Big centile drop

[Henachoko]

Hello mums,

I'm quite worried as my soon to be 6 month old has had a big drop in his centile scores for weight.

He was born at approx 4kg (9.26lbs) so has been a chonk from the start on the 98-99th centile.

We weighed him in Jan and he was 99th at 8.46kg but today he's 8.52kg and has dropped to the 76th centile.

He's been off his feeds (we exclusively pump to bottle feed) and is now taking less than 1L a day. He's now having approx 920-950 a day.

He's a fussy baby so if something was wrong I don't think we would know. No other symptoms. Obviously it's still a good weight but it's the drop that's worried me.

Obviously I will speak to a health professional but while I wait for an appointment I was hoping to hear from other mums with similar stories in case they can calm my worries.

Thanks

I would imagine it's 100% fine. He's having about the right amount of milk. Maybe a touch under if memory serves me right.

It could be a couple of things going on or a combination:
Teething
6m sleep regression
6m growth spurt (he's gained length, rather than mass)
Cognitive leap
And solids if you've began to introduce them.
Learning new gross motor skills

Things to look out for, general mood, active as per normal, Wet and dirty nappies and thay his fontanelle has not sunk...if all checks out. I'm sure he's fine.

But definitely best to speak to the gp or health visitor.

Remember don't panic until you have to.

Good luck and good sleep to you both x

Oh meant to add they begin to naturally drop off on feeds with solids

A lot of babies have to catch up or down to their natural centile. My DD1 was born on 25th and move to 50th and stayed there. My DD2 was born on about 99th and moved to about 50th and stayed there. There was a lot of fuss by HVs about her regaining her birth weight and threatening to send me to the GP. But I could see that she was born with rolls of fat and was shifting to a more normal shape, so I knew a GP would take one look and say that she looked fine to them.

What seems to matter is that they reach the centile they should be on and then stick to that.

You say he's a fussy baby but haven't mentioned any change in his behaviour generally. Not listless/lacking energy? Crying more than normal? Moving less/sleeping much more etc?

Are you and his father big/tall? I have 3 DC, one born 9th centile, one between that and 25th, one 50th. Both me and dh are short. 3rd Dec (the 50th) shrank to the 9th centile between 6-12m and has stayed there. He was born 2 weeks late, whereas the others were early so he was bigger at birth and probably just gradually reduced to a more realistic size for his genes.

If they're fine in themselves it's generally not worth worrying. If there's something bothering you (apart from relatively minor weight loss), even if you can't put your finger on it then get them checked.

I was thinking of those things as well when I said no symptoms but his sleep has changed - he's basically dropped a nap.

I'm small and dad is big. We have a real mix of that on both sides.

It's interesting what you said about your 3rd as my boy was 16 days overdue so maybe it's the same thing

I would try not to worry just yet. My daughter was born the exact same weight 9lbs 6oz and like yours she dropped to the 75th febrile within the first 6 months. She’s 4 now and is still exactly on the 75th line for both height and weight. She’s tall and slim and perfectly in proportion. Read about “catch down growth” it’s common in heavier newborns who for whatever reason are born heavier than they genetically should be so gradually drop centiles until they get to their ideal centile curve.

My DS1 was born on the 75th percentile and dropped down to the 25th. I was worried, but he seemed healthy in every other way, I agree with pp about finding the right centile. He's now a tall skinny teenager!

Honestly OP that’s a completely normal drop. If you look at the margins it’s barely anything. My DD started at 50th, dropped to about 20th and now at 3 is back up to 50th. Percentiles exist just to cause us anxiety! I’m sure your son is fine - our babies go through changes in their weight just like we do.

The worry isn't that he;s dropped centiles. The worry is that he effectively has had static weight since January. That's a bit concerning.

My baby was also veeeery overdue. Born on the 99.9%. My friend was induced at 37w but was based upon the same curve. Of course my DD was going to be considerably bigger as she was over a month older when plotted at the 0week mark.

The Heath visitor made some noises when she dropped down to the 91st%. I asked her when would she be expected to drop down the % as it was very unlikely she was going to grow up to be over 6ft and be on the larger size when both of her parents are under 5”8 and wear ‘S’ clothing.

I mentioned the HV concerns to the GP during an appointment for something else. The GP said she wasn’t going to bother weighing her as she could see a healthy baby when she saw one.

Thank you mums - I feel reassured 😊