Sorry this is going to be a little long winded but just wanting to know if anyone has any suggestions on whats going on with my son.

My DS is 11 weeks and fully breastfed. He has suffered from really bad wind from basically day one. Its not constant, he just gets 'attacks' of really bad wind and then trumpets like a trooper and settles after that. In recent weeks the smell and sound has become atrocious (ie various family members look suspiciously at each other because that CANNOT be the baby!)

Last wed, it had been over 2 weeks since he pooed so I called the paed who said to give him a suppository. I was a bit loathe to do that without someone actually physically seeing him so took him to the local GP.

She checked him and his tummy was soft but still agreed that I should try the suppository given it had been over 2 weeks since his last movement. I (well actually my DH) gave him a suppository that day and it worked almost instantly. The colour was brown not yellow as it used to be & the consistency was thicker than usual put still liquid - kind of like the consistency of paint IYKWIM.

The doc also checked his weight and he had only gained 150g in the last 4 weeks (prior to this, his weight gains had been great)

She wanted to make sure that it wasn't a discrepancy between the scales she was using to the ones the paed had used at the 6 week check so I went back to see her today for a follow up... and he hasn't put any weight on at all

He is still feeding the same amount of time as he was previously (every 3-4 hrs during the day and a longer stretch at night) & he is content after feeds so she is at a bit of a loss as to what the problem is.

Thankfully she has managed to get me in to see the paed tomorrow morning so hopefully we'll get some answers soon but was just wondering if anyone had any ideas what was going on with my DS? - I feel so helpless for the little monkey :xmas_sad:

TIA

Jo

What a worry. Thats great you got a paed appointment for tomorrow.

I am sure there are lots of reasons for babies not to gain weight. My DS did gain but low amounts and dropped off the percentile he was following. It turned out he had allergies. As soon as I removed the offending food items from my diet he had longer feeds and gained more weight. He used to go 3 weeks between poos.

My DD was the same, gaining small amounts and she has been diagnosed with silent reflux. She poos frequently though.

Thats just my experience, I am sure there are others who can tell you why their babies didn't gain weight.

Good luck tomorrow.

DS gained very little weight in his first 2 months, although was a 5 times a day poo-er and always very content (which made it hard for the Paed!). We had daily weigh ins at the hospital, observed feeds (to make sure he was feeding well), a week of expressed feeds to measure his input vs output, and more blood tests than I've ever had in my life.

It all turned out to be a liver infection of some sort that he was spending all of his energy fighting off. At 9wks exactly he turned a corner and did some awesome catch-up growth and you wouldn't pick him for a 'failure to thrive' baby.

I'm very pleased that you've been able to get in to see a Paed, especially at this time of year - let us know how you go!

Thanks for the replies ladies - I guess it could really be anything but given I've been so lucky to get in to see the paed so quickly, I'm sure as hell not leaving until there is a definite action plan under way!

Jo

Saw the Paed today and he confirmed that my DS weighs the same at 12 weeks as he did at the 6 week check - he has gone from the 50th percentile to the 5th I can't begin to tell you how bad I feel that we didn't notice he was so skinny - he looks so much like his brother that we just assumed he was the same scrawny build as a newborn and would beef up at 6 months like Oliver did.

We've had a blood test taken and my DH is currently waving a specimen jar in front of a nude baby so we can supply a urine sample so hopefully that will give us an answer.

Besides that we have to give him a suppository daily for the next 3-4 days as well as coloxyl drops to try and 'jumpstart' his digestive system again.

I have weighed Noah at the local chemist this afternoon and will weigh him again next wed to see if he's put on any weight (I wanted to use the same scale so there wouldn't be any discrepancy) I'll also be able to get the test results then - The paed gave me his mobile number as its xmas eve and he wants to be sure that I get through to him directly (as well as be able to call anytime in the next week should there be a need) which is totally reassuring to have

If the bloods, urine and laxatives don't yield anything then he mentioned a couple of other investigative procedures but I'm crossing my fingers that we don't have to get that far.

Will keep you posted on how we go (its actually very cathartic to type!)

Jo

jayare , I hope they have some answers for you soon. I am in a similar boat but my DD is 500g more than she was at the 6 week check. She is 11 weeks so not much gain there either. I see the paed on Monday.

Let us know what the outcome is.

Hi,
I don't really have anything constructive to offer but just wanted to let you know I have read your story and really feel for you. It is an awful feeling to be told that your baby isn't gaining weight (I know I have been there).
My first born never had convincing weight gains for the first couple of months of his life and I know how stressful that was.
I hope you find some answers soon. Keep us updated.

I would lovw any info i can get on this as DS#2 is 6.6kgs and he was 4.22kgs born! so should be bigger then he is. he is BFed and has 3 solids aday and as much BM as he wants! so? :xmas_unsure:

Hi girls, just coming back in with an update. We've managed to get DS to poo regularly through (initially) suppositories and coloxyl drops, so thats great.

however his weight hasn't changed at all - although I weighed him before and after a feed and he went up by 200gms which is fantastic but for whatever reason the weight isn't sticking around.

The paed called me this afternoon and the bloods have come back showing elevated liver enzymes - he couldn't give me a conclusive answer on what this means so we're going to repeat the blood and urine and see what happens. If the enzyme levels have dropped then great, if not, we'll have to do an ultrasound, etc to see whats going on.

I also have to call him next monday with an update on Noahs weight, if it hasn't gone up, he'll need to be hospitalised so they can get some weight on him :xmas_sad:

So, not the outcome I was hoping for but fingers are still crossed at this point.

Thanks so much for your kind words though - the support is wonderful.

Pootle - Sorry to hear you're going through a similar thing - what happened with your appt today?

Jo
x

Hi Jo, your poor little one. I hope he starts gaining and avoids hospital. At least he is being monitored.

Well, DD was on the 30th percentile at birth and is now on the 3rd I have been advised to top her up with 30mls of soy formula after every other feed(soy because I have a DS with dairy allergy and suspect she has too as she reacted when I ate dairy). I have another appointment on 7th Jan to check her progress and we will go from there.

I feel so bad that she must be so hungry. I couldn't make any less than 50mls of formula and she guzzled it, no resistance to the bottle at all and she has never had one even with expressed milk.

I just hope she gains some weight now and we don't have anything further to look into.

Let me know how his weight goes and try not to stress too much(easier said than done I know!).

Pootle - Sorry to hear that you need to top up with formula to get your DDs weight up but on the upside at least she'll start to get the weight on. Do you need to take her back to the Paed for another weigh in?

We weighed DS today and he's stacked on a whopping 90grams!! I'm hoping that he manages to put another 90gms by Monday which will give him a nice weight gain and keep him out of hospital now that would be a great xmas present! :xmas_wink: