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Behaviour/development

Talk to others about child development and behaviour stages here. You can find more information on our development calendar.

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Original poster

5mo not putting on weight

28 replies

Lollypop1983 · 10/09/2013 11:56

My LO is 5 months. I had him weighed today, and he's dropped from the 75th down to the 25th centile. He was ebf until a week ago, when I started to give him one bottle of formula a day. Has this happened to anyone elses LO? I'm a first time mum and I'm really worried about him.

Tia

OP posts:

Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

Set a reminder

noobieteacher · 10/09/2013 13:13

Lollypop, doctors, NOW.

lollipoppi · 10/09/2013 13:46

What did the HV say about it?

Original poster

Lollypop1983 · 10/09/2013 14:29

Noobie, I'm really scared now

I've got appt with doc on fri about something else for LO, do u think I should asked to get seen sooner?

HV said to get him checked by doc, but will weigh him again in 4 weeks. She didn't seem overly concerned. She said I might want to think about weaning him before 6 months.

Just to make it clear, this drop has happened over a 3 month period. Every time I say to HV, should I be concerned, each time she says no.

OP posts:

Goldmandra · 10/09/2013 14:44

Children can be perfectly healthy and cross centiles like this. Don't get yourself into a state.

Dropping down the chart doesn't mean there is anything wrong. It's just a good idea to get your baby checked out in case there's a health problem behind it.

Chances are you baby is fine and growing exactly how he's genetically programmed to, especially if he is otherwise healthy and developing well.

I had professionals getting all twitchy when DD2 did something similar but, deep down, I was always happy that she was just meant to grow a bit more slowly around that time. I had her checked out as advised but I was right; it was just a natural dip.

Goldmandra · 10/09/2013 14:44

Children can be perfectly healthy and cross centiles like this. Don't get yourself into a state.

Dropping down the chart doesn't mean there is anything wrong. It's just a good idea to get your baby checked out in case there's a health problem behind it.

Chances are you baby is fine and growing exactly how he's genetically programmed to, especially if he is otherwise healthy and developing well.

Goldmandra · 10/09/2013 14:45

Sorry. Thought it didn't post the first time

Original poster

Lollypop1983 · 10/09/2013 14:49

Thanks, that's good to know, and reassuring.

I'm also suffering from PND, so it's hard to know if I'm blowing things out of proportion, or if I should be worried.

I was just looking for a bit of reassurance.

OP posts:

Original poster

Lollypop1983 · 10/09/2013 14:50

I will get him checked out tho, just in case

OP posts:

cantthinkofagoodone · 10/09/2013 14:54

Over three months it's not such a huge issue. I'm betting your lo is always on the go when she's awake, kicking about on the floor and wriggling around. That burns a lot of energy.

My LO was 50% when born and then fell down to 9th and settled on that line and continued growing on that. The HV would have insisted on a Dr and not just a check again in 4 weeks if it was an issue.

Try not to worry. If she's herself and alert, she's most likely fine.

Goldmandra · 10/09/2013 16:20

I'm also suffering from PND, so it's hard to know if I'm blowing things out of proportion

PND blew everything out of proportion for me when DD1 was a baby.

Getting him checked out should help you not to worry.

I can't quite see how weaning him before six months will help unless you're feeding him solid food with a higher calorific value than milk. Don't go against your instincts to wean early. You could just end up feeling even more anxious because you can't get as much food into him as you would like to.

noobieteacher · 11/09/2013 12:08

Cantthink, it is normal for baby weight to drop two weeks or so after birth, but a drop at 3 months is not good. I would call doc.

Weaning should start at 6 months (NHS advice).

noobieteacher · 11/09/2013 12:10

Sorry, 5 months.

MiaowTheCat · 11/09/2013 12:14

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

cantthinkofagoodone · 11/09/2013 14:07

Noobie sorry if I misread the initial post but I don't think that weight has been lost, I think that she's dropped down the centiles over a period of months which can be normal.

Original poster

Lollypop1983 · 11/09/2013 18:32

I phoned HV yesterday afternoon. She said that it can happen sometimes. She said to ask doc to look at it while I was there on Friday, ie not an emergency appt.

HV also said babies don't always follow charts and as LO is looking healthy, and is full of energy, she isn't too concerned. However, will see what doc says on fri

OP posts:

Original poster

Lollypop1983 · 13/09/2013 12:48

Thanks to those who answered.

LO saw doc this morning. She said LO is nice and healthy

She said chances are my milk has decreased due to stress, not eating properly due to PND.

LO to go onto formula and to go back in two weeks time.

I'm sad that I'm not completely breast feeding anymore. However, I feel that both LO and I will be happier if he is being formula fed.

Thanks for all advice.

OP posts:

cantthinkofagoodone · 13/09/2013 13:00

Glad you have a good outcome Lollypop. I FF and found it easy - LO also became more predictable.

For your health, you must try and eat well. Maybe try to make a packed lunch for the next day if you struggle when LO is up and about for the day.

noobieteacher · 16/09/2013 09:17

That is good news. I had a similar situation with mine, I didn't want to stop bf but baby wasn't getting enough. There is usually an underlying cause for this kind of long term weight loss, and telling someone it's normal isn't helpful. Babies are growing eveey day, their bodies are going through enormous changes and nutrition is paramount. Sorry to rant, it is aimed at your HV really. Mine was the same but when I saw the doc he said she was doing 'starvation poos'. She looked fine and slept well.

DeWe · 16/09/2013 09:27

Some children don't follow the centiles.

One of my friends had three children who all followed the same (very scary) pattern. They were born heavy 9lb+. By 6 months they were hardly gaining, and in some weeks losing. At a year none of them had doubled the birthweight. The smallest was only 15lb.
So having been born on the 98+ centile, at a year they were off the bottom of the chart.
They now are healthy 13, 10 and 8yos, about average size.

But it was scary to look at their weight drop. No reason was every found.

Original poster

Lollypop1983 · 19/09/2013 13:00

Just a quick update....

My HV came and weight LO this morning...he put on 10 oz in 10 days, the same amount he had put on in the 4 weeks previously!

I'm doing a combination of Bf and FF so suggests my milk was enough for him.

At least that's one thing less to worry about

OP posts:

Goldmandra · 19/09/2013 18:03

It's great news that he's put a good amount of weight on. I hope you feel very reassured by that.

Babies grow and put weight on in fits and starts and it may be that he was previously weighed just after a bit of a spurt and just before another one, making it look worse than it was.

Hopefully you'll be able to put this behind you now so you can relax and concentrate on recovering from your PND

passedgo · 20/09/2013 12:24

Nowt wrong with formula feeding. Some babies need it.

Leaptheditch · 20/09/2013 12:28

Noobie it is very normal for babies to cross centiles in either direction. Babies are usually checked if they cross two centiles but they are usually fine too.

The info from the gp is wrong and so im

Leaptheditch · 20/09/2013 12:30

Noobie it is very normal for babies to cross centiles in either direction. Babies are usually checked if they cross two centiles but they are usually fine too.

The info from the gp is wrong (diet makes no difference to bm) and so implies that their understanding of bf is poor. Your hv probably knows more on this issue and does agree as did your gp that your baby is healthy.

Great that you are feeling better about it though.

passedgo · 20/09/2013 13:38

Hi OP, if your baby gained 10oz within ten days it is clear that he needed this and was not getting the nutrients he needed through breastfeeding. This happens all the time and is sometimes due to poor suck. You did the right thing to seek help, his body needed that extra weight.

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