I too use scales, especially since I'm working with babies who are 
having feeding problems, and I need the information about growth and 
milk transfer to give mom good advice about how to proceed.

Another way we can tell if a newborn has begun gaining or is still 
losing is from the scent of their breath. If they still smell like 
ketones (nail polish remover, a sharp/sweetish scent), they are still 
losing weight. Milky-sweet breath means they are in positive energy 
balance. I'm very nervous if a baby still has a ketone breath odor after 
day 4 or 5.

Catherine Watson Genna BS, IBCLC  NYC  cwgenna.com


On 6/12/2011 3:02 PM, Nikki Lee wrote:
> Dear Lactnet Friends:
>
> Susan and Laurie and others have made an important point; that a weight is a
> snapshot of a moment. Using one weight to guide practice is not best
> practice. Two weights may not be enough either. In my work as a home
> visiting nurse, seeing dyads at home in the first week after hospital
> discharge, I can't remember how many times I had only 2 weights to use: the
> birth weight, and the weight on my scale at the visit. Without knowing the
> discharge weight, I didn't know if the baby had started gaining or was still
> loosing weight. Of course, I would be assessing infant output and behaviors
> and skin turgor and feeding frequency and signs of MER and a host of other
> variables to evaluate breastfeeding. Knowing the weight trend would have
> been helpful; one needs at least 3 points to get an idea of the slope of the
> growth trajectory.
>
> warmly,

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