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Infant feeding

Get advice and support with infant feeding from other users here.

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Original poster

question for those with small babies

10 replies

noseynora · 06/03/2007 11:59

Not sure where best to post this, but will try here anyway
DD has always been off the bottom of the centile chart, and I'm told although she is gaining weight steadily (parallel to bottom centile line) she should get blood tested as she is not "catching up". She's been on solids for 2 months now and I'm wondering when I can expect to see any catch up.
Anyone else had a similar experience? She is b/fed evening & morning, ffed during the day.

OP posts:

MrsBadger · 06/03/2007 12:00

how old is she?

hana · 06/03/2007 12:13

My daughter was off the charts as well for the first 12 months. She was born at about 50% and even though she gained weight, she gained it v v slowly and went below centiles. We/she saw a paediatrician for several months, she had blood tests at about 9 months to rule any disorders out - nothing was ever found and at about 1 she was signed off. When she started on cows milk ( and I stopped bfding her) she started to gain weight more steadily and she is a v solid 2 year old now!
(just a little bit that will really make you laugh......at about 14 months I took her to the HV and there was great concern.........because she was gaining too much weight too quickly!!! We haven't been back since

You may not see a catch up, your dd may just be small. This dd was my second and I knew she was fine, but I kind of just went along with it all ( she was tiny) Some kids are small. some are big. How old is she?

Original poster

noseynora · 06/03/2007 13:16

She's 7 1/2 months. To be honest, I'm just not convinced enough that she needs blood tests yet - would rather wait to see how her weight gain goes but not sure how long to leave it. She's gained about 1 lb a month - albeit from a low starting point. The "double their birthweight by 6 months" rule of thumb seems to be irrelevant now, as she has and they are saying she has poor growth A bit confused about what to do for the best.

OP posts:

belgo · 06/03/2007 13:19

Noseynora - My dd2 is also off the bottom of the growth charts, despite growing. She has recently been ill, and found to have low iron levels - I wish i'd known this earlier, if she'd had had iron supplements earlier, maybe she wouldn't have been so ill.
I don't see the harm in a blood test, it may be perfectly in order, in which case, there's no problem.

Original poster

noseynora · 06/03/2007 13:26

Oh I know, I'm just a bit of a blouse when it comes to blood tests myself , and from what I've heard is is none to pleasant for a baby. Was your DD growing at a good rate but just small? That's what I don't get - the difference between poor growth and just being a teeny baby.

OP posts:

belgo · 06/03/2007 14:11

My baby has always put on weight, but is just small. I thought she was fine, but I did notice she was a little pale.

As for the blood test, we had a good nurse, and it wasn't a problem.

Original poster

noseynora · 06/03/2007 14:50

Really? Wish she was for hire . It was the sister at the hospital who really gave me the idea that it was v unpleasant. Still wondering if anyone else has had similar growth/size issues, but thanks to posters so far..

OP posts:

IdreamofClooney · 06/03/2007 14:55

One of the girls I go to baby swimming with has a DS who is small. She is tiny herself (Kylie proportions the lucky woman but I digress).

Her DS has always been towards or off the bottom of the chart but puts on wieght.

She has been referred to a hospital for tests etc and has found it all very stressful to be honest.

Her DS is a beautiful child and yes he is small but she and her husband are both petit so he is unlikely to be a bruiser....

Hope that is helpful (in some way )

Original poster

noseynora · 06/03/2007 15:06

Thanks clooney. I do find it stressful in that I just worry about what could be wrong, even though my feeling is she's just petite like me. I don't think that carries much weight though ('scuse the pun) as it's all down to centile charts in the end. I guess I'm just looking for other people with a similar story to ease my mind on this

OP posts:

Brangelina · 06/03/2007 15:31

My DD is small, below the lowest centile but following the curve exactly. She did have a bit of a growth spurt at around 9 months when I could diversify her diet more and peaked at a bit over the lowest centile but has since gone back down (she's now 19mo btw).

We did have tests when she was tiny as she had put on weight really slowly in the 1st 6 weeks, but nothing was found to be wrong. She eats like a horse, always has done, but is still tiny. My first paediatrician was over anxious about her not putting on weight but the one I have at the moment has told me to relax, as long as she's healthy in every other way (which she is). She herself (the paed) had the same problem with her DD being tiny all the way until puberty and now she's a strapping 5'10" teenager.

The important thing I was told is as long as she's growing continuously lengthwise and her weight gain is constant, she's growing, so not to worry too much where she's at on the charts.

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