Hi all,
I hate test weighing, and in my early years as an IBCLC my scale would
gather dust rather than information!
I never used it, and when I did the results were often NOT what I wanted or
expected to see.
BUT, after gleaning advice from my dear colleagues here, I think I learned
better how to use the scales.
I don't know how everyone weighs, (and like me, maybe some are too shy to
ask here), but once I started weighing the babies 10 minutes into the feed -
rather than waiting and waiting and waiting.......when the baby starts
already expending energy and might even beging to lose, the results I felt
were a far better indication.

I never weigh babies who look great and who do not have a weight gain
problem. Results can sometimes deflate the moms confidence. But sometimes
test weighing can be the biggest boost to a mom who actually feels that
everything is ok, but everyone around her is stripping away her confidence! 
I always explain beforehand, that it is not a really accurate way of
detecting amounts transferred (disclaimer, just in case the scales don't
show what we want) but sometimes it really does help.

Ellen Shein, LLLI, IBCLC
Tel Aviv

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