Worried about babies size

[Rooandtwo]

Hello

My DD was born via ELCS a week ago today at 39 weeks and 1. She was estimated at an average percentile all the way through pregnancy and arrived weighting 3kg exactly which I know is an ok weight. However she looks and is tiny, people have commented as such and she currently fits the tiny baby size of clothing and is still a bit swamped in newborn. There has also been speculation that I have a bit of a heart shaped uterus though this is unconfirmed, but I’ve read this can affect size.

No one has told me to worry about DD’s size and probably as a ftm I was always going to be a bit anxious about her. We had a bit of a tough start in hospital due to struggling to latch and poorly managed aftercare, but little one had lost only about 5% of her weight on day 5. In just looking for a little reassurance that I needn’t be concerned about her size. I think as well as the difficulties this last week or so and having to relinquish control and some things that had been important to me, her size is amplifying my awareness of her vulnerability - that this tiny person is mine to protect. Any kind words welcome x

“Isn’t she tiny?” is just what people say about new babies. Your completely normal instincts to protect are also about recognising how vulnerable your baby is - I know that feels like an overwhelming responsibility. Congratulations! (Mum of a 2.35kg term baby who is a completely normal size 9yr old)

People will always say that about newborns. With my dd (born last year) everyone commented that she looked ‘chunky’ in pictures when sent and then when they seen her, they were surprised that she looked tiny. Please don’t worry about it.

Where I live, if a baby loses 10% of their birth weight then it’s a concern. Anything less than that is normal. My dd lost 4% of her birth weight and that was due to poor latch and getting used to breastfeeding. If you’re really concerned you could speak to your health visitor and ask if they think you need formula top ups? But I really doubt they will.

Being a ftm is tough. You have so many things going through your head and you feel hormonal with emotions going in every direction. It’s hard to reassure yourself when all of this is new and you don’t know if you’re doing things ‘right’. Things will settle and you’ll soon know your baby and what all their cries mean and you will feel more confident in yourself. Take some time to remind yourself that you’re doing a fantastic job! It’s hard to say that to ourselves but you are your babies world and they are yours.

Aww OP - I understand those FTM worries but I don't think you have anything to worry about. 5% weight loss is brilliant and babies come in all shapes and sizes! I have a few friends who had perfectly healthy and full term 5/6lb babies. Are you quite small yourself as it could just be that she takes after you? Please try not to worry and enjoy your small but perfectly formed baby!

Also I agree with PPs that people do say that as a default about newborns as they're not used to being around them! My second daughter was 8lb 15ozs at birth and people still used to describe her as tiny!

Very few newborns fit newborn clothes, they all looked swamped in them, even the bigger babies. As for the tiny baby comment's, you do honestly forget how small they are when they are born. I had the 'oh, look at him, he's so small' comments with dc4 who weighed 5.8kg when born (no that's not a typo!). The heart shaped uterus. My sister had one, dc1 grew in the smaller side and arrived at 34 weeks, dc2 grew in the larger side and she arrived at 40 weeks. I doubt that would have made any difference. Congratulations on your new baby!

Only loosing 5% of birth weight is really good!! Sounds like she’s doing really well.

I found that between about 2-3 weeks was when DS started to look a bit bigger which was funny because I’d just gone out and bought some smaller baby clothes because I was fed up by him being swamped by newborn. 4 days later and he’d grown out of it.

New borns are meant to be tiny!

Please try not to worry. My eldest arrived 17 days early (VB) and weighed 2.69kg. She ended up a chunky bubba and is now a healthy 13 year old. I was apprehensive when she was so tiny and fragile looking but she was fine. If you want to bf I found she struggled to latch as her mouth was very small but I pumped and after 6 weeks she had grown enough to manage it.

Thank you all so much. I feel so much better, though as seems inescapable now I’ve been tearful reading all your reassurances. It’s all so overwhelming isn’t it. It makes sense that it’s a comment people just say as they rarely actually see newborns. I’m so in love with her it’s just such a lot. Thank you all so much I will stop worrying (about this particular thing ☺️) now x

My ds was the same he's now 18 weeks old and is getting chunky by the day all u can do is make sure little one feeds as often as pos I wouldn't worry hope all goes well she will soon be in bigger size clothes b4 u know it

My girl was 2975g when she was born, ELCS at 38+6. That’s 6lbs 9oz in old money so it’s not tiny. She fit the tiny stuff for about a week. Small babies tend to lose less weight at the beginning so after a 5 day hospital stay we were within 25g of her birth weight. Nobody at the hospital mentioned anything about her being small. She was ebf. The nurse was shocked when she gained 400g from week 2-3 though 😂

My mother declared her tiny and I, like you, was worried that she was tiny but when we saw the Paediatrician for her 6 week check he declared her to be a big baby when we took her out of the pram. I laughed at him but she was now 75th centile for weight and 95th for height up from 25th at birth. She’s now 1 and has settled at 75th for height and 50th for weight. All the way through her first year she looked bigger than the other babies who had probably weighed more than her at birth so don’t worry.

That’s only what people say ! We forget just how small newborns are. 3kg is a normal weight

3kg is normal some baby's are small and some are big my 3rd baby was born at 3lb 1oz x