Feeling a bit demoralised

[chocolaterabbit]

DS (15 weeks has been exbf from birth and now won't take a bottle or dummy etc under any circumstances. Also doesn't really like being more than 2 feet from mummy, but we're living with that for the moment.
)
Up until Christmas, he had been happily following 75th centile in the red book. Over Christmas he had a cold, another cold and possibly a little bit of flu so I wasn't surprised when his weight hadn't increased much over Christmas but the HV was a bit anxious about it.

The HV told me I had to get him weighed again this week to see if it has sorted itself out (10 days after last weighing). He has been having a growth spurt this week so has been feeding like a mad thing - every 1-2 hours day and night. Found out he is following the curve he has now adopted, but hasn't gone back up IYSWIM. HV saying I should think about topping up/ early weaning from 17 wks.

He is still a good weight and putting weight on, he wees and poos plenty of times per day and looks bright eyed and chubby. He is moving a bit - rolling and generally wriggling so that might account for the reduction in weight gain but I'm just feeling a bit down about the whole thing.

Am finding the day and night feeding a bit hard even though we're co-sleeping and I don't sleep properly. I think it is going to be hard to resist pressure to top up because I'm so tired and also starting to worry about whether he is getting enough milk.

Sorry this is so long. Just could do with a bit of a sensible talking to.

Your DS sounds like my DD

she had a mega growth spurt and "only" put just over 1 lb on in 5 weeks and is just under the 25th centile

HV also recommended early weaning which IMO is not appropriate

you could top up but with expressed milk, or you could keep on feeding

this spurt has been really tough - 2 hourly feeding day and night

call one of the breastfeeding helplines - they usually have better advice and have been there and done it

don't feel down - you are doing a FABULOUS job

it is frigging knackering isn't it?!

HV is talking bollocks - early weaning seems to be a bit of a favourite with them at the moment. It's not as if your DS is falling through the lines is it? He's following a new curve - same has happened with my DD from around 15wks after neverending colds and far more activity.

I fail to see how substituting high calorie breast milk for sloppy veg/fruit puree will help weight gain...

Keep going with what you're doing - it's knackering but it's worth it. You're doing a fab job.

Thanks. I think the main thing is that I thought it would get easier as time went on as DD did. This time I seem to have had an angelic and easy newborn who is now asserting his personality a little bit!

You know so much more than your HV.
Your his mum using common sense.
She is following guidelines.

He is happy and bright so problem ends there.

They do loose a bit of weight when they get more active. My DS did too. The growth spurt has counteracted that IYSWIM.

No, stick with what you know - you DS!

Your DS!

Chocolaterabbit, am I right in assuming your DS never actually lost any weight despite being unwell? And he is now gaining again just on a the next centile down?

If that's the case, then it sounds to me like he is thriving and you are doing a fabulous job.

HV is talking poo, for want of a better word.

This is bonkers. He's doing fine. The HV is mad, tbh.

Current best practice is to be concerned if a child crosses (down or up) two centile spaces. So if he was at the 75th, then you should be concerned when he's on the 25th!

He is absolutely getting the right amount of milk. The lines in the book are just that - lines in a book. Look at your baby.

Oh, and current best practice, as well, is that if a baby has regained his birth weight by two weeks and is doing well, is to only weigh him when he's getting jabs etc. And even if there was cause for concern (which there isn't!) then you should never weigh more often than once a month.

When the HV started worrying about my DD1 around 20 weeks as she was falling off her centile line I rang my Mum:
"Is she alert, active and happy"
"Yes"
"So what are you getting her weighed for?"
"Because it's what you do?"
After that I just stopped taking her and she is a very healthy 2.5 year old - no idea what her weight is though!
My DD2 is 17 weeks and I've not had her weighed since she was about 8 weeks. She is very healthy and happy so I can't see the point. I know she'll probably fall off her centile line at some point and I'll be told to get worried for no reason.
So if your DS is as healthy and happy and active as he sounds I'd just ignore the HV if I was you.
Well done for BF this long, my DD2 is waking more in the night to feed. I took this as a sign with DD1 that she needed solids and began at 17 weeks - very slowly with a spoon of baby rice a day for the first week, upping it by about another spoon or so of something different as the weeks passed. I don't remember it affecting her sleeping or BF at the time so I shan't be doing it with DD2.

Thanks all. I think it jusdt made me start doubting myself, particularly as my mum isn't up on bf so her comments are very much like the HV.

He is definitely still gaining weight and looking delightfully chubby so will carry on and stop weighing him.