A week ago I saw the mom of a 3 week old who was still 8 oz under her 7 lb
8 oz birthweight.  Test weight showed less than 1/2 oz intake combined.  It
was a rough birth w/ substantial blood loss, so we decided to pin it on
that for the moment, tho I brought up possibility of retained placental
fragment.  Bleeding had virtually stopped.

W/ improved positioning and several days of pumping, mom consistently
pumped no more than 1- 1 1/2 oz (baby piled the weight on w/ formula,
though). At 3 1/2 weeks, mom commented that she still felt cramping w/
nursing.  At not quite 4 weeks, red bleeding restarted.  Mom went to OB
(not her own, who was at a birth), who felt retained fragment was unlikely.
Mom now pumps 1 - 2 oz, and once pumped 3.  So the trend is up.  But you
all confirmed my feeling about the cramping, which is that it doesn't
usually persist after the first week.  It'll be interesting to see what her
own doc has to say re her symptoms and my letter, and to see what continued
pumping/nursing does...

Diane Wiessinger, MS, IBCLC  Ithaca, NY