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High birth weight baby slow weight gain, worried :(

10 replies

Stripylikeatiger · 15/12/2014 14:54

Ds2 is 6 weeks old, he was 4.83kg at birth so quite big, I had his 6 week check up today and he's 5.2 kg so he's dropped right down the curves.

Dc1 was a big baby but he stayed big, he was over 6kg at 6 weeks.

My toddler still breastfeeds a couple of times a day but I thought my body would just adjust to me feeding both of them.

My baby is very alert and doing all the things a 6 week old should, smiling/vocalizing/starting to hold his head up.

Any advice? I'm so worried there is something wrong :(

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tiktok · 15/12/2014 15:01

Assume no one expressed concern at the check up? This pattern is very common in high birthweight babies. Look up catch- down growth and read more. It could be you 'grow' big babies, but only some of them are destined to be larger once born :)

If you have a good GP or HV, they can explain more about all this, and if this is all it is, then there is nothing to worry about.

There is no reason to think your bf toddler has anything to do with it, btw. The maternal body copes with feeding two just fine.

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squizita · 15/12/2014 15:02

Some babies are born bigger than they are destined to be- my hv said! Mine grows slowly but has been confirmed healthy by my GP. Perhaps a check up with a GP and/or a BF support worker would help put your mind at ease?

If the baby seems developmentally normal and happy, then it's quite likely they're not ill. But I know the worry!!

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PenguinsandtheTantrumofDoom · 15/12/2014 15:10

I have no idea where that is on the lines, but in principle a drop to 'catch down' isn't necessarily an issue. One of mine was big and stayed that way, two were (not quite so) big and dropped. In one case to 25th and in one to 50th. The tiny 25th centile one is still tiny at 3.5. Birth weight doesn't mean much about eventual size .

Has he been weighed between birth and now, what was his weight doing then? Did anyone express concern at the appointment?

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Stripylikeatiger · 15/12/2014 16:22

Thanks for suggesting catch down weight, I really hope it's that. He was born above the top curve and he's dropped to around the 65th centile. He has never lost weight (apart from a little bit just after birth) but he just seems to be gaining really slowly.

I have to go back next week to have him weighed again, and then the week after, my HV suggested drinking weak beer so I'm drinking a lager.

I assumed siblings would follow the same weight gain pattern it's good to hear of other siblings not following the same pattern.

He just doesn't seem overly interested in feeding, I offer him feeds whenever he's awake but he often doesn't want them, he does feed but not all the time (like my very chubby first baby)

Dc1 did drop down the centile graph but only when he started on solids, he was on the 50th centile at 1 but

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Littlef00t · 15/12/2014 16:28

Eh why are you drinking beer?! Never heard that advice before! Dd was 4.2 kg when born and took over a month to regain her birth weight, but once she did she kept to her percentile quite happily. Don't worry.

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tiktok · 15/12/2014 17:00

Drinking beer? To help a baby gain weight? Ridiculous. Really - that is stupid advice. Nothing wrong with a drink of beer but it will have zero impact on the baby's growth.

There is not really any such thing as the sixty fifth centile. By that I mean it is not drawn on the chart. Any sixty fifth centile is a guess.

Is there any chance you can speak to another hcp who has a clue?? No one on a talk board can say all is hunky dory, but there is nothing in what you have said here to indicate a problem, except with the quality of your professional help :(

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squizita · 15/12/2014 17:56

Lol if only beer and crisps WERE a health food!

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PenguinsandtheTantrumofDoom · 15/12/2014 18:08

Maybe the beer is to help OP relax. I certainly find the odd drink beneficial to my parenting.

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RandomMess · 15/12/2014 18:12

I had 3 large birth weight babies, they were all on completely different centiles at a year old weight wise!

The youngest went from 98th to 25th weight wise in that first year, never had the rolls of fat on her legs etc. She is still incredibly slim build obviously just her genetics.

One stayed on the 98th for weight, the other dropped to around 75th - and she was the heaviest by far at 10lb 6oz and height wise was still 98th.

I think it is the mother's ability to grow and deliver big babies that produces them and then their make up that takes over post birth.

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Stripylikeatiger · 15/12/2014 18:32

I don't live in the uk so beer must be a local old wives tale, they have all sorts of odd advice here!

I know no one can say he is or isn't ok but it's good to hear about other people's babies who didn't follow their birth centile as I hadn't experienced it before.

My dp and dc1 had a bad tummy bug last week and I assumed the baby hadn't got it but actually he was sick a few times and had a couple of days with lots of dirty nappies but I assumed it was normal baby stuff but maybe his tummy was upset and that made a difference to his weight.