Repercussions of having/being small baby?

[Theroller]

I’m hopefully panicking for no reason here, but my DS was born at full term 40 weeks very small, 5lb 6oz. He was healthy so I’m not sure anyone is looking into why he was so small.

He’s not gaining a lot of weight, at 15 weeks old he weighs 10lb. Another baby in his NCT group as an example was born premature at 5lb 2oz a week after him and is already 14lb now. Hes only just fitting 0-3 months clothes.

I’m going through the motions with the gp and health visitor whilst waiting for an appointment with an allergy specialist as I think he may have CMPA. Does anyone know if there are long term repercussions to low weight gain as a baby? I’m worried his growth will be stunted or something!

Could depend on many factors plus someone's got to be the smallest! If he's otherwise fit and well then no need to worry.
DD was born 7lb 5 and by 4 months had gone to the lowest percentile and stuck there, she's still smaller than me now as an adult.
I also remember she was quite late doubling/tripling her birth weight according to the guidelines.
If you've got worries though, sounds like you're doing the right thing by getting her m checked out.

I was going to say birth weight isn't an issue - but not putting on weight (called failure to thrive) can be a sign of CMPA.

So sounds like you're asking the right questions. I hope you get some answers

What percentile at birth compared to now? Whats the babies ethnicity?

@Simonjt born on 2nd centile now on 1st. DH and I are both white.

His other development is very good, he is already rolling over and has a good grip etc. Smiled at 5 weeks and babbles a lot. He’s just so tiny!

Is he dropping percentiles? My son was 5lb 12 39+1, he’s 3.5 now and still fits into 18-24 months clothes, 2-3 is very big on him. He hasn’t had any health problems though, he did have an egg allergy but outgrew this by the time he was 2.

@K37529 Yes he’s dropped from 2nd to 1st but gp says he needs to drop 2 centiles to be classed as failure to thrive.

My dd1 was 6lb2 born, then dropped further, and was in 6mo clothes at 1yr. She's now 12 and almost my height!

Dd2 was 6lb15, didn't drop any, and at 10 is still quite little for her age

I don't think you need to worry, as long as they're healthy. Friend's ds was prem, born at 26 weeks, and at 9 he's tall for his age. He does have asthma but no other health issues

My DD was born 13 days early and was 5lb14, between 2nd and 9th percentile.

She is now 14 months and she's still tiny, she's hovered around the 2nd percentile her whole life. She's always been a clothes size or 2 behind.
She is absolutely fine and a very happy little one, she too smiled at 5 weeks.

I know it's easier said than done OP but try not to worry. Some babies are just smaller than others.
I read that the size of a baby is a lot to do with what happened in utero, how well the placenta worked (doesn't mean there's anything wrong), and they will remain that size until around 2 years old. Then genetics will take over from then on.

God I wish doctors had better understanding of statistics. This makes no sense for children at the tail end of the distribution and would be an enormous weight drop.

My ds2 was failure to thrive, weighed 14lb at 12 months old. He had low muscle tone so struggled massively with both breast and bottlefeeding. The Drs tried tube feeding but he kept pulling the tube out. When he was on a lot less milk and a lot more solids he caught up and he was a normal weight by the time he was 2.

I also had a friend with a premature baby who got big quicker. What people should understand is that premature babies are small because they're premature and they will likely gain quickly.
Small babies are just small, and will gain slower, and this isn't necessarily a bad thing.
From what I've gathered since having DD the HVs are much more concerned about big babies gaining too much!

DD was only 4lb13 when born. I didn't know I was pregnant for most of my gestation and she was likely growth restricted due to that. She was tiny for the longest time.

Then on day she just wasn't. She is now 7.5yrs and in 9-10 clothes. She is the tallest in her class and eats enough to keep a teenage boy going.

My daughter was born on the 2nd centile and followed a similar trajectory to your son thereafter. I think by about 15 months or so she’d got to the 25th centile and there she stayed. 9 now, notably more petite than some of her peers but doing well both physically and academically.

Why do you think cmpa? If you’re breastfeeding you can just exclude dairy from your diet for six weeks (make sure you exclude all - it’s in lots of unexpected things) and reintroduce to see if symptoms go and return and you will also see if weight gain is better in this time. It’s a pretty standard test for it so you don’t need to wait for apt if concerned.

Congratulations on your new arrival! My son was the highest end of the scale and his cousin born at the same time was at the lowest end. His cousin gained weight very slowly but it was completely normal for him. Now at 2 they're the same height and the same weight as well.

Every baby's growth is so unique to them, I would try avoid comparing if you can.

In the mean time I wonder could your health visitor do more regular weigh ins to monitor it? And have they advised on feeding at all? Either referring to a lactation consultant if you're breastfeeding or trying a different formula to help weight gain?

If he has CMPA he'd usually have signs - blood or mucus in stool, gas pains, or green poos are the most common. Your GP should be taking this seriously and helping you make changes to his diet so I'd keep pushing.

It sounds like you're doing the very best to look after him & I hope you get answers and better healthcare help soon!

DS was 3rd centile for both length and weight. At 12 months was wearing 0-3 months swimming trunks. GP and HV monitored him for 12 months and then we were offered a referral to GOS for possible Growth Hormone as predicted height was 5’2”. Decided against it. He is now an adult, 5’11” still very slim (36 slim fit jackets)and a manic cyclist .
you are doing the right thing by having him checked out but he might just growing slowly.

I’m not breastfeeding, he has symptoms like reflux, stomach ache, bottle refusal, mucus in stool and bad eczema. I’m trying to get a trial of different formula. The health visitor is weighing him every fortnight they have been very supportive and helpful. I’m just asking what would be the repercussions if he continues to be underweight? As it’s taking a while to resolve.

It’s not so much about being underweight - you can be small and healthy, it’s the losing weight and all the horrible side effects they can experience if cmpa. You can just purchase hypoallergenic formula? If in UK GP will prescribe - most babies hate it as it tastes horrible so might be worth trying to get a few samples from companies to see if theres one that suits. My cmpa baby stayed small but once I excluded dairy from my diet she had no physical side effects and hit her milestones very early so no one was concerned although she was monitored quite closely.

I'm one of three. My eldest sister was 6lb13 at birth and was only 7lb10 at 10 weeks admitted for refeeding due to daily projectile vomiting. She was under the 0.4th percentile until 1, on the 0.4th until 2 then moved to the 50th.
I was 6lb4 at birth always on the 2nd percentile
Little sister 7lb something at birth. Always pretty average. She's 4 years younger than me and we could some times share clothes.
As adults we are all 5ft2-5ft4 and slim builds. We suspect my elder sister had a dairy allergy due to similarities with my own cmpa baby

My dad was 2lb3oz at birth and is only 5ft 5 as an adult but his sister who was full term is only 4ft 11. We are just a family of small people.

My daughter was 6lb13 a birth and there was a girl in our NCT group who was 5lb something and by 4 months had overtaken my daughter. My daughter is a good weight but short and only on the 1st percentile for height. It's a pain as she's still in baby toddler clothes but at 4 is starting school and I can't find uniform or shoes to fit her. Otherwise she's doing well. She's under paeds and dieticians for silent reflux and food allergies.