How often do you weigh your baby?

[strawberrycake]

Nearest topic I could think of!

Presuming your baby is feeding and gaining how often do you go to the clinic?

I'm starting to get a little resentful of hv/ clinic. They expect me every week (I didn't go last week only ran into her when getting jabs and hv practically dumped other mums and ran across clinic to find out where I'd been) because of low weight gain.

My DS is gaining slowly (75th to 9th centile), I know that isn't great but on the other hand I haven't ever seen anyone fatten a baby by weighing it! I'm going to pead to check him out, but ruling out any problems I don't feel like carrying on with this weighing business. It's stressful and sometimes I just wonder if ds is a small eater and that's the way he is. Now diarhhea is clear I wouldn't be concerned about him if not for the bloody charts. He wees, poo, smiles, sleeps well and is clearly content. He rarely cries and is very alert.

I do want paed to answer other questions, such as milk allergy ad stomach upsets, but I don't feel the clinic is helping at all. IT's weekly pressure with comments like 'ooo he's only gained 2oz in 2 weeks', nothing they say has actually helped him, I just feel like I'm having the same problem pointed out every week with little support. I just get wishy-washy stuff like 'try feeding him more often' or 'try different bottles', now I'm not thick and I'd tried that of my own accord! I feel taking him to the gp/paed is far more helpful and is all I need if any big concerns

Is it fair to give up clinics and only take him is there's a concern (e.g. he starts complete refusal, is unhappy a lot etc) or I have a question. Do others actually attend much? DS is 12 weeks. I don't want to do wrong by him, but I don't see how concerned faces and repeatedly pointing to charts helps him.

Last "official" weigh in was at his 2 week MW visit.

If I am passing the hospital I sometimes drop him and chuck him on the scales in the weighing room at their outpatient's clinic, but haven't done that for about 8 weeks either.

He is 23 weeks now.

He is DS2 though and DS1 used to get weighed every month as he was frequently at the hospital about his foot, DS1 was also a long lean baby so I used to worry about that whereas DS2 has great wobbly thighs (and straight feet!).

You can go as often/rarely as you like. Every weeks is a lot and it's obviously making you stressed.

My LO had probs with weight gain so we were seen every week for a while but after that every 4-6 weeks.

Tiktok will know the official recommendations.

'Deed I do, crikey :)

Official guidance - issued with the newer weight charts in May 2009 - is clear. Healthy babies should not be weighed more often than once a month in the first 6 mths and once every 2 mths in mths 6-12.Anything more often is poor practice, as it is unnecessary and wastes time, and gives misleading info.

Individual babies may need individual management that is different from this, but that's the routine for most.

You can ask why they are treating your baby differently, strawberrycake and what info they hope to get from this frequent weighing.

To clarify: the monthly weighing starts after the baby has reached birthweight after the initial weight loss.

It's simply because of the lack of weight gain tiktok (5kg at 5 weeks, 5.4kg at 12 weeks).

I knew the guidelines tiktok, they just WANT to weigh him weekly. I wouldn't mind at all if this benefited him, but it doesn't to be blunt. I'm to be honest getting worried that they think I don't care for him properly despite the fact he's clearly happy, alert and clean. Very obviously a loved pfb!

with my first i went every couple of weeks or so

with the second and third, never!

there is no reason for you to go if you don't want to, it's entirely up to you

If you don't feel you're getting anything from the weigh ins then don't go strawberry.

See what the paed. says then you can reasses if needs be?

I was told once a month until 6 months, but we have a longer gap ATM as HVs away for the last 2 weeks in aug!