My heart was breaking at my sons 4 month checkup... He only gained 1 lb since his 2 month checkup! (He grew 2 inches though).... He went from the 85% in weight to the 20th! He is EBF, sleeps through the night, I feed him on demand and he is seriously the happiest little guy ever. I would have never thought that he wasn't getting enough food. His doctor said to start him on baby oatmeal, mixed with Breastmilk and prunes once a day in addition to his feedings and I have to bring him back in 2 weeks for a weight check and if it doesn't help she said I'll have to start supplementing formula! My baby had never had formula! I feel like such a failure...
also, the foremilk and hindmilk rule is a myth. foremilk and hindmilk are both just as nutritious, hindmilk just contains more fatty supplements which stick to the walls of your milk ducts so it takes a minute or two for them to loosen up and come out with the milk.
I'm not trying to be THAT person, but your doctor is wrong. for one, solids at 4 months is bad, your doctor is not up to date on current safe practice and he should not be recommending that. and two, what he didn't tell you is your baby will gain the most weight the first two months while breast feeding then that weight will start to even out the rest of the time you breast feed. so gaining 1 pound from his last appointment to this one isn't bad at all as long as he's still eating and growing.
breastfed babies are least likely to be obese, formula fed babies are more likely to be obese, but babies who are only breast fed for two months are at the greatest risk of being obese for that exact reason.
you're doing great, you don't need to change anything. don't let an idiot doctor who doesn't know what he's doing anymore tell you otherwise.
skip the cereal as breastmilk had more calories and baby shouldn't eat solids until 6 months old. add additional healthy fats to your diet ie. avocado
You don't have to give formula just give the cereal and feed him more of the boob
I can't speak from experience bur I took a breastfeeding class a few weeks ago and they say to try not to wait until your baby cries and to look for early hunger signs, like if he starts sucking on nothing haha or puts his hands (or feet) in his mouth or just starts to get restless. and like @tahtahme said, as long as he seems happy to you and has enough diapers, then it should be okay! maybe you just have a tall skinny baby. :)
@tahtahme, the issue is that he hasn't popped in 2 weeks even though he is making plenty of soaked diapers... However, before they he was having massive blowouts. I think he empties them? I let him nurse as long as he wants to @taylorrleee1
I'm not trying to down your doctor or anything, but you DON'T have to listen to him/her if she tells you to supplement formula. if you want to EBF, just feed him more. there's no need to supplement formula when breast milk is what's best for babies.
Does he empty each breast? I remember reading its the hindmilk that makes you gain weight...but dont be discouraged! All babies are different, the Dr is just going off his chart of the average kid! If your baby wasnt acting hungry and was having enough diapers, you were doing fine! Maybe try supplementing with extra breastmilk for right now?
Thanks @whosmomma I'm not... It's becoming a battle between my husband and I but I'm going to my breastfeeding support group tomorrow and I'll fill my lactation consultant in so hopefully we will be able to make a good plan together... But my fear is that I'm not able to keep up with his needs... I pump before I go to bed and I get a combined 1 ounce...