centile chart anxiety!!

[cornflake]

Anyone had a similar experience? My baby is 8 months and was a small birth weight. The last few months his weight has levelled off and he only gained 1oz in 5 weeks. He did have a bad virus with sickness and the runs one week but generally eats well. Anyway the HV and Dr seem to want to 'keep an eye on it' and I left the clinic feeling like a rubbish mum and that I'm not feeding him right. His development is fine and he's so busy and active I wasn't worried about his weight. Me and his dad were skinny kids. I don't want to see any more centile charts or scales now, cos I'm fed up of being told to get more food down him. God breakfast, mid morning, dinner, mid pm, tea, supper and two breast feeds I don't know how I can shove any more in!!Anyone else's baby levelling on the almighty centiles? Any one else feel rubbish because of them or perhaps I'm just oversensitive?!!

[RTMTMML]

DT1 decided that anything above the 2nd Centile was clearly too much for her. She's growing nicely, though slowly. She's 14months and wearing 6-9month clothes whereas DT2 is wearing 18month clothes. Try not to worry too much. If you can see that your DS is growing well then good. I stopped going to the clinic because I was happy. Maybe if you miss one week and then go back you may see more of a difference. DT1 was ill a little while ago and managed to lose weight that she couldn't afford to lose. If they want to keep an eye on it then all is well. They're not sitting on your shoulder, just letting you know that should it get worse they can take action. I doubt that it will though. Some babies, as you say, as simply smaller than others. I bet you look back and laugh in about 12months time when your DS has become a bit of a whopper. I know that my friend did.

(Incidentally, I'm not telling you to stay away from the clinic, it's just that sometimes it puts unnecessary worries in our minds.)

[RTMTMML]

btw DT1 was 4lb 5 and DT2 was 5lb 14

[stitch]

by the time i had third child, i never took her to the doctor hv unless serious problem.
centile charts are just guidelines. and they are more accurate for bottlefed babies, than bf.
baby needs to be active and alert. have good skin colour and muscle tone. interact with environment. etc.
centile charts are guidelines the medical profession uses to ensure our health. if, god forbid anything is wrong with your baby, they will be able to pick it up, if they keep an eye on this. and if, as i suspect, and they probly do to, that everything is perfectly normal, then it will be just extra care he is getting.
hope that makes sense.

[Homsa]

Don't feel like a rubbish mum, this is so common! I had a similar experience with my DS - between the age of 4 and 9 months, he dropped from the 75th to almost the 9th centile, which sent us into fits of worry. I remember being asked by our GP what kind of food my DS was eating, and when I listed them (pears, sweet potatoes, chicken, carrots,... the usual stuff) she rolled her eyes and said no,no,no, this healthy stuff is not what babies need, you want to give him things like honey and bread and yoghurt! My DS was less than 6 months old at the time, and she's telling me to give him honey!
Well, I did try to give him more fat in his food by adding butter to cream to many of his meals, not sure if that made any difference, but now, at 21 months, he's back on the 75th centile!
I think this kind of episode is not uncommon with breastfed babies, I've heard this from several people now, so don't let the health professionals make you feel bad!

[Gobbledigook]

Try not to worry - your ds will only eat what he wants and no baby starves themselves!

My ds1 started on over 50th centile as he was 8lb 4oz but steadily dropped down to the 9th and that's where he has remained (as far as I know since I haven't had him weighed since he was about 12 months and he's 4 now!!). He's a strong and energetic little boy but shorter than most of his peers and more slightly built, but then I was a skinny rake and the shortest child in my class all through primary school but am now 5' 6". Both my brothers were skinny ones too and not tall but now are both 6'.

DS1 is just 4 but many of his t-shirts are 2-3 or age 3 as are his jeans and even those need a belt on for his skinny waist! Nobody comments on his weight or height though as he looks perfectly healthy and in proportion!

Take my advice and ignore the bloody charts, I do! You know if your child is not well - if he is developing normally and growing then what's to worry about?

[littlerach]

Yep, had all this from HV, DD2 started on 50th centile and has steadily dropped to about the 9th. And she was bottlefed, so we knew how much she was getting. She is just destined to be small.
I stopped goiing to the clinic unless I was interested, as HV kept telling me to give her high fat foods, stuff I'd never give a baby.
But she is fine, crawling, and shouting and all the usual. People often think she is about 5 months, she is 8 months, and will be the envy of all her friends when she is 18 and can eat what she likes!

[tallulah]

cornflake- my ds1 was always very small & had a period at about 8-9 months when he lost a lot of weight & didn't seem 'right' somehow- we never got to the bottom of it.

We were sent to a paediatrician who screamed at me & lectured me when I said we were vegetarian; followed by a dietician who told me that our normal daily/weekly diet was fine.

Said child was always under/on the 3rd centile & very thin up until he was 16. In the last year he has suddenly grown to 5ft 8 & his feet are bigger than his father's

(Just one word of caution- ds1 is dyspraxic & wasn't diagnosed until he was 5. Also has to wear very thick glasses- longsightedness dx at 3. Not saying there is anything wrong with yours but with there being a similar pattern don't be too upset with the HV keeping an eye.. I wish ours had been more on the ball.)

[morningpaper]

Same happened to me. I think that breastfed babies CAN vary a lot in their growth rates. It sounds like he is doing fine - as long as he looks happy and healthy I wouldn't worry too much.

[hana]

i wouldn't worry about it, someone has to be small
dd2 who is 3 months is only at 0.4 on the centile charts. We've seen a paed about it and I have been giving her one bottle of formula for the past 3 weeks ( after I've fed her myself from both sides) but it hasn't made any difference. She gains on average about 3 oz a week.
i'm not going back to the hv's clinic!