Infant At 8 Weeks Old

[mhomier]

My father has Celiac Disease, and I have an 8 week old baby that is losing weight and has not effectively gained more than one pound since he was born. He is primarily breastfeed. We used soy-based formula for less than one week when he was first born and he gained 6 ounces in 2 days. Since then, approximately 7 weeks, he has been exclusively breastfeed and has only gained 10 ounces. The doctor is off course very gained as he is supposed to gain 2/3 to 1 ounce a day. Given that my child's grandfather has celiac disease, is it possible that my child has it as well and that not gaining weight/losing weight is because of it? Everything on the web I have found talks about children/infants being diagnosed after cereal has been introduced. It will be months before he is on cereal. Does anyone have a child or have heard of child that was diagnosed at an early age, prior to being feed any cereal or anything but breastmilk?

[Lisa]

What are you eating during the period while you are nursing? Are you gluten free?

[Ridgewalker]

Yes and No. Yes-- because the gluten that you ingest comes through in your breastmilk. No-- I've never heard of a baby actually being diagnosed by a doctor this young. There may very well be, and I just haven't heard of it. If so, others will post about it. But I have heard many stories of mothers figuring this out on their own.

In the same manner, if you go gluten-free, your milk becomes gluten-free. If you're interested in going gluten-free, this board is the place to be. It needs to be 100%, and there is a ton of info here about doing that.

If you have any questions about it, just ask!

[taweavmo3]

Is it possible that you may have Celiac disease? I ask b/c I tried to nurse my children (I have four), and they all had problems gaining weight. I had to supplement with formula to get them to gain...and since that was so much more work, I didn't nurse for long. The only child I was able to successfully nurse was my fourth child....and I was on a gluten free diet. She gained weight, and I didn't have to supplement, it was heavenly!

I'm not really sure of the effects that Celiac may have on breastmilk quality, but if you aren't absorbing proper nutrients and fat......then maybe the breastmilk itself would also have less fat content/nutrients for baby to gain properly???? I haven't read anything regarding this, but that's what I figured. It was hard, b/c I wanted to nurse so badly....and I felt like a complete failure when my milk did not seem to satisfy them. Once we went to formula, they would always plump up right away.

Maybe you could give the diet a try and see if that helps. Has the doctor also ruled out reflux? That can also be a cause for low weight gain. And cutting out all dairy can sometimes help with that. Good luck to you....I know how hard that stage is, I've been there four times, lol. Take care.

[Fiddle-Faddle]

I agree with the above posters, and want to add that it's also very likely that you may not be nursing often enough, as most doctors and nurses give TOTALLY the wrong advice. Especially considering that you have been doing some formula (NOT something to feel guilty about, BTW), your feeding schedule is likely based on a formula schedule, not on a real-life nursing schedule.

Most (not all) nursing moms need to nurse their babies every 30-90 minutes during the first month or two. Yes, that's right, every 30-90 minutes. NOT every 2-3 hours like they tell you at the hospital!!!!

Have you contacted the La Leche League yet? THey are a fantastic source of free breastfeeding help. You might also contact a lactation consultant--there should be one at the hospital where you gave birth. Midwives also can recommend a lactation consultant, they usually know who the good ones are.

My first baby was getting dehydrated until the wonderful lady from the La LEche League advised me to nurse much, much more often.

Hang in there, and good luck!