Breastfeeding 3Month Girl Gains Only 6Oz in Two Weeks

Hooray for breastfeeding! There's a great lactation consultant named Margie. She can see you as a drop-in in the Parents' Center at Heller's Baby Store in San Rafael on Tuesday afternoons.

J.,
My daughter was breastfed exclusively and was only 10 lbs. finally at 3 months! Her docter said "Don't let anyone tell you she's too small or thin." She was always on the low end of the charts.... But she is 7 years old now and is 'just right'. So don't worry. She'll gain weight. P.
PS It was worrisome to me when she was small because although her Dad is 5'5", I am 5'10"!

J.,

As your pediatrician for a referral to a lactation consultant - they can be amazingly helpful. If you can't get a referral or support from you pediatrician, contact the folks at WIC or CRP-WIC and ask them for help.

Don't give up on breastfeeding yet.

Good luck - J.

Hi J.,

I agree to all the mom's that responded to you. I breast fed my children 1 year each. They are very smart, Nathan at 18mo was doing 6 or 12 pieces puzzle and now that he is 5 he is now reading alot more than his peers. Isabell started reading at 3.5 yrs old. wanted to be like his big bro.

So, keep up the good work and do not worry.

M.

I would keep it up a little longer the benefits of a good nurser will outweigh slow weight gain!

You're fine. Breast milk is soo much better than formula, so it is ok if your baby gains a little less (as long as baby keeps gaining or stays steady instead of losing).

One of my friends had a saying - breast milk feeds the brain, formula feeds the body. We noticed (not always true tho) that in general, babies fed formula were big and heavy, but breastfed babies were lighter and often more alert, more active.

My own son is abt as lightweight as they go - but he is a bright active kid, reading several grades above his peers, while being several sizes smaller than them. Would I trade my skinny tiny little smart boy for an average chunky kid? NO!!!!

No!! Keep breastfeeding. If she's gaining and your pediatrician is happy, great. The long term benefits of breastfeeding are closer bonding, making just the right antibodies for your babies specific cold, decreased obesity later,decreased diabetes,decreased allergies, higher IQ, and I'm sure I'm forgetting about 20 other things I'll think of later. Some feeding tips: Nurse often and long, drink and eat plenty, relax during feeding and make sure she empties both sides completely. The fatty part of the milk is the hind milk, the fore milk is more watery. She'll get the calories she needs from completely emptying the breast. Good luck. Let me know if I can answer any other questions. Oh yeah, formula fed babies have differently shaped intestines than breast fed babies. You should try to nurse for over a year for the best results...for you too. It helps you lose weight and decreases your chances of breast cancer the longer you nurse. I aim for 18 mos of nursing, but when they start eating more food at about 7 months I cut back on nursing some and more as they get older. I am nursing my 15 month old 2-3 times a day...nap time, bed time and when he wakes up. It puts him in such a good mood in the morning and it's our time together. Like most pedicatricians, I also recommend nursing exclusively for about 6 months. I did for 5.5 mos with my 4.
Good luck!!

Please keep her on the breast. Your milk supply will increase as you nurse exclusivly.

Breastfeeding is the best thing for your baby. As for her weight, if her doc is ok with it, it should be ok. Also to think about: are you and and her father small or tall people? Is she getting ready for a growth spurt? (Mine all do that constantly...eat, eat, eat, then quit eating and grow like crazy). I would encourage you to stick to breast feeding as much as possible. Good luck.

Are you breastfeeding on demand? Ie You feed her when she is hungry/ crying/ rooting? I have breastfed my daughter on demand and sometimes she has gained a lot of weight and others she has not. It seems that she has growth spurts so when you ped says not to worry. Do not worry. Your body will produce everything your baby needs nutritionally, and responds to her specific needs. Just make sure your diet is varied and that you are eating enough and drinking enough water. You may also want to take the vitamin/mineral supplements you took during pregnancy. I hope this is useful.

Hi J.,

My daughter was born 5 wks premie, didn't spend any extra time in the hospital...came home 5 lbs 7 oz..very small but very healthy...I nursed her for the first year from only ONE boob! lol... She gained slowly, couple oz a week. At 5 months she only weighted 9 lbs...but could crawl already...way before any of my friend's kids. so don't weigh your success on her weight gain...she's just fine, and lucky to have a mommy that can breastfeed her. keep it up, stop worrying (i know easier said than done) and enjoy the extrordinary experience of breastfeeding...

Good luck.. :)

D.

ps - My daughter still has a hard time gaining weight...and she's almost 10...she's very tall 4ft 6in and weighs 57 lbs..she has never gone past the 15th percentile for weight...and can still fit a size 5 in the waist. so your daughter may just be on the small side...

I had the similar problem with my daughter when she was that age. When She was 2.5 months, she only weighed 8 pounds and didn't gain any weight for two weeks. I ended up renting an infant scale from a local hospital (they have weekly or monthly rental). I was able to find out how much breastmilk she was getting during each feeding. I found out that she was not getting enough breastmilk. She would fall asleep before she would get enough milk. I pumped out the breastmilk and gave it to her to supplement. That helped her gain weight. I should have done this sooner before I lost my milk supply. Within two weeks, I lost my milk supply because my body adjusted to the amount of milk my daughter was taking from me (which wasn't a whole lot). I was not able to get my milk supply back in full. I even used hospital grade pump to pump out extra breastmilk for supplemental feeding. It increased the milk supply but we still had to supplement with formula.
The rental scale really helped out and I would definitely give that a try.

First, if your pediatrician is Ok with the weight gain, and your baby doesn't seem hungry/unhappy--try not to worry about it! Some babies are just small!

But if you think your daughter really isn't getting enough, than you can supplement. When you say you cut off the bottle, do you mean formula or pumped breastmilk?

My now 15 month old baby was a terrible nurser, which then probably led to my low milk supply (didn't help that she was adopted, but that's another story). But even after I got my milk supply up through pumping, she couldn't get enough milk out of me. Until she was 8 months old I had to pump and supplement, which I did after every feeding. Exhausting, and only possible because I had a lot of support from my partner (and wasn't working outside the home).

Best of luck,
K.

I agree with Molly. Keep BF and don't worry. If the pediatrician is fine with her progress then that's a good thing. Your body might just be adjusting to the exclusive BF. Switching back and forth is only going to confuse your body as well as the baby. Stick with it. If she's peeing and pooping, then everything is fine.

Average gain is a lb a month so she is not that far off that. Don't look at the typical growth charts, they are made based on formula fed babies. Instead look at the WHO growth charts that are based on breast fed baby data!

C.

I'm a peer counselor with Nursing Mother Counsel, and we give FREE non-judgmental breastfeeding help to moms like you. Feel free to email me at ____@____.com or call our hotline at (650)327-MILK. If you can't get the answers you need/want right away, you can choose to be assigned to your own counselor. We are non-profit, and all our services are FREE! The counselor you speak to will ask very specific questions and will recommend you see a lactation consultant if she feels that you would benefit.

I agree with the other moms: you are doing what feels natural and what really is best for your daughter, and I commend you for sticking with it and seeking advice instead of just giving up!!!!!!

If your pediatrician is satisfied with the weight gain, I would keep breastfeeding, since it is the "perfect food" for babies and provide antibodies to build her immunity. Make sure she is having an adequate number of wet diapers each day and don't worry if she doesn't poop as often. Their little bodies absorb almost every bit of the breastmilk so some breastfed babies go only every few days up to a week! If this is successful, you can reintroduce a bottle so that you can have the convenience of breast or bottle. Babies are all different and some just gain slower than others. You may be surprised when in a few months your tiny baby is suddenly chubby everywhere, but if she isn't, there is no reason to worry as long as she keep gaining and your doctor is satisfied with the small gains.

J.,

As long as she is peeing and pooping, you don't need to worry about how much she has gained as much as if she is producing wet/dirty diapers.-- soon she will be going through a growth spurt...so like your pediatrician said, if they are ok with her progress- she is probably just fine! Enjoy breastfeeding!

Molly

How was your daughter gaining weight before? Does she seem hungry all the time? My 1st daughter gained weight really slow and didn't weigh 12 lbs until after she was 5 months old. Every child develops in his or her own way.

J.,
I also agree that breastfeeding is the best for your daughter, but I recommend seeing a lactation specialist if you haven't already, just to make sure she is sucking enough and latching on correctly. I'm sure she is just fine though.
Good luck,
Jessica