Just got 6 month old DD weighed... Help please?

[CharlotteTheWorryWort]

Basically my 6month old DD (born on 11th sept 06) has dropped through the centiles and now seems to be losing weight. She is exclusively breastfed and always has been, sleeps really well (8pm - 7.30am most nights) and naps well in the daytime. She's bright, alert, has plenty of wet and dirty nappies and if I hadnt got her weighed 3 weeks ago I wouldn't have been worried about her in the slightest. Anyway, here are her weights so far -
Birth ------- 3.62 kg (8pds 0oz)
2 weeks -------- 3.68 kg (8pds 2oz)
5 weeks ----- 4.49 kg (9pds 14oz)
7 weeks ----- 4.85 kg (10pds 11oz)
22 weeks ------- 6.04 kg (13pds 5oz)

my ds3 is 5.1mths and also he has gone down in weight but not worried his happy and healthy dd1 & dd2 did the same. Once your dd starts solids you'll see an increase. I never started formula with dd2 just started on c&g creamed porridge and within 2 wks she'd gone back up to 25th. if dd happy just try food and get her weighted next week. if she hasn't put anything on then think about formula.

"if I hadnt got her weighed 3 weeks ago I wouldn't have been worried about her in the slightest"

This is the sentence that jumps out at me. If I was you, I'd carry on bf'ing (possibly trying to stuff a few extra feeds in at most). Start weaning as planned. And avoid the HV for about 2 years.

You could get your gp to check her out. Ask if there is anything actually wrong, other than that she doesn't conform to the weight charts. Non-conformity is not a sickness!

I'm with fruitful, ignore the HV
In % terms it is hardly any drop

my advice?

stop getting her weighed, and bf her every time she asks.
she sounds like she's doing fine and the HV is flapping over not a lot.

I agree, was in similar situation, ignored HV continued to BF but rested up with DS for a few days & offered him boob all the time to help with any supply issues.
Go with your instinct as mum always knows best

Thank you thats just what I needed to hear I had been avoiding the HV until she called me up to check on us otherwise I wouldn't have bothered getting her weighed for a good few months yet. I will definately try to get her to bf more, and get her checked out with the GP just in case. Thankfully we're moving across the country in a few weeks so I wont have to see that HV anymore, i just hope the new one doesnt pester me so much

And make sure you get some rest, dont get stressed & increase your fluids just incase its effecting your milk supply. Is your HV using the FF charts like mine was- not helpful if they are!!!

charlotte, your HV is being very unhelpful. If she thinks your baby needs extra calories, then you can simply breastfeed her more often. Problem solved.
OTOH, nothing you say makes me think this is anything other than a normal healthy baby developing well and according to her own physiology. Charts showing the normal development of breastfed babies will show them as lighter than formula fed babies after the first few months, too.

By all means start a few solids if you want to, but she will gain better on breastmilk.

Tbh id get her weighed next week, just to make sure loosing weight was just down to the cold and not something else, reassuring you if nothing else. Babies should be roughly in proportion weight and height, have they measured her height? As its been said before on other threads, someone has to be on these centiles thats why they are there, it doesnt necessarily mean there is something wrong. Your hv doesnt sound very supportive, hope for better one when you move! If you dont want to ff then dont, its your choice.

My little girl is currently careering down the centiles although she hasn't actually lost weight (although your DD has been ill). HV questioned me and I told her that as I breastfeed her on demand and she eats as much solids as she likes I feel there is not much else to do. You know your daughter and if you are worried and feel something is amiss then see your GP but if you feel she is happy and healthy then keep doing what you're doing - a great job!

p.s - what a great sleeper - DD2 is nearly one and normally fits in at least 3 feeds between 7pm and 6am.

Tiktok - if you see this please could you look at this thread?

I've been pestered by HVs, too, as my dd, now 9 months, went from 2nd at birth to 25th at about 3 months and cruised down to now just below the 2nd. At about 3-4 months, my HV told me to supplement with ebm or formula, but as dd was not a big feeder in the first place and wouldn't take bottles, it was a non-starter. So the HV sent me to the GP. He asked me why I hadn't started solids by five months, so I said it was not what the NHS or WHO recommended, he looked at me blankly and referred us to hospital!
Tiktok is the expert, and she might has something to say about supply when your baby is six months. I'm not so sure it's an issue at this stage, your milk production should be pretty well established by now, no? That said, feed often, if you can. It just didn't work for us, dd just refused. I know someone who had centile plunging baby and she was told by her GP to give up bfeeding, and bless her but the silly woman listened to the mad GP, and then the baby didn't gain more weight than she had been.
Frankly, in our case, all the HV and GP and ped involvement has been a waste of time and taxpayers (mine! yours!) money, and not really reassuring either - quite the opposite, I still find it stressful to have to justify myself to a ped. Our baby's obviously well and happy, and developing as she should, she's just small for now.
So... get informed, stand your ground, and remember you are not alone, and definitely not a failure.

I went through same thing with my dd now two. She lovely thriving petite little girl. I was referred to GP by completely neurotic HV who wantd to know why she was 'failing to thrive'. Was mortified at time until GP questioned why she had sent me there in first place. I now know should have trusted my instincts and not some pedantic HV, not every child follows the centiles.

definately support everything that has been said to you Charlotte - I have had hasle from the HV from the other end of the spectrum as dd is shooting up in weight of their charts entirely (she is 11 m weighs 13kgs and is bf/ and on solids) YOU know your daughter and what is normal for your family not the HV if dd is healthy sleeping well developing etc. etc. then you have nothing to worry about - you can feed more often if you feel it is needed - I feed alot during the night and have been told night breastmilk is higher in calories (can't vouch for how true that is!?) so maybe up evening feds - otherwise do not worry.

i would continue with the breastfeeding, and start solids, seems like the drop may be as baby is ready for solids and it will pick up again, once weaning is established, it annoys me sometimes, as formula is pushed, its no wonder breastfeeding fails... goodluck with what you deceide

I think the supply is the problem. Your breasts may be drying up. Or DD is now requiring more. 6m breastfeeding is a success, so I don't know how you could be a faliure. Going from the 50th to the 2nd centile is bad though, and it is definitely worth regular weigh-ins for the next few fortnights. I think the next logical step is aptamil top up milk for a month or so, and then gentle solids. You need to see your dr to exclude anything sinister though, but it's likely that it's just not enough petrol going in. Your HV sounds sensible btw. HVs are paid to be cautious and anything out of the ordinary should be seen by the GP.

Charlotte, almost exactly the same thing happened to my friend recently. Her baby is exclusively bf, and has started solids. Her weight began to drop when she started weaning and she cut down on her milk. The HV asked her to come back for a weigh 3 weeks later, and was then happy as she is now following a centile, albeit a lower one, and she has put some weight on. I think there's too much emphasis put on those charts... some of us are small, some are big, some fat, some thin. I would worry if your DD wasn't alert, sleeping well, responding well to you, and you say that all those things are fine.

If I were you, I'd carry on bf and introduce solids, but try and make sure LO doesn't cut down on her milk at the moment. I don't think introducing formula would make any difference. I have 2 DSs, one fully bf to 6 months, the other only to 4 months, but DS2 is much lighter, much smaller than his bigger bf-for-longer brother. They are just how they are meant to be.

dadass - there's a difference between being cautious, and offering bad advice, and scaring a first-time mother who is probably feeling pretty vulnerable.
And starting solids may - or may not - "solve the problem". They certainly have not solved anything with our dd. And we add butter to everything. Dare I say it, there may not be a problem at all. The centile curves are useful when you know how to interpret them, but they are not Gospel Truth. A drop over six months is not the same as a drop over one month. One needs to understand what the figures mean, and the growth patterns of bf babies.

I disagree entirely with dadass.
If you were not concerned about dd until they made you worried it's hv problem, not dd's.
I think that your original plan sounds fine...and I don't see how when your dd is 6mths that you could be drying up.

I would like to add that I don't know who compiled these charts, I'm sure that a mother's instinct should carry more weight no pun intended, than some graph in a little red book.

I never get dd2 (11.5mths) weighed, she is smaller than some other babies 4mths younger than her. Does not worry me.

Who is the other mnetter who has lost her book and is not allowed another?

I also disagree with Dedass, and I think what she says is OTT. This is the kind of talk that stresses mothers - not good for mother or baby. From what I have read, I understand that many babies who are bf beyond 6 months experience a drop on the centile charts. The charts are based on formula fed babies I think? And also on averages, and we are not all average.

What did mothers do before the invention of a bloody chart I wonder? Oh, I know, they'd look at the baby's general health, alertness, sleep patterns, brightness of eyes, number of wet nappies and bowel movements - all the signs of general good health. Which Charlotte doesn't appear to be worried about.

If Charlotte's DD is requiring more breast milk, then Charlotte's breasts, which have become experts in the last 6 months, will provide it. It won't take them long to catch up with an increased demand.

Goodasgold and mootie - you're both probably right. But is probably good enough? Having another expert opinion won't do any harm. I have quite a good understanding of the gausian distribution of the centiles.

It sounds as though your dd is following a similar pattern to my dd. My HV has said that she isn't concerned but that the usual procedure is to refer to a Paed if things don't improve. (My dd is 11mths now though so we're further along with this than you are). Not once has the HV even hinted at giving up bf'ing. She has had a lot of extra bf'ing training though so maybe that's the difference between my HV and yours?

What is the gausian distribution of the centiles?
Is that what makes Aptimil preferable to bm?
I hav no understanding of any such thing.
Never heard of it, please clarify

Oxford English dictionary - "Gaussian distribution = another name for normal distribution".

Dedass, I'm not sure I get what you are saying.

Why would aptimil help? I don't see how.

Not read the whole thread, but... My DS went from 50th to 2nd sometime over the first 6 months, he's stuck there since then and is a perfectly healthy but dinky 12 month old.

If she seems happy and healthy, then please do not worry - some children just grow at different rates.