What else can I do?????

[bluebear]

Breastfed dd, 15 weeks old, has not put on any weight for last 4 weeks (fallen from 98th to 50th centile).
She is breastfed on demand - sometimes this is every 2 hours, mostly 3 hours, and sometimes she has a 5 or 6 hour gap at night-time. She feeds from one breast for about 20-30 minutes, rarely burps, and when put to second breast nearly always refuses it.
HV wants me to supplement with formula - So far dd has refused EBM from bottles so this is probably a non-starter anyway.
HV also mentioned weaning at 16 wks - personally I don't want to fill her tummy with low cal veggie puree and would rather delay weaning until nearer 6 months so she gets lots of high calorie milk.
She is a very happy, contented baby and doesn't seem hungry (not crying or miserable.. freakishly good tempered!)

Any suggestions... should I just hide from the HV and forget about the scales.. is there any way of boosting baby appetite?

I wouldnt worry too much. I'm sure others could reassure you here and give advice if needed. My dd is 16 weeks and I dont get her weighed as I know she feeds well, on demand and is quite happy. She also goes at night with a similar gap. I will also not wean until 6 months as she is also content and happy. Hope all goes well.

Can you measure her length and see if she is out of sync there? She hasn't lost any weight - just isn't gaining. If she isn't very long then there doesn't seem to be much to worry about.
I'd go by your instincts - if she is alert and happy and content, then don't worry. If she is excessively sleepy or passive then you might want to watch her for a few more days.

oh bluebear - parallel lives.... ds is 15 weeks today had has fallen from 91st to 9th....I'm actually not worried because I think I just KNOW he is ok and has plateaued for a bit (I think from what I've heard lots of babies do around 3 months) and he has had a little cold and cough too. I've resisted formula, just made sure I've been feeding lots (pretty much the same picture as you). My DS too is just delightful - smiley chirpy and contented. I'm sure you'll get much more experienced advice from others but I think it sounds like you are doing FINE

Hi Bluebear - all sounds OK with dd - alert peeing and pooing. Was she naked? (baby, not HV ) Was she in different clothes if not naked. Was it same time of day? Same scales? I personally would stay away from the scales, they cause more trouble than they are worth.

Don't give formula and as long as your dd is well avoid the scales (and the HV!) you don't HAVE to get her weighed. Also, they very often get the weighing wrong - ie read the scales incorrectly, the scales are inaccurate, the baby is weighed at a different time etc etc and what looks like lack of weight gain is nothing of the sort. I strongly suspect this is one of those cases. Please don't worry. You're her mum, and if she seems bonny and bright and happy and healthy to you, then I bet that's exactly what she is. Formula cannot possibly help if she's already feeding every two-three hours anyway!

Thanks all, dd is 91centile height so is a bit out of sync now.
Mears - Naked baby, same scales, pees poos and giggles all normal.. bright eyed, bushy tailed(!), and wet nose all in order... I have tried to offer her extra feeds today but she is NOT interested, and def. not interested in bottles... think I may try and drop off the HV radar and just keep on bfeeding as before...and wean when I feel she needs it, nearer 26 weeks than 16 hopefully.
Thanks again everyone (Squirmy - nice to know I'm not alone), I'm feeling a lot better about it now.

She sounds absolutely fine. I would keep the bottles away from her

Hide from the HV, Bluebear. My DS did the same thing, and never recovered percentiles, although he's grown fine for him. Even the HV later pointed at his early period on a higher percentile line and said "Oh that? That was just a growth spurt!"

Identical thing happened to me as well. Like you I couldn't see the calorie logic (and got incredibly wound up when the HV suggested feeding her in the middle of the night again) and ended up hiding. DD2 is now seven months and really seems to be fine, honestly.

I've closed the blinds and taken the phone off the hook, the baby weight police will never find me hee hee hee

Hi. Firstly sympathy- I'm in a similar position with my 6 month old and know how you feel. Please though, don't give up. If your baby is happy and alert, she's okay and very lucky you care so much. Breastfed babies don't follow the growtg patterns of formula fed babies, but the published charts don't reflect this. Ask your health visitor to contact the baby friendly initiative at unicef- i did my breastfeeding training with them, and they are so positive.

Well done for feeding your baby under stress. With time it will get better and you will become more confident. My baby dropped onto the ninth centile, yet is fine- I am fortunate to have moved surgery to be with a supportive health visitor.

Please don't supplement by the way unless you want to- I was pushed into doing this with my first two babies for the same reason, and always regretted it.

Update: Just found out that dd is probably 'atopic' and therefore highly likely to develop allergies... now feel it's even more important to keep on breastmilk only for as long as possible... I think she's put on 100g (4oz?) since monday so the feedathon may be working.

Hi bluebear. My dd2 virtually fell off the chart completely and stubbornly refuses to come back on. Gp completely paniced just before christmas and even started threatening to suggest we didn't fly to florida for our holiday in case dd2 wasn't up to it. Throughout dd2 has been happy, gorgeous and very very normal. In the end I saw a paediatrician who confirm what I'd known all along - that she's a very happy healthy slightly petite baby. I agree with everyone else's sentiments that you should stay clear from the scales if at all possible.

Another Update: Dd seems to have put on 400g (I think this is about 1lb) since last Monday so I am joining her, blowing raspberries at our Health Visitor.

Good for you! Oh, and remember, the charts in use are usually based on Bottle Fed babies.

Bluebear, quite apart from interpretation of the charts (they are not based on bottle fed babies, BTW, but on several data sets of babies who will have been fed all sorts of different ways), I would strongly suspect poor weighing techniques or simple misreading of the weight, or even mistranslation from metric to imperial. This happens a lot. I have just heard of a baby whose weight was recorded as 10 lbs 3 oz, HV said 'must use formula, this baby has lost weight' and the mother asked to have the baby weighed again. Ooops. The weight was 10 lbs 13 oz.

DD is 14 weeks and hasn't grown in length in the last 5 weeks and is putting on weight, but dropped down a couple of centiles. My HV just thinks she is 'levelling' out as she was also a 99 percenter. If she is feeding well, and is happy you're obviously doing something right!

DDs only being weighed when we go in for the immunisations, but I might be getting away with this 'cos she's my third.

Tiktok, thanks ... I hadn't taken dd to clinic since December but had been weighing her at home (digital scales, my weight+baby - myweight) so I knew she had gone from 5 to 6kg and then plateau-ed for a month... only took her to be weighed at clinic to have it confirmed by their scales IYKWIM.
I said I'd go to clinic next Monday so hopefully she'll gain even more this week and I'll be able to laugh at the HV and point out how silly it is to push bottle feeding when a baby is just growing in spurts... here's hoping!

I have to admit I've had dd2 weighed about three times in her life so far. She seems to be fine.