Cindy

Why is so much store being put on daily weight gain? Is this baby in a
special category?

I would have thought that if the baby is feeding well, getting plenty of
wet/soiled nappies, and looking healthy with good muscle tone, there
would be no need to monitor the weight on a daily basis.

The trouble with this seems to me that the weight differences are less
than the weight of a feed. If a baby has just fed when weighed on one
day, then weighed just before a feed on the next, then if a feed weighs
for example three ounces, then a one ounce increase in body weight would
look like a two ounce loss! Add to that the effect of the baby
evacuating the bowels... Were the same scales used each time, and was
the baby stripped? If the baby is left in a nappy then if the baby is
just about to feed then the equivalent weight is probably in the nappy,
making it less prone to error. I suspect that this pattern would reflect
the difference between breastmilk which passes through the system
quickly and formula which remains in the digestive system longer.

A mother is so vulnerable in the early days, especially with a first
baby, and too much reliance on weight gain can undermine her belief in
herself and her ability to breastfeed. Almost any comment made by a
health professional can be misinterpreted by an anxious mother, so no
wonder if she's feeling stressed! It sounds to me like this mum needs to
be told she's doing well and to throw out the SNS and scales.

--
Linda Cairns
Tilehurst, Berkshire, UK - Mum to Jonathan (9), Stephen (8), and Nicky
(6)
National Childbirth Trust Breastfeeding Counsellor and Volunteer Egnell
Breastpump hire agent
Snail: 6 The Cedars, Tilehurst, Reading, RG31 6JW, England