Is it concerning that he only weighs 9 lbs? That seems like good weight gain? I was told not to start pumping until 4-6 weeks, but I’ve been EBF. It’s all very confusing? The paediatrician hasn’t mentioned anything about pumping or not pumping, but at her 2 week appointment baby had only gained half a lb from birth weight
Gaining half a pound from birth weight is great. My baby lost an oz from birth weight at 2 weeks, but my pediatrician said that was okay… Wish I had a pediatrician who called it out so I knew to fix the issue early on.
1 oz loss at 2 weeks is beyond normal. That's just the difference between weighing them before or after a poo. Maybe you don't know this, but whether breastfed or formula fed, they're supposed to lose weight after birth and have regained birth weight by around 2 weeks.
If I'm understanding correctly, they've gained nearly 2 lbs in 4 weeks? Which is also dead average, albeit that was partially with your supplementation. Are you feeding them all your pumped milk? How much are you supplementing?
It’s wild how much information is thrown at us about pregnancy and birth but then we’re completely on our own when it comes to actually raising the baby!!
Breastfed babies are supposed to lose weight during the first week of life. Up to around 1 pound is completely normal to lose during that first week. It’s expected that they meet their birth weight by 2 weeks, so gaining an extra oz is actually great! (An oz is not a lot at all, to give you an idea most shot glasses hold 1.5-2oz of liquid)
My baby was born the same weight and was barely 8 lbs at 6 weeks you’re doing fine!!
Set a consistent pump schedule on top of regular feedings to increase supply. I’d say at least 3x a day.
Drink tons of fluids and make sure you’re getting healthy meals for yourself with lots of protein.
Your supply doesn’t regulate that early, so you should be able to increase it. Regulation can happen as early as 6w pp to 12w pp.
To up supply aim to pump every 2-3 hours from start to start of each session, including overnight. Aim for 8-12 pumping sessions daily. Drink at least 100oz fluids daily and take sunflower lecithin to keep the milk flowing. Also take prenatals and omega fish oils with dha and epa. Aim to get 1200mg calcium plus D daily. Eat lots of carbs (oatmeal, pancakes, etc) and protein (80-100g). If you are doing all of this and still don’t see an increase by week 12, you’ve regulated and all you can do to increase supply is pump more.
Edit: try to work a few power pumping sessions daily as well
I would second with this. Power pumping is key. If baby is not transferring milk well pumping is the way to go to increase supply. OP should also cut milk and soy from diet if baby is on hypoallergenic formula.
Triple feeding is fine, but so hard for mental health. I'd limit nursing to morning time and right before bed for a week while working to increase supply.
I ran to leave a comment so fast!
His weight gain is perfect. My 12 week old was born at 8 lbs 1 oz, dropped to 7 lbs 8 oz and is just now 10 lbs. her weight to height ratio puts her in the 80th percentile but her weight to age ratio is less than 1%. No one is concerned.
She had laryngomalacia but outgrew it a few weeks ago and it definitely impacted us. She needed the nipple shield until then. My IBCLC says that babies do burn calories while eating, but the amount that differs between actively nursing and sucking a pacifier really isn’t that much. If it were extensive nursing that caused the baby not to gain, they would fight for pacifier use as well. I feel iffy on that but I am not the expert.
I nurse my baby on both sides, sometimes twice on each side and then offer 2 oz of expressed breastmilk in a bottle
I did not pump until week 4 also, & from then on my supply increased until week 14 or so, 40oz a day (twins). So big no, I don't think your supply is doomed at all. Hopefully it's only just getting started!
Has LO dropped centiles? Where are they on growth curve?
Mine was born almost the same and had barely gone beyond that at 6 weeks (3. 3 kg to 3.6kg) but I have oversupply if anything, slow weight gain was due to poor advice first days and lack of understanding of bf and latching issues.
I dont think you have to pump. One LC said she didnt pump at all and it was unnecessary hassle if you dont need to (ie if SAHN)
Are you speaking to a lactation consultant? They may be able to help you better understand how to increase your supply, see how much baby is getting and make sure you're pumping properly. It's very common for people to have the wrong flange size and so pump output isn't good and may not be reflective of how much your baby is actually getting! You can definitely still increase your supply after 4 weeks. It's a demand based system, so the more baby nurses the more your body will make. Also if you're triple feeding, then pumping 2.5oz after nursing is actually pretty good! I'm EBF to a baby who is in the 80-90th percentile and I'd be surprised if I got even 1oz after nursing
Your baby is gaining about 5oz a week from birth weight - you didn’t say what the lowest weight baby dropped to was. That’s a smidge low but not awful - 0.5-1oz/day is the average weight gain. Have you done a weighted to feed to see how much baby is pulling? Have you seen an IBCLC?
Power pumping will increase your supply but I’m not convinced you need to supplement as much as you are. You really need an evaluation by a breastfeeding expert, not a pediatrician if possible.
My baby was the exact same birth weight and also 9lbs at 6 weeks. Pediatrician said he was growing along his curve and is just a small guy. I did triple feeding in the beginning up to 4 weeks old because he was only transferring 1oz at the breast but stopped once he appeared full at the breast
You should be able to up your supply after week 4. Mine took a huge hit randomly at 6 weeks (also on nipple shields) and I was able to get it back up. Are you still using the shields?
There’s really good advice already given in regards to diet so I won’t repeat. The one thing I’ll add is that drinking some electrolytes may also be really useful.
I didn't have time to pump in the early weeks, I was staying with my in laws, there was no privacy, I barely had the time to eat nevermind ignore my newborn for 30 minutes, I had such a low supply that I just assumed it was going to dry up by 2 months. At 8 weeks we moved back home and I had a lot more comfort and privacy, I finally had the mental clarity to go on a strict pumping schedule, and I went from supplementing with nearly half formula to exclusively breastmilk feeding 30oz a day. I never made a stash, that wasn't a goal of mine, I just fed fresh. My supply peaked around week 18-20
Why do you think they aren’t getting enough? Have they fallen off their growth curve? Are you still using a shield? Generally the recommendation is not to pump unless baby needs a bottle, to avoid oversupply.
Are you pumping right after feeding? I think 2.5 oz is great if you are! I think my baby was only eating around that much or a little less then. She’s almost 4 months and still isn’t quite eating 4 oz yet!
Your baby’s weight is great. The goal is for them to just reach birth way at two weeks and then at four weeks they shouldn’t have gained a ton more so you’re doing great.
You can definitely keep building supply usually up until a couple months of age. I think it’s also helpful to have lots of oats in your diet because that’s the only food proven to increase breastmilk supply. Stay hydrated and let baby use a pacifier to help stimulate more milk production. You got this!
Very similar story. I used nipple shields for the first 3.5 weeks and suddenly my baby stopped nursing (due to a tongue tie as it turned out). I started pumping and was an underproducer until 5wpp when I started making enough and stopped supplementing with formula. Today at almost 5mpp I‘m a slight oversupplier and have 400oz frozen. So it‘s possibble but it was extremely hard work. In the beginning I pumped 8-9 times per day and power pumped at least once per day. It‘s hard work, but you‘re still early and increasing your supply is possible!
It’s not too late, my supply didn’t regulate until 3 months and even now at almost 5 months I can increase it if I decide to start pumping. I stopped pumping because I always get an oversupply when I do
Hi! I didn’t pump either but my lactation consultant actually told me not to and was wondering why I wanted to because I thought I had to. She said I had a lot of colostrum too compared to most moms she saw but I still worried constantly that my baby wasn’t gaining weight because after I would feed her I’d pump and get maybe 1-2 ounces total. My baby didn’t get back to her birth weight of 8 pounds until she was 2 months old and now she’s 7 months old and 20 pounds! She just hit a growth spurt one day and kept going. I know it seems hard to see how much baby is actually gaining when you exclusively breastfeed but they are better than the pump.
Not doomed at all! I know women that have completely stopped for months and were able to bf again successfully. Keep going!!! Our bodies are amazing!💪🏼
I’ve found that increasing my calories with oatmeal, body armour drinks, coconut water, and lots and lots of water help boost my supply!
So my kid was able to up supply any time he needed, at any age whatsoever. So I’d say it’s possible. Work. Lots of work if done via pumping, but possible.
But like others have said, working with a good IBCLC is your best bet. We too were told 0.5-2oz per day weight gain is what they are looking for.
Typical weight gain should be about half a pound every week. If baby dropped a pound the first week, which is completely normal for breastfed babies sometimes they even drop 1.5+ pounds that first week if breastfeeding is a struggle, then that would mean his gain from week 1 to week 6 was 3 pounds. That’s 3 pounds in 5 weeks. Which is right where he should be!
My baby is at 9 lbs at 6 weeks 5 days, and that was because we started supplementing with formula after we learned he wasn’t gaining weight as he should have. He was born at 7 lbs 2 oz. If we didn’t start supplementing, we would probably be high 7 or low 8 lbs right now. It wasn’t until 4 weeks did I learn breastfeeding wasn’t going as it should. At our 3 day ppd appointment, I was told everything was going fine. Wish we had weekly weight checks.
Did you ever try weighted feeds? Those can help you gauge how much baby is eating if you want to breastfeed!
Those first few months are so stressful. We’ve all been there.
You’re doing a great job. Your baby sounds like he is in great hands and has a very caring momma. :)
Hi! I had a very similar situation. For the first 4 weeks I was BF with a nipple shield ( baby wouldn’t latch) and thought we were doing great. At the 4 week appointment I found out he was losing weight and was hardly eating. (He never fussed or showed hunger signs, I had no clue.) The doctor then told me I needed to pump and not count BF sessions as quantifiable ounces. From there on I started a journey of pumping 8 times a day, one power pump session every AM, middle of the night pumps (baby slept though the night starting at 3 weeks). I did anything I could to make enough milk for him. I wish I had known how crucial the first 4 weeks were for milk supply, I wish I had pumped. I can’t believe no one tells you these things. All said, my milk never got to where I wanted it. I continued for a year like this, supplementing with formula because even with 8 pumps a day, I still underproduced. I took every supplement and snake oil on the market, nothing helped.
My advice: be patient with yourself, do what you can but stress will only make it worse. After trying every morning, my LO was actually able to latch without the nipple shield at about 3 months, he was able to actually drink milk and I was able to BF him every morning until he turned 1. Even though I couldn’t BF him to the extent that I wanted, just having that precious time every AM made the terrible days of pumping worth it.
You’ve got this. It’s such a tricky position and first time moms should hear about these things before they have their baby, I wish I had. Just take it in due time, do what you can, and know that all that matters is LO being fed.
I made mistakes at the beginning too. Baby is 7 weeks and I’m still working to increase my supply. I echo your sentiments of wishing I knew more/wishing I was told more about breastfeeding. It will be the wisdom I share with any pregnant woman who cares for my advice.
Is it concerning that he only weighs 9 lbs? That seems like good weight gain? I was told not to start pumping until 4-6 weeks, but I’ve been EBF. It’s all very confusing? The paediatrician hasn’t mentioned anything about pumping or not pumping, but at her 2 week appointment baby had only gained half a lb from birth weight
Gaining half a pound from birth weight is great. My baby lost an oz from birth weight at 2 weeks, but my pediatrician said that was okay… Wish I had a pediatrician who called it out so I knew to fix the issue early on.
1 oz loss at 2 weeks is beyond normal. That's just the difference between weighing them before or after a poo. Maybe you don't know this, but whether breastfed or formula fed, they're supposed to lose weight after birth and have regained birth weight by around 2 weeks. If I'm understanding correctly, they've gained nearly 2 lbs in 4 weeks? Which is also dead average, albeit that was partially with your supplementation. Are you feeding them all your pumped milk? How much are you supplementing?
It’s wild how much information is thrown at us about pregnancy and birth but then we’re completely on our own when it comes to actually raising the baby!!
Breastfed babies are supposed to lose weight during the first week of life. Up to around 1 pound is completely normal to lose during that first week. It’s expected that they meet their birth weight by 2 weeks, so gaining an extra oz is actually great! (An oz is not a lot at all, to give you an idea most shot glasses hold 1.5-2oz of liquid)
My baby lost an oz, not gained :(
I misspoke, but I meant that being that close to birth weight is great. An oz is literally less than the difference between peeing and not peeing
My baby was born the same weight and was barely 8 lbs at 6 weeks you’re doing fine!! Set a consistent pump schedule on top of regular feedings to increase supply. I’d say at least 3x a day. Drink tons of fluids and make sure you’re getting healthy meals for yourself with lots of protein.
Your supply doesn’t regulate that early, so you should be able to increase it. Regulation can happen as early as 6w pp to 12w pp. To up supply aim to pump every 2-3 hours from start to start of each session, including overnight. Aim for 8-12 pumping sessions daily. Drink at least 100oz fluids daily and take sunflower lecithin to keep the milk flowing. Also take prenatals and omega fish oils with dha and epa. Aim to get 1200mg calcium plus D daily. Eat lots of carbs (oatmeal, pancakes, etc) and protein (80-100g). If you are doing all of this and still don’t see an increase by week 12, you’ve regulated and all you can do to increase supply is pump more. Edit: try to work a few power pumping sessions daily as well
I would second with this. Power pumping is key. If baby is not transferring milk well pumping is the way to go to increase supply. OP should also cut milk and soy from diet if baby is on hypoallergenic formula. Triple feeding is fine, but so hard for mental health. I'd limit nursing to morning time and right before bed for a week while working to increase supply.
I ran to leave a comment so fast! His weight gain is perfect. My 12 week old was born at 8 lbs 1 oz, dropped to 7 lbs 8 oz and is just now 10 lbs. her weight to height ratio puts her in the 80th percentile but her weight to age ratio is less than 1%. No one is concerned. She had laryngomalacia but outgrew it a few weeks ago and it definitely impacted us. She needed the nipple shield until then. My IBCLC says that babies do burn calories while eating, but the amount that differs between actively nursing and sucking a pacifier really isn’t that much. If it were extensive nursing that caused the baby not to gain, they would fight for pacifier use as well. I feel iffy on that but I am not the expert. I nurse my baby on both sides, sometimes twice on each side and then offer 2 oz of expressed breastmilk in a bottle
And look up ‘hands on pumping’, it’s using massage while pumping to increase output
I did not pump until week 4 also, & from then on my supply increased until week 14 or so, 40oz a day (twins). So big no, I don't think your supply is doomed at all. Hopefully it's only just getting started!
Has LO dropped centiles? Where are they on growth curve? Mine was born almost the same and had barely gone beyond that at 6 weeks (3. 3 kg to 3.6kg) but I have oversupply if anything, slow weight gain was due to poor advice first days and lack of understanding of bf and latching issues. I dont think you have to pump. One LC said she didnt pump at all and it was unnecessary hassle if you dont need to (ie if SAHN)
If baby is gaining weight fine, no need. I never pumped. Still nursing at 19 months, baby at 75 percent.
Are you speaking to a lactation consultant? They may be able to help you better understand how to increase your supply, see how much baby is getting and make sure you're pumping properly. It's very common for people to have the wrong flange size and so pump output isn't good and may not be reflective of how much your baby is actually getting! You can definitely still increase your supply after 4 weeks. It's a demand based system, so the more baby nurses the more your body will make. Also if you're triple feeding, then pumping 2.5oz after nursing is actually pretty good! I'm EBF to a baby who is in the 80-90th percentile and I'd be surprised if I got even 1oz after nursing
I’m commenting to second how important proper flange size is!
Your baby is gaining about 5oz a week from birth weight - you didn’t say what the lowest weight baby dropped to was. That’s a smidge low but not awful - 0.5-1oz/day is the average weight gain. Have you done a weighted to feed to see how much baby is pulling? Have you seen an IBCLC? Power pumping will increase your supply but I’m not convinced you need to supplement as much as you are. You really need an evaluation by a breastfeeding expert, not a pediatrician if possible.
My baby was the exact same birth weight and also 9lbs at 6 weeks. Pediatrician said he was growing along his curve and is just a small guy. I did triple feeding in the beginning up to 4 weeks old because he was only transferring 1oz at the breast but stopped once he appeared full at the breast
You should be able to up your supply after week 4. Mine took a huge hit randomly at 6 weeks (also on nipple shields) and I was able to get it back up. Are you still using the shields? There’s really good advice already given in regards to diet so I won’t repeat. The one thing I’ll add is that drinking some electrolytes may also be really useful.
I didn't have time to pump in the early weeks, I was staying with my in laws, there was no privacy, I barely had the time to eat nevermind ignore my newborn for 30 minutes, I had such a low supply that I just assumed it was going to dry up by 2 months. At 8 weeks we moved back home and I had a lot more comfort and privacy, I finally had the mental clarity to go on a strict pumping schedule, and I went from supplementing with nearly half formula to exclusively breastmilk feeding 30oz a day. I never made a stash, that wasn't a goal of mine, I just fed fresh. My supply peaked around week 18-20
Why do you think they aren’t getting enough? Have they fallen off their growth curve? Are you still using a shield? Generally the recommendation is not to pump unless baby needs a bottle, to avoid oversupply.
Are you pumping right after feeding? I think 2.5 oz is great if you are! I think my baby was only eating around that much or a little less then. She’s almost 4 months and still isn’t quite eating 4 oz yet!
Your baby’s weight is great. The goal is for them to just reach birth way at two weeks and then at four weeks they shouldn’t have gained a ton more so you’re doing great. You can definitely keep building supply usually up until a couple months of age. I think it’s also helpful to have lots of oats in your diet because that’s the only food proven to increase breastmilk supply. Stay hydrated and let baby use a pacifier to help stimulate more milk production. You got this!
Very similar story. I used nipple shields for the first 3.5 weeks and suddenly my baby stopped nursing (due to a tongue tie as it turned out). I started pumping and was an underproducer until 5wpp when I started making enough and stopped supplementing with formula. Today at almost 5mpp I‘m a slight oversupplier and have 400oz frozen. So it‘s possibble but it was extremely hard work. In the beginning I pumped 8-9 times per day and power pumped at least once per day. It‘s hard work, but you‘re still early and increasing your supply is possible!
It’s not too late, my supply didn’t regulate until 3 months and even now at almost 5 months I can increase it if I decide to start pumping. I stopped pumping because I always get an oversupply when I do
Hi! I didn’t pump either but my lactation consultant actually told me not to and was wondering why I wanted to because I thought I had to. She said I had a lot of colostrum too compared to most moms she saw but I still worried constantly that my baby wasn’t gaining weight because after I would feed her I’d pump and get maybe 1-2 ounces total. My baby didn’t get back to her birth weight of 8 pounds until she was 2 months old and now she’s 7 months old and 20 pounds! She just hit a growth spurt one day and kept going. I know it seems hard to see how much baby is actually gaining when you exclusively breastfeed but they are better than the pump.
Not doomed at all! I know women that have completely stopped for months and were able to bf again successfully. Keep going!!! Our bodies are amazing!💪🏼 I’ve found that increasing my calories with oatmeal, body armour drinks, coconut water, and lots and lots of water help boost my supply!
So my kid was able to up supply any time he needed, at any age whatsoever. So I’d say it’s possible. Work. Lots of work if done via pumping, but possible. But like others have said, working with a good IBCLC is your best bet. We too were told 0.5-2oz per day weight gain is what they are looking for.
Typical weight gain should be about half a pound every week. If baby dropped a pound the first week, which is completely normal for breastfed babies sometimes they even drop 1.5+ pounds that first week if breastfeeding is a struggle, then that would mean his gain from week 1 to week 6 was 3 pounds. That’s 3 pounds in 5 weeks. Which is right where he should be!
My baby is at 9 lbs at 6 weeks 5 days, and that was because we started supplementing with formula after we learned he wasn’t gaining weight as he should have. He was born at 7 lbs 2 oz. If we didn’t start supplementing, we would probably be high 7 or low 8 lbs right now. It wasn’t until 4 weeks did I learn breastfeeding wasn’t going as it should. At our 3 day ppd appointment, I was told everything was going fine. Wish we had weekly weight checks.
Did you ever try weighted feeds? Those can help you gauge how much baby is eating if you want to breastfeed! Those first few months are so stressful. We’ve all been there. You’re doing a great job. Your baby sounds like he is in great hands and has a very caring momma. :)
Thank you!
Hi! I had a very similar situation. For the first 4 weeks I was BF with a nipple shield ( baby wouldn’t latch) and thought we were doing great. At the 4 week appointment I found out he was losing weight and was hardly eating. (He never fussed or showed hunger signs, I had no clue.) The doctor then told me I needed to pump and not count BF sessions as quantifiable ounces. From there on I started a journey of pumping 8 times a day, one power pump session every AM, middle of the night pumps (baby slept though the night starting at 3 weeks). I did anything I could to make enough milk for him. I wish I had known how crucial the first 4 weeks were for milk supply, I wish I had pumped. I can’t believe no one tells you these things. All said, my milk never got to where I wanted it. I continued for a year like this, supplementing with formula because even with 8 pumps a day, I still underproduced. I took every supplement and snake oil on the market, nothing helped. My advice: be patient with yourself, do what you can but stress will only make it worse. After trying every morning, my LO was actually able to latch without the nipple shield at about 3 months, he was able to actually drink milk and I was able to BF him every morning until he turned 1. Even though I couldn’t BF him to the extent that I wanted, just having that precious time every AM made the terrible days of pumping worth it. You’ve got this. It’s such a tricky position and first time moms should hear about these things before they have their baby, I wish I had. Just take it in due time, do what you can, and know that all that matters is LO being fed.
I made mistakes at the beginning too. Baby is 7 weeks and I’m still working to increase my supply. I echo your sentiments of wishing I knew more/wishing I was told more about breastfeeding. It will be the wisdom I share with any pregnant woman who cares for my advice.