dd weight gain worry

ipanemagirl · 2009-03-12T18:50:47+00:00

dd is exclusively bf at nearly 6 months. She was born right at the middle of the average weight and was still there at 6 weeks. I've only just had her weighed her again because she seemed so podgy and well etc but now she's dropped into the shady bit of the graph. I feel so bad! She feeds as long as she likes and doesn't cry for more or anything. The HV said to start on solids and not to worry because she looks well. I just wondered what I might have been doing wrong. They say to exclusively bf for 6 months don't they? I'm starting her on solids asap. I wonder if I could have done her any harm neurotic anxious handwringing mother emoticon

SnowlightMcKenzie · 12/03/2009 18:57

ipanemagirl It sounds like the normal path of a bf baby to be honest. Around 4 months-ish they drop down the charts.

Ask yourself:

Before getting her weighed was there anything about her development, alertness or nappies that worried you?

If the answer is no, then it is simply that the graph doesn't fit your baby, not that your baby doesn't fit the graph iyswim. A very tiny percentage of babies are exclusively bf at 6 months so the charts are a bit skewed.

Please don't worry, you should be very proud of yourself at your achievement.

spicemonster · 12/03/2009 19:01

I agree with snowlight. Don't start her on solids to make her gain weight, it's pointless. My DS ate virtually no food until he was nearly 10 months - before then, he just pushed things around and 95% of his calories came from milk.

Rosebud05 · 12/03/2009 20:35

PP is right when they say that this is exactly what happens to most bf babies. The red book charts are based on ff babies, who tend to follow different growth curves. My dd was born on the 9th centile, chomped her way to the 50th at 8 weeks, then dropped off to the 2nd where she's remained (now nearly 2). Also agree that solids don't necessarily put weight on them, and that she may take a while to get going.
I used to get a bit anxious when people commented that my dd was small, but now I just think what on earth was I worrying about, as she was clearly sleeping well, happy etc.

CMOTDibbler · 12/03/2009 20:40

The charts aren't actually based on ff babies - they are based on a population of babies, some of whom were bf, and some ff.

You can download the WHO charts for bf babies if you want, but if she is happy, healthy, and gets milk on an unrestricted basis, then it's unlikely that she needs anymore calories.

And remember that starting solids may actually reduce her calorie intake if she reduces bfs

lazybones · 12/03/2009 20:40

ipanemagirl, listen to snowlight, she speaks great sense. My dd put no weight on between 6m and 9m and I used to cry after I got her weighed. I watched her drop from 50th centile to below 25th. The hv made me feel terrible. After she turned one I stopped taking her to be weighed. When she had her 2 year check she was bang on the 50th again. I wouldn't worry - there are so many reasons it happens and it evens out in the end. I came on mn and was reassured too! One thing I learned was that from 6 months to 1 years old, solids are for experimenting with tastes and textures, more than calories. That's what the milk is for. Avocado is one of the only foods to match breastmilk for calories.

FairMidden · 12/03/2009 20:43

The red book charts do not differentiate between FF and BF babies, therefore are not accurate representations of a BF baby's normal growth because the majority of the babies are likely to have been FF.

Charts don't mean anything provided your baby is well and healthy - and if even your HV is happy with her (and they're reknowned for making mums worry about their perfectly healthy babies given any chance!) then I don't imagine you have anything to worry about. How could you have harmed your baby by feeding her the normal food for a little baby for 6 months?!

Let her take solids in her own time - they contain way less calories than your milk anyway

googer · 12/03/2009 21:13

those silly charts they just seem to get us mums who are doing the best thing for our babys by bf all worried, almost tempted to through all charts in the bin!! my DD is 5 weeks and only just got up to her birth weight omg she didn't get there in the ten days they say she should. after every hv visit i cried mys eyes out and thought i was doing it all wrong and my milk was rubbish then after she had dropped 2 centiles we had to get her checked by the gp. dont worry ur doing anything wrong ur doing the best for ur DD.

Ineedsomesleep · 12/03/2009 21:23

Sounds just like my DD too. Ask your HV if she can plot your DD's weight on the WHO growth chart.

If she insists on forcing you to use solids ask her if she can let you have the research that is based on.

Here are the WHO charts if you want to plot the weight yourself:

www.who.int/childgrowth/training/girls_growth_record.pdf

These new charts should be used to stop BFing mothers feeling they are doing the wrong thing and to flag up some ff babies as obese. Really wish they would start using them...

Original poster

ipanemagirl · 13/03/2009 00:21

thanks all of you for these posts, you have reassured me. I spoke to a good friend too who's a practice nurse and she said she hates those charts precisely because they can be off putting for breast feeding mothers. She was saying that babies are not machines so cannot be plotted on graphs as if they were.

Snowlight -no her development seems normal for her age, she is nicely podgy and alert but she is starting to look very interested in food and copying us chewing, she seems to be ready to try a little.

According to the WHO charts she's at -1 for 6 months.

It's interesting that solids don't necessarily make them put on weight more quickly, it's clearly what mothers I know are being told by HVs!

My ds was slightly under weight acc to these charts at this age. Now he's big and the same height as his class mates but very slim and relatively light. It's interesting that he was light then and is still now.

Thanks again, very much appreciated!

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