Failure to Thrive - Newborn

amother

Papayawhip

Mon, Jun 05 2023, 7:50 pm

small bean wrote:

Basically on demand, about every 2/2.5 hours give or take.

That’s great. At night as well?
Hatzlacha with figuring this out. FTT is really stressful and is an urgent matter.

amother

Poinsettia

Mon, Jun 05 2023, 7:52 pm

My baby was gaining weight but not as fast as they wanted. She fell asleep by one of her wall visits at 2 months old and they heard a very, very, very slight heart murmur. Turns out she did have a hole in her heart and actually needed open heart surgery to close it. Even though the doctor had listened to her heart a few times and she was followed 100% through pregnancy and newborn stage and had all her ultrasounds nobody heard the murmur until she fell asleep.
I would rule out cardiac issues.

My baby actually did not have any of the classic signs. Other than gaining a little bit slower than they thought she should. She was 9.8 lb at 2 months and she was born at 6. 11. She was eating well, not falling asleep, no spitting up, not lethargic, doing everything she needed to do just on the smaller side

Eta. Bh She is a healthy 2-year-old today. No issues bh bh! She had some catching up to do in the physical department but is bh being discharged from pt this week. (She started walking at 2, only 4 months ago) but she grew leaps and bounds since then.

small bean

Mon, Jun 05 2023, 7:53 pm

amother Poinsettia wrote:

Interesting. I will ask doc tomorrow about that.

amother

Floralwhite

Mon, Jun 05 2023, 7:56 pm

If I were you, I would check in to the best children’s hospital covered by your insurance and insist they run every possible test to find out what’s happening. (Hint: if you enter through the ER, more places are forced to take your insurance.)

Your child’s lack of weight gain is extreme. It’s not likely caused by poor quality breastmilk or tongue tie. More likely there’s a metabolic or genetic factor. I know a similar case where the baby had a severe intolerance to all milk, including breast milk. It took extensive testing and a hospitalization to figure that out.

I know hospitals are no fun, but your baby needs to grow. If he is not taking nutrition from food for whatever reason, he’ll start breaking down his muscle tissue and even brain. This isn’t an exaggeration.

I hate to be the one to scare you. I thought many times before posting. But I cannot ignore such extreme FTT. It needs more than some home remedies. Please act now.

amother

Lawngreen

Mon, Jun 05 2023, 7:58 pm

amother Floralwhite wrote:

This. I work in pediatrics. We would send this baby to the hospital!

small bean

Mon, Jun 05 2023, 8:01 pm

amother Floralwhite wrote:

I don't think he has an intolerance to milk. I had a kid like that and ended up in the hospital for a week, but the doctors were reluctant to send me. I wouldn't check myself in, without a doctors order.

Dr.Irina

Mon, Jun 05 2023, 8:04 pm

small bean wrote:

What is NAET?

NAET is allergy elimination technique that was developed by Dr. Devi Namburdripad. It is completely natural method, non-invasive, drug free solution to alleviate allergies of various types. One allergen is treated at a time. Works for all ages.

amother

Leaf

Mon, Jun 05 2023, 8:11 pm

Op, I understand your reluctance to check yourself in an hospital, but as others have said, your babys ftt seems extreme. You have to insist on referals to specialists, I would start with cardiology, then gi. When the main issues are ruled out, and that should be done asap, then you could look into tongue tie and natural remedies.

small bean

Mon, Jun 05 2023, 8:39 pm

amother Leaf wrote:

I will ask my Dr tomorrow about cardiology.

My doc until now was focused on increasing calories...

mandr

Mon, Jun 05 2023, 9:00 pm

small bean wrote:

So you ruled out these 3 issues?

I've had kids with FTT, but they always came along with spitting up a lot. My baby now does not really spit, he smiles, and holds his head etc. I don't think its a GI issue. What kind of heart issues?

Yes, because once he was old enough to really take solids well I saw that he was totally eating the same amount, if not more, than my other children did at that age (and he was way smaller so if anything he'd need less). He was also never spitting up and didn't seem to have any reflux.

One thing I didn't mention was that my baby was SGA. Already during pregnancy I was being monitored for everything because he was smaller than normal although growing along his curve. He was born full term, weighing 4lbs.

GI kept asking me if he had diarrhea or spitting up and I said no. He prescribed an antacid anyway and it didn't do anything.

I just reread your OP, I didn't realize your baby gained less than a pound in 2.5 months. Yes, that does sound very severe. I'd go to another doctor.

amother

Lightcoral

Mon, Jun 05 2023, 9:13 pm

Have you ever done a weighted feed with an IBCLC? How can you be sure that your baby is taking in enough milk at a feeding? Maybe baby isn't transferring milk well and only getting half an ounce or an ounce at a feeding.

small bean

Mon, Jun 05 2023, 9:15 pm

amother Lightcoral wrote:

I did not and I can't be sure. But I do also feed him via bottle and if I feed right after he breastfed than he will spit up -as it's too much at a time.

small bean

Mon, Jun 05 2023, 9:17 pm

I just want to clarify as I see in my OP - I wrote his birth weight and current weight. I did not mention that at 2 weeks he weighed 6.8, so if I count from there in 8 weeks he gained a total 1lb, 5 oz.

amother

Catmint

Mon, Jun 05 2023, 9:20 pm

small bean wrote:

What doctor did you go to for that and how'd he test for it?

Geneticist. Did many, many tests including genetic testing, blood and urine organic acids, lactate, pyruvate, ammonia levels. Ended with skin biopsy and muscle biopsy for confirmation of diagnosis.

FTT at the level you’re describing is not something to wait on.