16 week old weighs only 12lb 9oz

[arabellaandbaby]

Hello everyone

Just seeking a bit of reassurance.

My DD is 16 weeks old and turns four months old next week. She was weighed yesterday and was only 5.700kg, or 12lb 9oz. I would have expected her to be at least 6kg or 13lb by now, but she seems to be putting on weight extremely slowly.

She feeds and sleeps fine and seems happy enough, but I'm worried that she has slipped from being on the 25th percentile for weight all the way from birth to the 9th this week. She was born 7lb 1.5oz.

A friend has a baby girl who was born 7lb 5oz a week later than my DD. She is combination fed but is now 16lb! My DD is nearly on an exclusive breastmilk diet (formula only given on the very rare occasion when milk supply is low).

Is 12lb 9oz normal for a 16 week old girl?

Arabella x

The part of most concern is the slip from 25th to 9th percentile. If she'd always been at the low end I don't think that would be such an issue. If she slips further down the charts then you may need to supplement her diet. 16 weeks used to be the start-point for weaning (that's when I started my son on solid foods) and it's only very recently that it was raised. So - at the risk of being flamed here as a heretic - it could very easily be that your baby isn't geting enough nourishment from milk alone and needs something between feeds that is more substantial. That would be the route I would take

Don't panic, I am sure that everything is fine. Don't waen her yet, just supplement her with ff if you feel she might not have had enough from you. This is what my gp recommended very strongly.

My dd2 (my third dc) was on the 99 percentile when she was born by 16 weeks she had fallen to well below the 9th, and she has stayed down there, or lower, ever since. The doctors got very concerned, as there was some other stuff going on with her, but after masses of investigation and panic on their part more then mine, they apologised and said there was nothing wrong with her, she was just going to be petite, much smaller than my other dc, but she had just grown "larger than nature intended" in the womb, and she had just established a new base mark after birth. They told me not to worry about the red book measurements, as often they caused more anxiety about the growth of babies then they were actually helpful as a diagnostic tool.

My advice would be stay calm, keep checking her regularly at baby weigh ins, see the gp if you feel worried, but as long as she puts weight on even if it is very small amounts (my dd2 often managed 1/2 oz in a month), there is nothing to worry about. Losing weight already gained if much more concerning, but even this does not mean anything sinister is happening. I hope that help you.

Try not to worry - she has only 'fallen' by one centile so not loads and she is still putting on weight. My DD was 12lb 11oz at 17 weeks and was very slow to put on weight (she is still petite at almost 4 years old). She has always wavered between the 2nd and 25th centiles and no HV or GP ever expressed concern. I would not take it as an indication that your DD needs something 'more' than milk as milk is far more calorific than any solid food at this age. All babies are different so try not to compare her with others (easier said than done I know). A friend's baby weighed more at 12 months than mine did at almost 3 years old!

I don't understand the way the weight chart in the red book works but . . . my youngest dd is almost 6mo & weighs only 13lb & something ounces, she's putting weight on, just slowly so no-one is concerned.

Maybe she's just meant to be dinky!! I'd just keep having her weighed regularly and if she loses rather than gains weight then ask for professional advice, rather than worry too much right now

Thank you very much to all you kind souls who have replied. I think the general consensus is not to be too concerned as DD is still putting on weight, albeit slowly. She is happy enough and smiley so I guess I must just be overly concerned. I may try supplementing with formula if she doesn't go back to the 25th percentile.

Thanks again!

X

both my dds were born on the 75th centile and slipped back to the 25th fairly soon, then followed it faithfully. I just checked dd2's red book and she weighed just under 6 kilos at 16 weeks. I think overall she was putting on 3-4 oz a week. Probably your dd has just found her natural growth curve and her weight gain is just right for her.

and i honestly don't think you need to worry about giving her formula for the sake of her weight, especially if she is happy with breastmilk-of course if you want to give it to her for other reasons, that's up to you.