Uninterested in Eating & Slow Gaining: Suggestions, please!

[@llli*figs]

I can't tell if I'm just comparing my two babies to one another or if there is a real problem. I do have a two-month WBV coming up, so I will see what my breastfeeding-friendly family doctor has to say, but I was hoping for some input from experienced moms.

My first baby nursed non-stop. He gained so rapidly and has been in the 95th+ percentile since his two-month WBV. He weaned a couple months ago at 2YO. This baby was a touch over 6 lbs. at birth and at seven weeks was only 8.5 lbs. Here are some more details:

• Baby will sleep from 11PM to 6AM. This is so unusual to me.
• Baby nurses every 3ish hours during the day.
• Baby will not dream-feed, even if I give expressed milk. If she doesn't want to eat, she simply won't.
• Baby rarely spits up, so I don't suspect reflux.
• Baby only poops every 3-4 days. This started at around 6 weeks old. When she does poop, it's normal orange, seedy breastmilk poop.
• Our family doctor has said Baby doesn't have a tongue tie and she doesn't appear to.
• Baby is alert, has a good temperature, has rolled over a few times already, and otherwise seems normal.
• Baby does pee a lot and seems to be a super soaker for being so small.
• I seem to have a good supply. I can pump quite a bit in a short period of time. I hear a lot of gulping, swallowing, etc., when my baby nurses.

Okay, so, please help. Is this normal? Is it unusual to have one 95% child and one at the other end of the spectrum? Any suggestions on how I can get this baby to eat more? Or, do I really just need to relax?

Thanks!

[@llli*auderey]

my advice: relax. from what you're describing, your baby is normal & healthy. and enjoy sleeping at night while you can, before everything changes! keep feeding on demand and make sure she's having 6-8 wets in 24 hours, and don't sweat it.

[@llli*mommal]

If you didn't have that first, fast-gaining baby, I don't think you'd be worrying. Everything you describe sounds normal, and I don't think it's that weird to have one chubster and one skinny mini, especially considering that your babies are of different genders. I look at my mom and her 7 siblings: there are 4 who are short to average-sized and 4 who are either tall or exceptionally tall for their generation. There can be a lot of genetic diversity in a single family!

[@llli*lllmeg]

I agree with both the pps, there is likely nothing to wory about. The one thing you mention that gets my radar up is the 7 hour sleep stretch at night. This gets my radar up because WHEN a mom has milk supply issues and/or baby has slow weght gain, this kind of a stretch early on can be at least part of the problem.

Here are some scenarios that would be a clue that the long sleep stretch MAY be an issue, or MAY become an issue:

Baby is given a pacifier at night and/or swaddled. These are techniques used to help babies sleep. For some babies, they work too well and these techniques keep them asleep though the times they would nomally wake to nurse. If baby goes into a deeper sleep cycle due to this, and miss the time they normally would cue, they very may well not want to wake to nurse or dream feed.

Baby sleeps in a different room than mom. When baby sleeps in close proximity to mom, they may wake more often to nurse and/or mom is able to see or hear the early subtle feeding cues that happen while baby is still asleep.

Mom gets engorged or very full overnight. When your breasts feel full, your body is being given the message to make less milk.

[@llli*worknpump]

Sounds like things are going pretty well - I'd try not to worry. My new little one, DD, is a very different nursling than DS was. DS would nurse more frequently and for longer periods of time. I had a hard time getting him to sleep during the day (and night!). DD, on the other hand, is a very sleepy baby. I have to wake her to nurse during the day. And when she does, she's all business. Nurses very quickly and usually just one side at each feeding (I have some OS). She is gaining great and has good diapers. She will sleep 3 or 4 hour stretches at night (DS never did that this early!). I also worry about her getting enough but she really is! keep up the good work.

[@llli*figs]

Thank you for the comments. I guess I need to relax, which is good to hear.

I guess my main reason for concern is because I don't feel like she is gaining well. It seems like 2.5 pounds in 2 months is just not...enough. According to what I've read, she should be gaining more than that, but it's probably not enough to cause concern. I guess I'll see what our family doctor has to say.

I agree with both the pps, there is likely nothing to wory about. The one thing you mention that gets my radar up is the 7 hour sleep stretch at night. This gets my radar up because WHEN a mom has milk supply issues and/or baby has slow weght gain, this kind of a stretch early on can be at least part of the problem.

Here are some scenarios that would be a clue that the long sleep stretch MAY be an issue, or MAY become an issue:

Baby is given a pacifier at night and/or swaddled. These are techniques used to help babies sleep. For some babies, they work too well and these techniques keep them asleep though the times they would nomally wake to nurse. If baby goes into a deeper sleep cycle due to this, and miss the time they normally would cue, they very may well not want to wake to nurse or dream feed.

Baby sleeps in a different room than mom. When baby sleeps in close proximity to mom, they may wake more often to nurse and/or mom is able to see or hear the early subtle feeding cues that happen while baby is still asleep.

Mom gets engorged or very full overnight. When your breasts feel full, your body is being given the message to make less milk.

She sleeps attached to my bed, next to me, but she is swaddled. We tried not swaddling her a few weeks ago (not to improve feeding - we did it to see how she would sleep) and she didn't eat any differently; if she didn't want to eat, she wouldn't eat.

Sounds like things are going pretty well - I'd try not to worry. My new little one, DD, is a very different nursling than DS was. DS would nurse more frequently and for longer periods of time. I had a hard time getting him to sleep during the day (and night!). DD, on the other hand, is a very sleepy baby. I have to wake her to nurse during the day. And when she does, she's all business. Nurses very quickly and usually just one side at each feeding (I have some OS). She is gaining great and has good diapers. She will sleep 3 or 4 hour stretches at night (DS never did that this early!). I also worry about her getting enough but she really is! keep up the good work.

Thank you for sharing your situation.

[@llli*auderey]

mama, i just looked up your baby's weight on the WHO chart and at birth she was about 15th percentile (2.7 kg) and at 7 weeks had dropped to below the 3rd percentile (3.5 kg). it sounds like you're doing everything right, so i would get a new weight at your 2 month checkup and see where she's at then.

you can get the charts here: http://www.cdc.gov/growthcharts/