Seriously, I am Worried - Should I be?

[Trapper John]

At the risk of boring people, some might know I had a granddaughter born 2 weeks ago tomorrow.

I am still over the moon but some of that elation has gone with news that she has not put on any weight since birth and in fact has lost quite a bit, relatively speaking, from a birth weight of 9lb 3 oz.

Now I'm not sure of all the facts and details but I think that at an 11% or more drop from birth weight initiates the midwife referring the baby to hospital, which has been done. Trying to be brief, this has resulted in several overnight stays in the past 10 days.

During these times lots of tests have been done, including bloods and even overseeing my daughter's feeding procedure and methods, these were fine and they can find no underlying medical problems. In fact they say she is a normal healthy baby in every other respect than this and are at a loss to explain it. Currently she is back at home.

At this point she has not lost any more weight but hasn't gained any either. Now Friday just gone, the health visitor turned up and within 10 minutes so did the midwife, as she is getting daily visits at present. There was some disagreement between these two ladies which wasn't resolved when they both eventually left.

An hour or so later, the health visitor returned saying she wasn't happy leaving things as they were and had made an appointment for that afternoon with a doctor at the children's unit at the hospital, all previous visits had been to the natal unit. He repeated the tests for his own peace of mind and found everything to be ok.

Baby is now under him as an outpatient and they are due back to see him on Monday.

What I'd like to know is how long they will let this carry on before someone does something about it, FFS? it just seems to me that because she hasn't lost any more weight they are sitting back waiting until she does before they decide to do anything else, whatever that might be?

The way I look at it, she may not be dangerously under weight at the moment and 'stabilised' but there has to be a reason as to why she isn't taking on calories or nutrients.....what are we supposed to wait until this affects her little body, possibly causing irreversible damage until they are prepared to delve into it further? FFS!

I'm more than a bit angry and really worried, do you think I'm 'overracting' and it's best to leave it in the hands of 'experts' or are my concerns valid?

PS. Does anyone else know of similar cases? ..... only a midwife at the hospital told my daughter's partner that she has only ever seen this loss of weight when a baby can't keep it's food down, for medical reasons or sometimes in premature births. None of these apply to my granddaughter.

[Trapper John]

To make matters worse, I've had a massive bleeding row with my daughter yesterday when I took my grandson home after he stayed with me while they were up the hospital until late Friday night, something I've got to resolve later today, by swallowing I expect.

She is annoying me a bit because she seems happy to carry on leaving everything to the hospital and doctors and I think she should be a bit more proactive.

All I said was, if she was my baby, I'd have a tub of every baby food they make and try her on them all until I found one which made her put on weight telling her that her mum always swore on SMA Gold Cap.

At this point she flew off the handle, basically telling me I was behind the times and I know nothing about anything to do with babies nowadays and that she is feeding her the best milk on the market, one of the Aptamill formulas. So I said "well it obviously isn't the best for her is it? because it's doing F all for her!

After several more heated exchanges and a long period of silence, I tried to calm things by saying "Look if you had a car and it didn't go, you took it to the garage and they checked everything out and couldn't find anything wrong, what would happen?" They might ask, "what fuel are you using?" .... and you say, "only the best top of the range unleaded" ..... they then might say, like I am, "have you tried anything else, because sometimes diesel might be all that is needed" ...... No-one has said this to her and she hasn't asked if she should try changing the formula, why not? it seems the sensible thing to do doesn't it?

Anyways, after being told the baby isn't a car and again that I know nothing about babies - coz like everyone on facebook and companies promoting their own products DO! - I was out on my ear and we haven't spoken since - oh and also being told that she doesn't want me looking after 'her son' anymore because I upset him, which I don't.

It'll be ok, we get like this often, she's as pig headed as me - but would anyone else try out some other formulas, isn't that a sensible way to progress? ...... it just seems like a logical next step to me.

[HobbitFeet]

I can understand you being worried, but the baby was a really good weight at birth, I was always of the belief that weight loss in the first few days isn't that unusual and it seems that the health visitors/midwives and Doctors are all over it - I know it's easy for me to say don't worry as of course you will, but if there is an underlying medical condition she is in the right hands

As for changing formula milk, this used to be a big no as it can really upset the digestive system, the last thing you need when trying to discover what the issue is is another variable thrown into the mix, it might need changing but I wouldn't be changing it without speaking to someone with more knowledge, I'm sure it will have been discussed with your daughter by the team looking after them both

[Vam]

Zero knowledge on neonatal healthcare, TJ, so I doubt I'll be much help

From what you say, though, I can tell you're frantic but it's maybe not the time to go into full-on panic mode just yet?

It seems the healthcare professionals are definitely closely monitoring the situation. Babygirl has now seen the specialist last Friday, and will be back to see him tomorrow. The specialist's tests results don't indicate any abnormalities, and Babygirl's weight loss has stabilised. In the very short term, there doesn't seem to be anything else that can be done.

Changing Babygirl's formula might create more problems, if her digestive system suddenly has to cope with something different. Not sure nagging her Mum about it is the way to go either - she's probably stressed enough as it is!

Like I said, probably not much help, but Mayo Clinic says......

"Keep in mind that many healthy babies go through brief periods when they stop gaining weight or even lose a little weight. A doctor is likely to be concerned only if a baby doesn't gain weight from one well-baby exam to the next. Your baby's position on the curve in a growth chart isn't as important as the trend of the curve overall."

https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/infant-and-toddler-health/expert-answers/infant-growth/faq-20058037

[Psidgaf]

Firstly, congratulations on the birth if your granddaughter
90% or more of babies will lose weight after they are born, even if the baby isn’t gaining weight, is she thriving, sleeping well, feeding well?
Do you, as a family find it hard to gain weight, are you all slim/thin, if so it may be down to genetics.
I hope they find the answer, and that you can get back on goid terms with your daughter, keep us updated please, it will be interesting to see why she isn’t gaining weight.

[Guest]

any change in formula has to be done slowly over a few days, to prevent troubles to her stomach. it's understandable you're worried and i hope she's ok, tj. it's normal for babies to drop some weight after birth, and she was a whopper to start with.

[Guest]

You're over reacting tj.

After your row with your daughter I suggest you show her your posts here to show her how deeply you care about her and her children.

[Rolluplostinspace]

My oldest son was a big one and started losing weight straight away.
Lost quite a lot then stabilized then eventually started putting it on.
Large babies often do this.
As has been said don't switch foods.

[Sunny]

My daughter was born 6.6 but she did come 3 weeks early, and had jaundice but we got there in the end, and now she is taller than me.
It is good news though your granddaughter had all her bloods checked etc and tests came back fine, so don't worry too much they will sort it out.
Wishing all goes ok, stay positive. xx

[Text]

Nearly all babies lose weight in the first week, as a right of passage, tj.
Except the tiny ones. Mine was tiny (only 6 and a half pounds at full term) so he never lost any weight at any stage.
A 9 pounder will be slow to start gaining wt, having had such a good head start.
Soon your grandchild will turn the corner and start gaining wt at last. And all the stress & rows will become a distant memory.

[Nosyguest]

From my experience the bigger babies tend to be less hungry at first that the smaller ones and it can take a little while for the feeding to really get started. Losing weight before putting it back on and then gaining is normal.

I'd not be too concerned if I were you unless it continues beyond a few weeks.

[Text]

Spot on! My tiny baby was born hungry. You know that thing that some mums do ... where you pause half way thru a feed, to wind/burp them. It always made him so angry to be interrupted whilst guzzling down his milk. He soon learned how to deliberately burp (you could see him practising and rehearsing how to burp as soon as you paused to burp him ). All this, just so that he could get on with his meal. The memories!

@ sunny: Hiya!

Anyway I'm sure the OP will soon update this thread to say everything is OK now. Things always settle down eventually.

[Markey mark]

Both my grandsons lose little weight at a early stage ,we all were panicking at first , but the nurse said it’s very common , congrulations best feeling in the world

[megaera]

Has she been checked for a tongue-tie?

It's common for babies to lose weight after birth, the type of formula is irrelevant unless she is lactose intolerant but that would manifest itself in a completely different way!

[Bella]

At the risk of boring people, some might know I had a granddaughter born 2 weeks ago tomorrow.

I am still over the moon but some of that elation has gone with news that she has not put on any weight since birth and in fact has lost quite a bit, relatively speaking, from a birth weight of 9lb 3 oz.

Now I'm not sure of all the facts and details but I think that at an 11% or more drop from birth weight initiates the midwife referring the baby to hospital, which has been done. Trying to be brief, this has resulted in several overnight stays in the past 10 days.

During these times lots of tests have been done, including bloods and even overseeing my daughter's feeding procedure and methods, these were fine and they can find no underlying medical problems. In fact they say she is a normal healthy baby in every other respect than this and are at a loss to explain it. Currently she is back at home.

At this point she has not lost any more weight but hasn't gained any either. Now Friday just gone, the health visitor turned up and within 10 minutes so did the midwife, as she is getting daily visits at present. There was some disagreement between these two ladies which wasn't resolved when they both eventually left.

An hour or so later, the health visitor returned saying she wasn't happy leaving things as they were and had made an appointment for that afternoon with a doctor at the children's unit at the hospital, all previous visits had been to the natal unit. He repeated the tests for his own peace of mind and found everything to be ok.

Baby is now under him as an outpatient and they are due back to see him on Monday.

What I'd like to know is how long they will let this carry on before someone does something about it, FFS? it just seems to me that because she hasn't lost any more weight they are sitting back waiting until she does before they decide to do anything else, whatever that might be?

The way I look at it, she may not be dangerously under weight at the moment and 'stabilised' but there has to be a reason as to why she isn't taking on calories or nutrients.....what are we supposed to wait until this affects her little body, possibly causing irreversible damage until they are prepared to delve into it further? FFS!

I'm more than a bit angry and really worried, do you think I'm 'overracting' and it's best to leave it in the hands of 'experts' or are my concerns valid?

PS. Does anyone else know of similar cases? ..... only a midwife at the hospital told my daughter's partner that she has only ever seen this loss of weight when a baby can't keep it's food down, for medical reasons or sometimes in premature births. None of these apply to my granddaughter.

I don't think you are over reacting, but I think it is good Baby is being seen by the hospital. It's "normal " to stressed and angst if a new born is referred but good she is being observed. Hopefully it will be nothing, wishing you and yours all the best x