Slow weight gain in 5 month old

[glitterbird]

I am hoping someone can offer some advice/support. my ds has been slowly dropping down in his pecentile chart since he was 12 weeks old. He weighed 3260kg (7lb 3oz)on the 25th percentile at birth. Today he is 23 weeks and is 6230 (13lb 12oz) and is getting close to the 2nd percentile. He has been exclusively breastfed. He has been sleeping from 8pm to 7-7.30am ish for the past month with 1 night feed around 11pm but does not nap much during the day. He is a very active baby who seems constantly on the move with arms and legs flapping etc He feeds approx every 3-4 hours but basically whenever he wants to.

my HV has advised me to either start weaning or top up with formula neither of which I really wish to do as ds is happy and developing as he should otherwise and does not appear to be hungary. Has anyone else experienced this type of slow weight gain? what advice have you been given and what did you do about it. How reliable are these weight charts for breast fed babies.

I have been trying to feed ds for longer ie(30 mins a feed) as he often falls asleep during a feed and also rests a lot or has very short feeds 5-10 mins only. After 5 mins feeding he often turns his head away and arches his back so I sit him up to burp him and he is ok to go back on but this can happen several times during a single feeding session.

any ideas??

I had similar experience with ds who went onto 2nd centile when about three weeks old from what I remember (is 2 now). The main thing I would say is that the charts are useless in breast fed babies, the charts used currently (I have 12 wk old dd) have been calculated on formula fed babies not breast fed who do gain weight slower.Also I think HV's do get a little obsessed with the charts! One thing I did find useful with ds as I didn't want to supplement with formula was expressing and giving this as a dream feed as he was quite lazy and would take a full bottle which certainly helped his weight gain. Hope this useful and keep going!

thanks I have found the HV spends more time looking at the chart rather than ds. I have been expressing more recently so DH can help out with feeding so will give it a try using this as the dream feed as this feed is often quite short.

The best measure of a baby's well being is to look at the baby. Is he well in himself? plenty of wet and dirty nappies?

By my calulations he has put on an average of just over 4 oz a week since birth. Which I understand to be completely acceptable in a breastfed baby.

All babies are different and will gain weight at different rates. Your son is GAINING weight.

I bet if he had gone UP the centiles the HV would have no concerns.

My DD was born prem and was a mere 0.983kg at birth. She is now 11mths old and weighs a titchy 13lb 9oz BUT is happy and healthy and although she is below the 0.4th centile everyone is happy with her weight gain which is often 1oz a week!

Charts are based on a mix of babies, and their feeding is not differentiated. Breastfed babies tend to gain weight slightly more quickly than formula fed babies until about 5-6 mths, and the problem is not the charts but the way they are used an interpreted. Healthy, well-fed babies can indeed 'fall down' the centiles and there may be no problem at all.

Weight is only one part of an assessment of a baby's health and development.

Having said that, glitterbird, your baby's growth rate is unusual, and it would not do any harm at all to maybe think about getting more breastfeeding into him - at least, if your HV thinks he needs more calories, then the easiest and healthiest way to do this in a young baby is simply to ensure he has more breastmilk.

You can do this by feeding more often, by making sure he has two sides (at least) at every feed or is at least offered two (at least). Length of time on the breast is less important than frequency of feeds and less important than ensuring more than one breast is offered.

None of this is to suggest there is anything 'wrong' with his growth, though.

good news I went to see Dr re DS weight last Monday and he said it was not rally a problem but to keep an eye on it and if it he dropped down the centile chart any more to come back and see him so I had DS weighed on Wednesday and hes put on 115g in 1 week (he had only put on 25g in hte previous 2 weeks) and has started going up the chart again so instincts were right to stick with the breastfeeding and hes feeding all the time now so think hes having a growth spirt