Tiny baby - any experiences?

[Tomorrowtomorrowtomorrow]

DS is almost 6 months old. Born on the 2nd centile at full term, he was getting up to the 9th centile until 8 weeks and he’s now been below the 1st ever since. He’s still in 0-3 months/newborn clothes, he’s tiny!!

My issue is no one seems to think there is a problem. We see the health visitor every few weeks for weighing and she’s not bothered as he’s hitting his milestones developmentally. GP not interested.

He also has awful eczema, hates bottles, he has nappies full of mucus 3 times per day. He is on hydrolysed milk for CMPA but we saw a private paediatrician to get this diagnosed. He was the first person who has expressed concern at his weight.

Does anyone have experience of this? I’m concerned there is something wrong that’s not being diagnosed. I’m also worried DS will never catch up! I know babies born premature at the same time as his who now weight about 6lb more than him!

Definitely go back to the pediatrician. Sounds like it might be worth a gastroenterologist pediatrician. The mucus does not sound normal at all. I know it sucks fo pay private but go again, and then get them to refer you into the NHS as a lot of the doctors work both private and NHS.

sorry no one is listening to your concerns, I would also be very worried and frustrated no one was listening to me. Trust your instincts, something is not right and your baby needs help from a professional who knows what to look for

I have no advice but second @Hocuspocustoasty advice.
Pay privately if you have to.
Trust your gut.
Your baby is not thriving as you would expect.

That doesn’t sound great. Where should he be in centiles when considering his genetics? Are you petite?

Children aren’t all the same height! Take 100 children of any age. There will always be the smallest (tracking at 1 centile), and there will be the biggest (tracking on 100th centile). And 98 kids spread out between them.

As long as they are growing around the same centile then all is well. If your DC went up to 50th centile then medical professionals would be concerned!

Both of mine were born on a low centile, and remain on the small side at 6 & 8 years old.

I’m above average height and slim build and so is DH so I wouldn’t be expecting a very short baby. His height is actually around the 5th centile, it’s his weight that is lower. He has skinny arms and legs and a skinny tummy.

Apparently the NHS waiting lists would be about 18 months long according to the HV, and I’m not sure who to ask for when going privately. He’s more settled when feeding on the hydrolysed milk but he hasn’t gained weight and his nappies are worse so I’m unsure if it’s working.

It’s not right that you should have to consider paying privately again, but if it’s possible financially, I’d do it OP. He could have other allergies that are contributing to his slow growth, eczema and mucusy poos . It’s really good that he’s reaching all his milestones but he and you need further tests to try get some answers. Have you started weaning at all? Is he fully formula fed? I was just thinking possible coeliac? Don’t listen to what others think. Follow your instinct and see a specialist. Could be a paediatric gastroenterologist but if you aren’t sure maybe a general paediatrician. It’s awful when you aren’t listened to and no one’s taking it seriously. Good luck I hope you get some answers/nave your mind put at rest very soon OP

My child was born prem and fell below 1st centile (corrected) for a while. When starting weaning he eventually caught up and after 2 years is now around 50th. Difference is that we never had the strange nappies, etc., so no other allergies at play.

Go back to paediatrician and keep on mentioning that the change has not had the desired effect yet (as tummy still poorly) and what else could be suggested. At 6 months, could you start trying some purees, etc? See how that goes?

Which formula is it specifically? They aren’t all the same so you could try a different one.

OP, my oldest was born at 38wks (so pretty much full term) and 5lb (so teensy). DH and I are both around 6ft. She stayed small until about 8 years old, when she was more average height. She's shorter than you'd expect (given her genes) now, at 14, shes prety much average height with a lean/slim-but-strong frame. So, yes, she absolutely did catch up.

BUT no wierd nappies you describe, and was consistently small - not moving up centiles then dropping back at 8wks. I would go back to paediatrician if you can afford it. Otherwise, maybe try changing formula, thinking of gluten, etc.

Don’t worry about the future, try to sort out what is going wrong now, trust your instincts. My ds was not thriving at 3 months and below the 2nd centile. By 12 months he was up to the 50th and now he is on the 99th, so they can catch up.

My grandson was like this and it turned out he was allergic to milk ( not just lactose intolerant) switched to dairy free formula and the difference was amazing. He's 5 now and can take a little mild like in a cake or biscuit but still coughs up mucus if he has too much and needs an inhaler. Dairy is the top culprit for eczema.

DS was born 38 weeks and was 4lb 14oz - he was teeny for a year then shot up. He's now one of the tallest in his year at school so don't worry about that!

I see your using CMPA milk, you could try a different brand. Also you're little one is old enough to start being weaned. Try some avocado to fatten him up a bit ☺️

Is the milk you have partially hydrolysed or fully hydrolysed? I would try your GP again and ask for a prescription for fully hydrolysed milk.

Hey! I echo others re going back privately and maybe trying to see an allergy consultant or gastro?

Is your new formula soya free too? Some kids are allergic to both dairy and soya.

My daughter had undiagnosed allergies (passing through breastmilk). Not obvious ones.
i thought she was just a v small baby - she was dropping gradually down the percentiles. Lots of diarrhoea and terrible terrible (limited) sleep. I often got comments about her being prem due to her size at 6/9 months - but she wasn’t premature.

got it all sorted around 12 months. She was up to 50% percentile by about age 3.
so they can totally catch up.

You’re right in trusting your gut. I was totally fobbed off, when I first tried to talk to someone about the sleep and diarrhoea. Even when we were weaning and she was breaking out in hives I was told not to worry too much.

i found an allergy helpline helpful - I think there’s a national charity.

Good luck OP - sounds really tough and your baby is lucky to have you!

Weaning may help; some babies benefit from weaning sooner than the average guides.

With CMPA, soya allergies and intolerance can be common, so watch out for other allergies and intolerances. Build up the weaning foods gradually one food at a time.

DS had CMPA. He was EBFed until 23 weeks when he started grabbing for foods. Early into weaning I gave him "baby porridge" and his face inflated in minutes. It took a while to pin it down to cows milk being the trigger. It took 6m from that reaction to diagnosis on the NHS 13 years ago. We also saw a dietician for a couple of years. DS was given high strength probiotics to help reset his digestive system in the end- he was a toddler by then.

His rate of growth slowed up for a while while he was affected by the allergies (he grew out of them at 3-4y)
He's a teenager now. Small side of average, but genetically that's not surprising. While DH is 6', he was a late developer. DS has always had a hearty appetite for (solid) food.

One of my daughters was consistently on the 2nd centile for weight but 50th for height. She was very slim.
She is 20 now. 5 ft 6 and weighs 7 stone. It’s just her build I think. She is a fabulous dancer, just the right build!

i hope you’ve gone to a pediatric gastroenterologist as could have more allergies or reflux which has been undiagnosed so far. A metabolic disorder could be possible but I think allergy or reflux sounds more likely. Thinking of you and your little one

So I thought we had made a breakthrough last week as in desperation I bought some Hipp Organic. I made the normal 5oz bottle and DS literally drank the entire thing in about one gulp, I then made 3 more oz and he drank those too! We saw no adverse effects so were optimistic but then Monday he started with a fever and has had an ear infection all week so barely eaten anything. The HV visitor weighed him Friday and he’s still below the 1st centile. I’m hoping he will turn a corner when he gets his appetite back and we can start weaning.

What a shame that DSs virus has knocked his appetite off while you were mid experiment. It does sound very promising though OP that the Hipp might be fine for him. Fingers crossed that once he’s on the mend, you see some weight gain and no side effects 🤞🏽

Just to echo doesn’t sound right. Don’t leave things as they are

Try going to GP with a request to try extensively hydrolysed milk. My little girl started putting on weight once we got on the right milk

Hi @Tomorrowtomorrowtomorrow are you still here? Did you make any progress with your little one? Hoping things improved for you all

@HallidayJones6779 i am still here! We gave up on the milk for CMPA and stuck with Hipp organic and he tolerates it really well, I believe it was the Kendamil making his tummy so upset. Now he’s approaching 1 and has three meals per day and tolerates dairy fine.

BUT he is still tiny!! He’s still around the 2nd centile, just turned 10 months and weights 16lb 9oz. I still worry about him every day, but no one else seems to be concerned.

Thank you for the update. I’m glad you found a milk that works and things seem to have settled down even if he is still small. I find the thing most difficult with children is the waiting and seeing if in time, things just sort themselves out.