Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Child-safe in minutes.

Meet the Other Phone.
Child-safe in minutes.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Infant feeding

Get advice and support with infant feeding from other users here.

Original poster

Photo of DS2 today has gotten me worried... :( Come and re-assure me!

66 replies

angel1976 · 26/02/2010 20:58

Hi all,

Can you all please do me a favour? Come and look at the two photos of my two very beautiful DSs that I have posted on my profile and tell me that DS2 looks healthy? I took the photo of DS2 (I've been taking photos of both DSs in same clothes at around same age for comparison) today and having posted it next to photo of DS1 at the same age, it has gotten me worried!

Background: I tried desperately to BF DS1 and limped to the six-week mark before giving up. I have a medical condition that fucks up messes about my prolactin level so it's difficult to tell if that played a part in it though the BF-ing counsellor seems to think so. With DS2, I gave up a lot quicker (at week 1 ) due to my medical condition still persisting and that I suffered a prolapse on day 2 so just couldn't struggle with BF-ing on top of everything else and I told myself I was going to enjoy DS2's baby days a lot more...

DS2 is a lot more contented and smilier than DS1, just an easier baby overall. But he is so not interested in his milk. I was obsessed with DS1's weight and he was weighed every week at the baby clinic. Again, I told myself I wasn't going to stress so much about DS2 so the last time he was at the baby clinic, he was 10 weeks old and 10lbs 6ozs. He's just turned 16 weeks. At the moment he has 4 bottles of milk (I make up 5oz each time) and hardly finishes each bottle. He will then wake up once a night to have a 3/4 oz bottle. So he is having anything from 20-24oz of milk a day, which I just don't think is enough...

I've tried everything - feeding him more often (not interested, clamps his mouth shut); giving him a dream feed (again, not interested, clamps his mouth shut and 'fights' off the bottle), changed formula (made not an ounce of difference). Now being pressured to give him baby rice by MIL. Arghhhh!!!! Can you please come and hold my hand and tell me he looks healthy and happy? DS2 is such a sweet little soul. He is alert, happy and poos once/twice a day and plenty of wet nappies. I am going to take him to the baby clinic on Monday and really dreading it... But he just looks so dinky next to DS1 (can't believe I used to worry about DS1's weight!). Thanks!

OP posts:
Ledodgy · 26/02/2010 21:01

He looks fine,healthy and happy. Yes he is a bit paler but look at the brown of the couch that looks paler on that photo too. They are both gorgeous.

HellBent · 26/02/2010 21:01

Those babies are gorgeous! They look healthy to me!

Tortoise · 26/02/2010 21:02

Looks fine to me. Both very cute. Love his hair.

cookielove · 26/02/2010 21:04

They are sooooo cute, but i really don't think u should be comparing them. If you look at them individually they look fine, its only when you compare them they look so different. But from what you said they seem very healthy.

And have to say again sooooo cute, cute, cute.

Original poster
angel1976 · 26/02/2010 21:04

Thanks ladies. I am just so worried cos he really does look (and feel!) dinky. Where is all that baby fat?

Tortoise I joke to friends that whatever calories he is injesting (which is not much to begin with!) is obviously going into the hair and nowhere else...

OP posts:
Maveta · 26/02/2010 21:05

oh they are both gorgeous! first pic i thought "oh yummy squidgy baby" and second pic i just went "aaaaaaaaahhhhhhh how cute is that?" so two thumbs up from me

ds1 was obviously chubbier and ds2 as a result looks diddier but can still see a couple of little rolls in there behind his arms, he looks happy alert and healthy. hth!

thisisyesterday · 26/02/2010 21:06

they both look like absolutely normal, healthy babies

babies are different. you can't expect your second son to be chubby just because your first was. he knows when he is hungry, and he will eat what he needs to eat.
trust him

HellBent · 26/02/2010 21:07

Yep def going to his hair FWIW DS was bigger than DD but everyone just said she was petite, DS lost babyfat when he started to walk but DD never had any to start.

EssenceOfJack · 26/02/2010 21:07

Agree with others, your ds2 looks almost exactly like my DD's, they never had an oz of spare fat on them and DD2 never took as much milk as DD1 either.
They are just different, both not out of average realms though (apart from cuteness of hair of course)

havoc · 26/02/2010 21:10

My DS was always twice the size of DD at the same age, but both were healthy and 'normal'. Different children grow at different rate and grow up to be different sizes. Please don't worry.

Very, very cute babies.

Undercovamutha · 26/02/2010 21:10

They both look gorgeous.
Even siblings can be completely different to each other.
My DD was (and is) 91st centile, stocky build, plenty of baby fat.
DS is 25th centile, long and thin.

TinaSparkles · 26/02/2010 21:10

They are lovely kids. You are very blessed to have two cute babies!

And I have to agree they both look healthy to me, from the photo anyway. If you do have concerns then obviously you should discuss them when you go to the clinic.

My DD was a terrible feeder though (I did mixed), and I'm afraid to say at the age of 4 still is. It's very stressful trying to get them to eat/drink more, but as long as he is thriving in other ways take comfort from that.

I don't think baby rice is going to help him at all.

waitingforbedtime · 26/02/2010 21:12

Oh my goodness your kids are the cutest Ive ever seen (bar ds, natch!)

They both look totally healthy.ds was much, much thinner than that at that age and is now the tallest and broadest in his nursery class - he hated milk too. Dont worry.

wilkos · 26/02/2010 21:12

you have such cute babies! they both look healthy, happy and well to me

Original poster
angel1976 · 26/02/2010 21:12

Thank you, thank you, thank you... I could cry... I just got myself all worked out that something is wrong. I even checked DS1's red book and by this age, he was almost 7kgs... No way DS2 is anywhere near that! He must be somewhere between 5.5-6kgs. I just don't know what the HV will say, I even asked my friend who used to be a pediatric nurse whether there's anything I could do. She said there is a high caloric powder you can add to the baby's milk so you are increasing calorie intake but I don't really want to start mucking about with anything else other than milk... I know everyone wants babies to sleep through the milk but DS2 literally went 7pm-5am last night without a feed. I was awake half the night willing him to wake up so I could feed him. In the end, he took 3ozs at 5am. Sigh

OP posts:
gigglewitch · 26/02/2010 21:13

have a hug, angel, another vote for both looking fine, different but so equally cute!! My ds2 was way way smaller and lighter than ds1. He still is - they're 9&6 now, and I've learned just not to compare them. DS1 was often described as "solid" - he was much like your top picture of your ds1. My ds2 has always had ribs you could count and I can still easily pick him up at 6yo, he's so diddy. Both fine, both happy, no worries!

Original poster
angel1976 · 26/02/2010 21:14

I will go to the baby clinic anyway on Monday as I feel I need to say something just in case there is something wrong but you have all made me feel better tonight!

OP posts:
NoahAndTheWhale · 26/02/2010 21:15

They both look gorgeous

If I had taken photos of DS a d DD at the same ages and wearing the same DS would have looked puny next to DD. He is skinnier than her - both are healthy. Just have different builds.

Original poster
angel1976 · 26/02/2010 21:16

Thanks gigglewitch, I need stories like that. I just can't believe how different they both are... When I found out I was having two boys, I was thrilled and in my mind, they were going to be very similar... I just cannot get over how different they are. Must stop comparing or I will drive myself mad! I seem to spend all day 'persuading' DS2 to drink another ounce while he is 'fighting' off the bottle... You would think I know better the second time round...

OP posts:
gigglewitch · 26/02/2010 21:17

btw you will be chuckling to yourself in the not too distant future when he has you up at all hours cos he's having a growth spurt and there's no satisfying him Try not to worry (easier said than done and all that) and fwiw I think you're right that you should just stay with the milk unless your GP says otherwise. My dses both had times when they weren't that interested in food [milk] and others when they'd want everything in sight, and I'd just get to the point of worrying myself stupid when the whole thing would go the opposite way. hang in there.

Ledodgy · 26/02/2010 21:18

Honestly with eyes that bright and hair that thick I very much doubt there is anything wrong with him.

ilovesprouts · 26/02/2010 21:21

no they both look fine to me and so cute

pooka · 26/02/2010 21:23

Different babies, both gorgeous!

My three are all different. In terms of appetite, weight at birth, and subsequent weight gain.

Tigerlily1 · 26/02/2010 21:25

they're both gorgeous! those eyes, that hair! don't worry!

MumGoneCrazy · 26/02/2010 21:26

Wow what a head of hair

They are both gorgeous and im jealous DD2 was bald until she was 2 and DD3 is 6months and only has a small tuft on each side thats so light you can hardly see it

All mine were small DD3 was 6 months on wednesday and is just over 12lbs and the size of a 3month old but she's happy, alert and very noisy so im not worried

DD3 wouldn't drink much so we fed her little and more often, as she grew her bottles got bigger and fewer apart.