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Original poster

Baby’s weight

32 replies

Keeva2017 · 22/08/2020 19:44

Ok I know I am being unreasonable posting here but I’m freaking myself out and figured this was the place for quick honest advice.

I have a 3 year old dd who is a little chunk. Always has been.

9 month old dd was also big when born and settled on to 91st centile. With everything there has been no clinics so other than her jabs which were fine she’s never seen another health professional and hasn’t been weighed since 10 weeks old.

Noticed today that she was looking long and slim so dug out our scales out of curiosity.

Basically (although not as accurate as proper baby scales) she is only 7kg which puts her in the 15th centile!

She is formula fed and started solids at 6 months. She has toast for breakfast, a meal at tea and snacks throughout the day and around lunch. Mix of baby led and spoon fed so when it’s baby led much less food gets in her.

Il call the HV on Monday but I have FREAKED out reading that she’s failure to thrive and may have long lasting effects. Iv swapped her bottle teats today for some faster flowing ones and she’s had more formula so wondering if that’s been the issue.

But she’s crawling, can nearly pull her self to standing, babbles so never had any indication she wasn’t thriving.

So please be honest, have I massively failed my baby and done irreversible harm?

OP posts:
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Danilowe · 10/01/2024 14:08

Awww bless her. How old did you say she is now 4??

thing is my daughter does eat pretty well but she’s just not big at all!

Original poster
Keeva2017 · 10/01/2024 14:05

Yep, she picked up her food after a few weeks and now she doesn’t look overweight and last month HV said she was on the top end of normal but by god, she’s absolutely solid 🤣. I was so frightened when I wrote this post so I understand how you feel but every baby is different.

OP posts:
Danilowe · 10/01/2024 14:01

Oh really? Was your baby the same?

Original poster
Keeva2017 · 10/01/2024 13:58

@Danilowe

Hi - this was my thread! So weird seeing it pop up. Speak to the HV but if it reassures you at all I have a healthy little dumpling for a 4 year old.

OP posts:
SunSparkle · 10/01/2024 13:31

@Danilowe talk to your health visitor but small babies are fine, if they’ve always been petite. Babies have to come in all shapes and sizes.

however, having had a baby that dropped centiles because of reflux, when I weaned on to food I focused on maximizing calories so roasting veg in oil, adding butter and cream to mash potato and scrambled eggs, adding avocado oil into veg puree, high fat additions into every day foods. And it worked. You can really maximise the caloric density of each spoon

SweatpantPotato · 10/01/2024 13:15

My daughter is 15th centile still at age 3, she is fine just smaller than her peers. I make sure she gets fiber, fat, and protein at every meal and dr hasn't worried about her size since she was born. All will be well, some people are just petite!

Danilowe · 10/01/2024 13:06

She was on the 9th centile and has slightly dropped under that?

SunSparkle · 10/01/2024 13:05

@Danilowe babies come in all shapes and sizes. It’s only a concern when they drop down more than two centile lines. Is your daughter dropping centiles?

Danilowe · 10/01/2024 13:00

Hey,

im freaking out!!

my little girl is 10 month old next week and is only weighing 7.1kg.

she’s always been a very small baby and has always been on a low centile but I’m worried she’s not gaining enough weight.

the HV has said to try let her eat on her own more baby led but I don’t get how that would make her gain wait as most of it ends up on the floor….

any advice please!? And to what meals I could give her?

QueenofmyPrinces · 23/08/2020 08:00

Please don’t worry OP.

My first baby was born on the 91st percentile and always remained pretty high up in the charts and always seemed a bit of a chunk. He’s 6 now and he’s so tall and slim that I can’t imagine he’d be high up on the chart anymore.

My second baby was also born on the 91st percentile but by the time he was 6 months old he had dropped to between the 25th - 50th. A few months later he was under the 25th and ever since then he has remained between the 15th-20th percentile. He’s just turned 3 and he’s still in that percentile.....some infants are just naturally going to be more petite than others.

I would talk it through with your HV but honestly, please don’t worry too much.

Nquartz · 23/08/2020 07:54

Posted too soon!

Please don't try to fatten her up, you say she looks skinny but in general I think we've lost sight of what skinny/fat/chubby looks like.

DD was always on low percentiles & is now, she's just tall & slim like her dad.

Tini17 · 23/08/2020 07:54

It’s the drop in centiles that may be a concern - given she was big when born, is that what you’re getting at?
You say you changed teats, which ones was she on before you switched? Was she taking milk in or leaving it?
How much milk a day does she take? Is that about in line with what she should given she is weaning?

Try weighing yourself with her in your arms and then you on your own and subtract. You will get a better measure than a wriggly baby not staying still x

Nquartz · 23/08/2020 07:52

She might just be more petite, please don't try t

Original poster
Keeva2017 · 23/08/2020 07:20

Thank you guys. Iv been so chilled about second dd but this just frazzled me. Thank you.

OP posts:
DoubleFunMum · 22/08/2020 23:27

The most accurate way to get her weight on bathroom scales is to weigh yourself first. Then pick her up and weigh both of you together. Minus the first weight from the 2nd to get her weight. I learned that when weighing my cat! But I agree with others, don't panic.

DrManhattan · 22/08/2020 22:59

Aww I had a skinny baby who is now a very tall girl of 14!
The charts differ for boys and girls. Check with your health visitor and try not to worry.

Thisisnotataste · 22/08/2020 22:55

Ive tried weighing my DD on our scales and honestly the variation is huge. I just dont think i can trust it at all. Don't freak yourself out. If shes developing in normal range you know shes ok

Charlottejade89 · 22/08/2020 22:39

My dd has just turned 2 and she's only 22lbs now. Shes just naturally small. But she was born 7lbs 15oz and on 75th centile and then dropped on 25th by 1 year. Hv wasn't concerned tho as she hasnt lost weight, just gained less quickly. Shes probably just finding her natural curve now so I wouldnt panic too much

Original poster
Keeva2017 · 22/08/2020 20:10

@Gancanny thank you for checking!

I think Iv just been a bit lax with changing her teats and giving her more food around lunch. With my first boy I knew when she was hungry so just thought baby would leaded really but all children are different and I need to be more proactive.

OP posts:
Gancanny · 22/08/2020 20:03

Just looked it up and at nine months old my oldest DD was 15lbs, no one said anything to me at that time about her being overly small or skinny.

Obviously speqk to your HV if you're worried but eating, drinking, active, and alert are all signs that she is growing well.

Original poster
Keeva2017 · 22/08/2020 19:59

@weepingwillow22 dodgey scales were between 16 and 17 lb I think but the twatty things wouldn’t pick a weight so took 7kg as the average so think Iv got muddled but the 7kg was definitely the average.

Thank you though.

OP posts:
weepingwillow22 · 22/08/2020 19:56

I think it is normal for babies to loose weight when they get more mobile. If you are worried though focus on getting her to have more nutrient dense food e.g avocado and adding milk to solids.

17lb is 7.7kg not 7kg, not sure if this makes a difference to the percentile.

Original poster
Keeva2017 · 22/08/2020 19:53

Thanks for responses. She was nearly 10 lb when born even though lost weight in pregnancy so she was a chunk! But she’s always been so long and never looked as much as she actually weighed.

If someone else came to me with this I’d say if she’s happy and reaching milestones there is no worry but when it’s your own it’s so scary.

OP posts:
IKEA888 · 22/08/2020 19:52

don't panic
My untrained thought is she s different from the sibling that's all.
meantime add olive oil to anything!
avocados and fry anything !

SideEyeing · 22/08/2020 19:51

I've noticed my nearly 9mo has slimmed down a fair bit since she started crawling. She was a chunk for the first few months, culminating in a stint of looking like a dough ball with eyes around month 6.

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