Re: questions about test weights

[Guest guest]

Hello, Virginia.

You don't need the expensive BabyWeigh scale unless you are doing pre- and post-feed weights to determine how much baby took from breast during the feeding. And most of us *should* be doing those kinds of weights during most of our consultations. There is research to show that the most experienced RNs (and would apply to IBCLCs as well) just can't tell by looking and listening how much milk the baby got. There are babies who make lots of good "swallow" sounds but scale shows they gained just a few mls. There are quiet babies you think didn't get much and lo and behold they took 2 oz from the first breast. You gotta have a good scale, and those weights need to be in grams because oz are just too big for measuring feedings,especially if baby isn't doing well at breast or there is any concern about how much milk mom is making. If mother just wants to see if her baby is gaining appropriately over the course of a

week, there are cheaper baby scales she can buy for that, or she can drop in at her pediatrician's office once and again a week later, without appt, and just weigh the baby and leave. Most peds around here allow that and don't charge, as long as the mother weighs the baby and goes, doesn't ask dr or staff any questions. If she has questions, she needs to make an appt.

I can't speak to calibrating on home visits because mothers come to my office so I'm not carrying the scale around.

Dee Kassing

To: Sent: Sat, August 11, 2012 9:48:24 PMSubject: questions about test weights

Hello all,

I have a couple of questions about test weights. I just read in the Medela Baby Weigh scale handbook that you should measure test weights in grams. Is this the way others do it, if you are not in a NICU, but just weighing healthy newborns? Is this necessary, or can you just use the ounces measurement?

Also, do you calibrate the scale every time you go on a home visit, or do you just set it up and use it right away?

Thanks for your time,

Sonya Shaver, BS, CHES, IBCLC

[Guest guest]

Since I schlep my scale to each consultation, most of which are in the client's home, I purchased the 10 kg weight from Medela and I calibrate my scales once a month,even the additional rental scale which doesn't get as much use.

Ann

[Guest guest]

Yes, I said it in too roundabout a fashion (probably online too early this morning--I usually do emails at night!), but I think every private practice IBCLC needs a very accurate scale to be able to do pre- and post-feed weights. You need to know how much the baby took in at that feeding. Granted, it's just one feeding, but it's still a clue that you put together with other clues to figure out what's going on with that particular breastfeeding dyad.

I prefer whole numbers rather than decimals. I would much rather tell a mother her baby only got 6 mls (or gms) than 2-tenths of an ounce. I can translate for her if need be, though many mamas whose babies were previously in NICU seem well-versed in ccs/mls/gms.

And the weights the moms get told in the docs' offices drive me crazy. They actually tell the mom baby weighed 8.9 lbs. And *some* of the docs mean 8 lbs 9 oz, and *some* of the docs mean 8 lbs 14 oz (9/10 of 16 oz). The mothers never know which, so when I'm trying to see how much weight gain the baby has had in a week, I have to ask the mother to call her doc and ask for the translation. Ridiculous. With 16 oz in a pound, we should not be talking about tenths of pounds.

Dee Kassing

To: Sent: Sun, August 12, 2012 2:13:13 AMSubject: Re: questions about test weights

Thanks for your reply, Dee! Can you clarify that first part for me, I'm not sure I understand. You said that one doesn't need the Baby Weigh scale unless you are doing pre- and post-feed weights, but then you said that most of us should be doing those kind of weights. So, do you mean, we need a BabyWeigh or something similar like the Tanita I have read mentioned here before?

And, if you use the scale in the pounds and ounces mode, it still gives a measurement to the tenth of an ounce. I know there is the degree of error still, but what is the difference in measuring it in a decimal of ounces vs. grams?

And, if you weigh the baby in grams, do you then just convert the weight to pounds using a calculator? I'm just asking because all of the mothers are familiar with pounds and ounces, and the other weights I have information for, like birth weight, discharge weight, last weight at the doctor's office, are all in pounds and ounces, so to be able to compare those, I need to think of the baby's weight in pounds and ounces.

Thanks so much for helping me figure this out.

Best,

Sonya

Hello, Virginia.

You don't need the expensive BabyWeigh scale unless you are doing pre- and post-feed weights to determine how much baby took from breast during the feeding. And most of us *should* be doing those kinds of weights during most of our consultations. There is research to show that the most experienced RNs (and would apply to IBCLCs as well) just can't tell by looking and listening how much milk the baby got. There are babies who make lots of good "swallow" sounds but scale shows they gained just a few mls. There are quiet babies you think didn't get much and lo and behold they took 2 oz from the first breast. You gotta have a good scale, and those weights need to be in grams because oz are just too big for measuring feedings,especially if baby isn't doing well at breast or there is any concern about how much milk mom is making. If mother just wants to see if her baby is gaining appropriately over the course of a

week, there are cheaper baby scales she can buy for that, or she can drop in at her pediatrician's office once and again a week later, without appt, and just weigh the baby and leave. Most peds around here allow that and don't charge, as long as the mother weighs the baby and goes, doesn't ask dr or staff any questions. If she has questions, she needs to make an appt.

I can't speak to calibrating on home visits because mothers come to my office so I'm not carrying the scale around.

Dee Kassing

To: Sent: Sat, August 11, 2012 9:48:24 PMSubject: questions about test weights

Hello all,

I have a couple of questions about test weights. I just read in the Medela Baby Weigh scale handbook that you should measure test weights in grams. Is this the way others do it, if you are not in a NICU, but just weighing healthy newborns? Is this necessary, or can you just use the ounces measurement?

Also, do you calibrate the scale every time you go on a home visit, or do you just set it up and use it right away?

Thanks for your time,

Sonya Shaver, BS, CHES, IBCLC

[Guest guest]

Perhaps this is an idiotic question, but how would one go about calibrating the scale anyway? I’ve used my Tanita for about a year. I checked the manual and didn’t see anything about calibration. From: [mailto: ] On Behalf Of BurgerSent: Sunday, August 12, 2012 8:39 AMTo: Subject: Re: questions about test weights Hi Sonya:There is no reason why you need to measure test weights in grams rather than ounces. As with many things in Medela's manuals there is no rationale for there to be any difference whatsoever. The two are completely equivalent -- just different units. (I've kind of had it with some of the instructions for the Medela SNS that make it much harder for LCs and moms to attach the babies without a lot of stress).Actually, I've found that the Medela scale holds the weights very well as does the really really old Tanita I inherited. More than 10 years for both and they don't budge and they are close to each other. So no, I don't calibrate very often.Best regards, Burger

[Guest guest]

Medela has instructions for calibrating in their instruction booklet. I recently bought a Tanita and was unhappy to see no instructions for calibration. I called the company and they told me it is not possible to calibrate their scales. When they go out of whack, they must be sent to the company for repair, or replaced. You can still use your 10kg weight you have to buy from Medela when you rent one of their scales, to check the calibration on the Tanita. Call them to find out the acceptable range for the model you have. Mine is 9990 - 10010gms. As long as the weight registers in that range, the scale is considered to be working correctly.

Dee Kassing

To: Sent: Sun, August 12, 2012 9:14:13 PMSubject: RE: Re: questions about test weights

Perhaps this is an idiotic question, but how would one go about calibrating the scale anyway? I’ve used my Tanita for about a year. I checked the manual and didn’t see anything about calibration.

From: [mailto: ] On Behalf Of BurgerSent: Sunday, August 12, 2012 8:39 AMTo: Subject: Re: questions about test weights

Hi Sonya:There is no reason why you need to measure test weights in grams rather than ounces. As with many things in Medela's manuals there is no rationale for there to be any difference whatsoever. The two are completely equivalent -- just different units. (I've kind of had it with some of the instructions for the Medela SNS that make it much harder for LCs and moms to attach the babies without a lot of stress).Actually, I've found that the Medela scale holds the weights very well as does the really really old Tanita I inherited. More than 10 years for both and they don't budge and they are close to each other. So no, I don't calibrate very often.Best regards, Burger

[Guest guest]

For what it is worth, I've had my scale (Baby Weigh) for over 10 years, and it has never registered less than 9995 gm or more than 10000 gm.

Jan

Medela has instructions for calibrating in their instruction booklet. I recently bought a Tanita and was unhappy to see no instructions for calibration. I called the company and they told me it is not possible to calibrate their scales. When they go out of whack, they must be sent to the company for repair, or replaced. You can still use your 10kg weight you have to buy from Medela when you rent one of their scales, to check the calibration on the Tanita. Call them to find out the acceptable range for the model you have. Mine is 9990 - 10010gms. As long as the weight registers in that range, the scale is considered to be working correctly.

Dee Kassing

To: Sent: Sun, August 12, 2012 9:14:13 PMSubject: RE: Re: questions about test weights

Perhaps this is an idiotic question, but how would one go about calibrating the scale anyway? I’ve used my Tanita for about a year. I checked the manual and didn’t see anything about calibration.

From: [mailto: ] On Behalf Of BurgerSent: Sunday, August 12, 2012 8:39 AMTo: Subject: Re: questions about test weights

Hi Sonya:There is no reason why you need to measure test weights in grams rather than ounces. As with many things in Medela's manuals there is no rationale for there to be any difference whatsoever. The two are completely equivalent -- just different units. (I've kind of had it with some of the instructions for the Medela SNS that make it much harder for LCs and moms to attach the babies without a lot of stress).Actually, I've found that the Medela scale holds the weights very well as does the really really old Tanita I inherited. More than 10 years for both and they don't budge and they are close to each other. So no, I don't calibrate very often.Best regards, Burger