hv's reaction to blw not putting on weight

[mollysmum82]

Hiya

My dd started on the 2nd centile (she was premature and 5 pounds!) but is now 6 months and has moved gradually onto the 50th centile. However when I weighed her a week ago she'd dropped just below the 50th centile. She hadn't lost weight, she'd just not put on as much as normal. The HV said "this is a sign you need to get solid food into her". I was a bit taken aback by this as I thought milk was more calorific than solid food, but she was turning 6 months anyway so I decided to start the solids. I thought baby led weaning sounded brilliant so we've tried that so far. Dd has really enjoyed this but I'm dubious about the amount of food she's actually getting! I had her weighed again this week and she hasn't put on any weight at all, not even an ounce. She normally puts on quite a lot each week so I was really shocked and upset. I told the HV I was baby led weaning and she was dismissive of it, saying "well I did tell you you had to get some solids into her". I've tried to spoon a bit of puree into her as she enjoys her own spoon/finger food but she really hates it and I really feel like I'm doing her a dis-service. I'm happy to breastfeed her as much as she needs (I'm doing it 2 hourly at the moment to try and help her weight!) and I really want this blw to work. Has anyone been through this?

Many thanks

Yes. I would suggest stop taking her to be weighed, carry on with the blw and go with your instinct.

That's what I would do too GG.

As a HV myself would echo GG's advice - either that or find another clinic.
Dropping a minute amount off of the 50th centile is not going to bother your DD and tbh many babies climb up the centiles and then start to drop back from around six months once they are more mobile, Just looked at DS's charts and he went from 50th to 99.6th but from six months dropped until he was on the 50th again (and has never shifted from that).

Carry on with blw - as for the slower weight gain - there are a myriad of reasons why that happens. But the main question to ask yourself is "would I be concerned about my DD if I didn't have this knowledge about her weight gain". I bet the answer is a definite "No".

Unfortunately too manty HV's are not knowledgable about centile charts or BLW.

I too would stop taking her to be weighed.

In my (completely unqualified) opinion, if she is around the 50 centile, even if she does not put on much weight for a few weeks, it is extremely unlikely that she will fall into the dangerously underweight category. Carry on with BLW if you want. In a few weeks you dd will probably be getting much more of the food into herself and less on the floor.

How often are you getting her weighed? There is no need for anything more than monthly weighing at the most for a healthy baby this age.

DS was BLW and none of my HVs even know, they never asked and I just said he was eating well, eg he's been having banana and likes carrots without mentioning whether or not they were pureed

Also when they start getting more active (crawling etc) their weight gain can slow down a bit. This is normal - no need to worry.

Aww thanks so much for your replies, you've really reassured me! I kind of thought that but its so nice to hear other people say it too! No Jolly, I wouldn't worry about her otherwise! HV said because of this "weight issue" I should come back sooner to have her weighed... but I might avoid her now for a bit! I used to weigh her every week (red face!)

Same HV also said to me "you should really cut down on that breastfeeding, solid food is MUCH more important from 6 months"

Another clinic maybe?? ;)

Thanks again everyone

the HV is very misinformed about breastfeeding! Breast or formula milk is the main source of nutrition for the first year - you are not even supposed to start solids until 6 months, what does she expect you to do, go from 0 to 3 meals + snacks in one day?

I've finally concluded that growth charts should be banned (or not shown to me!!) They are just sent to worry us. I have had similar worries with my dd who started on the 9th percentile. Around 5 months she dropped off her line down to 2nd percentile. My hv said I should try starting solids but at same time gave me a book about blw (very confusing!!) I tried to hold off solids until nearer 6 months and then started off doing a bit of puree and some blw. DD is now 8 months and she absolutely loves her solid food in any shape or form ....she will chomp on chunks of meat, hot cross bun, vegetables the works. She still isn't gaining much weight though and has settled just above the 2nd percentile. She also hardly drinks any milk now even if I express and put in a beaker. However, she is crawling all over the place and pulling herself up to stand so I figure she must be ok. I say trust your instincts and throw the growth charts away!!