 2 hours. Don't wait for baby to cry. Every 2 hours feed the kiddo, wake for feeds at night for now until baby starts gaining some.
@christianinthewilderness The ped and LC have both mentioned how eating for so long at a time is going to be burning too many calories, the LC had me cut down the amount of time I allow her to spend on each side because of it but now that’s a non issue since the ped wants me to only feed from a bottle 
I’m hoping we can keep doing weighted feeds and hopefully see some improvement
I’m hoping we can keep doing weighted feeds and hopefully see some improvement@kars I’d get second opinions from both the LC and pediatrician first. I had horrible experiences with multiple pediatricians, and one bad LC at a hospital. Make sure they are using the new/updated WHO chart (the CDC one was geared towards formula fed babies). Sometimes babies at birth can present as larger than expected and then experience “catch-down growth” (ie due to hydration, IVs, GD, or just genetics), but absolutely do not take my word for that as I’m not a professional and don’t even have your baby’s stats.
It does sound weird that baby gained weight fine for the first 2 weeks, but not subsequent ones, and that they jumped to pumping. I’ve had pediatricians suggest this, primarily because they are experienced enough to know how many ounces they need, but not enough to know that there are other ways of getting this information. They’re typically fast to jump to “not producing enough” or “mom’s milk is faulty”. I’d expect them to try weighted feeds, look at or outright weigh output from diapers, etc before jumping to pumping. Baby is also more efficient than a pump at getting milk out. They should also be taking baby’s behaviour, baby’s sleep, baby’s behaviour at the breast, how breastfeeding looks, mom and dad’s genetics, genetic patterns of growth on parent’s side if abnormal, etc all into account.
It does sound weird that baby gained weight fine for the first 2 weeks, but not subsequent ones, and that they jumped to pumping. I’ve had pediatricians suggest this, primarily because they are experienced enough to know how many ounces they need, but not enough to know that there are other ways of getting this information. They’re typically fast to jump to “not producing enough” or “mom’s milk is faulty”. I’d expect them to try weighted feeds, look at or outright weigh output from diapers, etc before jumping to pumping. Baby is also more efficient than a pump at getting milk out. They should also be taking baby’s behaviour, baby’s sleep, baby’s behaviour at the breast, how breastfeeding looks, mom and dad’s genetics, genetic patterns of growth on parent’s side if abnormal, etc all into account.
Your baby might have a problem and might need supplementation, but please don’t despair or assume it’s over! A good LC is amazing and can help troubleshoot and likely get you back to EBF. Hopefully, they will also be willing to advocate for you to your pediatrician. They can also be a huge emotional support, and mine are a large part of the reason I’m still breastfeeding. So long as you are willing to work with someone and do what’s needed, this is something you’ll likely be able to work through.