They are obssessed here with weight gain!!!!! If you LO is gaining weight well mow, just keep on going. the getting back to birth weight by 3 weeks is a target...some (probably most) will meet it, but in some circumstances you won't. there are very good reasons your LO may not.
The important thing is she is now gaining well.....I got hassled hugely about DD weight gain and jumped through hoops to try and increase it, but basically she knew what she needed....if I gave her more bottle she breast fed less...Not what I wanted!!! Just make sure as gina says you feed regularly during the day - every 3 hours and then she will wake you up when she needs a feed at night.
Make sure you get plenty of rest, eat a healthy diet and drink plenty of fluids.
you didn't mention that your DD was a [i'>very[/i'> healthy birthweight to start off with! ;)
Every single one of us is different and follow different patterns of growth, and those graphs are based on averages.
Also, every single baby feeds differently, and what works for one, won't for another... so dictating feeding based on time actually takes no account of your own strength of flow, nor how efficient bub's may be at feeding, nor her own personal "I'm full" point.
Try as I might, I could never get either of my two to feed for more than 10 minutes and after 1 breast, they were full for the next few hours. This was so contrary to much of the advice I'd got personally, in books or from the Net that I threw it all out and with DS, didn't even bother noting how long he went between feeds. If he was hungry, I'd feed him, if he wasn't I wouldn't. I also only took him to get weighed, well, every week for the first 10 weeks and then, er, every couple of months. As you know, he's a good size, so even if he'd lost a bit, he would hardly have wasted away!
Anyhow, long and short of it is trust your instincts. You know your breastfeeding relationship between you and DD far better than any professional.
Pancake, i gave DD2 the bottle from the first few weeks to top up. Within the first few weeks so got nipple confusion and i havnt been able to feed her from the breast since. (i express) Both Gina and Tru Blu give good advice, i would have just fed for longer. Best of luck. Xx
It is probably best not to introduce a bottle until breastfeeding is firmly established (Usually around 7 or 8 weeks). Otherwise this can lead to nipple confusion.
You haven't been given any bad advice, but you are right, there is no need to give a bottle. Just feed for longer, say 30 - 40 mins on the first breast (to ensure lots of hindmilk), burp, then 10 - 20 mins or more if LO wants on the second breast. I would recommend feeding 3 hourly until birth weight is regained, even 2.5 hourly during the day.
A good website is www.drjacknewman.com and look at the videos, especially on good sucking, compressions and a good latch.
Good luck, it's tiring but worth it .:)
I really could do with some advice and thoughts on this. I took my 2 week and 4 day old baby to be weighed today. She had lost a lot of weight in hospital due to jaundice but is putting the weight back on. In fact this week she had put on 175g but she still needs to put 120g in 4 days to get to her birth weight by week 3 which is what the midwife wants to see.
Now, she has advised me to breastfeed on one side for 20 mins, wind, then 10 mins on second. But after that she wants me to give her expressed milk (from the last feeding session) in a bottle. (she did suggest a cup or a syringe but both sounded a bit tricky).
Initially I agreed and it seemed like a good plan but the more I think about it, the more concerned I am about giving her a bottle before 3 weeks. We have just got breast feeding sorted out and her latch is still not perfect but it is working. I really want to breastfeed for as long as I can (certainly a year) and we have worked so hard to get to this point that I don't want anything to mess it up.
I thought that if I make sure she is getting fed regularly so no more than 3 hours during the day and 4 at night and feed for as long as I can (previously, I have been letting her sleep if she needed it and letting her snack).
I would be really interested in people opinions and experiences.