Tiny 5 month old

[Hopefulbride18]

Just wondering if anyone here has any experience with babies which are on the 2nd - 0.4 centile?

My little one was born at just under 3kg but then dropped to 2nd percentile and has been there since really. At the last couple of health visitor weigh ins she's dropped further to just above 0.4... I think it's because she's becoming so more active now rolling herself around and things! They've said she's fine we just need to keep an eye on her weight and that she doesn't drop further.

She's combi fed and doesn't seem to drink much milk from breast or bottle. I can't decide if I should start weaning as soon as she can sit in the high chair! I can't help but think she's not getting enough.

Bump

I think the general rule is babies shouldn’t drop 2 centiles.

was your DD born full term? If so she’s have been on about the 28th centile. I’d speak to your health visitor again maybe and ask them about the weaning, but to be honest they’ll probably just say 6 months is the guidance.

my twins were born at 33 weeks and we were 1 week away from the 6 month deadline when we started. So I think you can start thinking about weaning but maybe wait a couple of weeks.

is your DD meeting all of her other development milestones?

my daughter is on the 0.4th centile. She was on the 9th centile for the longest time but then a few bouts of illness really knocked her and she’s struggling to put the weight back on. You could try fortified milk or add fortifier to your breast milk if you are expressing, but again would speak to your health visitor before doing any of that.

Thank you for the reply!

She was born at 38 weeks so technically she was more like 50th centile at birth!

Yes she's meeting all her other developmental milestones and nothing seems wrong with her if that makes sense?

Health visitors seem fairly laid back but have said that they don't want her to drop any further as she's already low weight (I'd heard the 2 centile thing too) but also not to worry about early weaning.

Sorry your little one was so poorly, it can really throw them.

I'm just a bit mystified really why she's so small and wondered if there's anything else I can do to help her grow a bit!

Not dropping two centiles just means that they should look into it and check whether they're getting enough milk, no allergies etc. It also starts from 2 weeks old (or after birth weight is regained), birth centile is often quite different to the centile line they end up following long term. If you look at the red books they have a gap there for this reason. It is common for babies to bounce between two lines as they do not grow exactly in a straight line according to a centile, they grow in spurts. Bouncing between the 2nd and 0.4th is considered OK. You may find at next weigh in she is back up towards the 2nd again.

I think with weaning a lot of the first foods they have are actually less calorific than milk, and too much food too early can fill them up causing them to take less milk, so I would not rush into weaning, maybe look at some of the Gill Rapley BLW stuff - I think BLW has got a bit corrupted into only being about finger foods, but the original stuff she wrote had a lot about following their lead, not trying to get more food into them and basically being laid back about how much they are actually eating. It sounds like it might potentially be a source of stress for you and since their appetites and fussiness can go through various phases (IME up until about 4/5yo) it will probably be easier if you can breeze through this and be confident that it doesn't matter, she is going to eat as much as she needs.

That said I do have a friend whose DD never drank very much milk and she got annoyed because her HV kept "telling her off" for giving solids but it didn't reduce the amount of milk her DD took, so it was a net gain. If you feel like it would be helpful then go for it - just bear in mind about the possibility for milk to be displaced in her diet.

@BertieBotts thank you!

You're right on all about the purees, I always start with veg and I don't think that's going to bulk her out in a couple of weeks is it 🤣

I think I'll just carry on as I am and hope that at the next weigh in she's at least maintained her current line. I just get so anxious each time we go.

How often are you getting her weighed? It's recommended not to weigh them any more regularly than monthly, you can also leave it a couple of months if you want to and are not concerned. I was actually surprised to find when I moved to Germany that they weigh them at birth, then at one week old, one month old, and then not until 4 months!

You find if you weigh more often than monthly that you see every dip and crest on the chart and this induces a worry and a need to fix it when it might be perfectly normal and fine for your baby.

My 3 year old was born on the 0.4 centile and has stayed there ever since, she still wears 12-18 month clothes, which hang off her and her younger cousins (younger by a year) tower above her. She's perfectly healthy and happy, just very tiny. I was very worried at first but doctors and hv had no concerns and still don't so it can be totally normal.

@BertieBotts yes I'm only having her weighed monthly and this was instigated by me when I didn't feel she was growing as fast as her friends. She'd dropped to below the 2nd so we agreed she'd be weighed monthly until she was following a line again.

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@KevinTheKoala thank you that's great to hear your DD is fine and just small with no concerns, that does reassure me!

My daughter is tiny. She was born on 50th percentile but then lost weight and took 4 weeks to get back to birthweight which meant she was around the 9th percentile line. She's stuck there since then. I track her height and weight on an app and it gives you the exact percentile rather than just being between lines. She's varied between 1st and 14th percentile for weight since then, she's nearly 3 now. Her height has followed a similar line. The last weigh in was at 2.5 and the HV was happy with it even though it was the closest she'd been to the bottom of the scale. In fact her baby brother is now heavier than her she was fully BF so never knew how much she was getting. She doesn't have a massive appetite even now, unless it's chocolate biscuits! Sometimes I have a panic and wonder if I stunted her growth by not BF her enough in those first few weeks, or by not forcing more veg into her now. But then I see what a happy, smart little cookie she is and think she's absolutely fine, just tiny!

I think sometimes if it was the opposite, so they were born on 50th but then jumped up a few they'd say oh they're just catching up to where they should be. Well I feel like my daughter just had to "catch down" to where she should be. Neither me or her dad are particularly big (5ft4 and 5ft9 and both under 10st) so it isn't a surprise she's small. Her giant baby brother is another story, who knows where we got him!

If your daughter is 5m and already moving around lots then she sounds like she's meeting her milestones well! I hope the HV is supportive and doesn't try and make you worry more than necessary. Mine was amazing in the early days and I do think it made a difference and that with a different one I may have ended up giving up on breastfeeding. Enjoy your teeny tiny gorgeous girl, people will love seeing such a little person staggering around learning to walk etc.

Has she been checked for a hole in the heart at all? Only reason I ask is because this was me as a baby- only got found at a check up because they could hear the murmur it was causing. Xx

Also just to say if it is that please don't panic. I had surgery at 7 but most will close on their own. The surgery was very easy done by a catheter through my groin so no scars and lived a normal life ever since (now 30). After op I was like any other child could run around and do everything that anyone else could do. No complications with my heart at all during pregnancy and the only reason I was induced was due to pre-eclampsia and waters breaking xxx

My baby was 5lbs 12oz born at 38w (i had blood pressure issues which they thought was why she was small) and then due to having sepsis / NICU stay, she dropped below the 0.4th centile. I was warned by her neonatologist that aouund 4-5month, there might be a plateau or dip in curve as gross motor skills start to develop. I remember i upped the amount of milk i gave her (also combi fed so kept offering the breast at every feed, but increased the formula top up). I started weaning at 6months and it wasn't really until 7-8months that DD really took to food and started having a big growth jump. She is now 12months and 50th centile - which is more in line with her length at 75th centile so has made up a lot on solids (a lot of cream cheese and greek yoghurt 🤣). I think once they get onto proper solids (not purees etc), it really does give their weight a boost.

It sounds good the HV arent worried, but remember you can always ask your GP or for HV to refer you onwards (do you have a local blue sky team? Not sure if they are just a thing in our trust but they are halfway between the GP and the Paeds unit in hospital to answer more specialist questions).

My DC is a 0.4 - 2nd centile weight 5 month old too. They have some interesting allergies as well, so we have a paediatrician and a dietician, but they seem pretty happy with DC's progress. They've advised me to try not to worry too much about weight - so long as wet nappies are being produced and milestones are being met, things should be ok.

Looking for (light-hearted) positives in having a teeny baby... Clothes last much longer. They're lighter to carry around. I've noticed faster motor skills development, possibly due to DC having less mass to move.

Negatives... People assume there's something wrong and that they should give you advice about feeding or pass judgement on you. Less weight = less padding = easily acquiring red marks from pressure and feeling jolts a bit more. Less weight = less of a cushion if they go off their food due to illness, etc. Clothes last longer, so less justification for shopping for new clothes.

If you're worried, you might find it helpful to contact your local paediatric dietician for advice about weaning. Ours was great with reassuring us and helping us start planning a weaning plan (allergies, so we need to be careful).

My LO is 6 months old and was 2.99kg at birth. He was born on the 75th centile but dropped to the 0.4th. He spent 24 hours on NICU due to breathing difficulties but was discharged with no further action. As a first time mum I felt extremely pressured by the midwives on the post natal ward to establish BF and I think the struggle to get him to feed led to this weight loss. In the end I pumped what I could and FF, and after a week switched to exclusively FF. He has never drunk large amounts of milk and even now continues to be as lib throughout the day (he sleeps through) but it works for us. Concerned about his weight my HV referred him to a dietician and he is now on prescription formula (Infatrini) which has more calories than normal formula. It has 100 calories per 100ml compared to Cow & Gate (which he was on) which is 66 calories per 100ml. He has stayed between the 0.4th and 2nd since being on it for the last 3 months and we have just started weaning.
If you are concerned about the quantity she is drinking speak to your HV as a referral can be made to a dietician. It was the best decision in my situation and gave me the peace of mind. Before I was a nervous wreck and feeling like a failure when people said he was small. I ended up in tears after a GP told me my 14 week old was the size of a 6 week old.

Thank you so much everyone, there's some really useful perspectives from what happened with your little ones.

I've not had her heart checked beyond the normal newborn checks... Perhaps if she's dropped at the next weigh in with the health visitor I'll see if they can refer me for some more in depth ones for peace of mind.

I know what you mean about making good use of clothes 🤣
But it can be hurtful when people comment. Especially when they kept thinking she was a newborn at 3 months 🙈

It's always worth a quick check but it may just be that she'll be smaller. My DD was 5lb when born and everyone was worried about her- doctor told us to start on her food around 4 weeks ago which we have and she loves it and has now growing like mad! But yes the clothes is a great positive my DD still has a few 0-3 that fits her, could do with making an in between size though as 3-6 are massive on her 😂 xx

@Milliesmmy92 ahh thats great! How old is your DD now?
Haha I totally know what you mean about 0-3! My little one has quite long legs so I've just been through all the 3-6 leggings to find the ones with the smallest waists!

@Hopefulbride18 if you have a tesco near you, the baby clothes from there are quite slim fitting. They are my go to for inbetween sizes. Alternatively M&S is really big so you can make those last a bit longer. My LO was still in some M&S 0-3month at 6months old 🙈

She's just under 6 months now so she did start on good early but it's the best thing we ever did! X

I agree with the clothing thing - to a point! My daughter is almost 3, still firmly in 18-24 but has been potty trained since she turned 2 and has a completely different body shape to 18mo. Leggings in her current size have space for a big nappy bum and chubby legs whereas she has a teeny little bum and (relatively) long skinny legs. Just something to be aware of in the future, although I don't have an answer to it. She must grow at some point, right 😂