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Weaning

Find weaning advice from other Mumsnetters on our Weaning forum. Use our child development calendar for more information.

Original poster

HV said to increase solids as too much weight gain. Any experiences?

22 replies

Gerty1002 · 09/04/2014 15:24

Went to get 7mo DS weighed this morning and he has now gone just above the 99.6th centile. He was born on the 98th.

The HV said we are now 'out of our comfort zone' and should try to increase his solids and reduce his milk. My instinct is to wait it out as two days ago he started crawling, so I'm hoping the extra activity will help shed a little of the extra padding. He's not obese (very long) but a good, chunky baby. He's in size 18-24 month clothes, which are a little long but not ridiculously so.

He is currently on two meals a day (mixture of spoon fed and finger food) and three bottles, which are a hefty 11oz, but he doesn't always empty them. I'm reluctant to increase to three meals a day as we tried that a few weeks ago and he had a lot of digestive discomfort and as a result was waking around 10 times a night!

Has anyone been in a similar position? Did they drop back down once they were more active?

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evelynj · 09/04/2014 15:38

My ds was off the scale - now 4 & 'normal'. He was 10lb 1oz at birth & 60cm long & my dd now 8 months was on the 60th percentile or something & 56cm I think. She's now 26lb & in 12-18 month clothes & 79cm. Completely off the scale-about 150% probably!

My advice is do what you think best & ignore HV, just smile and nod when they tell you what to do, they have to tow the company
Ine and cover their backs-you could try reducing bottles to 10oz esp if he's not finishing them. My dd is on 3 7oz bottles a day but 3 meals, usually all homemade so lean meat & veg & 1 petit filous a day.

It's great that he's a good size-you worry less when they're ill as 'they have something to fall back on' as my mother says;)

I wouldn't and won't worry until they are about 2 & still not settled. Not everyone is going to fit nicely where they want on the scale as we're all different

mercibucket · 09/04/2014 16:09

if he has stayed on his line, more or less, whats the problem?

Original poster
Gerty1002 · 09/04/2014 16:45

He was born just dot on 98th so he's not stayed within the one line allowance iyswim. I'm not really worried though, he has reflux (not projectile, more like silent reflux with constant posseting) but is quite settled at the moment so as I say I don't want to rock the boat unnecessarily.

Maybe I'll just concentrate more on making sure he has healthy food - he also eats mostly home cooked with plenty of fruit and veg but has the odd bit of toast or cheese sandwich so I'll maybe limit those a little.

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noblegiraffe · 09/04/2014 16:53

If his length is above the 99th percentile then isn't he just in proportion? I thought they only got worried if a baby is a much higher centile for weight than height?

Booboostoo · 09/04/2014 17:18

My DD was born on the 50th percentile for both weight and height but then her weight rocketed to well over the 98th. She was ebf for the first 6 months and a lot of bf afterwards and while the doctor kept commenting on it all the time she had no suggestions, either on whether there might be a medical problem or on what, if anything, to do about it. Her height crept up but very very slowly.

Then at around 18mo when she really started walking, the trend reversed itself. By then her height had crept up to the 97th percentile but her weight was steadily dropping. She's now 3yo and still 97th for height but now 50th for weight and more stable on this curve. She eats a lot of healthy foods (home cooked, a lot of fruit and veggies) but she still eats a lot more than other children I see and a lot more often.

Now I just think she needed the weight to turn into height. I am not sure how representative the growth curves really are and while I understand the concept of 'failing to thrive' now that her height is stable no one cares that her weight is dropping percentiles.

Booboostoo · 09/04/2014 17:19

Sorry forgot to add: as far as I understand it the weight at birth is a function of how well the mother's placenta works, this then adjusts up or down in the first few months after birth, so these kinds of changes are not generally considered worrying.

mercibucket · 09/04/2014 19:26

i dont think the 'crossing centile' thing has happened though, has it? surely that usually means going from, say, 75th to 50th, or v v , not 98 to 99?

ilovepowerhoop · 09/04/2014 19:30

98 to 99 is not crossing a centile line as that would be as PP says e.g. going from 50th to 75th, etc

BetterWithCheese · 09/04/2014 19:40

I think the marked centile lines get closer together at the extremes so it go 0.4, 2, 9, 25, 50, 75, 91, 98, 99.6. It has to do with the statistical properties of a normal distribution.

BetterWithCheese · 09/04/2014 19:41

So 98 to above 99.6 is crossing one of the significant lines.

HandragsNGladbags · 09/04/2014 19:42

What height is your DS? My DD has always hovered around the 99.6th for both after being born on 91st but as long as they are in proportion I have found HV's generally okay.

Original poster
Gerty1002 · 09/04/2014 19:51

As betterwithcheese said they are closer higher up the scale.

I have just measured him - the baby clinics don't do that where I live - and he is above 99.6th line for that too so I'm just going to forget about it!

Thanks for all your replies :)

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HandragsNGladbags · 09/04/2014 19:58

Oh gosh yes if in proportion completely ignore imo Smile

MoominsAreScary · 09/04/2014 20:01

I would just carry on as you are atm with him being so long, if they say anything else id refuse to have him weighed unless they cheak his height too.

badidea · 09/04/2014 20:19

My son was born on 50th centile and by 4 months was on 99th centile - my HV wasn't worried in the slightest (I should add his lenght by then was about 93rd centile so almost (but not quite!) as long as he was fat :-). As soon as he started crawling he slimmed down, still about 91st centile, but the same for weight and length.

Defo ignore and carry on as you are.

Original poster
Gerty1002 · 09/04/2014 20:26

Thanks everyone! My gut feeling was to ignore but it's nice to be reassured. He has been really active the past few days (im knackered!) so I have a feeling he will start to slim down soon.

I hope so anyway as he's in size 6 nappies for night times! They only go up to 6+!

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Original poster
Gerty1002 · 09/04/2014 20:29

Oh and I went with chicken, peppers, onions and chickpeas with guacamole, sour cream, mild salsa and grated cheese. Best I've ever had!

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Original poster
Gerty1002 · 09/04/2014 20:30

Ha hahaha clearly that was intended for my fajita related thread!!

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evelynj · 09/04/2014 21:34

Hmmm, chickpeas in fajitas-why have I not de that before!thanks ;)

MissRatty · 09/04/2014 21:53

Ha, our HV has recommended the same due to poor weight gain!

Smile, nod, walk away and trust your instincts! X

Original poster
Gerty1002 · 10/04/2014 09:00

It was lovely evelynj, added an extra texture Smile

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Original poster
Gerty1002 · 11/04/2014 13:59

As it happens the little fella has decided to drink less milk and want more solids of his own accord!

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