Sorry.. another BF weight gain post before see GP

[Tinkerisdead]

I posted a few weeks ago as my DD had gained 2 ounces in 2 weeks and the health visitor showed some real concerns having previously gained around 6oz a week. I deliberately didnt rush back for weighing as the charts made me paranoid.

So DD is now 18 weeks, BF on demand and I took her to be weighed again. (purely to fill in her baby book as I wasnt worried at all about her) She has gained another 2 ounces in 5 weeks! The HV looked very grave and asked who is my GP. I told her and she apologised but said quite sternly "i have to contact them, its my job"

I just said brightly that it was fine, that I have no qualms about DD. She's rolling, attempting to crawl and weight bearing so no developmental issues. She measured her head circumference and that was parallel to her weight gain which the HV claimed showed she was in proportion bodywise and could well be petite. I'm 5'2" and DH 5'6".

So...she's made it clear that the GP will be expecting me, so tomorrow when I go are they gonna tell me to start weaning? DD is doing so so well, feeds every 3 hours really well, sleeps from 7pm til 2am, sunny nature but yes she is "a dot, a doll, a wee thing" Do I need to be worried? She's 11lb 4oz at 4 months old.

I wouldn't be worried tbh. DD was just the same & Breastfed, she was 8lbs 4oz born and I don't know what happened after that...

She's 3yo now & teeny! But she is developmentally great and doing what she should be.

Personally I'm in with the opinion that if they are sleeping well - that equals contentness (am assuming thats a word, if not I've just made it one ) and developmentally reaching their milestones then thats ok!

Take her, let them say their thing, and follow your own instinct

I expect from what you say that she is fine and is probably just of petite build. I think health visitors have to follow certain protocols so she may be refering you just as matter of fact.

My HV (who is lovely) has referred me to my GP for a few things which she said she had to do (normal protocol) and the GP has had a quick check and then declared everything to be fine. So I wouldn't worry at all.

Is your dd following a line. My HV doesn't worry too much about the amount of weight gained as long as babies are following one of the centile lines.

I have the opposite problem to you though. My ds2 is ex bf and putting on huge amounts of weight and I had one health visitor (not my normal one) start to tell me off for overfeeding cos she thought he was formula fed!

Forgot to add, my DD is now 3yo & 90cms (just) and 12kg (25lbs)

Tutu she's dropping down the centiles, she was at 50 then 25 and now around 9. She's still in 0-3 clothes but she is def getting longer as I noticed she's filling a sleep suit that was too big three weeks ago.

I hate this, this is exactly why I didnt get her weighed for 5 weeks as they make me panic. Another Mum was in the room getting her baby weighed and when I came out she asked if i was ok. She said both her babies were on the 9th centile and not to worry but I cant help it if she has dropped down the centiles.

hi there
HAD to post, POOR you completely feel for the situation. I gave up going to the HV in the end, my lot just seemed completely useless and on a power trip to end all nursey power trips.
Anyway that's of no use to you SO - agree with Claire2009, go and let them say their thing (they will no doubt say she's absolutely fine) and Trust Your Instinct. If your DD is sleeping well, she's fine. if she's rolling around and attempting to crawl (no mean feat at 4 mths) then she's fine. It doesn't sound like she's clamouring for more food (she'd surely be waking you every hour like mine did if she was) so i'm SURE it's all fine.

Plus....the graphs in the back of my red book (and many others i've spoken to) all follow the growth spurts of formula fed babies - you can request a BF graph which should go more like a s, rather than the direct proportional thing they seem to plot against..

And anyway - you said yourself you only went to get the book filled in. You never know - the Dr might even say what on earth are you doing here she's completely gorgeous and fine!!
Good luck - tell us how it went.

just saw the updates - my DD did EXACTLY that with the centiles - and again it's because it was plotted on a formula fed graph not a BF graph. they do NOT put on weight in the same way. My DD is on the 9th centile now, she's just over a year old, she's walking, talking and VERY happy...
exactly why i stopped going to the HV, i couldn't bear them to be telling me she should be heavier when, as a 5'3" mum i was never going to produce a big burly daughter!!!
please hang in there you know your own baby x

Starting to feel a bit more reassured. I know DD will never be a giant, she does wake in the night from 2am but every 3 hours for a feed and straight back to sleep. This morning she slept three hours in the pram. I get wet nappies but a poo every other day.
The only "warning sign" is that she does have a dummy but she will take boob over that everytime and only gets it when she has stopped actually feeding. Maybe i should wean her off that asap too?

It sounds like she is just small.
I just checked little Ff's red book, and at 18 weeks she was 9lb 12oz. The HV was all over me to 'top her up' with formula, despite my protestations that I had plenty of milk, and she was feeding until she was full every three hours, and referred me to the GP almost as if she was telling tales on me.

From the GP (who told me that formula is exactly the same as breast milk, so I shouldn't be so precioous about it) we were referred to a paediatrician. Three appointments, much prodding, and a blood test later, we were told that she is fine, just little.

As long as you've got no worries about her, then the GP is unlikely to have anything else to say. I was absolutely fuming that it all dragged on as long as it did with us, because at no point did anyone express any concern about any other aspect of her development. She was sleeping well, hitting all her milestones, and was/is a happy baby - sounds just like your little girl.

She is now 13 months, and last week weighed 18lbs 9oz.

Good luck with the GP, and prepare yourself to stick to your guns re bf and weaning. If you don't think she's ready, then don't start solids yet.

Ive tried looking at WHO growth charts but they all look like the ones in my red book?

This is around the time where BF babies weight gain often can plateau.

She hasn't lost weight has she? Just not gained huge amounts?

Sounds like she is very active too, and if you have no other concerns about her, it sounds like she's just a small baby.

If it were me, I would just nod, and go along to the docs appointment so that the HV's didn't label me a nutter, and then just carry on as you were!

She is hugely active, tummy time all the way, rolling and whatnot. She also swims every week and bathes with us in a deep bath where she can do swimming strokes. I asked HV if this would surely affect her growth as she would be burning calories but she said no, they wouldnt expect it until 8 months when they become more mobile. I crawled at 5 months and I can see DD could well be the same as she is manic! or "fiesty" as her swimming instructor calls her.

DD at 8wks 2 days weighed 4.690kg (approx 10lbs).

She's now a healthy but small (just under 25th percentile line) 3yo.

I am 5"8 and small built & her Dad is 5"8 & small build.

Hey DW

I don't have anything to say that hasn't been said here already. she sounds like she is doing everything she should (and more...bumble isn't rolling yet!!) and bright as a button though. and given you and your DH's sizes....

As for them trying to get you to wean.....I'm sure you know that there are more calories in BM than in a couple of teaspoons of pureed apple, and that if weight needs to be put on, then more feeds, or making the feeds she has more efficient. And your GP should know that too!

The red book charts are for a mix of babies though, and I know some PCTs have changed already to the WHO exclusive BF ones so it could be that you have the new ones.

Keep this bumped and hopefully tiktok will see it.

there is also a slow weight gain support thread (called mighty oaks from little acorns or something of that ilk). You'll get some good advice on there I'm sure.

Hi there

I'm going through pretty much the same thing at the moment. My daughter weighed 7lbs 1 oz at birth and was on the 25th percentile until she was 8 weeks, when she dropped to just under 25th. I had her weighed this week (she's 14 weeks now) and she's dropped to the 2nd percentile (10lbs, 8oz). I was shocked as she feeds every 3 hours (sometimes more often) and seems healthy, happy and doing everything she should. The only thing that I was worried about is that she sleeps 12 uninterrupted hours a night and has done since she was about 6 weeks. My HV told me not to wake her to feed her, but to try to feed her more during the day. She also spits up what I think is an alarming amount at various times during the day!
It is quite alarming when you see your baby go down the chart, but I don't know what else I can do. I have to go back next week to see how she's doing. Everyone (including the HV) tells me not to worry, but I can't help feeling that I've done something wrong!

My Dd was the same and in fact lost weight as a very young baby. HV just said to monitor.
After a while she started to gain weight very slowly and she is still slow in gaining weight. I bf exclusively and didn't start weaning until 6 months. I'm sure that early weaning isn't necessarily the answer, but I'm no expert.

I hope all goes ok and that you are happy with the outcome.

DW - it's possible your area has local protocols which demand a doc's opinion if a baby falls down two centiles. This is a ridiculously prescriptive protocol, IMO, and accounts for a lot of anxious mothers and wasted health service time.

Faltering growth can be a sign of some sort of organic problem, but there are always other signs which HVs should be trained to spot. If it is a question of 'lets see if this baby needs extra calories' then in a bf baby under six months, the first option is to offer more opportunities to have more breastmilk - mainly by offering at least two and often three or four breasts each time, fitting in more feeds day and night.

It makes far more nutritional sense to do this than offer solids which tend to reduce the baby's overall intake of calories anyway (I have refs if you need them).

Babies who are healthy and developing well and who are doing nothing more than slowly (rather than suddenly) finding another growth trajectory are overwhelmingly likely to be no more than physiologically smaller than other babies their age.

Charts in use in the UK at the moment are fine for the first few mths, and differ hardly at all from the WHO charts - UK charts are based on babies whose feeding was not differetiated, but probably most will have had at least some formula. In the first months, growth is very similar; it's only after about 5 mths that the growth of bf and ff babies starts to differ with bf babies quite naturally tending to grow more slowly.

A different chart would not help you. Training for your HVs might, of course

i agree that you have to look at your baby and trust your instincts. My DS was 50th centile at birth, took three weeks to regain his birth weight, and then pretty much has followed 9th-15th centile since then (now 8 months).

he has always been an active little thing, and i think that really kept the weight off. He is crawling now, but ever since he was born he was a major wiggler and just never seemed to be still.

for a long time he only poo-ed once a week, but what a poo!

oh, and he is still in lots of 3-6 month clothes! He weighs about 17-18lbs now.

bumping this as opened another post with update as need urgent advice really

Link to DW's other thread