Breastfeeding Mom and Baby Weight Gain

[chantal66]

For those of you who are breastfeeding, are you using a baby scale to find out if your little one is gaining weight ? Contrary to the bottle, you never really know how much they took.

Would be interested in your insight on this subject

Chantal

[s_gosney]

We never used a scale at home, but DD was in the hospital for several days following delivery, then a home health nurse came to our house for a couple of days following that, so she was weighed at least daily for the first week. After that, I just trusted (and hoped) that she was getting enough to eat. I was actually relieved to stop the daily weigh-ins, but I can see how you could feel otherwise too. I know that peds will generally allow you to bring a baby by for a weight check or you can get a scale for home (I think you can rent them).
I think that as long as you can hear the baby swallowing when eating, and there are plenty of wet diapers, everything should be okay. I know that it is hard not to worry, but unless there are some complications you didn't mention, I think you're probably fine.
This is all just my opinion from my little bit of experience (a whopping 4 mos now). I'm sure you'll get lots of great answers here from some very knowledgable moms.

[COElizabeth]

I didn't. DS was weighed at the pediatrician's a couple of days after we got home from the hospital and then again at his 2-week check-up. Then he wasn't weighed again until his 2-month check. Well, I think I did stand on our scale with him a few times to try to estimate, but that wasn't terribly accurate. :)

I agree that unless you have some special concerns, you probably don't need to worry about more frequent weighing, but the previous poster is right that some peds will let you come by for a free weight check to ease your concerns!

Elizabeth, Mom to James, 9-20-02

[votre_ami03]

We didn't either. Nolan was/is a pretty big boy.

I will admit though I had a lot of self doubt though those first couple days & I counted poopie & wet dipe's all of the time. I was a nervous 1st timer. I think it was about day 3, I pumped about 2 oz & fed Nolan a bottle b/c I was sure he wasn't eating. Then, I went with my gut. :)


Christy, mommy to Nolan 7/22/03

[deborah_r]

We didn't buy a baby scale, but he was weighed at his 2 week appointment (which was slightly after 2 weeks, since we were in the hospital for 5 days) and I went to a breastfeeding support group at 10 days old and weighed him before and after so I knew how much he was taking. After those two things, I did not worry much. I went back to BFing Support group almost weekly and weighed before and after for peace of mind, and also because I learned a lot at those meetings.

I would encourage anyone who is having problems breastfeeding and getting the baby's weight up to spend the money on the scale IF it would help them relax about it, because worrying so much can affect your BFing. But if all indications are that the baby is doing fine and getting plenty of breastmilk, I would say there is no reason to get a scale. I was encouraged not to get a baby scale (when I asked in a paranoid state as we left the hospital) and I think it was because they didn't want me to obsess about it!

[missliss55]

My dd is 10 1/2 months old and she has been EBF. I too was concerned about whether or not she was gaining enough weight. As long as they are having enough wet diapers you are fine. The first couple months I even counted them. I know it sounds crazy but it really helped me not to worry so much. I had this little chart next to her diaper changing table and I would just put a check mark down for all her wet diapers. HTH.

Melissa and Emma (4/16/03)

[lisams]

We didn't, just relied on her weight check at her appointments, but I had a friend who had some problems, and she would take her baby to a breastfeeding supply/support store where they would let her use the hospital grade scales. She would weigh him before and then after a feeding to see how many ounces he took in. You can also do this at you ped's office. Counting the wet diapers was enough reassurance for me, but we didn't have any issues to make me think she wasn't getting enough.

HTH!
Lisa

[mharling]

If you go to a breastfeeding support group, there might also be a scale there. The group offered at my hospital had one, so I weighed ds each time we went. I probably didn't *need* to, but the reassurance is nice.

Mary
Lane 4/6/03

[Rachels]

Nah. Remember that breastfeeding is the norm for a human baby. You don't need to be preoccupied with bottle-feeding standards such as knowing exactly how many ounces your baby takes. Unless there's a specific health problem, it just isn't necessary. As long as your baby is latching well and wetting enough diapers, she's getting enough.

Be careful about letting yourself reference bottle-feeding norms to evaluate breastfeeding. :) It's not the same thing at all, and a bottle-fed baby is never the standard by which a breastfed baby should be judged.

-Rachel
Mom to Abigail Rose
5/18/02

[jbowman]

My ped. offers free "weight checks" between appointments, so I took advantage of this when DD was about 4-5 weeks old. She had been gaining well, but it was nice to have the reassurance between the 2-week and 2-month appointment. You might want to check with your ped., but don't worry about it too much. As a previous poster said, if there are plenty of wet diapers, everything is fine!