Breastfeeding & Not gaining

Brooklynn isnt gaining the weight she should be. Pedi says she needs to be gaining at least 10 grams a day [30 grams total from last visit] and she only gained about 6 grams a day [about 18 total from last visit] Which isnt bad but its not good. So my pedi wants me to chart my feedings starting tomorrow until next week when I see him again for another recheck, He also wants me to feed for 30 mins to an hour and try to do both sides if possible every 2-3 hours to get her up to a good weight so we dont need to go back to NICU.

My problem right now is that sometimes she will only feed for 5 mins and fall asleep and I cant get her back up to eat again and she will go another 2-3 hours not eating. Shes just sleeping all the time, The most she eats is during the night because thats when she is awake. How do I get her to "dream feed" or wake up during feedings during the day so she is getting enough?

I have heard to take their clothes off b.c they get too warm and comfortable??? IDK if it works or not Kale never had this problem. Then my milk dried up at 6 mo and I switched to ne sure.

My son would always fall asleep during nursing so I would strip him down to just a diaper and keep a damp washcloth handy and anytime he started to fall asleep I would rub the washcloth on some part of his body(arm, leg, back) and it would wake him up. He hated baths and water when he was a baby so this worked pretty well for him. I hope this helps. You may also try 'tickling' her back when she starts to fall asleep.

Quoting ~ Emily & Kale ~:" I have heard to take their clothes off b.c they get too warm and comfortable??? IDK if it works or not Kale never had this problem. Then my milk dried up at 6 mo and I switched to ne sure."

I tried that her last and she didnt care lol She just stayed sleeping. Ive tried rubbing her feet and back and head.. nothing. She just loves to sleep I think.

Quoting Feb Baby 4:" My son would always fall asleep during nursing so I would strip him down to just a diaper and keep a ... [snip!] ... so this worked pretty well for him. I hope this helps. You may also try 'tickling' her back when she starts to fall asleep. "

The wash cloth is a good idea I havent tired that! Ill have to do this!!! Hopefully it works I do not want to have to supplement with formula!

Quoting Blessed x2♥:" I tried that her last and she didnt care lol She just stayed sleeping. Ive tried rubbing her feet and back and head.. nothing. She just loves to sleep I think."

Awww   She must be a sleepy girl. I would take her back to the doc they might make you supplemnt formula. most likey Neo Sure (for preemies)

I keep having to wake my baby up to eat too. If she falls asleep while eating then i will unwrap her from her blanket, or ill go check her diaper and that usually will wake her back up. Good luck!

Quoting ~ Emily & Kale ~:" Awww   She must be a sleepy girl. I would take her back to the doc they might make you supplemnt formula. most likey Neo Sure (for preemies) "

She has another re weigh next week, They said if I want to supplement I can otherwise I need to just try to feed her longer then what she is eating, I really wanna stay with just breastfeeding but I guess if I cant get her to stay awake and eat longer its something Ill need to do for her to stay out of the NICU.

Quoting Jays*Mama:" I keep having to wake my baby up to eat too. If she falls asleep while eating then i will unwrap her from her blanket, or ill go check her diaper and that usually will wake her back up. Good luck!"

Sometimes that works but not always, Idk if she just sleeps so much cause she was a month early or what.

Have you trid changing her diaper before feedings? That really seemed to help because the diaper changing would always wake her up more, especially if the wipes arent super warm, just room temp.

neosure!
neosure is absolutely awesome.
i realize that's not what you dreamed of, and neither was her coming early, but ..

neosure is totally awesome. I've had excellent, EXCELLENT weight gain, with both my 32-week twin girls.
they were gaining a pound a week for several months after I got them out of NICU
the stuff is amazing.

OP, before going to formula I think you should work on your daughter eating more. Her problem doesn't seem to be that she's just not gaining, it seems to be that she's not eating enough. If you find a way to get her to eat more and she's still not gaining then yes look into formula and like PP I would suggest neosure.

The reason I say this is because DD has eating issues and has since birth. At 13.5 months she's only 15 lbs and not even on the charts. For comparison, breast milk is 20 calories, neosure is 22 but can be adjusted up to 30. DD was on 30 for many months and is currently on 24/26 and still not gaining well. So my point is, it's not just what they eat but how much they eat!

Good luck OP.

Have you tried skin to skin? My LO didn't eat much at first but would always eat more when we were skin to skin.

Quoting Flag:" Have you tried skin to skin? My LO didn't eat much at first but would always eat more when we were skin to skin."

No Im gonna try this tonight when I get my son to bed though!

Quoting regina_margot:" neosure! neosure is absolutely awesome. i realize that's not what you dreamed of, and neither was her ... [snip!] ... 32-week twin girls. they were gaining a pound a week for several months after I got them out of NICU the stuff is amazing. "

 
When my son left nicu ( we were breastfeeding and using neosure ) He was gaining 1 - 1 and a half pounds a week! By the time he was 3 months he was 15 pounds i believe!