baby weight loss

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Lisainhk

Registered User
Hi I'm a new mum in Hong Kong from Australia and I have a 4.5 month old. I'm having heaps of trouble feeding him (exclusively breast fed). He cries after about 2 minutes drinking and spits up a fair bit. He lost 200grams in one week and now weighs 14pounds 5 ounces. Doctor said not to worry but she was in a hurry... I tried to feed him some formula but he wouldn't drink it (he doesn't like bottles). Any ideas on what to do?? He also doesn't sleep very well. Hardly at all during the day and wakes about 4 times during the night. I need my mum!!
 
Hi,

Has this behaviour just started? If so it may be a sort of Nursing Strike.
There is an article, My Baby Is Suddenly Refusing to Nurse. Does That Mean It's Time to Wean? at LLLI | FAQ on Nursing Strikes

There are also a number of mothers' stories from New Beginning, LLLI's magazine for mothers in the USA, about Nursing Strikes at LLLI | Nursing Strikes

Often this is the way that babies express the fact they are unhappy about something. Could it be that with the move to Hong Kong you've both been very busy and that the two of two are missing some relaxed special time together?

Best wishes,
SARAH
 
Irrespective of whether she thought there was a problem, your doctor shouldn't have made you feel rushed.

Was this problem happening in Aus too? If it was, it could be reflux (unsettled sleeping, spitting up, weight loss), it became a problem with my daughter quite late around 3-4 months.

Also perhaps a lactation consultant / health visitor on the BF and sleeping side - Yvonne Heavyside is wonderful - 2530 1905, 9887235.
 
Hi LisainHK, sorry you`re having such a tough time with your baby while you`re new in HK. No fun, no doubt. Was your son like this at all before, or just recently?
A couple of things spring to mind:
1- it`s not normal for your baby to be spitting up and crying after only a few minutes of drinking. Does it look like he`s in pain? I would definitely want to check out that part with a different doctor (the first was sounds awful and should be reported).
2- It sounds as if the not being able to drink and spitting up problem is causing the not sleeping problem. He`s probably hungry, like all the time. Also, if you just moved here, he probably need some adjusting, but not that long since he`s still young. I would say he`s just hungry/frustrated with the feeding issue.
Please go to a new doctor. your baby should not be losing that much weight in one week for nothing.
Good luck and I hope you find out what`s happening with your baby.
 
Yes, try a new doctor. It is always stressful when you notice your baby losing weight. Recommend Barbara Lam in Central for feeding issues.
 
Hi Lisa, I would definitely recommend that you do a feed in front of a lactation consultant such as Yvonne Heavyside or one of the consultants at the Matilda Hospital. I had heaps of problems feeding my first baby and a private visit from a lactation consultant was my saviour.
I know how difficult it is to move countries with a small baby so I am sending you lots of good vibes and hoping that you get this issue resolved soon. If you want to vent feel free to PM me....
 
Another thing you can do is get yourself registered at the nearest Maternal and Child Health Clinic, which is a public clinic where there are doctors and nurses, including some that specialize in nursing, to help give your child a quick look. I used to go there for nursing advice all the time with my first. You just need to bring proof of legal residency for you and your child (e.g., passport with a visa of more than six months will do) and get registered for something nominal - I think it was HK$1 5 years ago. Afterwards, there's a phone number that you can use to book an appointment, usually as early as the next day. The visits are free.

The other thing could be your diet. Have you been eaten more of something that you didn't used to eat much of back home - maybe garlic, chilli, etc.? That might bring on nursing strike that Sarah mentioned. Also, try not to be stressed, even when she's unhappy. She'll take her cues from you and will, hopefully, settle down.

Good luck. My toddler's awake. Gotta go!
 
Hi
I'm sorry to hear about your baby's weight loss, that must be very stressful. I have recently arrived from the UK with a 4 month old boy. Although he never lost weight, we did have a period when he was a very fussy feeder, about a month ago, my health visitor advised that it may be stress related as I was busy with the move etc. She suggested to stop clock watching and give him some undivided attention for a few days. I don't know if it was a coincidence or not but it worked!

On the weigth issue, I'm assuming the previous weight was accurately recorded & that the recent weight was also accurately recorded (as the doctor sounded particularly rushed)

I saw a paeditrician this morning for a cough that Matthew has, a Dr Ken Chan & he was excellent.
I hope that you your little boy settles & if you fancy a coffee at any stage let me know
.
 
Wow! Thanks for the replies! It's awesome to be able to get so much advice and to be taken seriosly! Thanks to everyone.
LLL_Sarah: He has done this before about a month ago. I read the information back then about nursing strike and took him to the same doctor and it was recorded that he had not gained sufficient weight but she said not to worry. We gave him wind drops and nothing seemed to change. I think he got so hungry that he decided to eat again after 10 days of it. We moved back to HK when he was 1 month old so we are fairly settled in now. I don't work either so we spend a lot of time together.
Leah: Nah he was a very sleepy baby in Aus. So sleepy that he had to have photo therapy because he couldn't wake to feed. The symptoms of reflux seem to fit him. Do you know the remedy??
Shenzhennifer: He does seem to be in pain. He arches his back and cries until I sit him up and then he's better. I have no doubt that he is hungry. He wakes a lot in the night and is sleepy so seems to feed better then. I just feed him as much as possible at night so he can get something at least! He vomits a fair bit. Not just excess milk. And he is really agitated just before he spits up. Like he's in pain. I think I will be looking for a new doctor! BUmmer though coz I did like her. There was usually a massive wait to see her though even if you made an appointment.
Mcdill: Thanks for the recommendation! I may give her a go.
Sherwes: Thanks for the good vibes and vent offer haha! Much appreciated!
Yonge: I haven't changed my diet much at all. In fact it's been better than usual.
Margaret09: Would love to have coffee! Baylee would love a little play/dribble mate. I'm pretty sure the weight was recorded correctly. The nurse did it and I saw the scales myself and asked the doctor about it coz I noticed the weight loss. I don't think she would have picked up on it otherwise.
 
Wow - this sounds exactly like my daughter - arching of the back, not happy until they are upright, feed much better when they are sleepy in the night. The acid rises in their throats and is really painful - their esophagus is more relaxed when they are sleepy so they feed more comfortably. I actually got to the point where I fed her only when she was asleep!

My son had it also, but not so severe. There are things you can do to minimise the symptoms (feeding upright etc.) but ultimately medication is what worked for us. Your Paed will maybe prescribe Zantac or Prevacid. I was reticent to go the medication route, but the minute we got it - it was FANTASTIC - both babies were clearly so much more comfortable and began feeding without issue. Zantac tasted really vile, Prevacid was more annoying to prepare but I thought it was better.
 
Dr thondup is brilliant at diagnosing and treating reflux.
He is with veritas medical practice in central and also at repulse bay medical practice in repulse bay.

He can be very rushed but if you demand he listen to you he does and when it comes to reflux he really knows what he's talking about.
If you decide to see him try to get one of the first apointments to minimise waiting

good luck.
 
Lisainhk said:
He does seem to be in pain. He arches his back and cries until I sit him up and then he's better. I have no doubt that he is hungry. He wakes a lot in the night and is sleepy so seems to feed better then. I just feed him as much as possible at night so he can get something at least! He vomits a fair bit. Not just excess milk. And he is really agitated just before he spits up. Like he's in pain. I think I will be looking for a new doctor! BUmmer though coz I did like her. There was usually a massive wait to see her though even if you made an appointment.
Click to expand...

When I was a small baby, I had pyloric stenosis, nearly died in fact, because of many misdiagnoses and `don`t worries` to my mom. This is a bit rare, though very treatable problem(with surgery mind you), and more prevalent in boys. Totally not trying to scare you, and I don`t have any experience with `simple` reflux, but this is very easily diagnosed if the doctor is looking for it. For matters like this, I would go to a good public hospital (Princess Margaret for your part of town perhaps) who would have more experience with these things than cushy private hospitals. Weight loss is a serious thing for small babies. One of the most obvious symtpoms is projectile vomiting, which you didn`t say your son does, but you said he vomits quite a bit, so something is preventing his body from absorbing the milk. Best to find out what it is. I would get it checked out as soon as you can.
 
Thanks for the posts everyone!
Well we went back to doctor and she finally said it may be reflux (he gained a bit of weight but not as much as he should and has dropped from being in 50th centile to 20th) and gave me zantex (no idea how to spell it). Think I will go to another doc because I told her about him only sleeping for 3 hours at night and then tossing and turning and waking up every 45 minutes til morning and having terrible naps during the day and she said 'oh ok'. ??!!!! He looks exhausted and is such a hassle to get him to even sleep for 45 minutes. Takes ages to get him to sleep. Maybe it's normal to sleep like that at 5 months??
 
Good idea to see another doctor.
I know a woman whose baby was also gaining weight terribly, and also was fussy a lot. I just heard from my friend that her baby ended up having an operation last week to fix a valve in her stomach that prevented enough milk was being digested.
Go with your gut.
 
I don't think that it is normal to "sleeping for 3 hours at night and then tossing and turning and waking up every 45 minutes til morning and having terrible naps during the day".But it is common in babies that suffer with bad reflux.

The medicine that the doctors give most of the babies I see is Zantac. It really seems to help in these bad cases.

Information about Zantac is available at Zantac infants dosage and side effects information from a pediatrician

Best wishes,
SARAH
 
Doesn't sound normal at all as Sarah says above - reflux caused us very troubled sleeping until the medication finally took effect. Give it 3 days to see if there is any change.

If Zantac doesn't work out for you (it tastes awful and I had a terrible job getting both mine to take it), there is another route called Prevacid. It's a bigger pain to prepare as it is a pill you dissolve, but tastes ok.

I would definitely try a different doctor.
 
I agree with everyone above it's not normal for baby to be fussy and cry for longer than a day around feeding times. My baby has reflux - luckily for us she got diagnosed when she was 6 weeks so we got it under control now. A few pieces of advice you might find useful:

You might have hear about raising one side of the cot to about 40degrees so they sleep better at night - the acid doesn't flow so easily.

We found that expressing and feeding from the bottle worked better - especially for night feeds. I used dr Browns bottles that are great for reflux

Try cutting out all dairy from your diet for a few days and see if it makes any difference - very often relfux is closely related to milk protein intolerance.

Our little one is on Losec which works very well but it's not easy to crush.

Find a doctor who knows something about reflux - so many people had told us that we were just making this stuff up.

Dr Thandup mentioned above comes highly recommended and so does Dr Mark Chan.

I hope this helps - feel free to PM me if you have any questions.

It will get better - it starts improving around 6 months. My daughter was quite small and now is in 80th percentile!
 
Leah: Where do you get prevacid from?? He is hating the zantac and spits it all out. I'm thinking of adding it to an expressed bottle but don't want him to associate the bad taste with the milk.
Thanks for the advice guys. I hope it works!!!
 
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