I need help baby is not gaining weight???

This is my 2nd child and with both my milk came in late. im breast feeding every 2 hours an pumping 10 minutes after to try to get my milk in. My baby is a very sleepy baby so as soon as he get on the boob he falls asleep so I dont think he is sucking hard enough to stimulate my breast but he is getting some milk. he isnt gaining milk though. He acually lost an oz over the weekend.then i feed him there and reweight him and he gained an oz in a half. Now Im pumping for the next 24 hours and bottle feeding cause they think mabey he is working to hard to get the milk and burning all those calories. Im really sad cause breast feeding is so important to me, I really want to do it. I struggled with my 1st son but not with weight gain and ended up breast feeding him 14 months and want to do the same with this one. Any ideas that you girls have done to get your milk in nice a strong?? How to get my baby to be more awake or will that come with time??He is only 3 weeks old.

[happynifer]

nothing stimulates production better than your baby.
how are his diapers? is he producing well?
is your ped concerned or is it just you worrying?
most of the time it is us being too hard on ourselves and stress does not help with your production.
so nurse nurse nurse and try to relax unless he is not producing enough pee/poop or his weight loss concerns his doc.

[mum2beagain]

Forgive me as I don't know but it sounds like your baby is very new. It is typical of breastfed infants to loose weight in the first week or so after birth. I agree with the other poster, use his wet diapers as a good indication as to whether he is nursing enough. As you weighed him before and after a feed it looks a s though he ate 1 1/2 ounces of breast milk when he nursed; this is a very good amount for a newborn to be eating. If you have a scale available to use weighing him before and after nursing will give you a good idea of how much he is eating at each feed. Remember a new born babies tummy is no bigger than a walnut, they need small frequent feeds, nursing every couple of hours or so eating one to two ounces per feed sounds right. Do you wake him to feed or is he letting you know when he is ready for feeding; crying, rooting etc? If so then these are all good signs that baby is alert and ready to feed.
If possible avoid the bottle, if your doctor say's he HAS to be supplemented get a lactation consultant in to show you how finger feed with a small feeding tube or with a supplemental nursing system, this way he won't get used to the easier way of getting his milk from the bottle. Using a supplemental nursing system will also provide stimulation to your breast helping your milk to come in.
My second son lost 14 ounces in the couple of weeks after his birth and he was three weeks old before he was back to his birth weight, my midwife was not concerned as he was eating, pooping, peeing, sleeping and alert when awake.

[Heatherm4]

I know people that have very sleepy babies tend to undress them to feed so that they stay awake... I agree. Keep an eye out for the wet diapers so that you know the baby is getting enough. Keep to it though....you guys will become an excellent team in good time!

[ilovemyson23]

he is a pee and poop machine to say the least, but his doc us concerned cause he was born at 7.15 went down to 7.3 and then back up to 7.9 and then back down to 7.8 and today he weighted 7.12!!!!! They want him at birth weight at least by 2 weeks and he is 3 today. I am still breast feeding and then i pump and then supplement 2 oz!! Hopefully pumping will bring in my milk more. I have to wake him to feed and fight with him to stay awake every 2 hours but today she put us back  to every 3 hours in the day and 4 at night so that will give my breast some time to catch up, 2 hours just isnt enough got me to refill!!

[Clysta]

The more frequent you put baby to the breast, the more milk you make. The longer in between, the lower your supply gets. It's about supply and demand, and even if there is nothing in the breast, the nursing action stimulates the body to produce more. If you're trying to increase supply, put baby to the breast as often as possible regardless of if you just pumped or they just ate.

[mum2beagain]

Be careful not to pump too much though, you could end up with too much fore milk which in turn will mean your baby won't gain weight either as he won't get the hind milk and his poop may turn green. There is another recent post about too much for milk and not enough hind milk. If he is only 3 weeks old and you think you haven't enough he needs to nurse as much as possible. Every two hours during the day and every three at night, having him nurse more frequently will be better at increasing your supply than the pump at this early stage, leaving it longer between feedings will actually decrease your supply even though for a few days it may feel like your breasts never get full frequent feeding is the best thing for increasing your supply. As I said earlier, my son lost 14 ounces and was 3 weeks old before he was back to his birth weight and he has always been as healthy as a horse!

[Heatherm4]

Yeah that person was me!! You definitely don't want a foremilk/hindmilk imbalance. It's tough to deal with.

[ilovemyson23]

thanks ladies ill try feeding more often and how do you guys tell if he is hungry or pacifying himself he likes to sleep with the boob

[Clysta]

Myself, I've just learned to distinguish the different cries, and also how she acts. Generally if they're hungry they'll chew on their hands, rub their face on your chest or body, turn their head toward the chest of whoever is holding them, shake their head from side to side quickly, etc.

You can choose to give it regardless of if he wants to nurse or just wants comfort. Some women don't like the idea of being used as a pacifier, but the choice would be yours alone.

[ilovemyson23]

I dont mind it i love being close to him its just get confusing ya know cause he does all that stuff you said all the time mabey he is just always hungrey!!!LOL

[Clysta]

Haha. If it doesn't bother you, just offer it at all times. In addition to giving comfort to the baby, it will also boost your supply. Just don't be alarmed if baby spits up a little more. I noticed whenever I did this for mine, she would always end up overeating and spit up more often than when I didn't.

[ilovemyson23]

I have noticed that!!  Thanks for your help