Every day Is a challenge!

[Laurale31]

I am so fed up with the whole situation , my son is 7 months old, only weighs 12lb 13oz, has silent reflux , possible milk intolerance , on neocate and milk free weaning, he's not interested in food or milk, hv , paediatrician and dietician all have different advice, make me feel like I'm starving him or something! I feed him constantly , I also have a 3 yr old and I feel like Iv had enough, feel very alone as I am lost at what to do to make him gain weight , and everyones baby's the same age are all so big and healthy, he's such a happy baby ! Would be great if anyone had similar tiny wee baby, make me feel less abnormal! X

hi there - not from personal experience but a friend of mine's 2nd child was very tiny and delicate. He was on the bottom of the graphs and was given prescription formula + she mixed extra butter and cream and things into his food. He was a perfectly happy little chap and had plenty of energy, he was just small. He is now two and still a skinny little thing but perfectly placid and happy. Can you tell the HV to back off a bit? say you find the conflicting advice difficult so you'd rather just liaise with the doc? I am sure he will be fine, some people are just small!

Thanx for the reply, that's good to know , it's so worrying when everyone thinks he's not normal, health visitors have been terrible in the way they make me feel but they also phone often to see how he is, I am Adding soya cream to stuff and hope for the best, x

Laurale31 I so know the stress you are feeling. My dd1 was very very slow at gaining weight and I was made feel terrible by the HV all the time. I bf initially but gave up cos I felt the problem was me but nothing changed when she switched to bottles. I used to feel sick everytime she got weighed and was so upset when I used to see babies of similar age huge in comparison to her. But like your ds my dd was such a happy contented little baby. You are doing all the right things to help him gain weight and he is happy so defo not hungry it is just him. When my dd started on solids things got easier cos she had a great appetitie so I stopped worrying that she wasn't feeding enough cos I knew she was. She has just turned 4 and is a very active lively little girl who is still a whippet but eats like a horse. My dd2 is the opposite doesn't eat half as much but huge in comparison.

Try and step back from worrying about the weight gain you are doing all you can and he is healthy and happy so concentrate on that. Like trixie suggested maybe start getting him weighed at your gp rather then HV, that is what I did and my gp tracked her weight and showed me that although her weight gain was slow she was still gaining and although she was low on the percentiles she was maintaining her curve he really put me at ease and as I said 4 years on I wonder what the hell I was so concerned about.

Plus don't forget you are coping with all of this and a demanding 3 yo so give yourself a break and a pat on the back you are doing great

Thankyou! It is such hard work, I am doing all I can so think i'l take the advice and see my GP instead of HV, he's getting better with the solids so hopefully hel start eating a bit more , thanks again - made me feel much better

Hi OP, sorry to hear you are having such a bad time. My DS didn't weigh much more than yours at 7mo (about 14lb), although he was prem. He looked tiny compared to other babies but, like yours, was happy and contented. I have always had a good experience with HVs and GPs - they were not concerned about how much he weighed, but whether he was following his (9th centile) curve.

At 12mo he started to get bigger quickly, both in height and weight. At 20mo he is now 27lb and above the 50th centile, and his growth has slowed back down again. He looks no different to any other toddler his age, although he is clearly of slim build, which is not surprising as DH and I both are as well.

He was 7lb 9oz at birth and on 25th centile and dropped to 0.4th centile between 2 weeks old and 12 wks old then has followed the curve since , it has helped me that there are other people on here had little babies at this age too, was feeling very alone but feel better now x

Laurale he has dropped from 25th to .4th at 2 weeks but maintained that curve since so he is following the curve that is normal for him. My dd1 dropped from 80th to 25th by the time she was 4 weeks but has stayed on the 25th ever since and at 4 she is still on the 25th. Chances are your son will be the same but that curve is normal to him. My gp always said they get concerned if a child is crossing over percentiles or dropping continually but your son isn't doing that so is small but normal for him. Also they say some kids gain their weight in first year and others in the 1st to 2nd year so you may find he takes a growth spurt in his 2nd year of life. HTH

Great, iv never been reassured by hv so thats why iv been so worried I suppose, but having it explained has helped, thanks x

Don't worry at all about him not being interested in food - my DS wasn't at all (only wanted to breastfeed - I thought it was going to last forever!) until about 8.5 months. Has he got any teeth? That often helps.

No teeth yet. My dd was 12 months before she got a tooth! Hope he's quicker! X