EBF dropped from 50th centile at birth to 9th at 9 wks :-(

[SqueezyB]

Feeling like a bit of a failure - my EBF DD2 was 50th centile at birth, dropped to 25th centile at 6 weeks and now at 9.5 weeks is on the 9th centile. The lovely HV told me not to worry, that they often drop a centile at 8-12 wks, and to bring her back in a couple of weeks, but I just feel really low about it - like maybe I'm just not feeding her properly.

It doesn't help that she also has a stinking cold at the moment (as do I) and is really miserable as she can't breathe, throwing up between feeds due to coughing etc. I thought BF babies were supposed to have stronger immune systems? DD1 was mix-fed BF and FF from 2 wks and was such a strong little thing, hardly ever ill. DD2 seems a bit weedy by comparison, bless her, and I'm worried it's all my fault because I've been so insistent on BF this time round.

I feel so drained by it all, seriously considering giving her a bottle even though I know I would hate myself if I did.

Squeezy - this is a normal weight pattern. Babies may drop two centiles, and it is not considered worth investigating at all. Even babies who drop more centiles than this are almost always fine - it's just that guideance is to check all is well with feeding when the weight drops this far.

There's normally no need to weigh healthy babies more often than once a month in the first 6 mths, after they have reached birthweight.

There is no reason to think of formula - why would you when your baby is basically healthy (apart from the cold - bf does not guarentee babies are never a bit ill) and growing normally? :)

If you think your baby might benefit from being offered more to eat, then you have the 'extra' - right there in your breasts! You can offer feeds more frequently and deliberately offer two breasts or three or four at each session.

Hope this helps :)

Good that the HV is being relaxed - you are fortunate! :)

Try and relax while you are both feeling grotty. Stop worrying about weight and just look at the baby. (Current stinking clod excepted) is your dd normally happy and alert? If so, just take your lead from her.

My own ds was on the 9st centile at birth, lost more than a pound post birth and took about 7 weeks to regain birth weight and a 2oz gain in a week was a good week (although apart from the initial drop, he never actually lost weight) and as a result dropped to the blwo the charts and then followed the grownth curve - albeit just underneath them. he was a classic case of "catch down" growth.

I continued to BF with the support of the breast feeding counsellors at the maternity hospital - although they did encourage me to give him some bottles of expressed milk (and lent me an expressing machine for a while - although I gave it back once I'd got the hang of the hand pump I already had)

You meniotned EBF in the titiel: do you mean "Exclusive Breastfeeding"? - as people often refer to to EBM as "expressed breast milk". You thought of "topping up" with expressed milk? I did that for a while with ds: it didn't actually change his rate of weight gain, but it did give me cofidence that he was indeed getting plenty of milk.

Stop weighing.

With the cold I put a drop of eucalyptus/olbas oil on my shirt just before feeding and give a cuddle, usually clears enough for a feed.

best thing for a cold is more lovely breastmilk as your body will be busy making her exactly what she needs to fight it off. Formula won't do that.

please don't worry! :) before she had a cold, was she happy, active and alert? woth plenty of wet nappies, occasional pooey nappies? that's really much more important than how much they weigh on a particular day. Watch the baby not the scales :)

At the age she is the difference in weight between the 98th and the 2nd line could just be a really huge poo! I'd seriously consider not getting her weighed so often.

If it helps at all I've had 4 ebf babies, all healthy and all have dropped centiles. As I'm next to the filing cabinet with the red books I can tell you..

dd1 was 75th line at birth, by 8 weeks was on 50th, by 6 months was on 25th, now age 12 is below the 2nd and stupidly skinny but eats huge amounts and is very active on facebook

dd2 was on 50th at birth, by 8 weeks was on 25th, by 16 weeks has dropped to 9th, now still around 9th at 10 years old, again very healthy and active

dd3 was on 75th at birth, by 8 weeks was on 25th, by 5 months was on 9th, no idea what she is now but she's 5 and a bit more rounded than dd1&2

ds was on 50th at birth, by 10 weeks was on 25th and I've not had him weighed since. He's now 2.5 years.....

Just keep at it. Lots of feeds and cuddles and remember you're giving her lots of antibodies as well as comfort (and nutrition) which is the best thing possible for a cold :)

thanks for the reply - it just seems such a big drop, but I guess I'm doing that thing you shouldn't of comparing her to DD1 at the same age. DD1 dropped quite a bit initially, causing the HV to advise me to top up with formula, which I did and then regretted, but then she went right up to the 75th centile and pretty much stayed there.

DD2 has been a dream to BF, latches on well etc, so I don't want to stop, I guess I'm just paranoid as several people (non-medical I should add!) have said she's small for her age, and she also seems slower than DD1 at reaching certain stages, like holding her head up etc.

Reading that all back I realise I sound like an idiot and I should just stop worrying about what people say and stop reading baby development books! I think I'm just knackered after so many nights of no sleep with a poorly baby who just wants to suckle for comfort all the bloody time!

If it helps if I compared DS2 to DS1 I would be worried he had some form of giantism, he is a great big chubbler where his brother was quite lean.

Squeezy - it's not a 'big drop'....it's not even a drop. It is a normal pattern.

It's not so much the baby development books you need to avoid (I can't think any of them would be saying you need to worry, or that holding head up later than a sibling is a cause for concern....) but people in your life who are making undermining comments.

Yes, 9th centile smaller than average, but so what?? Only one person in 100 is actually on the 50th centile!

There have to be babies smaller than average, and larger than average, for there to be an average :)

Tiktok - as ever - speaks such good, reassuring sense :)

prettybird, morloth, bumpybecky, missed your replies, thank you too! I meant exclusively brestfed - I haven't managed to find time to express, with the amount she already feeds plus a 2.4 year old to entertain.

bumpybecky, thanks for the info about your DC, that makes me feel a lot better. I probably shouldn't get her weighed so much, I went to baby clinic today to ask about the cold really, but they always weigh them anyway. I'm a bit paranoid about weight as with DD1 they made such a fuss about her losing more than 10% of birth weight it really scared me! Thankfully the HVs round here seem really relaxed and pro-BF.

you're right, people do make undermining comments sometimes, especially if it looks like I'm struggling, I just get the whole 'why don't you give her a bottle at night to help her sleep...'

Good to know it is quite normal, thank you all