September 2014 - Into the new year!

[RedToothBrush]

Shiny New Thread for a Shiny New Year.

Holls - My daughter was weighted at birth, at 6 weeks and at 13 weeks. She was on the same centile line for each.

That said, she will have of course gone up and down, I just don't know about it so cannot worry.

I'm sure there is a sticker on the front of my red book which says baby should not be weighed more often than fortnightly. Maybe that is just my local authority?

I've not been told that Fate, nor is there any sticker.

TBH though, shouldn't the HV say something when you weigh in if you went too often?

I've dug out my red book. I don't know if everyone's red book is the same? (would be interested to know). It is not on a sticker - it's written on the pull out bit where the HV writes down the weight.

Page 77 in my red book. Unfold the page and there is a heading titled How often to weigh. It says maximum of once a month (so not fortnightly as I said) for weeks - 6 months. More often if mother or baby are being monitored by the HV (...is what the red book says). Plus some explanation that weighing too often creates unnecessary concern.

Does everyones have that bit or just mine?

The highest numbered page in my book is 42. Then there's a maximum of maybe 10 pages with the charts in.

Oddly, I was given my red book in a different authority to the one I'm in. I think my book is the same as everyone who gave birth locally. I'll have to be eagle eyed next time I weigh in!

And thinking about it, my HV has used the example a couple of times of a lady with twins who just calls into the weigh in fortnightly to get out the house. She said that up to 6 months, they recommended at least once a month.

I was told previously to keep an eye as DS did slip down centiles (but has continued on the same curve since) but they didn't specify when to come next. I just went fortnightly as I was passing at the right time and thought I might as well!

Found it. On the back of my graph. Which has been filled in by various HV, fortnightly...

...I feel a bit cross about that to be honest.

But then again, his weight gain was raised as an issue at a month old and then again just before Christmas, so maybe it was appropriate in DS's case. I dunno.

Fortnightly has not been questioned or mentioned at any point and if anything I've definitely been given the impression to the contrary.

I can recall getting my first and second child weighed fortnightly. I don't think there is anything wrong in that and I doubt very much a HV would discourage it if a parent was keen to have their baby weighed.

Having said that weekly does seem excessive and I can also see good logical reasons for only weighing monthly at most. I'm not sure I would have been able to stick to 'only' monthly weighs with my first child. But now, the only reason I get DC4 weighed is so that I have an idea which size nappy she would be in!

I took ds to hv to be weighed every week for a while and then every other week; that was because he lost weight to begin with and the reflux was severe then, so much that I never knew if he is keeping any milk in or not!! After a couple of times , and seeing he was then gaining weight nicely with all the problems, the hv explained to me very clearly that I should not go there more than one a month; she also explained the reason, same as was discussed here in length.

They weighed him yesterday in hospital and he was 20lb 4 oz; I have not plotted it to see how his growth has been; I would be interested cause recently he does not feed for more than 2-3min each time during the day; he gets distracted and wants to do other things....

Hello all, i seem to have missed loads.

Elijah went back to almost normal sleeping patterns yesterday fx that continues

just found it in mine says no more than once a month. my hv says fortnightly. interesting it says length should be no nappy but they measure b dressed!! I wonder if part of hv seeing us fortnightly is to make sure I'm on track and not wobbling. v wobbly the last 2 days. my hv must despair. she is right it's just I get thrown by any curve balls. do think my hormones are still not right. am I (tmi maybe) the only person not to have had a period yet?

I don't think I could do monthly...! I enjoy my little walks up to have him weighed. sad isnt it?!?! B was done daily then 3-daily then weekly then fortnightly. as I said shouldn't have gone today only hv asked to see him. he had more to eat today than yesterday!!

Holls I've not yet either.

It does sound like your anxiety is all over the place. It may be something you might want to discuss with someone, but I don't think its unusual or abnormal after having a baby. I certainly doubt your HV despairs and has seen it before. That's exactly what she's there for and what she's supposed to do.

If its any consolation, I was put on increased HV supervision prior to DS being born because of my anxiety, and encouraged to speak to my HV if I had any problems. They wanted to make sure I was aware that they were a source of support. It was repeated to me constantly. I've certainly had my ups and downs too. I've hit a couple of road bumps along the way and gone to pieces too. I've not coped terribly well with the curveballs. But I'm muddling through. Mine tend to be over different things but some of them are similar to others on the thread. I find this thread reassuring in lots of ways. I'm sure I piss others on here off at times with my rantings but its not intended!

I dunno what to say really, except my experience throughout my pregnancy and since having DS is that its better to be honest and open about your anxiety rather than to try and hide it.

DD is under a dietician for her digestive issues as she has been slow to put on weight and dropping down the percentiles. She said that DD should be weighed fortnightly and that there is no point weighing her more often then that.

I'm now thinking more in terms of percentiles than weight. She really needs to gain some weight as her weight percentile has dropped from about the 40th at birth to the 2nd just before Christmas. Her length is around the 25th percentile, and we are aiming to get her weight up close to that. The weigh in this week makes her on the 7th percentile, so we are getting there.

Can't remember if I've updated on here, but she's now been diagnosed with cows milk protein allergy. This would explain all her digestive issues, painful wind, colic and reflux. She's been prescribed a hypoallergenic formula (smells gross!), and all of those issues seem better already.

I'm pleased that we've finally worked it out, but I first raised this with a hv at three weeks and then the gp at her six week check. I knew something else was going on, but kept being told it was normal and she'd grow out of it. Seems mother's intuition was right this time!

Team - You should come and visit the October 2014 post-natal thread. There are a surprisingly high proportion of CMPA babies on there, including several who are breastfed. One breastfeeding Mum has talked about dairy free recipes she knows (her toddler is also CMPA so is dairy free). Some good support on there if you post and ask. Very supportive and friendly bunch

Red - You cope brilliantly well with your anxiety. You come across very confident and competent on here. Everyone needs to rant sometimes, it definitely doesn't piss me off. Ranting is good for the soul .

Holls - You could have your little walks to a surestart centre or a local parent and toddler group instead? The peer support and friendship you can get from other Mums locally should not be underestimated.

Everyone has been through the FTM anxieties. Believe me, everyone has. You will not find a Mum who was not anxious about something with their firstborn. No matter how calm and collected the Mum seems - she's either been panicky with previous children so understands or she is panicky at home and just puts on a front when others are around, so will understand too.

The support and friendship is out there.

Glad you finally got it diagnosed Team. Hopefully she'll start putting weight on steadily now she's on a formula she can digest properly.

I take DS to be weighed monthly. After having to go back to hospital & only just escaping being readmitted at 5 days old because he lost too much weight it's something I'm very conscious of. In fact he was weighed weekly for the first 6 weeks. I don't need to get him weighed to know he's putting on now, I can tell that just by looking at him but it's reassuring to know that we're still on the right track. Holls if it helps to get him weighed fortnightly then do but maybe try & move it to every 3 weeks & then over time to a month. I completely understand the need for reassurance that he's doing well.

Completely off topic, has any one seen any sun hats in the shops yet? I know it's only January but we go away in 5 weeks & I'm trying to be organised & get everything I need in advance. Also, has anyone bought baby sunglasses? Any recommendations?

You've got all the winter hats in shops at the minute Topsy. Especially so since we have snow forecast for tonight (well, we have - woo hoo!)

I bet you can get sunhats online though. Someone on ebay or amazon is bound to be selling them.

Do you know anyone with an older baby/toddler? Hats are a typical hand-me-down item. They get such little use, relatively, and so stay in good enough condition to be passed on to other babies.

Holls I have not had mine either.

Team it makes me mad the gp and hv told you it is all normal early on, it just drives me mad... Glad she is now diagnosed and hope she gains weight quickly xx

In early days I went to gp twice for his reflux and the first time listened to his reassurance of :" oh is it your first baby?? Oh babies cry, babies through up, all normal, etc..." The second time I was having none of it; I listed all my concerns and went through the history until he referred us (well, we were already being monitored he just brought the appointment forward)

In another thread there is this amazing mum with her angle like baby who was told the same sort of things i was told by gp but after such a long time of suffering they now say the baby needs operation...

While I understand it is no good to be anxious and moderation and balance is needed for all of us mums, given babies can't tell us how they feel and how bad things are, I came to conclusion I will never again think it is prob nothing, etc... I will trust my intuition and will insist on full investigation if I feel anything is wrong.
And I came to that conclusion through posts like Team's and other things I have experienced and seen since having ds

Tops how olds is your LO? What is his hat size?

tops I think I have some sunhats if you need them I will hunt them out and send you them.

the anxiety is driving me potty not least because I thought I was dealing with things quite well. I find it v hard to have so little control. ...docs maybe??

team mine is also allergic to milk protein, and potentially soya and eggs. I was also dismissed by the gp but cut dairy out (bfing) and finally the paediatrician confirmed he probably is. Mine won't touch the milk though, gp says to persevere but think I'm just gonna keep bfing. Is yours on nutramigen? We're waiting on a referral to the dietician, hopefully they'll give useful weaning tips.

Wow, lots of posts to catch up on!

I get J weighed monthly at our walk in Children's centre. He was reasonably big at birth (8lb 11ozs) but has gradually dropped just below 50th centile. My HV has never shown concern because he's only 25th centile in height.

He feeds well, but still hasn't mastered the art of drinking a whole bottle. I make up 6oz bottles and he usually has 4 - 5 ozs at a time. I still feed him on demand, although he seems to have specific times which he likes a feed, which he has come to naturally.

holls just reading your posts on here I must say that you do come across as very anxious. Which is no problem on here, it's really not! A forum like this is the perfect place for an outlet of anxiety and I think you've got some really good advice and help along the way. However, if you are just as anxious day to day in RL as you come across here then there's no harm in seeing a GP. I'd say if it's affecting your day to day life then it would be a really good idea to chat it through with a doctor. It must be exhausting worrying so much? I bet B is a happy smiley baby and is lucky to have a mummy who a) cares so much about all the details and b) can recognise that there are some anxiety issues going on. A lot of people wouldn't even notice and would bury their head in the sand.

sun hats.

Mothercare has a couple of none inspiring ones online.

It looks like the place to go at present in the snow,
is jojomamanbebe for £12 a throw.

Holls, GP or trying to develop some coping strategies of some kind. I think this forum has helped me, not least because if something is bothering me, I try and think what I would say if it was someone here saying the same thing. I also look a lot to see if anyone else is having similar issues or even silly quirks.

On another note, at what point do I need to start thinking about baby proofing? I was reading another thread last night which was talking about when babies crawl/walk. Crawling seemed to start at 5 months and the earliest walker was 6 and a half months! (Which rather scarily doesn't look beyond the realms of possibility here at this point)

Also, what the heck do I need for swimming? I don't get the two layers thing. What's the difference?

I can answer re swimming! We do waterbabies and they insist on a swim nappy and something they call a 'happy nappy' which is another tenner from them. It's basically swim shorts that are tight round the legs and the waist to prevent any accidents from leaking. Swim nappies look rubbish to me, I'm sure if DS pooed it would just come right out. So I do understand why they insist on the two layers.