Preemie isn't gaining weight?

My son had an appointment last Wednesday with his pedi. When he was born he was 4 lbs 15 oz. When we left the hospital, he was 4 lbs 11 oz. At his appointment, which was over a week after he was born...He was only up to 4 lbz 15 oz.

Which was crazy to me...because he eats. He eats 2 ounces at a time, sometimes even more. He takes breast milk and we're supplementing with formula. He eats between every 2-4 hours. Usually 4 at night...But still. He eats when he's hungry and until he's full. Now...There are times that he will fall asleep before he finishes his 2 ounces, but then..He just wakes up a little earlier.

The doctor wants us to come back on Wednesday. If he HASN'T gained substantial weight, what are some of my options? What do doctors usually recommend?

Also, he was born at 36 weeks and 5 days. No one EVER told me he was IUGR. No one ever discussed it with me or explained what it meant exactly(even though I already did research). I knew he was small, I knew he was behind a few weeks, but....When I was getting my spinal done for the c-section, I could read a piece of paper in the nurses pocket that stated (boy- 36 weeks and 5 days - no fluid - IUGR)......

I'm surprised they let you go home with a less than 5 pound baby. My hospital here will not allow the baby to go home until they weigh more than 5 pounds.

But my daughter weighed 6lbs 14 ounces when she was born at 36 weeks 4 days, so that weight DOES sound very low.

That being said, she dropped down to 6lbs 9 ounces before we left the hospital and she was only back up to her birth weight at her first appointment too. And she too had to come back a week later to make sure she was gaining and she was. I think he should be fine as long as he's over 5lbs at your next appointment. Otherwise, I think they prescribe supplements to get the weight up that you'd mix with his formula to make sure he gains a bit quicker. I'm not sure on that because I've never had an issue with her gaining weight after that.

Quoting Blair Waldorf (SuperKink):" I'm surprised they let you go home with a less than 5 pound baby. My hospital here will not allow the ... [snip!] ... to make sure he gains a bit quicker. I'm not sure on that because I've never had an issue with her gaining weight after that."

We were actually released a day early, too. I was quite surprised. He had no other issues. Never even on oxygen. Just......little.

The supplements make sense, though.

Did he do any NICU time?

The main reasons a small baby wouldn't be gaining weight is if they're expending too much energy. Main things: eating and keeping warm. So bundle him up (DD had to be in a full length sleeper, hat, and blanket at all times... in the middle of June) and make sure he's not taking more than a half an hour to eat.

My daughter was born at 35 wks 4lbs 13oz and went down to 4lbs 5oz while in the NICU. When we were released she was at 4lbs 10oz, after that as long as she was gaining and not losing the doc was happy. We did have to do weekly visits though to check her weight and I had to pump and add calorie supplements to her bottles so that she was getting enough nutrients.

Quoting Fatty McRunnerPants:" Did he do any NICU time? The main reasons a small baby wouldn't be gaining weight is if they're expending ... [snip!] ... sleeper, hat, and blanket at all times... in the middle of June) and make sure he's not taking more than a half an hour to eat."

Nope. He stayed the first night in the nursery because they were checking his blood sugar levels, I believe. But he was back in our room the next morning and stayed until we left.

He usually takes about 15 minutes to eat, with stopping to burp. And it's pretty chilly here, so he usually wears a fleece sleeper and is bundled up in a blanket...Unless the sun comes out and it warms up. :/

My nephew would eat a lot but he wasen't gaining anything. Turns out he was allergic to gluten and it was inhibiting his body from absorbing any nutrients or fat from the breastmilk. Maybe ask the dr if that is a possibility?

My middle baby was diagnosed IUGR. Most of the time, it's an issue that's fixed once they're born. They eat and grow just fine. My middle baby did have to get evaluated by a geneticist just in case something bigger was going on.

1. They normally don't let babies out of the hospital under 5lbs, so I'm surprised about that too.
2. Did they check the baby's kidney function and stuff? No fluid normally means either the baby isn't peeing correctly or that your placenta was failing.

I mean he could end up just having a slow start or has a very high metabolism. My youngest eats my other 2 kids under the table and his weight is under the 10%.

If your son doesn't gain more weight, maybe you could ask to get some testing done on your son just to make sure everything is working the way it's suppose to be. I'm sure if it was a urine output issue, you'd be noticing some weird stuff in his diapers by now. Is he peeing and pooping ok?

Quoting Summerfrost:" My middle baby was diagnosed IUGR. Most of the time, it's an issue that's fixed once they're born. They ... [snip!] ... I'm sure if it was a urine output issue, you'd be noticing some weird stuff in his diapers by now. Is he peeing and pooping ok?"

I'm unsure if they checked, but...I'm sure they did.

The weird thing is....I had an ultrasound the Friday before to check his growth. My OB said his fluid looked great, but we'd do a scheduled c-section at 38 weeks because he was breech.. Then I went in to L&D on Monday because I hadn't felt him move like he should. They did another ultrasound and said there was a 1 on a scale of 10 for fluid, but other than that the baby looked great. When I was having the c-section, I heard the doctor say "there was more fluid than we thought..." But he's been peeing and pooping normal.

I haven't heard anything about my placenta. I noticed...they really didn't give me much information as to why/what happened.

Quoting Tiger Lily ♥:" I'm unsure if they checked, but...I'm sure they did. The weird thing is....I had an ultrasound the ... [snip!] ... I haven't heard anything about my placenta. I noticed...they really didn't give me much information as to why/what happened."

My placenta was sent out for testing too and there was a follow-up appointment with my OB afterwards.

Oh and I should add that my son is just fine now. They found out that he has a tiny bit of extra information on his Y chromosome and both of his hands the single line simian crease which is very unusual, but nothing spectacularly interesting that will affect him growing up.

His weight started dropping off the chart around 30 weeks. After several appointments where they were sure what was going on and an amnio, I was induced at 37 weeks (exactly). They estimated he was going to be under 5lbs. He was 5lbs 7oz. He also never went to the NICU. He has some slight issues keeping his temp up though. My delivery room looked like death-con-one though. There was a NICU team there, my high risk dr (high risk for other reasons), 3 different ob's, a student ob, a team of nurses. All of that for a baby that was born perfectly healthy. lol


Weight and height is around the 50% for his age (2.5) now.

Quoting Blair Waldorf (SuperKink):" I'm surprised they let you go home with a less than 5 pound baby. My hospital here will not allow the ... [snip!] ... to make sure he gains a bit quicker. I'm not sure on that because I've never had an issue with her gaining weight after that."

DD was only 4lbs 7oz when she came home. She was born weighing 4lbs 3oz.

My baby was born at 29 weeks. She weighed 2 lbs 8oz when she was born and immedidatley went down to 2 lbs 2 oz. She has been in the NICU for 40 days now and is almost 4 pounds. They are planning on releasing her in a couple days. The hospital she is at does not have weight restrictions before they can go home. As long as they are breathing on their own, maintaining their temperature, and eating every feed by bottle they can go home.

Well, he had his weight check up and he gained 11 oz in a week!!

Yay! Glad to hear he's headed in the right direction.  

Quoting Tiger Lily ♥:" Nope. He stayed the first night in the nursery because they were checking his blood sugar levels, I ... [snip!] ... chilly here, so he usually wears a fleece sleeper and is bundled up in a blanket...Unless the sun comes out and it warms up. :/"

yeah usually 36 weekers dont do nicu time unless they are sever IUGR or bad apgar scores.