I too must respectfully disagree with the comment that 5oz per week is a
problem.I agree with Stacey that we need to look at the entire picture.

 

I have in my mommy group several moms who obsess about their babies weight
gain.  I don't mean that they are just concerned - they OBSESS to a degree
that makes me nuts!  One in particular has her own issues with her weight.
She called me at day 10 - baby losing weight rapidly.  I see a mom with
hypoplasia, and a baby 15% below birth-weight - mom had been supplementing
with no more than 6 ounces of ABM for the past 5 days.and only because the
Ped told her too.  There were no latch or positioning issues.just weight
loss due to lack of milk.  Of course I have to tell her she needs to
supplement a heck of a lot more.  So, now, on top of her own issues with her
weight, now she has issues with the baby's.  

 

Over time, mom got her supply up with the help of herbs and domperidone but
still had to supplement.  Baby had settled on a weight gain of about 4
ounces per week up until about 5 months - with plenty of milk going in.  The
weight gain then slowed down as is normal for the over 5 month old and mom
freaked again refusing to recognize that this was a normal part of the
process for every baby.  Parents are not big people (although mom is
overweight but not morbidly obese), and the family history is for petite
babies.  Mom continually worried about babies "Lack of weight gain" even tho
there was a steady and fairly consistent gain - she cannot see that baby is
happy, growing, staying on HER curve, and developing fine.  She was a roly
poly baby.just not gaining that "7 ounces per week" she keeps hearing about.
And mom completely did not see the roly poly - she looked ONLY at the
NUMBERS. 

 

Fast forward to now - baby is 14 months old, eating solids like there is no
tomorrow and loves anything and everything she is offered, nursing 4-6 times
per day, and mom is STILL OBSESSING about baby's weight!  This child is
walking, signs like crazy; healthy, healthy, healthy, developing
beautifully.and yet mom is still convinced something is WRONG with the child
because the numbers aren't what she keeps hearing they SHOULD be.  No amount
of reassurance, pointing out all the normalness of this child does a thing.
And lord help us if baby doesn't gain weight for a week - mom FREAKS!  Then
freaks again the next week because baby gained twice her norm.  This mom is
doubly worried that her baby will be too thin and unhealthy, then that she
will be obese and unhealthy.sigh.

 

I have a hard time reassuring certain moms that their kids are fine - they
see other babies' age who are considerably bigger and freak out.  They
forget that their kid is on the same growth curve they have always been on,
developing normally and perfectly happy.  If baby doesn't gain for a week,
they freak and when baby gains the next week they are relieved, but confused
by the process - the moms have become so driven by the numbers that they
forget to look at the baby.  I do bring a scale to mommy group - but am
seriously considering NOT.  I have some moms who need to keep an eye on
weight gain, but only because they are having BF issues.  It is amazing to
me, how we can get so concerned with the numbers that we do forget to take a
look at the kid.  :-)  I have Peds who look at the kid and miss the fact
that the baby is NOT gaining well (2 ounces per week at 6 weeks is not OK)
and truly doesn't look well, either.  I have a couple Peds here who want
moms to slow down on nursing because the babies are gaining TOO much.sigh.  

 

And I have the mom whose baby was gaining 9-11 ounces per week for her first
5 months on ONLY 20 ounces of EBM per 24 hours!  (baby would not BF)  Her
mom was totally relaxed about it all - paid attention to the baby and didn't
force her to eat more than she wanted.she could see that baby was gaining
well, developing well.

 

For me it really comes down to - watch the numbers and the baby.  If the
baby is fine, growing well, developing well, etc then that is what I pay
attention to.  I have learned that there are many variations of "normal" -
what is normal for one may not be normal for another.that is simply a fact
of life.  :-)

 

Warmly,

 

Jaye Simpson, IBCLC, CIIM

Breastfeeding Network

Sacramento, CA

www.breastfeedingnetwork.net

 


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