seeing health visitor

[betterhalf]

Just wondered how often you take or did take your babies to baby clinic/ health visitor for weighing etc.
My LO is 20 weeks old and I tend to go every 3 weeks, but would like to start leaving it a bit longer. My LO is fine, thriving, putting on weight, so not sure if it's necessary to keep it up. What do you think?

If you are happy with your childs progress and health then don't go to clinic, you might want to go if they specific sessions and for vaccinations but otherwise just go if you feel the need.

FWIW DD was taken religiously every 2 weeks until she was 8 months old DS had been weighed about 8 times in his life. They are both happy and healthy!!

I took DD (now aged five) exactly once.

Take her as often as you feel that you want to. And it doesn't need to be regular

For jabs and if you're worried. That's quite enough! I agree Dc2 probably never goes!

I took DS every couple of weeks to begin with, then every month or so until he was about five months, then not again apart from his 8 month check.

I have never taken DD.

Never saw the HV except for jabs and the formal checks.

And ds was a "non failure to thrive" baby who didn't follow the growth curves and dropped through them from 91st to undereneath. But I used alternative support mechanisms - ie the maternity hopsitals breast feeding support group and the midwife breast feeding counsellors there - so kept out HVs waynever felt the need.

If I'd been able to have another one, I'd have been more confident about looking at the baby and not even bothering to get the baby weighed.

With ds1 I took him every week or 2 for the first few months (had lots of problems with bf, colic, etc and was at my wits end), then only very occasionally after about 20 weeks.

With ds2 I have had 2 home visits (at 2 weeks and 3 months), and have had him weighed once just because I happened to be at the GP's surgery on baby weighing day. No plans to go again until 9 months (to get him weighed to check he is or isn't OK to go into the next stage carseat).

There's really no need to go if your LO is thriving and you have no concerns.

Thanks for the replies. It sounds stupid but I was feeling guilty about my reluctance to go so often. DS has had all his jabs and was bang on target with weight and I really have no concerns at all with him, so it will be nice to not have to sit hanging about waiting to be seen by the HV so often.

Some HVs are unaware that Govt guidelines for routine weighing of healthy babies changed about 5 years ago because they can't be arsed don't have time to update themselves.
It's recommended that healthy babies should be weighed at birth, 10 days, 2 months, 3 months and 4 months and at around 1 year. Of course parents can choose to weigh as often as they want, or not at all. Its been found that frequent weighing can do more harm than good, can lead to overfeeding, undermine breastfeeding and cause lots of anxiety.