Bottle-fed baby losing weight - please offer some advice or experience!!

[DawnAS]

I am absolutely frantic. We have weighed our little girl this evening as we have been concerned about her feeding and she has lost 2lbs in weight in the last two weeks!! She will be 16 weeks on Monday and has dropped to 9lbs.

Since a week after birth, she's suffered with oral thrush and because of this, took two hours to have a feed, but was still getting through the bottles and keeping her weight along the 25th centile, however, following treatment for the thrush, her tongue has completely cleared up and so her feeding has changed as her tongue has felt different.

Last week she was hardly feeding at all and I called the HVs who told me that the changes in her tongue will contribute. Since then I bought some different bottles that she doesn't play with as much and she's been taking 3/4 of her feed within the first 10 minutes which is great as she's never done this before. However, I've just weighed her and she's lost 2lbs since she was last weighed two weeks ago.

The GP wants to weigh her again in 2 weeks (a month from when she was last weighed officially) to give her chance to pick up, but do you think I should take her on Monday as her weight has dropped so much? She still sleeps for 12-13 hours a night (yes we're very lucky) and is happy and giggly, doesn't seem at all ill, but I'm terrified about her weight loss...

Any advice or experience gratefully received.

xx

[Eyeballls]

I think the main thing is that she seems happy and well in herself. I would be worried if she was listless or dopey but if she's fine then that's good. They are probably right about giving her a chance to catch up but I also know I wouldn't be happy to wait so take her on Monday if you think you need to but try to remember that she needs a little time to regain the weight and the main thing is that she is moving upwards and not downwards. Try not to panic (yeah right!). It sounds like she's on the right path.

[HumphreyCobbler]

How did you weigh her? Your own scales might not be very reliable.

[DawnAS]

Hi Eyeballs,

That's the worry, she has lost 2lbs according to our scales - hence the panic!! She was 9lbs at 5 weeks and seems to be 9lbs now at 16 weeks!! Although have been told on another thread that we would have noticed if she'd lost that much weight, so now thinking and hoping that the scales are VERY wrong!

xx

[HumphreyCobbler]

My scales weigh differently if I push them an inch to the right.

Go and get her weighed by your hv. They are good at it and have accurate scales they know how to use properly.

Even my doctor weighed my newborn incorrectly and told me she had lost a pound and a half. Cue major panic, but it was needless.

I am sure you would have noticed that much loss if it were true.