Getting more efficient is absolutely a thing. That being said, I would do a weighted feed to check transfer since his percentile is dropping, just in case.
That age and duration are definitely within the range of typical, but YMMV.
If you do the weighted feed and find it’s low, is it possible for you to borrow a feeding scale and do a handful of weighted feeds throughout a day? A single one might give you some info, but with my preemie (weighted feeds every day for a week) I found there was some variation between sessions.
Diapers are another indicator of a baby’s hydration and feeding - ideally several wet & heavy diapers per day.
I will look into borrowing or renting if we need.
He has about 7-9 wet and heavy diapers per day and 1-3 poops per day too. Sometimes he will go a day without a poop but rarely. That’s why I haven’t been too concerned, those seemed normal.
The doctor wasn’t really worried about the drop in percentile but scheduled us to come back after 1 month instead of two. I’ll find time to do a weighted feed though.
You can also look into if your hospital system has LC services, just using their scale. We had to do weighted feeds twice then once per week for a couple months while we were dealing with everything with Latte’s weight woes, and we just got to go in and use it, apparently that’s common based on what they said? It was an outpatient LC clinic within the hospital campus if that makes sense.
We also have something similar to this in Fort Collins. The lactation clinic had a scale where you could come weigh your baby whenever you wanted, as well as lactation consultants if you wanted to do weighted feeds or have someone watch your latch or whatever. I think I went and weighed my first once a week for a few months, just because I wanted to.
Both of my breastfed babies dropped a little on the percentile chart and stopped gaining as quickly after a few months. I also worried, but I think it’s pretty normal.
That is a great idea!! I have a friend with a scale too so I’m seeing what works better for timing.
I remember in one of the breastfeeding books I read that there could be a different curve for breastfed babies and it’s normal. Thanks for sharing your experience too!
It has honestly been really good for my type A measure everything brain to not be able to track oz or numbers for the baby. I’m following his cues for other growth and trying to let it be. The drop in time feeding felt significant but if that’s normal then cool!
When he pops off there is very little I can do to feed him more, including with a bottle. When he is done he is done. So I’m trying to honor that, count diapers, and watch the weight on the interval the doctor suggests. Also not trying to drop the night feeds at this time.
Yeah mine dropped from 99% to 28% from months 2 to 4. That’s… not considered normal. crossing one decile line they watch, crossing 2 they start to get concerned. Crossing 7 and they start talking feeding tubes, turns out. (There was other stuff going on too, dunno how much that was at play).
Fwiw though she’s stayed right around the 30% for weight. Amazingly didn’t end up being an issue for her long term. Just scary AF.
My youngest dropped from 50ish percentile at birth to 10ish percentile at a couple months old. She never lost weight just settled into a lower curve. She was breastfeed as well. She’s now a healthy(and still tiny) 2 year old. From what I can tell lots of kids change percentiles pretty rapidly in the first few months after birth but settle in.
Both my kids also got way more efficient at breastfeeding within the first few months! By the time they were 3 or so months old their feeds were 5-10 minutes.
Oh yes forgot this detail! Latte transferred 3.6oz in 3.5 minutes they can be crazy efficient.
Why did no one tell me about nipple butter/pump spray? Lol also maybe it has been mentioned but I didn’t take it to heart.
My nipples are so much happier right now. For all of you pumping people, might be worth a try for a more comfortable experience.
Dude yes! Nipple butter is how I survived clusterfeeding. Although I use coconut oil for pumping.
For the first time ever, there’s a pill for postpartum depression. Unlike existing antidepressants, it’s meant to be taken for only a few weeks, and effects are felt within a few days. Interesting…
This could be a game changer for so many parents!!
After discussing with @Bracken_Joy it is unlikely to be a general use thing but more specialised cases. Still, for those it could indeed be a big deal (looping her in to make sure I’m not misunderstanding)
It’s hard to say at this point for sure since I don’t know that many specifics! But the pathway it works on is heavily related to sleep and wakefulness, so I think it’s pretty likely BFing would be off the table because of risk of transfer to the infant- at least until way more data is collected if ever. It’s also possible it’s a pretty intense prescription period, if it’s a situation where you basically sleep for 2 weeks that kinda limits the acuity of patients you’d want to give it to. Definitely preferable to hospitalization and IV treatments which is current course for severe cases, but a lot of docs are pretty risk averse/slow to change for new mom stuff because of the dyad considerations with bubs, so my guess is it’ll only end up being used in high acuity cases, at least for the first several years, since docs are so much more familiar with SSRIs and their management.
But again, this is me speculating on concerns after reading one medscape release and some familiarity with other GABA mechanism of action meds like Lyrica.
It’s still very exciting!
@ginja_ninja and others - recommendation for nipple butter/pump spray? Prefer tube over jar if at all possible.
My nipples are sore from pumping 3x a day, 5 days a week, when they were doing fine when exclusively breastfeeding. I’m pretty sure my flange size is as good as it can be (I’ve tried a LOT of various sizes/inserts), but the nipples are unhappy.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B097NJ5TKY?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title
This is the one I use and it works pretty well!
I’m sorry about the sore nipples, I hope you can find something to help! I try playing around with the settings on my pump and sometimes that helps.
Anyone have any recommendations for cheap cross over nursing bras that fit like the Kindred Bravely “busty” sizes? I love their bras but they’re like $30-40 each. I tried a $25 5 pack from Amazon and they were comically small for the cup space. Hoping to strike gold here. This style: Kindred Bravely French Terry Racerback Nursing & Breastfeeding Bra
I have no answers but I have been pondering this exact question, will share if I find anything highly recommended.