Small baby small appetite?

[Pinky9000]

Hi all

I'm EBFing my 3 month old. Had supply issues at the start so was topping her up with formula which resulted is excellent weight gain. Since being EBF, weight gain has slowed. I kind of expected this but am constantly being pressured by HV to reintroduce formula. I know she isn't still hungry after feeds (experienced this when my supply was not up to scratch at the start so I know the signs)- she seems satisfied and sleeps well and wakes to feed like clockwork.

I'm quite petite myself, barely 5ft and DH was also never a chubby baby, and so DD is also on the small side. I wasn't too worried about her weight until the HV basically made it sound like she was malnourished -_-

Not really sure what I'm asking lol...just having a bit of a moan really. Is it possible she just has a smaller appetite because she herself is small? She's active and reaching all her milestones. Going up in clothes and nappy sizes albeit a little slower than most other babies her age.

Anyone else been in a similar situation?

My baby was small. She was exclusively breastfed and gained weight very slowly. She was under the bottom centile until she was over 6 months. She breastfed loads, but never seemed hungry afterwards.
The doctors and healthcare staff never seemed overly worried, as long as she was going up. I had her weighed every 2 weeks. They never pressurised me to formula feed. It wasn't even suggested.
Once I started her on solids at 6 months, she then started putting on a bit more weight. She's 14 months now and on the 50th centile, she's very petite and on a low centile for her height
She's perfect though. I think you know yourself if they are ok or not.

As long as your baby is gaining weight then I wouldn't be concerned. I also had supply issues but was determined not to top up with formula as it's a slippery slope from there, the less you feed the less your body will produce, which for someone who already has supply issues is not helpful. The only time I would be concerned was if baby was noticeably still hungry after feeds, or if they were losing weight. You know your baby and you know how you want to feed them, don't be railroaded into giving formula if that's not your choice.
One thing that may help is to encourage baby to take long feeds rather than short frequent feeds just to ensure they are getting the hind (fatty) milk. DS was a snack feeder and would only feed one side per feed, then fall asleep but be hungry again an hour later. I started spacing his feeds out to every 3/4 hours and it helped his appetite and by the time he fed he was hungry enough to have long feeds and drain both sides.