baby not gaining

my earlier post i said how i am using a nipple shield and pumping.  my son is 5 weeks today, he was 7lbs 13 oz when born, 8lb 1oz at 2 week dr apt.  at almost 5wks dr appt he was only 8lb 3oz!  i feel like he is feeding all the tim atlestn every 2 hours.  i am concerned thatb my milk is not giving him what he needs, is there a way to have it checked? my mom has me convinbced that i'm not giving my son what he needs, and to supplement with formula, which ive been doing for about a week. one 4oz bottle at night.  but i don't really want to be doing this. what else can i do? when i pump i get atleast 3 oz so he should e getting atleast that much.  he is such a slow bfer i don't know if he is eating enough before falling asleep.  he still fts in his newborn clothes at 5 wks, is this normal?  dr. said he was okay, that i could supplement if i wanted to, but i didn't have to

[meiram]

I would think your milk is fine and go with what the doctor said.  Is he having a good amount of poopy and wet diapers?  Is he fussy even right after eating?

[PamelaBee]

I understand your concern, I had a very similar situation with my baby girl.  As long as your baby produces at least 6-8 wet diapers a day, and has 2 bowel movements he is getting enough.  My daughter was born 7lbs 5oz, and dropped to 6lb 10oz.  I did supplement with her the first week, and she is now almost 4mos and is a little over 13lbs.  You are getting 3oz at each pumping session?  That is great!!  the more you nurse, the more your supply will build...keep at it, you're doing great!  You mentioned he is a slow BFer, that's fine, let him nurse as long as he wants...the hind milk is the most fatty, and will fill him up the best!

[nicole179]

thanks for your thoughts. he is definatley peeing atleast 6-8x a day, pooping atleast 1-2 a day aswell.  but if that means he is eating enough, why wouldn't he have gained more then 2oz in 2 weeks??  

[PamelaBee]

It will happen.  For now, just go by the wet diapers and poop.  Are you nursing on demand throughout the day/night?  My baby girl gained very slowly in her early weeks as well...I bought a baby scale, and was a fanatic about weighing her constantly!!  Every time I would see an oz or more of weight gain, you'd a thought I won the lottery!!  Remember to nurse, nurse, nurse, and pump in between to keep your supply plentiful.  Is he satisfied after a feeding?  BTW, your milk is giving him EVERYTHING he needs : )

[tiredbuthappy]

i would suggest having a LC weigh him before and after a nursing session to make sure that he is getting enough in a feed. Since you do have problems with latching, it is possible he is having trouble drawing out the milk. The good news is, it seems like your supply is good. However, if he is not regularly removing enough milk, it may affect your supply.

Honestly, I was under the impression that breastfed babies are supposed to gain 1/2 lb to 1 lb per week. At least, this is what my LC told me. My ped said 1/2 lb week is expected. I know all babies are different and there is some variation, but not gaining much this early on may be a sign that he isn't getting enough at the breast and I would investigate further. Your best bet is to find out exactly what he gets in a session. My first had all sorts of nursing problems. We weighed her before and after a feed and found that after nursing vigorously for 20 minutes the poor thing got less than an ounce! And the latch appeared to be OK, and we thought she was swallowing. However, since he is wetting enough diapers, it is very possible that he is doing OK.

[Super_sally888]

From the sounds of it you are doing great and no need to supplement.  Babies all grow at different rates. Also it is possibel they used a different scale and remember there can be a margin of error for weighing.

Do not supplement and do not feel your milk is inadequate.  It is almost unheard of that breast milk is not enough.  Breast fed babies do gain more slowly than formula fed ones (this is normal).