Really little babies

[fiveweeksandcounting]

My 5 week old was 6lb 7 when he was born at 38 weeks and is 7lb 11 now, he has gained 1lb in the last week but is only on the 2nd centile and I am getting fed up of people commenting on how tiny he is, it's making me feel like I've done something wrong. My FF DS1 was already 12lb by this point and even my skinny little DD (mix fed) was 9lb.

This is the first time I've EBF and I'm finding it hard to trust that my body is doing the right thing for him when he's still so tiny.

He's a happy little thing,has plenty of energy feeds regularly with a bottle of EBM at 11pm from daddy and seems bright and alert but I am really struggling to believe that BF is the right thing for him when he's still so tiny. He is absolutely gorgeous though.

Some babies are small, same as some adults.

He is happy, alert etc

Current family are mix feeding and he was 6lb 4 at 37 weeks and at 7 weeks is 8lb 14ozs so not much different.

Thanks, you are right. He'll be weighed at his 6 week check and then I'm not going to take him again for a good few weeks. I need to get over that he's just little. His weight gain has come in since he had his tohngue tie snipped 12 days ago so perhaps he'll carry on like that.

I feel your pain... DS was 4lb 12 at birth (born at 36 weeks) and looked like a scrawny little old man! he did put on well but wasn't even on the graph for a while. I remember taking him to the pharmacy when he was a month old and an old woman asked how many days old he was.

fiveweeks - your baby's weight gain is well inside the normal spectrum. He is clearly gaining momentum with a weight gain of a pound in one week, but he may never do this quite so fast again

Sorry Tik Tok it was over 2 weeks or more precisely 12 days, not a week but still, I know you are right, he's doing ok now. Just need to keep him gaining

You might just need to accept that he is generally going to be a small one! People, of all ages, come in different shapes and sizes.

FWIW DD1 was 4lb at birth (born at 32 weeks) and was never great at growing (although no long lasting medical problems.) She is still small but perfect and healthy.

DD2, on the other hand, was born at 35 weeks, weighed 5lb 9oz and now weighs nearly as much as DD1.

DD1 is 3 years 8 mo and DD2 is 16 months old! People are always asking me how I cope with them being so close in age - when there is a 27 month age gap! DD1 has had a recent growth spurt so is taller than DD2 now - but at a push, they can still wear each others clothes!

Do try to relax - which can be hard, I know. As long as he is gaining and is healthy and happy.

Believe me it will all even out.My DD was born at 37 weeks, had early operations and was 5lb 14oz - this is what the weight checks and centiles etc are for!I do remember getting so worried but the Drs and HVs were on top of things and she ended up being weaned early as she wasn't keen on milk and being prescribed a supplement to help her gain weight.
BTW at 12 she is now about 5ft 5 in and a healthy size 10. Try not to worry.

My DD was 6lb4 at birth (42 weeks), the doctors were concerned with her small weight at late gestation. But, I managed to EBF until six months (and BF beyond this, still going now).

She also put on 1lb in one week once, but never got above the 25th centile. A weight gain of 1lb in a week is amazing - so BF obviously is working for your baby. Don't be surprised if weight gain is not constant either, after DD put on a 1lb in a week the next week I was disappointed she didn't put on so much. Then I realised if she gained weight like that every week it would be ridiculous!

DD is now 13 months and only about 18lb. She's still in her infant car seat and wears 6-9 months clothes! But she is healthy, looks healthy, active and a completely normal toddler. She is just little!

What I ended up realising was that weight checks were not as helpful as how I felt my baby was doing. In fact every time I came back from the clinic I was worrying unnecessarily about something, so I stopped going so frequently.

I share your concerns (that BF is sufficient for my ds) and annoyance (at comments people can make - ds seems to always have "little" or "wee" put in front of his name!). My ds is at 0.4pc so worse.

What I have learnt though is this: 1) if he seems happy, alert and otherwise thriving then bf is enough (several paediatricians have confirmed this - you can 'just tell' when something is up); 2) babies' weight seems to fluctuate alot and how he is now is not an indication of what he will be; 3) if he is destined to be very little, then I need to be as happy and accepting of that as possible so that he can be a confident and happy child and not pick up on any of my hang-ups!; 4) hospital will give you supplements if needed - I have just been given some calorie powder to add to ds' food.

Hello

My little girl is 7 months old now...for the first 5 months I had to take her to coutless doctors for various blood tests because the paediatricians were convinved there was something wrong with her because she is below the 0.4 centile line, despite being born 7lb10oz.

i was told repeatedly to give her formula from 3 weeks. I didn't and just kept feeding her myself.

We went with our instinct which was that there was nothing wrong with her, she is just little. She was developing well at all times. Indeed the tests all came back negative.

At 7 months she is doing great, she has taken to baby led weaning like a duck to water, is bright as can be, curious, loves her toys, rolling etc...

just to lety o uknow you are not alone.

oh and she was last weighed at 6 and half months and was 11.4lb. Some of my friends babies are 20+ at the same age. Just different ends of the spectrum.

I wouldn't worry about charts, centiles etc., since most the charts provided by the nhs are for FF babies, and if your baby is alert and seems happy that is what matters.
BF babies put weight on differently -it's clear if you compare both charts.
I remember the MW telling me that when DS was just over a month old and I was worried about his weight. She told me to download these
www.who.int/growthref/who2007_bmi_for_age/en/index.html
Dont worry about what people say, people often make throwaway comments because they don't know what else to say, iyswim.
If you are BFing you're feeding your baby the best you can feed him, real human milk.

Maycontainnuts - charts used in the UK now are based on those WHO charts you link to.

But the charts show very little difference in the first five months or so. Babies who are bf and ff only start to 'diverge' from about 5 mths on.

The OP's baby will show up as 2nd centile on both charts - and it doesn't matter Most babies on the 2nd centile are just fine.

My DS was relatively tiny - 6lb 6 at 37+3 and on the 6th percentile. By 6 months (EBF) he was on the 98th percentile. If your son is happy, healthy and alert, trust your body and try not to fret about charts and weights.

DT1 was 4lbs 5 at birth. I breastfed her. She's never really gone above the 2nd centile, but she's always grown. DT2 was 5lbs 15 and he was on the 9th centile, leapt up to the 50th, then 75th centile.

Both very happy babies. He's still taller and bigger than her. I wouldn't sweat it my lovely especially if he's gaining and growing. People will always comment.

My 6lb 9oz DS (aged 14) is 5'11 now and still growing! He was born 38 weeks

My DD (12) was exactly the same weight as DS, born 37.2 weeks is now 5'5 and much taller than me

DD was to everyones surprise 5lb 14 at birth, despite going full term. She's been EBF and has done fine.

She's perfectly healthy abd i have to admit i love having a light baby to carry around

"Maycontainnuts - charts used in the UK now are based on those WHO charts you link to."

Tiktok - Sorry to contradict you, but they weren't on DS' red book, hence the midwife advising me to download the ones for BF babies. Maybe it was just something to do with our local health service

OP - forgot to say. People used to comment on how tiny DS was when he was born.
Genetics also plays a part. In our case, we can trace 7 different nationalities on DS' ancestry so it's anybody's guess how he'll turn out as an adult. Now 76cm at almost one year old, sort of tall and skinny -and ginger . Still BF twice a day in addition to meals.
Not sure if those charts are applicable to different nationalities. Never thought to ask,will ask HV next time I see her.
Sorry to digress, it's just to reassure you, your baby's weight is perf fine. Charts and centiles are only averages and bigger doesn't mean better anyway. And BF doesn't necessarily mean your baby will be small.

Nuts - charts may not have been available for your baby, now aged a year, but they should be for every baby now....they have been in use since May 2009 and while some PCTs were slower than others to take them up, all of them should be using them now, including the OPs (I hope).

Charts are applicable for all ethnicities.

Totally agree that bigger doesn't mean better

Tiktok -That explains. DS born around this time last year. Good news they are using the WHO charts now.
OP - sorry for giving outdated info. All the best with your baby