Jaye makes the comment that weight loss during the early days, when baby is
only getting a small amount of colostrum, is normal.

My first baby did lose the standard amount of weight. With my second, third
and fourth babies, I went home from the hospital within hours of giving
birth and (perhaps more importantly) my babies were not separated from me
even for the short time we were in the hospital. They nursed pretty
enthusiastically, and by day three or four, when they were weighed again,
each had gained at least 4 ounces over their birth weights.

I also remember hearing about a study of home-birth babies which found that
many of them gained weight during those early days, rather than losing.

I think babies have some built-in leeway, and can certainly tolerate weight
loss in the early days. But in most cases, with (undrugged) mothers and
babies constantly together, I think we could expect to see early weight
gain.

Teresa Pitman
Guelph, Ontario

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