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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Tiny 6 month old

26 replies

Thetigerwhocameto · 11/12/2018 00:25

DD was 6 weeks prem but has just hit 6 months adjusted (so 7 and a half months actual). She is weighing in at 13lb. When she was born she was 5lb, meaning she was just below the 50th centipede on the preterm chart. She is now plotting below the 2nd centile. The health visitor doesn’t seem concerned as since she has been on the term chart she has always been around the 9th centile so apparently it’s fine for them to waver a bit.

My main concern is when dd was discharged they mentioned her thyroid level was a little low, would it be unreasonable to ask the gp just to run some bloods for peace of mind, to me it just seems weird she was born on the 50th centile and hasn’t got back up to it yet... she’s a little dot full of energy and may well be petite (I’m not sure where she would get that from as we certainly aren’t) but it would be really nice just to rule the nagging doubt out of my mind!

OP posts:
Redskyandrainbows67 · 11/12/2018 00:35

6 months is a common age for weight to dip because of weaning. Have you started yet and are you feeding her enough high protein and high iron foods like cheese and yogurt and potato and veg?

Original poster
Thetigerwhocameto · 11/12/2018 00:39

We have been weaning but she’s not overly interested and due to the weight issue we also haven’t dropped any feeds. She eats her food and then about half an hour later screams for milk so gets it. The health visitor again said just to keep trying and the food front and to continue as we are with the feeds until she starts refusing them

OP posts:
moita · 11/12/2018 05:53

She's bigger than my 6 month old DD who was born at full-term.Blush

I personally would ask about the thyroid just for peace of mind. She's got plenty of time to catch up though.

Phillipa12 · 11/12/2018 06:12

If it puts your mind at rest then ask. My dc4 never regained his birth centile line, he dropped steadily till he plateaued at 7 months and thats where he stayed. Hes a fit and healthy 3 year old plotting the 25th line and people are shocked when i tell them what he weighed. (11.6lbs and off the charts when delivered at 38 weeks)

AndItStillSaidFourOfTwo · 11/12/2018 06:27

'She's bigger than my 6 month old DD who was born at full-term'

Same here (though mine is now 3 - and still tiny - a head and a half smaller than her nursery peers). Dropping centiles really isn't all that uncommon - centiles just indicate averages (and the distance therefrom) and aren't any kind of exact science. I think seeing as you are aware of the thyroid result, it wouldn't hurt to get that checked out, especially because the rest of you aren't small (we're all small to varying degrees in our family - it is so obviously genetic in dd's case, and she is so obviously completely healthy otherwise, that we've never seen the need to ger it checked out).

MrsPandaBear · 11/12/2018 06:27

Is she in proportion or visibly thin? What sort of height are you and your OH - are you short so you'd expect a child to be small?

Like a pp I had 2 big babies who dropped quite a few centiles, although between 6 and 12 months in my case. I was told what they are born at is do to with how my body fed them in utero - what they settle at is what their genes have programmed them for.

Deadbudgie · 11/12/2018 06:39

If in doubt go to the GP they’ll always see a baby. Are either mum or dad of a smaller build. My son was born on 90th percentile and still there at 6 years old (in age 8-9 clothing to cover his height) My niece however has always been v tiny (full term) and always wears clothes about 2sizes smaller than her age - she takes after her mum.

NationalShiteDay · 11/12/2018 06:58

My 6mo has also dropped centiles, from 98th to 50th. He's not that bothered by food either so is still almost 100% on milk.

HV isn't remotely bothered by this. He's in proportion, very alert, active, so am trying not to stress.

I've also found weighing him less helps!

hannah1992 · 11/12/2018 07:05

My dd2 who's now 3 was born overdue and weighed 8lb3. She didn't grow very fast at all. She wasn't really interested in food until she was about 10 months old. She would have the odd finger food but didn't have 3 meals until 10 months.

When she got to about 2 she seemed to shoot up

Now she quite tall for her age but very slim

Do get him checked for piece of mind though. The gp will be able to give you good advice

NerrSnerr · 11/12/2018 07:08

My youngest dropped from just under the 50th to just under the bottom centile line by the time he was 6 months (full term). Go to the GP if you're worried but I think it's fairly normal. He's nearly 2 now and still tiny but he's fine, just a little dot.

loveskaka · 11/12/2018 07:16

Yanbu. Mum knows best. My ds was born 6weeks4days early. (Weighing 5.1) Took him out the intensive care after a few days. We where in the room in suite and he was breathing hard and snorting, I knew something wasn't right but the nurses kept telling me he was just a snotty baby! After 12 hours of me going on and eventually crying and begging them to have a closer look, they found his oxygen was very low.... was on put back on oxygen and needing it for 3 weeks after that! God forbid if we had just took him home!.... go with ur gut and be stern u want to re test her bloods. X

Original poster
Thetigerwhocameto · 11/12/2018 07:33

There's some very small 6 month olds here. I guess we must just live around very large ones 😂

I'm 5ft 11 and well built and DH is 6 ft and well built, I guess that's why we are slightly taken aback.

We are at the gp on Friday about something unrelated so I guess I will just ask and see what he says. We've been fobbed off (admittedly not by this gp, he is lovely) about a couple of things, one that lead to a prolonged hospital stay so I just want to make sure we have done everything we can for dd. She's been through quite a bit for her young age!

OP posts:
anniehm · 11/12/2018 07:39

My full term DD's were both 5th percentile - dd2 is still small (age 17) but dd1 is my height. If you are worried make an appointment to see your hv/gp but the whole thing about percentiles is they are a spread, someone has to be small!

everythingthelighttouches · 11/12/2018 08:02

Hi tiger I've been there so completely understand. You've been through a lot and it is quite reasonable to ask questions. Any decent gp or hv will happily explain and answer those questions.

Just got my red book out for you. 5lbs is about 2. 3kg. At 34 weeks, that is around 75th centile for a girl of that gestation, on the preterm chart. . Great weight! I'm sure that helped her get out of NICU early.

Now, the confusion comes in when you consider her ACTUAL age versus her ADJUSTED age. On the normal charts, 2.3kg is less than the 2nd centile for a newborn. 13lb is 5.9kg. On the normal charts this is between the 2nd and 9th centile for a 6 month old. If you adjust back 6 weeks and look at the chart, she is just beneath the 25th centile for 20 weeks. So she's lost a bit, but not massively.

My advice is ask the hv to talk you through the charts. Also, they have a traumatic time in NICU and can lose a lot. Find out what centile she was on when you left hospital.

Good luck , chin up and never worry about asking questions. X

Original poster
Thetigerwhocameto · 11/12/2018 08:10

Thanks @everythingthelighttouches I’d already adjusted back as she is 7.5months old, I know weight is one of the things they will keep adjusting for a while so do it automatically. So from your calculations has gone from the 75th centile down to now (adjusted age) between 2nd and 9th centile.

Which is surely slightly more worrying? I’ll mention it either way, I know each kid is individual it just seems a lot to drop! And yes being a 5lb chunk meant we were out of hospital within 2 weeks 😊

OP posts:
everythingthelighttouches · 11/12/2018 08:37

No. She was 75th for a 34 weeks gestation (think of that as ADJUSTED) and now just below 25th adjusted.

But she was only 2nd for a newborn. Now at between 2nd and 9th ACTUAL.

Going by ACTUAL she has dropped quite a bit, but as i said, better to compare against the ACTUAL centile she was on when she left hospital. Maybe she was already down to 50th or 25th when she left hospital, due to all the trauma/extra work she had to do to survive.

Hope this makes sense. X

everythingthelighttouches · 11/12/2018 08:43

Bugger.
Meant to say going by ADJUSTED she has dropped quite a bit, but compare to the ADJUSTED centile she was on when she left hospital.

Original poster
Thetigerwhocameto · 11/12/2018 08:56

@everythingthelighttouches On the normal charts this is between the 2nd and 9th centile for a 6 month old.

So as her adjusted age is 6 months and her actual age is 7.5months... she is between the 2nd and 9th for her adjusted age, that’s where it is plotted in her book anyway (I’ve just checked it)

Her actual age is plotted at between the 0.4 and 2nd

OP posts:
everythingthelighttouches · 11/12/2018 09:39

Ah, i see. Sorry i hadn't realised that 6 months was her adjusted age tiger So the hv might not be worried if they're only looking at actual and sating "well tigercub was 2nd at newborn and 0.4-2nd now, no big deal". But looking at her adjusted weights, yes, i agree that's a big drop. I would definitely be querying it. Also, they really should be looking at adjusted, as it's so much more sensitive at this rapid growth phase. As you've just demonstrated.
Do you have a red book and can you see what the curve is like since discharge. Is it steeper than the centile lines, similar or shallower???

Mrscog · 11/12/2018 09:43

Surely a low thyroid would make her more likely to be bigger?

Still, checking in with GP can’t do any harm.

OneStepMoreFun · 11/12/2018 09:57

DS2 was off the centiles at 6 months. The health visitor put a dot underneath the chart in the margin (I cried about that for months!) So tiny he looked newborn. There were several underlying issues, (he was four weeks prem) so I agree, you should follow up on anything that concerns you.
He's now late teens and still small for his age but really healthy and full of life. Some people just are in the smallest centiles.

Queenofthestress · 11/12/2018 10:06

My kids were both only just bigger than yours at full term, DS is lanky but DD is a dinky dot still so dont worry about it

stealthbanana · 11/12/2018 10:07

Like other posters I had a bigger baby (8lb1 born at 37+6) - was on the 50th + centile for weight. By 4 months he had dropped to the 9th centile and he’s hovered between 9th and 25th centiles ever since. Dh and I are both tall and skinny and the doctor is saying that’s just his build. I found the first year really stressful and now I look back on photos of him and think wtf was I worried - he looks healthy and not “too skinny” - just not a chunk like so many babies are. Our doctor said that there are absolutely no I’ll effects associated with being on the lighter end of the centiles (whereas there potentially are if your baby is heavier) so to enjoy it!

UnleashTheBulsara · 11/12/2018 11:49

To be honest I think if you are concerned OP, then do mention it to GP or HV. If it worries you, ask. That's what they are there for. They won't mind having a look, putting your mind at rest if there is nothing amiss.

I had concerns about my baby and asked other mums about it. None of them said anything useful and in fact I would have been far better off speaking to a HCP rather than being brushed off by laypeople (who didn't actually care). And other people's babies aren't really a guide to how yours will turn out

ToastyFingers · 11/12/2018 12:56

By all means go to the doctors if you're concerned, that's about the size my DD was at that age though.
She was born weighing 6lb5 at 40 weeks and spent at least a month in tiny baby size clothing.
Does your DC look skinny or fragile or are they in proportion and just really petite?

She's about to turn 3 now and I don't know how much she weighs as she won't stand still long enough to check but she's super petite with a little bit of chubbiness to her legs and in 18-24 months clothes.

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