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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

to not take my DS to baby clinic?

72 replies

Gingerandcocoa · 10/12/2014 10:20

to get weighed?

He's nearly 6 months old, on 91st percentile for weight, a tall healthy baby boy. He's not been weighed for 4 weeks now, and I'm reluctant to take him to baby clinic to get weighed because it's so cold outside and in the clinic. I'd have to undress him to get weighed and he's just getting over a cold. If we don't go today I can only take him in 5 weeks as we're going away next week.

How important is it to keep weighing them in the baby clinic every month? how often would you take your 6mo child to get weighed?

OP posts:

HelenaJustina · 10/12/2014 14:09

quiet I could have written your post! The number of times each child had been weighed is roughly half the number of the child before. So DC4 was weighed at birth, at day 5 check and day 10 midwife sign off. She is now 18 months...

crazykat · 10/12/2014 14:23

In our area they only get weighed at the 6 week check, 8 month review and 2 year review. Drop in clinics to get DCs weighed have stopped.

As long as he seems in proportion and you're not worried then I'd stop taking him tbh. I took dd1 and ds1 every four weeks before the drop in clinics were stopped. Dd2 and ds2 only got weighed at their reviews and they're fine. It made me feel daft for dragging the other to be weighed all the time.

Pengyquin · 10/12/2014 14:26

Same as everyone else really.

No 1 child got taken religiously.

No 2 child? Hmm. I think he's been weighed twice. He's fine! I don't even know where his red book is tbh

PenguinsandtheTantrumofDoom · 10/12/2014 14:26

DS is 7 months, he was weighed at 4 and 6 months because I happened to go to a baby group that did weighing.

I have no plans to weigh him again until whatever check it is (is it 12 months) and then not again until he can stand on the bathroom scales!

CocobearSqueeze · 10/12/2014 14:33

This reply has been withdrawn

This has been withdrawn by MNHQ at the poster's request.

museumum · 10/12/2014 14:39

i had mine weighed at 6mo as i wanted to know what line he was on before weaning. he was quite small so it helped me to know that he was 'stable' on a line when everybody kept going on about how small he was (he's totally healthy, i was a small child too and am only 5'2).

i then got him weighed again about 8mo just to check that some food was going in (he mostly ate finger foods).

and then I think at about 13mo.

and i will have a 2yr check too.

hoppus · 10/12/2014 14:41

Same as most above mine was last weighed at about 5 months, she was also weighed at her 12 month review. I don't think visiting clinic is neccessary unless you think there is a problem

Trinpy · 10/12/2014 14:44

In the red book it says you don't need to weigh them more than every 2 months (from 6 mo) unless there are concerns.

CrohnicallyAnxious · 10/12/2014 16:18

Those of you who never weigh your child, how do you know if they need the next stage car seat? I was religious about weighing every month up to about 6 months, but after that she was only weighed to make sure she was in the right car seat.

SaucyJack · 10/12/2014 16:24

Interesting point chronically

Our seat is a group 0+ and does the average child up until about 15 months. She's a small-ish 9 month old so it's not a concern yet.

I will bear that in mind tho- cheers ears.

Pengyquin · 10/12/2014 16:30

crohnically He will stay in his stage 0+ one as long as his head is covered. You shouldn't move them up anyway til min 9 months because in the event of a crash, their neck would snap So he will stay in the maxi cosi as long as possible. After that, they're a child and wouldn't go to baby clinic anyway?

So I don't really see your point?

Number3cometome · 10/12/2014 16:33

I was back at work at 3 months old with DS and DD.

Neither got weighed past that point and I booked all injections directly with the nurse.

As long as you attend the milestone check ups and have no concerns, I would not be worried.

CrohnicallyAnxious · 10/12/2014 16:59

pengy I know you don't move them till min 9 months, DD was more like a year, but she was in cloth nappies and although her head was under the top of the seat it was tough to do the straps up those last few weeks. Even so, I checked she was heavy enough for her new seat to make sure. It was surprising really, she wasn't a small baby (hovered between 75th and 91st centiles) but iirc she wasn't heavy enough at 9 months.

Frusso · 10/12/2014 17:04

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

ElphabaTheGreen · 10/12/2014 17:09

I didn't even know baby weighing clinics were A Thing until Mumsnet. I've never taken either of mine because I don't quite see the point in them other than to make first-time mothers anxious or, as a PP said, as a way of monitoring babies who have known problems.

CrohnicallyAnxious · 10/12/2014 17:09

Oh- and our 'baby clinic' deals with under 5s, I thought all childrens centres did, so I was referring to the next change (between stage 1 and 2) too.

MinnieOnceUponAChristmas · 10/12/2014 17:10

At this stage if you want to weigh them for your own peace of mind just weigh yourself on your own scales, hop off and pop back up holding baby. Deduct your own weight and you have baby's weight. As long as they are gaining appropriately there is no need to go back to clinic.

fatterface · 10/12/2014 17:14

I only changed car seats when they outgrew the previous one, didn't need to know weight.

CrohnicallyAnxious · 10/12/2014 17:16

But surely you need to know their weight to know if they've 'outgrown it'? DD's seat is convertible stage 1-2-3, the ONLY way I can know when to take the harness off is by weight, since the seat will fit her height wise till she no longer needs a seat

CrohnicallyAnxious · 10/12/2014 17:18

Anyway I'll probably weigh her at home when I'm looking at converting her seat but I know a good few people who don't own scales at home

skylark2 · 10/12/2014 17:20

If he is so healthy, why are you worried about the outside temperature?

I'm in two minds. On one hand, it doesn't matter if he doesn't get weighed every two minutes. On the other hand, I didn't take my son between about 10 months and 13 months. He appeared to be fine and happy and healthy - and when I did take him, he'd actually lost weight and they were really rather worried for a while. I was horrified.

fatterface · 10/12/2014 17:22

You don't have to take the harness off til about 18kg though, I'm not sure my 7 year old weighs that much Anyway by the time they are 3ish you can weigh them standing on scales at home with no problems.

fatterface · 10/12/2014 17:23

skylark - I would never have a chance to get a 9+ month old baby weighed at a clinic anyway as I'd be at work, so I can only judge on whether they seem healthy.

CrohnicallyAnxious · 10/12/2014 17:27

Really fatterface? I thought they'd be much younger than that! I guess the age ranges on seats are even more rubbish than I thought, the stage 1 seats say up to age 4 so I thought the 'average' child would hit 18kg around then! I know my niece went into the next stage car seat around 3-4.

CrohnicallyAnxious · 10/12/2014 17:28

I guess the danger would be me taking the harness off too early then, they have to be at least 15 kg before it's safe to take it off.

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