Is my baby eating enough?

[fairywins]

My dd is 8wo and weighs 9lb 7oz. She's ff and has approx 22oz per day feeding on demand taking between 2 1/2 and 5oz per feed. She was 8lb when born and has dropped to between the 9th and 25th centile. Hv me worried sick that she isn't gaining enough weight and have had conflicting advice from different Hv's. Is she eating enough? Don't know what to do to get her to take more, she's alert and happy when awake and plenty of wet and dirty nappies. Any advice please?

Any thoughts anyone? Or am I just worrying needlessly?

Its recommended that babies take 70-90ml per pound, this would be 660-850ml per day for your dd. 22oz is around 660ml, so it seems like your dd is getting enough. Maybe have her weighed once a week to keep an eye on her weight? She might follow the centile that she is on now. When did she drop through the centiles?

She dropped the first one around 4wo and then dropped again last week. She's been a lazy feeder since birth, we had to wake her to feed her for the first week, she's improving slowly but the Hv still not happy.

Did your hv give you any advice/support? Does your dd sleep for a long time between feeds? You could try feeding three hourly...sorry if you are already doing this. You can't force a baby to drink more than they want though.

One Hv advised trying to feed every 2 hours which we tried but dd just wasn't hungry and would only take an ounce. She generally feeds every 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 hours and usually sleeps for about an hour between each feed. At night she takes a 5oz bottle and then sleeps from about 9pm til between 2am and 4am when she wakes and takes 2 to 3 oz.
I feel like I'm doing something wrong with my baby with comments from Hv's regarding her weight gain and comments from other people of 'ooh isn't she tiny, she's a little thing isn't she?'
First time poster on mn, thought I'd ask other mums their opinions.

But she still is putting on weight? I know exactly how you feel because I distinctly remember putting all DD's feeds into an Excel spreadsheet when she was little (how incredibly sad) and she was a good feeder.

As long as she is still gaining weight, however little, and taking her feeds when she's hungry I'm not sure that you can do much more.

My friend's DD was born on the 75th centile, like my own DD. She was down on the 25th by the time she was a few months old. She is absolutely fine now (18 months). Some babies just need to level out to their natural weight.

notaflamingclue I'm doing the same thing, I'm writing down every feed she has, think it's helping keep my sanity as I'm focusing on how much she has per day rather than getting in a state cos she's only had 2oz.
She is gaining weight just slowly.

If she is gaining - that's the key thing. Keep trying to pack it in her, but she will eat what she wants and no more. It's so worrying, these early months.
If she's falling asleep on the bottle you could try stroking her under her chin or blowing gently in her face which worked for DD to wake her up.
Hope things improve - but try not to worry too much.

DC1 was born on the 75th and dropped to the 25th by 4 months and stayed there. If your baby drops more than 2 centiles then the HV should refer you to a doctor to get checked out but some babies are just smaller.