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Infant feeding

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

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Original poster

Worried about weight gain / reflux baby / early weaning- everything really!!

19 replies

sweetjane · 03/06/2007 20:32

Ok have posted on similar before but feel like I am going round in circles.. Ds is 5 months old and I am bf exclusively. He has always been a very sicky baby but it never seemed to bother him, even though he brings up half of each daytime feed (keeps it down much better at night cos he is not moving around!)

Everyone keeps commenting on him being "a bit small" - he is on the 25th centile despite being 7lbs 11oz (50th centile I think) when he was born. Basically I'm sure that if he could keep his food down he would be a lot heavier. Have tried Infant Gaviscon but it seems to make him really strain to do a poo - is this normal??

I'm really depressed because I feel like I have failed him somehow. Friends and family keep pressuring me to wean him early but I don't see how a bit of carrot etc is going to help him pile on the pounds!

This is a bit rambling, sorry. Any reassurance or advice would be much appreciated!

OP posts:

Original poster

sweetjane · 03/06/2007 20:33

Should have added - is 15lbs 6oz now at 5 months.

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mummytosteven · 03/06/2007 20:35

Hmmmm - DS was like this, and the sickiness became much better, and he started piling on the pounsd once I had started weaning him. I don't know why, and whether it would have happened anyway without the weaning though...

mummytosteven · 03/06/2007 20:35

Jojay · 03/06/2007 20:36

Have you seen a doctor about his sickiness?? I have no experience of this, but if you think it is affecting his weight gain, it may be a good place to start. I agree with you, that a bit of mushy carrot probably won't make much difference, but getting the milk to stay down might!!!!

Good luck - I'm sure someone else will have something more useful to say!

LIZS · 03/06/2007 20:39

No carrot won't make him pile on the pounds - it is less calorific than bm, ounce for ounce. You should n't feel as if you have "failed" him - 25% of babies are smaller than him and he may simply have adjusted his growth curve (from which many breast fed babies vary anyway, it is onlya statistical average). ime puke always looks more than it really is so don't use that as an indicator of his feed. If he were still hungry he'd want more. Provided he is healthy, gaining weight and active you are both doing well and it isn't easy to persevere with a sicky baby. It does get better but weaning and increased activity may not combine well initially hth

Original poster

sweetjane · 03/06/2007 20:39

Hiya thanks for replying. 1st doc I saw said there was nothing to worry about, 2nd doc I saw prescribed the gaviscon. I don't really understand the weight charts to be honest. Should all babies be around the 50th centile, is that how it works?

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bookthief · 03/06/2007 20:39

Ok, ds is on the 50th centile and was only a couple of pounds heavier at that age (roughly, I can't be bothered digging out the red book!) so to the "naked eye" I should imagine they'd look pretty much the same. Maybe people that are commenting that he's "a bit small" are forgetting that he's a 5 month old baby which is pretty much the definition of small!

Sorry to be flippant when this is obviously bothering you, but his weight is great and it's fantastic that his possetting isn't causing him any bother and that he'd putting on weight so well despite of it. Big kudos for you for growing your baby so well!

If the sickness is causing you concern then it might be worth seeing your gp again - don't know about Gaviscon and constipation, sorry.

bookthief · 03/06/2007 20:42

sweetjane, you're not alone in not understanding how the charts work - it sometimes feels like a lot of medical professionals don't either!

The 50th centile means that about half of babies will be heavier and about half of babies will be lighter, statistically, so you can see it's a nonsense to have it as some "ideal weight". For the charts to make any sense there needs to be a distribution of weights across it - all are normal.

LIZS · 03/06/2007 20:45

No the 50th centile simply means that statistically 50% of all babies, however fed, are above this line and 50% below at any given aget. There is definitely no should be about it, but significant sudden movement away from their normal "line", in either direction, can be just one indicator that there may be a problem. Your baby sounds much bigger than my refluxy dd was at that age and she was weaned at about 20 weeks, making no difference aprt form multi coloured puke ! Is HV worried or gp ?

ruddynorah · 03/06/2007 20:45

you need to read this about growth charts

Original poster

sweetjane · 03/06/2007 20:48

Thanks everyone. I think part of my anxiety is caused by competitive mums i meet who seem eager to point out how heavy their babies are! I take the point though that to have an average you have to have babies that are above or below!

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ruddynorah · 03/06/2007 20:50

exactly! it doesn't mean you're aiming for 100%. i'm 5 ft 2. i'm not aiming to be 6ft!

danceswithbaby · 03/06/2007 20:57

I believe the centile charts (and I could be wrong) are still based on formula fed babies in the 50's. Therefore (imho) they can't be terribly relevant to an exclusively b/f baby.

I wouldn't worry too much about him being on the 25th centile. Does he look well and healthy to you? You're the one in the best position to judge whether or not there is anything to be concerned about.

It is fairly common for infant gaviscon to cause constipation. If you are continuing to use it, you should perhaps give water to help loosen things.

Personally, I don't think that early weaning is ever a good thing, especially when there are already digestive issues. Bm is absolutely the best thing to prime your baby's digestive system.

My dd was also quite a bad reflux baby. It seemed to get worse around the 4/5 month mark, then settle down, then get worse again about 7/8 months. Then it improved gradually and now at 15 months, she is absolutely fine. She was exclusively b/f until 8 months.

Original poster

sweetjane · 03/06/2007 21:02

Thanks danceswithbaby. I don't want to wean him early either but MIL and my parents both seem to be suggesting this as the answer to everything!!! Really appreciate this support.

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Original poster

sweetjane · 03/06/2007 21:08

LIZS - HV not worried but 2nd gp I saw seemed to be concerned. Interesting that your dd's reflux did not settle down with weaning - will offer this as an example next time MIL says anything!!

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danceswithbaby · 03/06/2007 21:12

I had that pressure too. When dd was 5 months I caught my mother trying to feed her a chocolate biscuit dunked in tea, for god's sake!

Original poster

sweetjane · 03/06/2007 21:27

chocolate biscuits!!

Went away with parents last week and ds often sits on my knee when I am eating. Had to put up with parents' "poor little boy!" comments whenever he reached for my food and I wouldn't let him have any! I mean, it's not because it's food that he reaches for it - he reaches for ANYTHING - he'd grab a lit firework and shove it in his mouth if you let him, doesn't mean I should let him have it!!

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hotbot · 03/06/2007 21:32

ahh you sound so fed up,
i am not an expert by any means but if your baby is happy , alert and seems ok dont worry about the charts,
no 2 adults arwe the same so why should babies be....
my lo is right where she should be weight wise ,now, and off the scale on height...another week she was underweight, i really think its peaks and troughs......if youre happy to continue the way you are, ignore everyone else,

danceswithbaby · 04/06/2007 22:59

Ha! I got all those "poor little thing" comments too, when dd was reaching for everything! "go on... a little bit of cake won't hurt her!"

Then at 6 months when I tried to offer her a little tase of solids, she didn't want to know, which just proved your point about the lit firework

When she really became interested in food (around 8 months), it was SO obvious that she hadn't been before, iyswim.

Anyway, the world health organisation advise 6 months exclusive b/f for very good reasons and they say that up until one year, solid food should be a supplement to bm, not the other way around.

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