Mighty oaks from little acorns grow - slow weight gain support thread

[FireworksScareMossyPets]

Thread for those of us whose los are:

• Healthy
• Meeting developmental milestones
• Producing plenty of soaking wet nappies
• Producing several pooey nappies (quantity varies after first six weeks or so)
• Gaining weight...

but just much more slowly than the centile charts tell us they should.

This is a thread for help, support and understanding from other Mums who have "been there, done that".

It's where we can share links, share our stories and what if anything we have done to help our lo's weight gain - or whether we've just ditched the scales and looked at the baby.

However, we also don't want to lull other Mums into a false sense of security; if your lo is not meeting the criteria at the top then it is best to get help from a breastfeeding counsellor (or general infant feeding specialist - not all slow gaining babies are breastfed) or supportive health care professional.

Mossy xx

God love you!

Hope so, re "healthy".

Def happy & gorgeous, though!

Carrot, if you do end up supplementing, there are ways and means of doing it so you can still protect the breastfeeding relationship (e.g. giving other milk by SNS).

I'm not saying you do have to supplement, just saying that if you do, it doesn't necessarily mean that breastfeeding is up the swannee.

And yes Ange is right she is gorgeous.

I'm in bits tonight. Thank goodness dh will be coming home for Christmas. It's hard sometimes when I'm on my own all week. I tried to express again half an hour ago but got less than an ounce, so today is a day when I feel like it's my fault she's starving. I feel like my milk supply is crap and that I am genuinely one of those "1 in 50" women who can NOT make enough milk. She just can't seem to take from me what she needs, and I don't know why it's so hard - is it that she's too weak to get it out, or that my body can't generate enough? Does she have a tiny appetite? Then why can she down several ounces of EBM (which take forever to produce) after feeding from me? Is she taking plenty but burning it all off with a high metabolism? I'm so bloody frustrated and sick and tired of guessing what's wrong. I wish someone would just TELL ME so that I can fix it.

It's not like there's a latch or positioning problem that I can just fix. Nobody can actually tell me what's causing this. And as time goes by she gets further and further away from what's considered normal.

I retreated to bed with her all day today to just sleep and feed.

I'm soooooooooooooo tired of worrying about this.

I feel like swearing. My stupid inadequate body is letting her down.

Carrot {{{{{{{{{{{{{{HUGS}}}}}}}}}}}}}}} to you. I don't know what to say except your body is not stupid or inadequate. Maybe you do hae a supply issue, I don't know enough about it. I have to go and do stuff now but will phone you tomorrow if that's okay and have a chat to you.

MLC - been keeping an eye out for you and wondering how things were. Sorry it's no better.

If it remains the same I think you should push through the appointment after Christmas - for your own piece of mind. It's really bringing you down isn't it?

lol at your mum though. Bless her

Oh, VLC, you are amazing, and that sounds like so much stress for you.

I have skinny ones too (dd1 especially), and I do know the worry. Once they're older the pressure is so much less, as you'll find out, but in the first months it's hard.

If she's alert and happy and seems fine, odds are she is fine. But maybe having her checked out again will put your mind at rest?

Incidentally, weaning onto solids, which we did at 6 months, made no difference to dd1's weight. (I don't know about dd2 as I was so allergic to scales by then I never had her weighed...) She's now 3 and just the same. So in retrospect we can see that she's just meant to be skinny, but you can't be 100% sure of this at the time - hence the stress.

Sympathies!

VLC, I have sent you a message on FB after having a chat to the local bf midwife on Thursday about slow to gain weight babies and supply and all that malarky.

Merry Christmas all!

Mossy - thanks for your message. Have sent you a reply.

What a fab thread.
My dd2 was born weighing 12lbs 2oz at 37 weeks.
She now weighs 13lb 0.5oz at 18 weeks.
She has been on Infatrini for approx 8 weeks but is struggling to gain and even with the extra calories, sometimes loses
She is alert and happy but very tiny especially considering how huge she looked at first.
She is following a similar pattern to her brother (now 2.4, 12lb 8oz born,24lbs now and 108cm tall!!)who was hospitalised due to his weight (he also has developmental delay and heart problems due to infection and lack of oxygen at birth) at 6months.
Both were in special care at birth but for different reasons.
She was breastfed during her time in NICU but as ds lost so much weight I put her on formula.
As you can see it made no odds and she takes around 600ml of Infatrini a day now.
I will be rooting for all your lo's to be gaining as well as mine,good luck everyone.

Wow QueenB - big respect to you on giving birth to a rather large baby! However, we can all understand the worry that comes with having a slow gainer, and you must have had some pressure from your HV, I imagine, given such a big birthweight.

I'm assuming that she's been checked over by the doctors and given the all clear?

Have you heard of "catch down" growth? Sounds like this may be applicable perhaps.

13 lb at 18 weeks sounds huuuuge to me, (actually I'll be rejoicing if babycarrot ever reaches 10lb) but when every ounce is hard won, I truly sympathise with how hard it must be for your big baby to seem to become a little one.

Welcome to the tiny acorns club! You'll get lots of support here!

Thanks for the lovely welcome Carrot

My little Queenie only just achieved her 13lb status yesterday and we have been below birth weight until a few weeks ago so I am pleased.
I have read with interest through your posts on your lo.I think that regular,consistant gain is marvellous and it seems you are doing fantastically.
I am very pleased babycarrot has been given the all clear by so many people.
Not everyone has to be a certain size and the centile charts irritate me somewhat.

She attends clinics with the pead and a dietitician but has had no testing other than on NICU.
My HV is crap and can barely remember her own name.

Both families (dh's and mine) have big birth babies (13lb being the biggest so far) and they have all gone with the growth chrts and gained as did my dd1 who was a 'tiny' 9lb at birth.
I am at a loss as to why they seem to go so small but am confident she will catch up again just as her brother did.
Nevertheless it is frightening to watch your baby shrinking away and feeling helpless to prevent it.

dd is gaining weight v slowly, but seems very tall. she is producing plenty of poo and wet nappies, but actually lost weight a couple of weeks ago. hv thinks it might be dd's cold, which has dragged on for weeks... terribly worried, even though she is such a happy, chirpy little thing.

Hi QueenBhannae, what a big baby you had! I second VLC - could it be "catch down growth"?

VLC ('tis me, Mossy, btw, just got bored with my nickname) I got your reply and will reply back when I get a mo!

Lazycat sorry to hear about your dd's cold. Hope she is better soon.

hello everyone, thought"d pop over here of if I may?!

I too am in possession of a skinny baby. He was 8lb 4oz at birth(but still skinny) he seemed very long too. Now at nearly 9 months he has dropped down to 9th centile, he was born on 75th. His growth has really slowed down and in the last three months has hardly gained any weight or length.

My instinct is to leave things, ok he's a whinger but he's active and healthy. My HV said today that I should cut right down on the BF and feed him cream cheese sandwiches!! Well i can't make him eat, he is quite happy to graze during the day. The HV said his frequent snack feeding from the breasts was supressing his appetite for 'food' and that he needed to eat more real food!
I think it's a load of cobblers tbh.
I would like to stay here if I may even though I'm not really concerned as it can be stressful being the mother of a little baby can't it?

Well, given I'm going to have to be back in full-time employment any moment now I've decided that I'm going to take ds to be weighed tomorrow.

I've already decided what I'm going to say if he's not put on much since last time he went; I'm going to tell them I'm "under the care" of the infant feeding coordinator at the local hospital, which in a sense I am (I volunteer at her bf support group).

So wish me luck!!

We're getting there!
I posted about my baby's crap feeding a few days ago and was directed here. Thank you!

My baby went from the 50th to the 2nd but is now on her way back up again - I have had lots of problems BF but am SO pleased I have stuck with it. She's leapt up to the top of the 9th now and I wish I knew then what I know now - that it's OKAY if yur baby doesn't follow those horrid charts they give you. It desn't mean that there is something wrong or that you are a crap mum or that you can't produce enough milk.

Stick with BF if you can, it's worth it and I love the 'catching down' theory.

Good luck
Allie

That's fantastic news Allie. It's great to hear things are improving in the weight gain stakes.

And you are SO right about not getting hung up on the charts.

(we are so far off the bottom of the charts that we can only just see the bottom centile if we crane our necks upwards.

And we can't always be bothered to look.

Just wanted to say check this out
www.promom.org/images/girlweight.gif
it might help - it's the chart for BF babies instead of FF. My babs is in the 25th instead of the 9th. But who cares what the charts say anyway - right??!

Thanks - but we are still ridiculously far into no-mans land, even on these charts!!!

If you're skinny and you know it clap your hands (clapclap)

Hi MLC,
I read some of your threads and just wnated to say that I really empathise. I know so well that feeling of one day thinking the world is going to collapse in because babs hasn't put on weight and the next feeling like you couldn't care less as babs is happy, smiling etc. It's such a rollercoaster. But having almost come out the other end (although several comments on how 'delicate she is' today nearly sent me back) I really jjust want to say to you that it is all worth it and the joy of reaching the 10/15 lbs and all the other milestones make it all worthwhile!

I weaned Ila at 51/2 months and that has made a HUGE difference.Still BF 4 times a day and do a formula 'dreamfeed' @11pm, she's shot up nearly 2 quartiles since then -have you weaned her yet?

Well, I'm feeling like a bit of a fraud now for being on this thread.

I hadn't taken ds to be weighed for about ten weeks, after the debacle last time. Anyway in ten weeks he's come back up from the 0.4th centile to the second.

It's weird. He was born on the 50th centile and slid down and down the centiles (although put on weight most weeks, so still went up the charts) every week. He got stuck around the ninth for a bit but then slid down some more until at about 30 weeks he was right down at 0.4th. But I now feel like he was always meant to be little, like he's now finally found his place on the chart.

And I wonder if lots and lots of babies are like this, exhibiting catch-down growth, but don't find their genetic weight until quite late on in their first year?

If this is the case I wonder why more HVs aren't made aware of this phenomenon when they have their failure to thrive / faltering growth training?

Kaballie I'm glad things are going better for you now!! Nice to make your acquaintance. You're right, sod the charts.

Carrot... how are things? Tomorrow might be my last session at Whiston Hospital as I'm seriously jobseeking now so if you want to come along do send me a text!!

Kaballie: "although several comments on how 'delicate she is' today nearly sent me back"

Ikwym. I have been asked often if ds was prem when I tell people how many months he is, because he's very compact. And you do feel a bit almost like apologising for not having a chubby baby!!

Hey Mossy / RVP

Good news on the weight gain!!! I've been in St H all week just lolling around, and went home again today - doh! Good luck with the job seeking - I can't bear the thought I might have to go back at some point ...denial, denial...

I'm stubbornly waiting till 26 weeks (end of January) to wean babycarrot, but popped her into her new ikea highchair today for the first time to test drive it. Extreeemely cute to see this tiddly little moppet peering over the tray with a cheeky grin, and teeny little legs dangling below.

Quite looking forward to it, really!

Hi RTP, that's good news!! Ronnie wouldn't eat today, 2 fromage frais when I offered him 'food' he look disgusted, and held it in his fingers like it was a piece of poo then casually let it fall to the floor.