7 month old is below percentile charts. Should I see GP or health visitor?

[TeaAndMuffins]

My baby had some weight issues for a while. He was born around 9th percentile, dropped to 0.4th and we were referred to the Infant Feeding team. When his weight stabilised again and the team discharged us, I relaxed and stopped getting him regularly weighed. Recently I felt like my supply was dropping and noticed he was much smaller than his peers, so I weighed him myself and it says he is just 6.3kg. This puts him below the percentile charts by quite a way I think. I'm feeling so so anxious and guilty that I didn't notice sooner and that I didn't get him weighed since we were discharged.
My question is, if you've had a similar experience, do you think I should take him to the GP or to the health visitor? Who is likely to be more helpful at this stage? And what are they likely to suggest?
I also have some deep-seated paranoia that they might think I've been neglecting him because of his low weight and remove him from me. If anyone can put my mind at ease on this I would really appreciate it.

Since weighing him myself yesterday, I've been feeding him like every 2-3 hours, including at night, with formula and breast milk. And trying to give him high fat foods. He's an extremely active and cheerful baby, just very small. I just feel so anxious and guilty it's making me almost constantly nauseous.

I'd see a GP for a general check up.

Most people do not get their babies weighed if they are happy and growing so don't worry about that.
Some people are just small! Are you and dad small?
It's probably nothing to worry about but it's sensible to have him checked out.

Def go get checked ... why wouldnt you?

I’d call the HV as a first port of call. They can help refer you to the right help.

They aren’t going to take your baby off you - and, if you contact them it’s showing you are engaged and trying to do something about it…!

Are you exclusively breast feeding? It can be difficult to know how much they are eating.

Sorry I meant should I see the HV, or should I see the GP? I wasn't considering not seeing anyone

I used to do breastfeeding all day then one bottle of formula before bed. But now I've seen how underweight he is I've decided to try and switch to mainly formula

I'm looking after my baby and my toddler full time at home and I think the stress of dealing with my toddler's meltdowns has made my supply drop. Also the feeds often get cut short because my older child needs help with things all the time. I don't think he was getting enough long, decent feeds.

When my youngest DD wasn't thriving on breast milk at 7 months i switched to formula and never looked back !

I saw the health visitor who said DD was fine apart from weight.

How you feed your baby is totally up to you by the way - you don't need anyone's permission to stop breast feeding or to carry on as you are.

I just know i found it reassuring to see the amount of milk she had drunk and to see the weight going on !

I had previously successfully breast fed my 3 older babies so no idea why things went awry with no.4 but that's life i guess 💐

I'd want a GP appointment with referral to a paediatric specialist.

It could be nothing but could be something... I'd want concrete reassurance of nothing

I would firstly go and get him properly weighed and measured. At 7 months, I would think he should be normally eating about every 3 hours anyway. At that age, once you start solids, you are literally feeding them milk or food about every 1.5 hours all day until they go bed. Plonk your toddler in front of the tv and just have some quiet days at home. But yes, I would see the HV and/or go to a weigh in clinic to get an accurate weight (and length), and ask for guidance on the next steps.

@TeaAndMuffins

My 2nd baby was between 0.4 and 2nd percentile for the first year of her life. I attended monthly weigh ins with the health visiting team to keep on eye that it didn't drop further. But essentially nothing was wrong, around age 1 she just decided she did like food after all and started eating a bit more. She is now 3.5 and still petite maybe 5-10th centile?

Where have you done your calculations? I just had a quick look and if he's 7 months then he's still tracking just about the 0.4th centile?

Unless you have any wider concerns I would visit the health visitor weigh in clinic in the next week or so as the first point of call and have a chat with them 😊

Oh that's interesting. I thought by my calculations he was well below the charts, but maybe I've done it wrong. If he's still on the charts then I'll still need to get him checked but that would make me feel much less anxious than I currently am.

Thanks, this is helpful x

Yeah at this stage I don't care if I'm breast or formula feeding, I just want his weight to be ok

Thank you everyone. I suppose I'll go to the HV first for a proper weigh in, and then if necessary go to the GP after that

I'd go to the GP and ask for a paediatric review.

What are they eating alongside theh milk?

Basically what we eat in an adapted form. Toast, eggs, stew, potatoes, meat, pasta, bananas...

Seems to be a mix of opinions about whether HV or GP is best option... I know HVs can be really variable and sometimes just panic and give generic "blanket" advice. Maybe I'll try the GP first then.

I'd get him weighed on medical scales. Round here that would be the HV. And get him plotted on the chart in his red book.

How have you determined his weight? Because if its you standing on the bathroom scales, it's not accurate enough for this!

Definitely get it checked to put your mind at ease, but looking at DN's red book 6.8kg is between the 2nd and 9th centile.

The health visitor will refer you to the GP if they are at all worried and reassure you if everything is ok, so suggest health visitor first.

He's more like 6.3 with clothes on. So probably around 6.

I’d definitely seek medical advice if he seems to have fallen completely off the centiles but in the meantime add all the fat you can to his diet. My boy had weight gain issues and everything he ate whilst weaning had EVOO, butter or cream added. He’s still very slim now and hopefully your boy is just naturally slim too but worth getting some reassurance.

Is he smiling sitting happy playing?
Then relax a bit.
Just book a review and weigh in and they may just say come back in four weeks to track.
If ill or lethargic or not smiling then more urgent appt

My DD1 was around 0.4th centile until around 5months and below 9th centile until 9months. I would go to the HV first for a proper weigh / measure. HVs can make the same referrals as GPs, but we never needed to see anyone else in the end. We had monthly weigh ins with HV, and once we got weaning established, DD1 started to climb up the centiles to her more "natural curve" (ie. where you might expect her to be based on mine and DH height / build/ + her length). But that took until about 8months as to start with, DD1 wasnt really bothered about food to start with.

Edit to add - HV recommended making sure food was high in good fats for her. So once you've gone through the veggies stage and start offering more complex food, making sure its full fat milk, butter in cooking etc. I used lots of full fat Greek yoghurt as well mixed with fruits, seeds etc.

My boy was little, especially around 9-10 months. He was quite picky but liked peanut butter and that's healthy and calorific.