After a tearful visit to baby clinic today PLEASE.......

[NotAnOtter]

Could someone direct me to the BREAST fed growth charts ?

My HV had me in tears with comments like ' we could introduce a formula feed but you dont want that'
I dont believe he is that bad at 14 weeks and 13 lbs 4 oz .
Please can someone help?
TIA

For what it's worth NAO, my DS weighed slightly less than that at that age and was about the 25th centile. He was (and still is of course) just perfect. happy and healthy.

never worked out why my HV used to quiz me about how much I was eating... but it gave me a great excuse to binge (for the baby!) and put on loads of weight If someone could enlighten me on this one... is there any truth in the matter that you need to eat more to breastfeed? I didn't think there was...

Apparently not, suzi2. Although I guess it will make you feel better, it apparently doesn't have any affect on the quantity/quality of your milk.

just an effect on the hips eh? bugger!

I don't bother going to my health visitor. I don't see the point of obsessing about weight on a week by week basis. My DD was quite small initially - but had a huuuuge growth spurt between 3 and 4 months and shot up the charts. It's not a linear progression.

I bought one of \link{http://www.ourweigh.co.uk/erol.html#3771x0&&http%3A%252F%252Fwww.ourweigh.co.uk%252F\these Super Samson scales} and weigh DD occasionally myself, just so I have an idea.

No one is making you see this woman, so just don't go if it upsets you. And make a formal complaint about her undermining the breastfeeding relationship.

Sorry, have only read original post, but you might find this article interesting ...

\link{http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,,1406303,00.html\guardian}

I had a similar tearful trip to my HV who barked "you don't have enough milk to feed a 5 month-old" at me. Rather than take her advise to give solids and/or formula I spoke to bf counsellors at La Leche and ABM who were supportive and helpful.

ruthydd: How the hell would she know??? (Sorry - but have horrible mental picture of her waving a milking machine attachment at you... )

Do you think this is just because (particular, perhaps, older) HVs think that a liquid produced in comparatively small quantities can't possibly compare to the solids they've seen shoved down quite young babies' throats...? It's just not logical - how do they imagine adults are grown in countries where sustained breastfeeding is the norm??

Her rationale was that because ds2 dropped from 50% at birth to 9% at 5 months he needed formula and/or solids. So all down to those silly charts again.

She also said that to produce enough milk I would need to rest for at least 2 hrs per day - yeh right, tell my then 3.5yr old ds1 that!

I knew to get a second opinion because I always had so much milk. I had to wear double breast pads because of the leaking and one feed was only ever from 1 side. I don't remember ever "running out" on 1 side let alone 2. Her advice just wasn't logical, but it still upset me nonetheless.

my dd2 went from 50th to below 0.4 th and was advised by some to give formula, some to give solids, and one said give expressed milk from bottle as she must be getting tired and bottles are eaier to drink from so wouldnt tire her out before she had enough like the breast did.

All advice absolutely rubbish. everyone said how healthy and happy she seemed so why all the fuss, and she would not take solids until nearly 9 months and would not take bottle or cup til 13 months! so much for bottles being easier

Haven't read all of this, but just wanted to confess that I never filled in that red book thing ever. Not once. With any of my 3 dds. Had friends who used to talk about centiles, but its like people talking about quantum physics as far as I'm concerned (completely meaningless)

'I dont believe he is that bad at 14 weeks and 13 lbs 4 oz' -- That's what matters.

Women the world over, and throughout history have fed their babies instinctively. Don't let a stupid HV or any charts get in the way of you doing the same. xx

dear notanotter
I've just had the same problem my dd, she was born on the 50th at 7.9lbs and @ 16wks weighed 11.14lbs(9th percentile) H.V advised i was doing too much not drinking enough (i agree never was good at that) not feeding enough and eating a crap diet. Im now still healthy eating trying to drink more and feeding at 11,2,5,&8 twice a day.
I also disregarded advice about feeding off one side for each feed and guess what yesterday she weighed 12.11lb (heading toward 25th)@18wks.
I have introduced one carton of formula a day but not strict on this as i thought it would be handy if i wasn't, but you don't need that as i see your freezer is full.
I found feeding off both was beneficial as she had run out oneside and immediately started drinking on the other.
Don't forget its proberbly growth spurt time again and if you do go back in a fortnight will proberly have put on a whole pound as well.
I don't know where these h.vs get off but they do love to give so many negative vibes off after all my 1st born was called a gangaly babe i wonder what she would call my dd if she saw her annie rexic.

As I have my red book to hand (which contains the substituted 'breastfed from birth' chart for a girl) I thought I'd have a shuftie at your son's position. Bang on the 50th centile. This is, as I said, the chart for a girl, but I don't believe there is that much difference between genders at this age.

You can see preliminary charts for boys at promom.org. He'd been somewhat in the lower half of the centiles, but I wouldn't have thought it was anything for the HV to get her knickers in a twist about.

Besides - surely it should be about the pattern of weight gain, loss or stasis over time - not the absolute position at any given moment...??