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)

This is all stuff I studied years ago. Spelling mistakes and all, I think the opinion I've given is ok. it's my first night on mumsnet and it's been interesting. What I would say to Charlotte is see the dr. Have a nice night guys. I'm off to bed. Once again apologies for the spellin.

But it might have been a gradual drop percy... we can't know because of the big chunk in between where she wasn't weighed.

Dadass - you have to allow for a little bit of 'human nature' here.

I think hvs/docs get over hung up on weight, because it is a tangible objective measure. That is not the same thing as saying it is the best predictor/discriminator.

Weighing is also something the hvs control. Of course people naturally like to feel that 'their patch' is important.

I think a lot of these circs happen because there is so much pressure on health professionals, they need to 'process' mums as quick as poss. That allows little time for delving into the - crucial - surrounding circumstances.

Yes indeed, you have me. I have blund you with science. I am a health vistor sponsored by aptamil. I love Fruit Shoots for my formula fed son who is on the 50th centile ALWAYS. My opinion was honest and supportive.
I won't be back. Good luck Charlotte, and to everyone who was civil earlier.

I'm off to bed too.

Charlie - main thing is to not be panicked and hustled into snap changes of tactics. It's clearly not an emergency, is it? Take your time to calm down and make your own judgements based on advice and information you've had.

If you are new here then you would know nothing about fruit shoots

Hem, hem, have just started a thread about this!

Here's some thing you can print out and beat the HV over the head with.

Kif you didn't mean I blinded people with science did you? I'm quite the reverse.
Dadass I will not believe that formula feeding is as good as bfing, whatever centile the baby is on.

Fascinating.... I think I disagree with every single thing that dadasss has said so far.

Every single thing.

Is this a record?

Welliemum I also disagree with everything dadass has said.

I think people might feel less threatened by formula top ups if the people suggesting them (and I very much include health professionals here) at least acknowledged the very real risk to breastfeeding that they can be and explained the pros and cons on this basis.

It's just so depressing that you have to question the knowledge of HV & GPs in this area but my HV and my GP were both very honest in telling me that their knowledge of breastfeeding is very slight...

Charlotte, I found out in conversation with my mother the other day that I did exactly what your daughter is doing. I was weaned at 4 months and my mum started me on formula around the same time (although I think this was unrelated to the slow weight gain). Didn't make any difference and at 18 months I was very tiny (off the centiles looking in that red book) but perfectly healthy. I have no memory of being smaller than average as a child (I am now 5'6") so I must have had a growth spurt as a toddler. This seems to be a very common phenomenon and I was very interested to read Wellie's link that suggests research is starting to question the strategy of pile on the weight by any means necessary.

AT least 2 of us then!

And I agree with everything kif has said.

Weird.

Normally I have bunions from sitting on the fence so much!

Gold - i didn't mean you. Dadass's assertions that "I have quite a good understanding of the gausian distribution of the centiles." and "I know what I'm talking about!" got my back up. Even before you got to talking about bf, his assertions about the statistics/mathematics underpinning the charts were very wrong.

Dadass - you don't need to leave - its not a witchunt. Thing is, though, these threads get used now and at later dates for people looking for information and support. That means that you can't let something you know to be wrong to stay unchallenged. Your tone was authoritative but your information was wrong - hence why you got jumped on.

Wow I only just checked this thread again since last time I posted as we have gone to Wales for the weekend. I was shocked to see so many responses!

Thank you to everyone who has given me reassurance, it has certainly made me feel better. I havent given DD any formula and I dont plan to - she's still sleeping well and is alert and happy as i said in my first post. I have been offering to bf more often to try to increase my supply a little, to see if that might help. I certainly dont think Im 'drying up' though, otherwise dd would be screaming for milk all the time and she definately is not. However she does now take both sides until they are empty whereas before she would take just one, so i think my supply may have reduced a little when she started sleeping through, but I could be wrong there!

My DH is worried about her more than i am, and wants her to pile on the pounds as quickly as possible. I on the other hand would rather get her checked out to make sure there's nothing else causing the slow weight gain/weight loss, and as long as everything is fine, i dont think fattening her up just for the charts is such a good idea.

Anyway, I shall return with a more in depth response as we are just going out to the beach! Thanks again to everyone who has written reassuring responses, i cant remember any names right now though, sorry!

Charlotte x

A tip for dadass: don't come onto a thread and sound informed and authoritative, not to say bossy, and even claim you know what you are talking about, and come out with ill-informed stuff about breasts drying up (!), advising topping up (you even name a brand, FGS), which will make breastfeeding less likely to continue (maybe you didn't realise this?).

No, it's not a witch hunt, but I can tell you, the people on these boards are open to opinion and discussion, but they don't like people trying to sound like they know what they are on about, when, quite clearly, they don't.

Why not admit you got it wrong?

Charlotte - glad you feel better. If your dd needs to gain weight, then you can feed her more on the breast. Simple