Baby dropped from 3rd to 0.4th centile

expectingourmiracle · 2022-12-01T16:06:00+00:00

My EBF 17 week old was born on the 9th percentile but soon found her curve on the 3rd. TMI but I went to get her weighed as my AF arrived despite exclusively breastfeeding. She has dropped to the 0.4th and weighs 10lb5 at 17 weeks. Initially we were doing formula top ups as breastfeeding was a real challenge, but for some time we having done that for some time. She is otherwise happy, albeit doesn't nap well so is a bit grumpy sometimes! Should I be concerned/consider formula top ups again? She is lactose intolerant so would need to be dairy free milk prescribed by GP. Anxious mama here!

girlmom21 · 01/12/2022 16:07

I would consider speaking to the GP. That's tiny. Was she full term?

EyeCand · 01/12/2022 16:11

I would be concerned, definitely reach out to a health visitor

Original poster

expectingourmiracle · 01/12/2022 16:30

girlmom21 · 01/12/2022 16:07

I would consider speaking to the GP. That's tiny. Was she full term?

She was full term but IVF so typically smaller. The GP has referred us but said he isn't overly concerned. He said we can use formula if we want to but he didn't push it on us as she's still weeing a pooing fine

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Original poster

expectingourmiracle · 01/12/2022 16:31

EyeCand · 01/12/2022 16:11

I would be concerned, definitely reach out to a health visitor

The health visitor just told us to get her weighed again in 2 weeks and go from there but I'm feeling too anxious to wait 2 weeks for an answer of what to do 😫

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girlmom21 · 01/12/2022 16:33

Ah I didn't know that IVF babies were smaller! Learn something new every day!

If the GP and health visitor aren't worried and she's content and weeing and pooing like you say, don't worry! If she goes through a stage where she refuses to feed or stops weeing get her checked again but don't panic for the next couple of weeks

girlmom21 · 01/12/2022 16:34

If you do want to give her some top ups, though, ask the doctor to prescribe the milk anyway. Tell them you want to combi feed x

nobodyknowss · 01/12/2022 16:49

Was your baby fresh transfer or frozen out of curiosity OP?

Also if push back on the GP, that weight is tiny.

TakeYourFinalPosition · 01/12/2022 17:31

This happened to me. We wobbled around on the 0.4th percentile for two months, with weekly check ins and some pressure to stop breastfeeding… and then he suddenly started gaining, and now he’s happily around the 70th. Still breastfed. No problems.

chineapplepunks · 01/12/2022 17:37

Speak to GP or health visitor if you're worried! My DD has always been on a low percentile. She dropped from 50th to 9th at 12 weeks. Now she's 7 months and she's still only on the 12th percentile but she's perfectly fine and healthy - just long and slim!

SeaToSki · 01/12/2022 17:41

Has anyone listened to her heart and stomach with a stethoscope? Is she a sleepy baby? Its likely a feeding issue, but there are other things that should be considered if a baby has failure to thrive

GiveMeYourSperm · 01/12/2022 17:57

Personally, I would not be doing formula top ups! I would be giving her formula as her main source of nutrition and treat her to some breastmilk on the side. 10lb at 17 weeks is not right. Likely she is not sleeping well and grumpy because she is starving, given there are no other obvious indicators as to why she wouldnt sleep lengthily.

My baby lost lots of her birth weight before we realised she wasn't getting enough from exclusive breastfeeding. Changed over to formula immediately, then she started steadily gaining weight and having more energy, and I breastfed her here and there as she would still go for the breast, which was great for the health benefits and baby also liked it for comfort (to fall asleep etc.) When she started trying out baby foods, her sleep length improved, so I think your baby might be wanting more nutrition, which would come with the dairy-free formula.

Dont worry about HVs and GPs. You are her mum and you are concerned enough to post here which means you know something isn't quite right. Go with your gut! If it was me I would not hesitate in getting LOTS of dairy-free milk into that tiny little beauty quick fast. I wouldn't wait for outside opinion at this stage.

We all want to breastfeed exclusively right, but the desire and determination to achieve this should not be detrimental to our babies' health.

hopsalong · 01/12/2022 18:03

Please offer her formula or bottles of expressed milk as well as breastfeeding while you wait to see the GP. Try to get her to consume as many calories as possible. Unless you're both extremely small and it's genetic, then she is not thriving. 2nd percentile is one thing, 0.4th percentile in the absence of a genetic explanation (or another medical condition, which the GP can pursue) is very very worrying.

Think about it like this. In a group of a thousand babies, only 3 (roughly) would be smaller than yours. Some of these babies might be the children of absolutely tiny parents. Some might have serious medical conditions that lead to feeding difficulties. Ebf is well and good and you can go back to it once everything has been checked out, and perhaps after she has gained some weight. I had a much larger baby at birth than you first time round but he gained weight very poorly and was crashing down through the percentiles. There can be any number of reasons why the baby isn't transferring milk well even if you have a good supply, and it's best to be cautious. It's so important for their long-term physical and mental development to be properly nourished in these early weeks.

Sayhellotothesunn · 01/12/2022 18:07

Get a set of baby scales and weigh breastfeeds for a few days @expectingourmiracle . See if baby is getting enough. It doesn’t sound like it though. I was the same although didn’t let babies weight drop. Once I saw weight falling I introduced formula and now do 50:50 formula and breastfeeds which is win win for both me and baby.

Hopefulbride18 · 01/12/2022 18:17

I just wanted to add another perspective.

My DD was born 25th percentile. Dropped to second within first couple of weeks, I combi fed to boost her weight. Then like you I slowly removed formula top ups as my supply increased.

She then dropped to between 0.4 and 2nd around the same time as your DD. I spoke to the health visitor about it at length and we agreed it was because she was becoming more active but they monitored her for a further 3 months. She remained on that centile and has since. I gradually reduced the breastfeeding around 5 -9 months and she is now weaning and having bottles of formula aside from a morning breastfeed. Nothing has changed, she is still between 0.4 and 2nd percentile. The HVs have agreed she is small but in proportion and developing fine.

I didn't need to switch to formula she was fine being breastfed. I let pressure of others, like on this thread, get to me.

Go for your review in 2 weeks and see when you're at then. There's no need to change anything for now, it sounds like you're both doing well!

Original poster

expectingourmiracle · 01/12/2022 18:31

nobodyknowss · 01/12/2022 16:49

Was your baby fresh transfer or frozen out of curiosity OP?

Also if push back on the GP, that weight is tiny.

She was fresh transfer. She is tiny but for reference I am only 5ft2 and her dad's nickname since he was a child is 'Skinny' 😂so I don't know what to think!

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Original poster

expectingourmiracle · 01/12/2022 18:32

SeaToSki · 01/12/2022 17:41

Has anyone listened to her heart and stomach with a stethoscope? Is she a sleepy baby? Its likely a feeding issue, but there are other things that should be considered if a baby has failure to thrive

Yes all normal, and she's definitely not sleepy. She chats and laughs constantly, always kicking her legs. She doesn't nap but sleeps fairly well at night

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Original poster

expectingourmiracle · 01/12/2022 18:35

GiveMeYourSperm · 01/12/2022 17:57

Personally, I would not be doing formula top ups! I would be giving her formula as her main source of nutrition and treat her to some breastmilk on the side. 10lb at 17 weeks is not right. Likely she is not sleeping well and grumpy because she is starving, given there are no other obvious indicators as to why she wouldnt sleep lengthily.

My baby lost lots of her birth weight before we realised she wasn't getting enough from exclusive breastfeeding. Changed over to formula immediately, then she started steadily gaining weight and having more energy, and I breastfed her here and there as she would still go for the breast, which was great for the health benefits and baby also liked it for comfort (to fall asleep etc.) When she started trying out baby foods, her sleep length improved, so I think your baby might be wanting more nutrition, which would come with the dairy-free formula.

Dont worry about HVs and GPs. You are her mum and you are concerned enough to post here which means you know something isn't quite right. Go with your gut! If it was me I would not hesitate in getting LOTS of dairy-free milk into that tiny little beauty quick fast. I wouldn't wait for outside opinion at this stage.

We all want to breastfeed exclusively right, but the desire and determination to achieve this should not be detrimental to our babies' health.

I would fully agree with you, except she's a really happy baby otherwise! She sleeps 6 hour stretches at night, it's just her day time naps that we struggle with. Me and her dad are very small, but it's the drop from the 3rd that's worried me. If she was always 0.4th I'd think well, someone has to be! But it's the change that frightened me a bit

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Original poster

expectingourmiracle · 01/12/2022 18:38

Hopefulbride18 · 01/12/2022 18:17

I just wanted to add another perspective.

My DD was born 25th percentile. Dropped to second within first couple of weeks, I combi fed to boost her weight. Then like you I slowly removed formula top ups as my supply increased.

She then dropped to between 0.4 and 2nd around the same time as your DD. I spoke to the health visitor about it at length and we agreed it was because she was becoming more active but they monitored her for a further 3 months. She remained on that centile and has since. I gradually reduced the breastfeeding around 5 -9 months and she is now weaning and having bottles of formula aside from a morning breastfeed. Nothing has changed, she is still between 0.4 and 2nd percentile. The HVs have agreed she is small but in proportion and developing fine.

I didn't need to switch to formula she was fine being breastfed. I let pressure of others, like on this thread, get to me.

Go for your review in 2 weeks and see when you're at then. There's no need to change anything for now, it sounds like you're both doing well!

Thank you for this reply, it has made me feel a little better! The health visitor actually commented on how active she was when we last saw her. Before she had even weighed my DD she said 'gosh you're moving so much I bet you're burning off all of the calories mummy is giving you!'

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tunthebloodyalarmoff · 01/12/2022 18:44

I would be worried too. That's a really low weight. I think you need to ask professional advice and not mumsnet

Hopefulbride18 · 01/12/2022 18:52

expectingourmiracle · 01/12/2022 18:38

Thank you for this reply, it has made me feel a little better! The health visitor actually commented on how active she was when we last saw her. Before she had even weighed my DD she said 'gosh you're moving so much I bet you're burning off all of the calories mummy is giving you!'

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I hope I've helped reassure you a little bit. Activity often causes a drop around this age but obviously because she's lower percentile it feels more concerning!

Interesting to see those on this thread who are being very negative and acting as though she must be failing to thrive at that weight are also claiming you need to seek professional help... You've done that and they're not overly concerned they are just keeping an eye. That's all fine.

Have her weighed regularly by HVs to check in and all will be fine!

Original poster

expectingourmiracle · 01/12/2022 18:55

tunthebloodyalarmoff · 01/12/2022 18:44

I would be worried too. That's a really low weight. I think you need to ask professional advice and not mumsnet

If you read back you'll see I have seen a health visitor, a GP and am waiting on a hospital referral

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Sayhellotothesunn · 01/12/2022 19:01

expectingourmiracle · 01/12/2022 18:55

If you read back you'll see I have seen a health visitor, a GP and am waiting on a hospital referral

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Have you gotten a lactation consultant out to check how much baby is getting @expectingourmiracle

Original poster

expectingourmiracle · 01/12/2022 19:07

@Sayhellotothesunn I'm booked in with the local infant feeding team on Monday. I've seen them once before and they described her as 'a beautiful feeder'

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lemonyfox · 01/12/2022 19:09

Do you/would you be willing to try expressing? Then she can have more top ups of breastmilk.

Breastmilk supply is a funny old thing, expressing will increase your supply for a while but if/when you stop your body does respond quickly to demand.

Original poster

expectingourmiracle · 01/12/2022 19:22

lemonyfox · 01/12/2022 19:09

Do you/would you be willing to try expressing? Then she can have more top ups of breastmilk.

Breastmilk supply is a funny old thing, expressing will increase your supply for a while but if/when you stop your body does respond quickly to demand.

I used to use the handheld breast pump successfully but because my DD is feeding frequently in the day I never get a chance, she uses the boob for comfort a lot as she won't take a dummy so I feel like there is no in between time if that makes sense?

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