No Weight Gain

[@llli*christiandanielle]

My babe hasn't gained a single ounce in two weeks. The lactation nurse suggested adding a tsp of formula to my expressed milk. He has had a slow weight gain since birth. He was 7+2 at birth and now 11+4 at almost 5 months old. I am having a moral dilemma because I don't want to add the formula but I am concerned that he isn't gaining because my milk has a low calorie count. Any input??

[@llli*mommy2lilah]

Are you bottle feeding only? Are you using the same scale? How many wet and dirty diapers is he having? Has he just started rolling or crawling?

ETA: I don't see any possible way your milk could have a low calorie count.

[@llli*toddlerandtwins]

One of my girls didn't gain a thing between 5-6 months, and then put on at least a pound between 6-7 months. I wouldn't be concerned about 2 weeks-it's not a trend yet. and clothing/scale/pee filled diaper could all impact the weights.

[@llli*christiandanielle]

He puts out 8-9 wets and 3 poops a day. He just started rolling too. He has a happy disposition. My ped called today and said she wants to see him tomorrow and possibly hospitalize him. What rights do I have as a parent to say no to that? Now I'm concerned that she's gonna call social services on me if I don't take him to the hospital.
Last week I expressed and bottle fed to keep track of how many ounces he has in a day as per the lactation nurse. He averaged 25. (And I was sad the whole week for not being able to nurse him)
Prior to not gaining a single ounce in two weeks he only gained 5 ounces in 3 weeks so the dr has been on me for a while about it.

[@llli*aprilsmagic]

You can say no. If your LO is otherwise normal, there is no need to rush things. I'd seek a second opinion myself.

[@llli*mskalinin]

I agree with aprilsmagic, either just say no flat out, or seek a second opinion. The diaper output sounds great and if he is doing well (not lethargic, hitting milestones), then he may just be a small baby!! My guy was born at 8lbs 10oz, and was only around 12lbs at 5 months. He had weeks where he gained no weight at all, and then weeks where he gained a bunch (for him). All babies are different. There are big babies and there are little babies!

[@llli*mommal]

Please do seek a second opinion. I think a fresh pair of eyes, belonging to someone with no preconceptions about your baby, may see clearer. We're not saying your doc is wrong- just that when a doc is suggesting drastic interventions, like hospitalization, you want to be really cautious about accepting that advice right off.

[@llli*laurak83]

I guess just to chime in from the other side of things, some babies follow a lower end growth curve, but it sounds like your baby is falling off of his curve. Have you printed out a WHO growth curve and plotted his weights? http://www.kellymom.com/babyconcerns...wthcharts.html

There are some medical reasons a baby could fall off the growth curve, especially if you know he's getting enough breastmilk. A medical workup might be necessary, but I'm not sure why you would have to be admitted to the hospital for that. If you feel like your doctor isn't on your side, you may want to switch providers or get a second opinion. Or try communicating your concerns to your doctor.

[@llli*jbean1979]

what were you ped's reasons for wanting to hospitalize? Just for slow gain??

ETA: I think 25 is on the low end of normal -- but that does not adequately indicate what your LO is getting at your breast. They get milk more efficiently than any pump will.

[@llli*mom2dogs2]

I can totally understand your concern. My LO was not gaining when she was younger and it was very scary for us first time parents. Since our daughter loves to sleep, we were waking her up every two hours around the clock to feed and still no weight gain. There were the right number of diapers but were not "heavy" enough. They told us that we had to get weight on her or they were going to have to get aggressive in determining the issue. I was terrified and was working with a LC since we had issues with latching in the very beginning. After talking with the dr more I understood they suspected an issue with her heart. Due to family history we decided to get a complete work up which would give us a baseline if nothing else. We had to start supplementing with formula as we worked to determin the issue. In our case they did not find major heart issues but they did find something that they think she will grow out of.... I think our biggest issue was that I was not eating enough of the right foods to have good quality milk. I had a lot of milk but not very good quality. Once I started eating more the right things our daughter started refusing formula and started gaining weight. She is now off the charts in height and 50% tile for weight.

On the other side, a friend of mine's son was not gaining and they did not think much of it because he seemed fine. Then one day he started having trouble breathing and turns out he had a serious heart issue and had to have open heart surgery at like 4 months. Every child is different b/c another friends son is a slow grower and they cannot find a reason why and he is doing fine but just little.

At a bare minimum, talk with your dr and try to get a better understanding of what she has in mind in regards to testing/hospitalization or what she suspects. If you are not happy with her explaination then go for a second opinion. Your instintic will go along way as well....

Good Luck!