Small baby

[coco111]

Hi,

I had my third baby on Thursday a girl weighing 6.8lbs. She was born via c section 39 weeks. She is just so so tiny. I'm scared she's lost weight since. She ebf and seems to be getting enough but she's just so delicate it's making me worry. Anybody else has a small baby and they gained weight pretty quickly?

My son had IUGR so was 4 lb when we took him home, having been born at 5 lb. He was on the 96th centile within 3 months and as he was ebf I lost 20 lb feeding him. Very slow start as he was small and weak, but it turned around fast.

My DD was born at 38 weeks weighing 5lb 6oz. She was very tiny but she put on weight so much faster than my DS who was born full term weighing 7lb 2oz. She loved her milk and she was going up the centiles after each week. She eventually reached the 50th centile and stayed there. Congratulations on your little one xx

6.8lbs doesn’t even count as a small baby. Were your first two whoopers?

As long as you’re getting lots of wet and dirty nappies you’ll be fine. Do you have a midwife visit coming up to check her weight?

I've just checked for you. My Dd was in the 2nd centile when born, and she was just under the 50th centile at 7 weeks. So I'd say that's pretty quick!

Congratulations! ❤️

My DD was 5lbs 12oz at 38w (suspected IUGR + sepsis at birth). Small babies obviously have even tinier tummies than normal so i actively had to wake and feed her every 2-3 hrs. Otherwise she would just sleep through feeding times or fall asleep on the breast - especially that all important 3am feed to keep my supply going. I did that for around 12weeks (she was 0.4th centile at one point after dropping weight whilst she was in NICU - yours doesnt sound as low a centile so this might not be the same case for you!)

My DDs weight gain was very slow but after weaning started at 6months, she began to catch up and by 1yr, she was on the 71st centile and what we think is her "line" (DH is 6'2, im 5'8 so she was never going to be tiny forever!). She's now 2.5yrs and a thriving, tall, active little girl who you would never know was so tiny when she was born!

Congratulations on the new baby OP.

My first DD was 6lb3oz at birth. I tried breastfeeding but she never really took much so I switched to bottles. She never drank much from them either and I really began to worry, as she was always on the lowest of the percentiles on the chart. My GP reassured me she was just petite, as she was thriving and active. She's been a picky eater all her life. DD is 24 now and still incredibly petite (size 6) but has a strong constitution and has far less illnesses than her younger sister.

Try not to worry about your baby's size, especially if she's smaller than your previous babies. I think it's natural for them to lose some of their birthweight and then they start to put on. Hopefully your DD will begin to increase weight soon, but don't panic if she stays petite.

My DD was 5.9lbs and lost some weight during first week so I felt like some of her bones were sticking out but she kept gaining weight in coming months and all is fine. She is now on 91 percentile for both height and weight.

My baby was 6.2 at pretty much full term. She didn't put on weight quickly and is small for her age weight wise and height wise now aged 4. But that's just her, she's following her percentiles...5 I think. If you're getting wet nappies, following her line on the chart and your health visitor has no concerns then you're all good.

Don't worry. Son 6lb 6oz ebf (exhausting!), Doubled birth weight in weeks, turned into 17stone rugby prop.

Congratulations. That’s not a tiny baby by any means. Mine was 6lb5 and I never though of her as small

My first was 6lb 3oz at nearly 41 weeks, he was ebf and he gained weight well even with silent reflux, followed the 20th percentile line pretty consistently. He’s 3 now, tall and skinny still, not massively fussed about food but perfectly healthy. Although it’s not considered a ‘low birth weight’, I had to have regualr growth scans with my second this year because of having a ‘small’ first baby which surprised me. Ironically second was 8lb 9oz and super chunky since, he’s wearing clothes at 5 months that my first was wearing at 1 😅
Like PP have said, keep an eye on wet & dirty nappies and speak to your midwife/HV if you’re concerned, hopefully she’s doing just fine and just petite, they’re all so different! X

My boy was born at 6lbs4, just had his check at two months and he’s 10lbs11! My older son was about the same birth weight and put on weight well.

Mine was born early 32w at 3lb and after a slow start absolutely shot up and at 6 months was 18lb12! They catch up, don't worry.

6lb isn't particularly small, i think mine was 12w before he hit 6lbs.

Congrats and don't worry. Firstly, that weight isn't that small, it's within normal range.

Secondly, it's normal for newborns to lose some weight in the first few days (I think up to 10%) due to extra fluid from birth being lost. If they lose more than 10% I think they need extra checks or sometimes readmitted to help with feeding. Think policies may vary but in my hospital if they lose between 8-10% they need an extra weight check which mine did as she lost 8.3% I think it was. I was EBF.

As long as a midwife is weighing your baby within the first week or so they will be aware of what to do.

My daughter was 6lb13 at birth dropping to 6lb8 after 5 days. She followed the 9th percentile until I stopped dairy when she moved to the 25-35th percentile for weight. She has stayed here and is now 3.

She doesn't outgrow clothes though. She was in 1 month clothes until 10 weeks. 0-3 months until 5 months even though she was over the weight and height for the size! Between 1 and 2 she dropped from the 25th percentile for length to the 1st percentile for height. She now fits clothes according to her height rather than weight. She's 3y3m and is the size of an 18month old in a mix of 12-18m and 18-24 month clothes. It's a bit annoying now as some things that fit her aren't suitable for her development. For example outfits coming with a popper vest which isn't practical now's she is potty training.

My sister didn't reach the 0.4th percentile line until she was 1 and was 2 once she moved up to the 25-50th percentile and I was between the 0.4th and 2nd percentile. My dad was a 28 weeker and was 5lb8 at 8 weeks/36wk gestation corrected so I think we are all destined to be small!