Is my 7 month old underweight?

[BeckyBoo16]

Have sat my 7 month old on our scales and it said 12lb12. I think this isn’t a lot for a 7 month old and I read the average for a 7 month old boy is 18lbs.

There is no local clinic for me to take my baby too and the baby class I go to is all musical/sensory so there’s no scales there. Should I phone the health visitor about it? I would like him weighed properly on their scales.
Also I don’t know what centile he’s in. I’ve never known that (don’t really understand all that anyway)

Should I be concerned? Does anyone think this isn’t a healthy weight? He’s happy and content otherwise, has 5 6oz bottles a day and 3 “meals” as I’m weaning.

What did he weigh when he was born? The centiles basically follow their growth curve, so it’s all relative, and will determine what is normal for him.

definitely follow up with the HV who can weigh him and go through it all with you

He was 6lb 9 when he was born so in 7 months he’s only just doubled his birth weight which is why I’m worried.
Yes I’ll give them a phone in the morning.

Do they not give people red book anymore?
If they do, you can see where he falls into percentile wise.

Phone the health visitor who can weigh him and plot his weight properly based on birth weight and height they can tell you if he’s following a healthy curve which I’m sure he is. He sounds like he eats well. Babies are all different, my 3rd son was a tiny slim lad and might’ve looked underweight but was absolutely fine, healthy and thriving.

sometimes it’s better to look at your baby, is he bright eyed, happy and developing normally - achieving milestones etc does he finish meals and give plenty wet and dirty Nappies etc. focussing on a number on a scale doesn’t give you the full picture, also don’t compare with other babies, they didn’t weigh the same at birth etc

By average do you mean 50th centile? He wasn’t 50th centile at birth, so it’s ok that he’s not now so long as he’s roughly following a line and hasn’t crossed too many centiles.

Where is your red book?

A7 month old who weighs 5.5kg is just below the 75th centile, so unless he was very heavy when he was born, he's probably fine.
https://www.rcpch.ac.uk/sites/default/files/Boys0-44yearsgrowthhchart.pdf

12lb at 7 months is off the charts small according to the chart - under the 1st centile. Please call the GP as it sounds like HV would just refer you straight there anyway.

Ah yes! You're right. I read the weeks not the months!

Are you in England? You get a red book where your health visitor plotted their weight when they visited and shows where they should be until age 5

What?! I make it out to be off the chart small using the chart? My 6lber was nearly 8kg at 7 months and just over the 50th centile.

I’ve been through his red book. He was last officially weighed at 12 weeks where he was 11lb4oz so I don’t think the scales I have at home are correct as there’s no way he’s only put on 1lb since September…he fits into his 6-9 month clothing really well and is a very happy content baby.

I will still phone them and get an accurate weighing.

Thought I was going mad then!

I agree with Cuppasoup
Using the chart linked above, I think your baby is at the bottom of the centiles.
He might just be small - he was low on centiles when born so you wouldn't expect him to be big, but it's worth checking.
Also, what scales? If it's bathroom ones, that can weigh adults, they are probably inacurate at the weights you are looking at. Getting him weighed properly would be my first step before panicking.

@ChristmasCakeAndStilton yes I did use the bathroom scales, I’m not going to panic until he’s been properly weighed. Friends and family are always commenting saying he’s gotten bigger etc so maybe I’m just overthinking things too much!

OP what are you weighing him on? We were told not to use home scales as they’re nowhere near reliable enough for baby weighing. Does he look small compared to other babies the same age? But yes, definitely give the health visitor a call to check (GP practices don’t always have baby weighing scales) As other posters have said, if you have your red book you can work out what centile he is roughly, or if you have the huckleberry app, if you input the weight, it works out the centile for you.

@BananaFrangipani i don’t know anyone who has a baby of the same age, a lot of my friends children are 2/3 years.

But I think I’m in the wrong for using the bathroom scales and then panicking. I’m sure once he’s properly weighed they’ll be nothing to worry about. I will update the thread as and when.

Thanks everyone!!

A better way of weighing him at home is to weigh yourself and then get on the scales holding baby and the difference is a good indicator of his weight.

My DC weighed 13lb at 7 months but was still wearing 0-3 and just moving into 3-6 months clothes. If your DC is wearing (and properly fits) clothes for their correct age then it's likely your scales are inaccurate (it's very hard to weigh small babies on standard bathroom scales).

The only way you can use at home scales is if you jump on with him and without and then work out the difference. Popping him on his own won’t work. You can then plot it in the red book. If he’s dropped dramatically since 12 weeks I’d give them a call.

Bathroom scales aren't very accurate with such a small weight. Weigh yourself, then weigh you and him together then work out the difference - easier done with kilos than stones/pounds. If he's fitting into 6-9 clothes then he's definitely more than 12lb. My daughter was tiny, only just moving into 3-6 clothes as she turned 6 months and she weighed more than that. Tbh if he's a happy boy meeting milestones etc then it doesn't sound like you have anything to worry about.

Thank you for all the reassurance. Yes he’s definitely meeting milestones, he’s been sitting unaided since 5 months old and is now crawling everywhere at 7 months! His clothes are fitting lovely so I’m not at all as worried as I was when I first posted. Will try the weighing together then just me thing in the morning and see what that says but I’m still going to ring to see if I can pop down and have him weighed on their scales.

Good old mumsnet to the rescue!

Just an update to this..contacted the health visitor and have an appointment…not till Feb 2nd though!! But I’ve found a baby class that has some scales so will hopefully pop down next week to that and get him weighed.

can’t believe the HV couldn’t get me in sooner though!