Hes 4 months and 11 pounds. He was in the 5 percent for weight but now he doesn't even register on the chart. Hhe only gaiend a pound and a half in 2 months...he is ebf and the dr wants me to start. Rice cereal to help him gain weight bc she is really concerned.....,i never did rice cereal with pierson and now i sont know what to do.... i feel like such a failure.
Anyone elses baby fall off the weight chart? What did you do?
pomelo / 5678 posts
@stargal: I am sorry you and LO are going through this. If it were me I would definitely try everything!
GOLD / wonderful olive / 19030 posts
My LO fell off the charts, we also started rice at 4 months (we fell off due to vomiting/acid reflux/ect.) but she went to formula and rice and eventually food to try and get her to gain weight. I put my feelings aside and focused what was best for DD and I knew that was getting her the nutrition she needed.
kiwi / 567 posts
Sorry you are going through this, but you are not failing! Different kids have different needs, and you'll do what it takes for this baby. Personally, I'd stick with the doctor's advice, there is a reason you chose her. Even if you end up doing rice cereal or supplementing with formula, you can still continue your nursing relationship and even resume EBF once you're over the weight hump. Good luck!
cantaloupe / 6692 posts
T fell off the charts at 9 months. He had only gained a pound between 6 - 9 months. I had to start supplementing with formula...and he quickly rejected my slow flowing breast after he had a bottle. So now we're FF. I felt like a failure too. I wish I had spoken up and made changes ar 4 months when we first noticed his weight was low. But looking back, we all just thought he was small for his age. Hindsight is 20/20 and I want to scream at my past self that BFing is not working no where near as well as I thought it was, but in the moment I just didn't know. I try not to blame myself.
He's 10 months now and has gained 3 pounds already!
Hugs mama! Definitely do what you can to help him catch up. You're not a failure!
pomelo / 5628 posts
Just as a reference Dylan gained 1.5 lbs consistently every 2 months. We fortified all feeds to 24 cals (BM is 20). Maybe you could give one bottle a day of fortified BM or formula? Will they have you come in for weigh ins more often? You will start solids in a couple of months, so if LO stays steady until then...
kiwi / 549 posts
So do they think your BM isn't nutrient enough? What about supplementing with formula?
squash / 13764 posts
Have you done weighed feeds to know how much he is getting when he nurses?
eggplant / 11716 posts
@stargal: I agree with PPs--I would try several weighted feeds over the course of a day, and if it seems like he isn't getting enough BM, I would start topping off with formula.
Formula isn't failing--it's succeeding if your LO is underweight and takes it, and is hungry. If you find that your LO isn't wanting to drink enough, I would start exploring elimination diets.
Have you already tried pumping after feeds and feeding what you pump?
pomegranate / 3375 posts
Are they using the WHO charts for breastfed children? Ff babies are going to have an entirely different scale than ebf.
coconut / 8472 posts
Personally I wouldn't feed rice cereal in this case. It has absolutely no nutritional value. I would add formula, either after each feeding, or I'd add another feed with a formula bottle.
pomelo / 5607 posts
I strongly agree with @ShootingStar. Formula would be more nutritious.
pomegranate / 3890 posts
@Greentea: @LuLu Mom: @Little Misters Mom: 
@Danizaur: if tou dont mind me asking, what would you of done differently at 4 months? I dont want d to struggle to gain. Hope t is doing well
@Mrs Green Grass: yup ww go back in 2 weeks.
@BabyPenguinXO: i guess so, goibg to call the lc tomorrow.
@hilsy85: we did weighted feeds wheb he was younger and he was getting the tight amount. Ddr thinks hes nkt getting enough fatty milk,
@Anagram: i use to pump after feeding him but he was puking it up 
@littlejoy: i meant to ask about that and forgot completely. I assume she was but idk for sure
@ShootingStar : yra the rice option really threw me off.we never fid it with p and i thibj it eould ultimately hurt my supply by filling him up with non nutritious calories.@Torchwood
grapefruit / 4291 posts
@stargal: are you able to get in contact with an IBCLC or somebody from LLL to get yourself some other options? I have heard of other mums expressing then feeding their LO's the "cream" that rises to the top of the milk when it's chilled. My other question is how many times is your LO nursing in 24 hours and is it an option to add in an extra night feed?
pomegranate / 3350 posts
My LO1 had the same thing happen. He was only about 5% from birth and totally fell off the chart at his 4 month appointment (under 12 lbs, only 1.5 lb gain from 2 month appointment). We saw the nurse practitioner at that appointment and she recommended rice cereal as well, which we did and it really did not help. I was concerned about my milk supply but it didn't seem to be me - just the fact that LO was too interested in everything to nurse well. He flat out refused bottles too. Later on, we tried giving him bottles with higher calorie breastmilk but he just would not take it! We've had tests done, seen the GI doctor repeatedly, etc. At 27 months, he is finally starting to crawl up the charts at 24 lbs. Feeding is a constant struggle with him. I hope you figure out a solution so that it's not a long-term struggle! And if you do, please let me know what it is! 
Good luck!
squash / 13764 posts
@stargal: we had a similar issue at 4 no th--Lo fell from 40th percentile to 20th (not as severe since he was still on the chart). For us, I introduced solids at 5 months, and tried to add in more nursing sessions, as well as giving him a bottle before bed. It didn't really help much tbh, and looking back I prob should have at least tried fortifying my bm or using formula, but for us at least it ended up being a case where he just evened out at the 15th percentile and is just tall and skinny (his height growth never slowed at all). I would maybe try fortified bm or formula and see if it makes a difference! Good luck!
pomelo / 5469 posts
My LO really started to drop down the charts from around 3 months old and at one point she started to lose weight. It was recommended that I start offering formula (a bottle per day) in addition to BF. The issue was that I just wasn't making enough milk for her and we switched to fully FF a month or so later.
You have not failed at all...by seeking out advice you are doing the right thing. I never truly believed it before it happened to me...but sometimes breastfeeding just doesn't work out. The only thing I would have done different would have been to switch to formula earlier.
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