Can anyone reassure me?

[MarisCrane]

Hi there, I'm just after some advice really as I seem to be constantly worrying.
DS is 13 weeks. He is EBF after a shaky start when we were separated with him in NICU for 3 days and I recovered from my emcs and blood transfusion. My milk took a while to come in and he lost 11% body weight and had prolonged jaundice.

He regained his birth weight (7lb 5oz) after about 3 weeks and has been on the 2nd centile for both height and weight. He is a small baby, but is bright eyed, alert, happy with plenty of wet and dirty nappies. He feeds about every 3 hours during the day, and sleeps very well, going down sometime between 8 and 10 and waking sometime between 5 and 7 am, sometimes with a feed between 1 and 3 but not always.

He is the oldest of our nct group of babies, but is also the smallest! I get lots of comments about his size, but also about what a happy chap he is. He still fits his 0-3 month clothes. I last got him weighed at 11 weeks and he was just under the 2nd centile line. The HV muttered slightly but didn't seem too worried. I mentioned to the GP that he has been occasionally having a dry cough when he wakes in the morning, and she said he could have reflux. When I thought about it he is sick quite often and hiccups a lot. She prescribed Gaviscon and I've been giving it to him for a few days now; he is definitely puking less often now. I've also tried to limit my own milk intake, as I think he may have been sick more often when I was trying to be extra healthy and eat yoghurts and muesli with milk.

I suppose my worries are - should I worry about DS being on or just below the 2nd centile? Some babies are just small aren't they?
The HV keeps wanting me to weigh him every fortnight - I feel quite pressurised by this and have been going every 3 weeks. I feel that she disapproves of him being on the 2nd centile and I can't help worrying that she's right! But I want to give the Gaviscon a chance and see if now he keeps more milk down whether some good weight gain follows. That's ok isn't it?

Sorry for this rambling post, I'm sure it's not really clear to you all what my worries are!

DD is 14months and still fits some 0-3month clothing

If he seems to be less sick on the gaviscon then def. investigate reflux (there are also other meds out there)

No you shouldn't worry just because he on/just under 2nd. This by itself means nothing, just means that one in every 50 babies will be this weight or lower (quite common then if you think about it).

If you're happy with his alertness etc. then don't feel pressured into more weighing. It just causes a lot of stress. Is there another clinic you could go to. The one where we went we could just get the weight checked without seeing a HV. You may want to weigh fortnightly to see if the Gaviscon is making a difference. Remember you don't have to see a HV and if his weight has been stable then leave it and ignore her.

DD put on 3oz or less on average a week. Just the way she is, but was always alert happy etc. btw 13 weeks is still 3 months (slightly over 4 weeks in a month).

if he seems well enough in himself then i wouldn't be too worried, DD was a small baby and stayed on a low percentile all the time, but is happy and bright eyed. everyone always comments on how petite she is, and she's always been a clothes size below her age. i shouldn't worry, but you can always go to your GP/HV if your mummy radar starts going off!

"should I worry about DS being on or just below the 2nd centile? Some babies are just small aren't they?"

No, you shouldn't worry, and yes, some babies are just small. As long as he's happy, developing well etc (and it sounds like he is doing just fine) then I really wouldn't worry. Don't let the HV pressurise you into getting him weighed more often than you want to. I used to stress a fair bit over my DD's weight (PFB syndrome!) and felt a lot happier when I relaxed a bit and got her weighed less often.

As for clothes, DD followed the 25th centile and was always one size down, so at 6 months she'd be wearing 3-6 months, at a year she was in 6-12. And the sizes vary so much anyway, so it doesn't mean a lot!

Thanks for the replies, I think DS is gearing up for a growth spurt as he's really done nothing but feed, cry and sleep all day today. Thanks for the reassurance, I'll get him weighed next week (3 week gap) and depending on the result I'll leave it for a while then.

Some HVs seem to think that 50th centile is some sort of goal to reach - they don't like it when babies are bigger or smaller!

As long as he's not dropped more than 2 centiles and is happy and alert, plenty of wet & dirty nappies then no need to worry at all.

DS fit 0-3m clothes till well over 4 months, and has only just gone in to 6-9m clothes at 8m, and he's not small imo (was 50th centile at Christmas last time he was weighed).

In our area, they say babies shouldn't be weighed more than once a month and preferably less than that.

My DD was still in 0-3m clothes at 5m. And on the 2nd centile.

The red book recommends monthly weighing until 6m and unless your HV can point to something other than your DS being on the 2nd centile as a cause for concern weighing more frequently seems unnecessary.

I don't know anything about reflux but even if it is a prob it isn't necessarily the case that his weight will increase once it is under control. Don't panic if he stays on the 2nd centile, as you say some babies are small.

Would anyone like to join me in a celebratory ? I just got DS weighed, 3 weeks after his last weigh in, and he's gone from 10lbs to 11lb 10oz! So from just under the 2nd centile to nearly at the 9th! The HV said "that's great weight gain, bottle fed is he?" and was very surprised that he's EBF. I'm so, so happy and I feel like a weight (ha ha) has been lifted off my mind.

well done :)

HVs vary so much! My son is 12 weeks and has steadily dropped from the 25th centile to the 5th, but as he is still actually putting weight on the HV isn't concerned, and just wants him weighed every 3 weeks as a precaution. She said there is nothing to worry about until they stop gaining or start losing weight. mine has reflux, and the gaviscon definitely helps him keep his milk down.

That's good news - not that it would be a problem if he stayed on the 2nd, but for your peace of mind.

(ds was in 0-3 at that age by the way and he was on the 50% centile so go figure!)

The Gaviscon has definitely helped him keep his feeds down, so that must have something to do with it.