Health visitor has really worried me

[Shannon9955]

I don't know if I'm just over worrying and panicking. But I'm worried sick I'm failing.

My second daughter is a reflux baby ( my first wasn't a sicky baby at all), only mildly so they won't put her on medication. She's gaining weight and her sickness after feeds is improving.

She had her 12 week check on Monday with the health visitor. I've attached her weight and percentile chart.

So she's dropped slightly, very slightly. But gained over a pound in 4 weeks since her last weigh in. They've said they'll weigh her again in 4 weeks time due to her slight drop on percentile

My little girl sleeps 10pm-7pm. No night feeds as she sleeps straight through. Now my concern is, do I feed her enough in the day? For example today she had 6oz at 6am, 5 and a half oz at 11am, 6oz at 2:30pm, 2oz of a 6oz bottle at 5:30pm and she's just had a 6oz bottle at 8pm. Is this enough? Should I wake her at night to feed? I'm worried sick she's not gaining enough because she's not eating enough. But I'm just following what the cow and gate tub says. 5 6oz bottles in a 24 hour period. Some days she has 5 bottles of 6oz and finishes them all, other days she'll have one 6oz and have 3oz or 4oz of the other bottles. But yesterday has really worried me that she's not gaining enough weight

Her weight gains and percentile chart

You’re doing fine. It’s totally normal for babies not to stay on their centile lines.
I had an awful time with dd1 made to feel like I wasn’t doing a good job as she dropped her centiles. So much so that I never took dd2 to be weighed even once. The HV laughed when I told her at dd2 12 month check. She was born on the 99th centile and by 1 she was around the 50th. She said do you really think a child this dinky was meant to stay on that massive centile? She was right dd is still tiny. She’d be morbidly obese on the 99th centile.
Don’t worry yourself over it. If she was hungry she’d wake up

I wouldn't worry, it's natural for them to fluctuate/not follow the exact curve. Probably nothing to worry about, they just want to keep an eye on it.

The HVs in my area only worry if they drop 2 lines.

Presumably baby would alert you if they were hungry?

If she’s finishing the bottles try offering a bit more - she should still be feeding on demand, not the amount on the formula packet. Mine didn’t sleep through until around 6-7 months and at that point she had 5x6oz bottles, roughly every 3 hr during the day. Prior to that she was drinking 5oz bottles and had one at night too in addition to every 3 hr during the day.

I’ve been in your position when a health visitor makes you feel unsure about what you’re doing because of a chart she does. And that’s what it is - a standard chart. Not all babies are standard and will have growth spurts at different times.

You know your baby best, if she was hungry in the night she would wake and cry, she isn’t so she is content. She has gained weight so she is getting enough. You’re doing brilliantly so don’t overwhelm yourself with worry. She is growing, gaining weight and she’s developing great sleep habits so well done !!!

I had a reflux baby and was threatened by the hv with a hospital referral. Unfortunately for her she hadn’t clicked that I had seen one of the top pediatric doctors in the country the week before who had said as long as he puts on 1kg a year it’s fine. Don’t wake your baby, do what you can to make them comfortable safely and just make sure you offer them plenty of milk (which I know might create a bit of wastage). A reflux baby is challenging enough without worrying.

So in the mornings since she is sleeping 10-7 I've offered her 7oz and she drank it all. I said this to my health visitor and she said don't do that. It sounds like a lot and I said it's just the morning bottle I offer it because in the day she is content with 6oz and she told me to just stick every bottle to 6oz for her age. So I'm confused. But she was sicky that day I gave her 7oz so I'm thinking was it to much

@wishIwasonholiday10 also I do feed on demand. My little girl has her own routine where she'll normally show hunger signs every 3 to 4 hours and that's her routine that she alerts me with

That chart wouldn’t worry me. But I thought the advice now was that if babies finish their bottles they should be offered more milk.

I remember talking to an old GP when my children were young and my sister said they were too skinny. The GP said these days they worry a lot more about children who are overweight rather than underweight. It does sound to me you spoke to a health visitor who is either inexperienced or a stickler for the rules. Health visitors are usually not worried unless a child drops off 2 centiles

I'm not sure about the weight thing, but I would have sold my soul for a sleeper like that. DS and I didn't sleep more than 2 hours at a time for 4 years.

Give yourself a pat on the back. I think you must be doing something pretty good there.

I also thought they didn't really worry unless baby dropped 2 or more centile lines. The extra weigh-in is probably just a check to make sure she doesn't keep drifting slowly downwards, just to be safe, especially with reflux in the picture. Both of mine had an extra weigh-in or two just to check.

I said this also. I said I thought if she drowns the bottle then just add another oz even if it does go to waste and she said no, 7oz for her age is to much

I don’t think the weight is an issue. My daughter dropped 2 percentiles and we received extra assistance, we’ve actually got another appointment next week as she’s back up to the 50th percentile that she was born on so this is just to check she’s maintaining. My daughter has cmpa, reflux and a tongue tie which has now been released so was just a feeding nightmare but would also sleep through the night like yours.

If you are worried about the reflux the advice I was given was to feed little and often but that wasn’t really working for us so I was prescribed carobel to put in her milk which helps it stay down. But saying all that, your daughter’s weight seems great and I think an appointment after 4 weeks is normal. We have been on weekly appointment to check weight gain.