7mo dd off the bottom of growth chart

[upsetandworried]

My dd (32 weeks, 7.5 months) was born full term but small at 5.5lb, and has always been hovered around the 2nd percentile. I breastfed exclusively to 6 months, and then she made a good start with solids. She has always been smiley, cheerful, active and a good sleeper.

Following a bout of teething (her), a stomach upset (me) and a cold (both of us) she has had a rough couple of weeks and has lost her appetite and actually lost weight (1oz in the last fortnight), so she's now off the bottom of the chart. I have a supportive health visitor who doesn't seem overly worried. But I'm actually very worried indeed as she just doesn't have any weight to lose. I feel so guilty (daft I know) that she was born so small (neither my partner or I are small people) and I'm very concerned about her still being so tiny - and now getting smaller!

I'm still breastfeeding, but considering whether a move to formula would help. Anyone have any experience of tiny babies, who can reassure me or advise?

I had a breastfed baby who also dropped in weight : from 75th centile birth weight to 9th centile eventually.

I was concerned also although i think he was actually born big (overdue) then came down to the size he should have been genetically.He is 2 now and eats really well but but is still skinny.

He particularly dropped when I first weaned him (I held off dairy initially so he was having alot of veg/fruit) and he had a bad viral illness and like your dc actually lost weight.Was told by HV to take him to the GP who said not to worry and to get him weighed less so the small peaks and troughs are not so noticeable!I am sure your HV would be worried and follow this up if she felt your dd was not thriving despite being off the bottom of the chart .

I gave him lots of avocado and in fact mixed some avocado oil (for the calories) into his pureed veg.Are you giving cheese yet? - if so grate this into lots of things also.

I got advice from the weaning thread here on increasing weight gain (post or search past threads) and breast/bottle feeding thread also.Generally as far as breastfeeding goes it is better to nurse more often according to kellymom rather than swap to formula.

I'm sure you'll get lots more advice as there are lots of us whose babies didn't follow the chart line in the red book!

My dd2 was similar, although she was a very good weight 7.5 pounds when born, she put on weight so gradually that she was way off the bottom of the growth charts by about 6 months old. Her length was average and she was skinny, her ribs were visible. It was a very stressful time for me as she just showed no interest in solids. Her health and development were fine until she was about 16 months old, still under the growth charts, and became sick with a series of illnesses. She didn't have any weight to lose and she ended up in hospital with a nasty tummy bug. I was still breastfeeding her and the doctors were very supportive telling me that was the best thing for her. I carried on bfing until she was totally better and starting to put on weight. I also gave her vitamin drops.

It was a very stressful time, but she's now 3 years old, still small, but very strong and very bright and doing brilliantly.

Both me and dh are above average height but we were both tiny babies. Don't feel guilty, you're doing everything fine.

upsetandworried, there is no need to worry, and for goodness sake don't feel guilty about it.

she is just small. that's all ther eis to it.
if she has stayed on the same centile more or less, was bf on demand, is happy and healthy and meeting dfevelopmental milestones then she is 100% fine. honestly.

babies do get ill, and will lose weight now and then. it's par for the course, but her appetite will pick up and she'll be fine.

I heard it said the other day that a fully breastfed baby will always reach their genetic potential. so trust your body to nourish her, and her to know what she needs.

You may find the information here helpful

www.babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=94121.0

HTH!
monopod

Congratulations on the excellent breastfeeding you've done - it's brilliant you have a supportive HV.

It's hard not to worry about our babies if they are a bit smaller but your DD has had a cold and has been teething - not surprisingly she probably hasn't fed as much and has lost a little bit of weight. 1oz is a tiny amount to lose - almost not worth mentioning - the fact is she has virtually maintained her weight despite the cold and teething - give it a few weeks and she'll be putting weight back on again.

I'm a HV too and like your HV I wouldn't be worried about the small weight loss given the teething and the cold. In fact I'd be positively delighted that your DD was still being breastfed.

She's just going to be a dainty little girl.
Small and perfect - probably a real slim person that the bigger girls will look at with envy.