Dropping weight centiles

[Sprout]

My little girl was 8lb7 at birth which is the 75th centile. At two weeks she kept on the 75th centile, then at 8 weeks she had dropped to the 50th. Now at 12 weeks she is between the 25th and 50th. I'm not overly concerned as my health visitor wasn't, but she's coming back when Anna's 16 weeks to weigh her again and I'm wondering what she'll suggest if she's dropped even lower on the chart?

I'm a bit nervous she'll say to top up with formula as Anna wants absolutely nothing to do with a bottle...also nervous about weaning early because she's quite prone to choking on even the tiniest bit of Calpol etc.

I've been trying to get her to eat for as long as possible, but once she's done, she's done...I can't very well force force feed her...

 

[mellie_88]

Do you express at all? They tend to recommend topping up with expressed milk after a feed in the first instance.

They definitely shouldn't recommend weaning early, if they do then report them and don't do it!

Does she go to sleep while on the breast or just come off and is then full? I tend to have to wake my LO up half way through a feed by changing his nappy then he'll have more.

 

[Mummybexee]

We dropped 2 severe reflux was the reason but he is a happy normal boy and has stayed
On the same line ( ish ) since

Babies Arnt text books don't worry x

 

[Sprout]

Thanks ladies.

I expressed loads when she was about 4-8 weeks so I have a freezer full but haven't really had to use it! She's taken the bottle a couple of times but lately just screams if we attempt to give it to her. Hadn't crossed my mind that we'd be advised to top her up with expressed milk for some reason so thanks! That's reassuring, even if we may have a bottle battle on our hands!

She very rarely falls asleep on the breast (Wish she did more often to be honest because we currently have to walk about with her to get her to sleep!). When she's done she looks absolutely disgusted at any attempts to offer her more haha, she'll screw up her face, stick her tongue out and actually go "eurgh"

About weaning, the health visitor gave us a leaflet about it and sort of said that it's not recommended before 6 months but kind of hinted that it could be possible at 5 months so I felt a bit like she was saying it's a possibility if she's still not gaining enough weight by that time? But don't worry, she in no way told us to do that and certainly not for a while.

 

[MrsG81]

My boys were 8lb 15oz and 10lb 8oz at birth and both quickly dropped down to the 50th centile within the first 3-4 months. And after around 2 weeks were both totally formula fed.

I think when babies have been such a good weight at birth it's not too worrying for them to drop down the charts a bit. To maintain the higher centiles would require a lot of milk I think!

 

[juliekim0908]

My boy was 10lb 3oz at birth. On the 98th centile.
Hes now nearly 8 months and dropping to the 25th! he weighs around 18lbs now.

HV wasn't worried either, I weaned at 12 weeks. xx

 

[kanga86]

My boy is 19 weeks and was 7lbs 6oz born and settled between the 50-75th centiles. But at 15wks he was on the 25th centile and at 17wks. Getting him weighed next tuesday and expect him to be following the 25th line still, think that is where he will stay xx

 

[BunnyN]

Our case was a bit extreme but LO went from the 95th percentile to below the 3rd. It turned out she had food allergies to what I was eating and when I changed my diet it helped. She was still a slow gainer though and still seemed to have trouble digesting the milk.

I was dead against early weaning but if I did things over I must admit I would consider it because when we did start solids she really piled on weight. I still dont think early weaning is needed in most cases of slow weight gain though. She had lots of digestive issues and had other symptoms like mucus and blood in her poo.

Despite pressure to do so I never did try formula top ups because I was convinced a lack of milk wasnt the problem. It turned out to be a good thing because of her allergies she would almost certainly have reacted badly to formula. Honestly she did get really skinny and we were really stressed out because we were told that it could affect her development. But after reading dozens of simmilar stories on the internet and a scientific medical study about weight loss and brain development in babies it put us more at ease. My conclusion was weight loss has to be severe before it causes other health issues. Dropping one or two percercentiles is only a concern because it can indicate other problems (allergies in our case) but isn't likely to actually cause any problems in itself.

LO was always ahead on her milestones and very alert and active. I actually think her very allert and active personality did mean she burned more callories too. Eventually we saw an allergy specialist who said her weight wasnt ideal but wasnt a huge deal, she had had plenty of simmilar cases.

For some reason I also seem to grow big babies. LO is 20 months now has totally caught up with weight and growth for quite a while now but has stayed about the 50th percentile which I think is right for her. I think her higher birth weight exagerated the weght that she lost on a chart. We have just had another baby and he was almost 11lbs at birth! I think the percentile they are born on is not always the one they are supposed to stay on.

Sorry for such a long post but I thought our story might help. Even in our more extreme case LO was otherwise always very healthy and developed well. I think it is easy to go straight for the formula at the first concern but if you dont feel its the right thing dont feel pressured into it. Keep an eye on if she is healthy and happy and has plenty of wet nappies etc. If there is a problem try and identify what it is because formula, although it might be the right choice in some cases, isnt always the answer.

 

[Sprout]

Thanks, BunnyN, that's interesting to hear. I've been thinking about cutting out caffeine but hadn't really considered allergies. Will definitely look into it if she keeps dropping.

She has plenty of wet nappies but only has dirty nappies around every other day. I know there's quite a big range in a "normal" amount of dirty nappies but it is on the lower side, I think?

I don't really have an issue with weaning if she seems ready for it, same with bottle feeding. At the moment I'm just worried we'll be recommended to try one or the other if she's not gaining weight well when she's not happy to take a bottle or might choke on food...

Thanks for the responses, feeling more at ease with the situation and a bit more confident she might stay on her current centile.

 

[Staceylou27]

At the end of the day she is your baby and you should do what you think is best with the advice you have been given.

My daughter was 7lb 10oz at birth (not sure what centile I think the 25th)
She lost a bit more than expected after the first few days, but I was struggling to breast feed so we began combi feeding as I couldn't physically feed her anymore as I was so sore. I did about 2 feeds a day breast and the rest formula (I couldn't express nothing came out- in convinced my milk never properly came in)

Until her 8 week injections she was around the same centile line. I stopped combi feeding at 9 weeks and just have bottle (baby wouldn't take from me any more due to having a cold)

I had her weighed just before her 12 week injection and she weighed 10lb 10 1/2oz which they said was lower than they would like and she had dropped a centile to the 9th.
We went back a week later (this wed) she's 12 1/2 weeks old, and she's gained 2oz. There happy she's gained weight but said it's slow. We have to go for weighing again next week! :/

I'm not worried about her she's very active rarely sits still and she barely sleeps during the day. She takes milk often when she wants it. I think she's just burning off the food she's taking in.
She is petite, some of her 0-3 clothes don't fit her yet and she's almost 13 weeks.

 

[Pumpkin9]

Hey, slightly different here but thomas was 9th centile at birth and then dropped to 0.4 centile by 8 weeks. Hv just said keep doing what you're doing but I was worried as he was so so tiny. In the end I combi fed (at 12 weeks) as Thomas was fine with bottles and then went to formula really straight away as the difference was unbelievable In him. He'd been very whingey and crying a lot the 2 weeks prior and difficult to settle and he changed to an incredibly content baby and his weigh shot up over the course of 6 weeks to 25th centile. We weaned at 6 months ish and he's now close to 75th centile.

Ultimately do what you think is right for your child as no-one knows better than mum.

 

[Goat]

Hi hun! Regarding your diet I find my daughter who's 12 weeks is really sensitive to things like caffeine and citrusy things including things like tomatoes - pasta sauces etc. she gets so fussy if I have them. She would be so noisy all night long, tossing turning, not settling after night feeds and it also gave her bad reflux, you could hear her gargling the acid at the back of her throat. I cut out caffeine initially and it took about 3 days to get out of my system and she was so different! Settled, content, fed nicely, slept really well and settled instantly after a feed. Then found that the tinned tomatoes also did the same so cut that out too. So definitely worth looking at your diet and seeing what can be eliminated.
Xx

 

[Dotty_woman]

Health visitors have thus uncanny knack of making mums feel like they are doing a crap job, even if they don't mean to. If your LO is feedng regularly anf you have plenty of wet nappies then I'm sure everything is ok. When Vi was tiny the midwife made me commit to feeding her every couple of hours, waking her up if necessary to feed her. I felt like a major failure but looking back now appreciate the advice. Babies have to build up strength to actually feed particularly in the early days. When I last got Vi weighed they inferred she was getting a bit heavy! You just can't win. Try to see their advice as being in your baby's best interests rather than a criticism and try to keep an open mind before your appointment. Wishing you all the best! xxx

 

[LHop]

I am in a similar situation my little boy was born 6lb 11oz at birth which was 9th centile by 2 weeks he was following the 2nd centile and last week at 7 weeks dropped just below to the 0.4th centile and is the same this week at 8 weeks he is exclusively breastfed and puts on 5/6oz a week which I think sounds pretty good! He is happy and alert and sleeps 5/6 hours at night but health visitor made me feel bad! I'm tiny just under 8 stone pre preg and DH is tall and slim so I think he's just got a high metabolism most days he does 5 poos a day!!!

 

[BunnyN]

Hi hun! Regarding your diet I find my daughter who's 12 weeks is really sensitive to things like caffeine and citrusy things including things like tomatoes - pasta sauces etc. she gets so fussy if I have them. She would be so noisy all night long, tossing turning, not settling after night feeds and it also gave her bad reflux, you could hear her gargling the acid at the back of her throat. I cut out caffeine initially and it took about 3 days to get out of my system and she was so different! Settled, content, fed nicely, slept really well and settled instantly after a feed. Then found that the tinned tomatoes also did the same so cut that out too. So definitely worth looking at your diet and seeing what can be eliminated.
Xx

LO was the same. She woke up on the morning of the 4th day I was on the diet and gave a huge smile. She went from being constantly fussy to being much happier and more content. That is what convinced me I was on to something.

I think babies with intolerances/ allergies will generally have more symptoms than just poor weight gain. I wouldnt worry about it unless LO also has other symptoms. Constant fussiness, reflux, diarrhea, constant green mucusy poos etc are all typical.

 

[Goat]

Bunny, that's interesting, out of interest when your eldest was weaned did she still have the allergies? x

 

[BunnyN]

Bunny, that's interesting, out of interest when your eldest was weaned did she still have the allergies? x

She began to get less sensitive before and I went back to eating some dairy just before she started on solids. She could get away with small amounts of things like yougurt but if she ate much it would give her a funny tummy and eczema. She gradually got less sensitive and it was almost gone by the time she was one. Now she drinks lots of milk and seems fine with it.

 

[Goat]

That's good to know thanks chick! Dairy gives me eczema too and I'm worried this one might get it too. Hopefully not!xx

 

[Bonfire Bride]

I used to go to a breast feeding support group with Oliver for a chat and cuppa! We had quite a few ladies there who were having the same concerns, including myself. He was born on 90th - shot up to 98th for a few weeks and then dropped fairly rapidly to between 75th and 90th.

The lady who runs the group (an ex midwife now senior health visitor) said that the growth charts were based on formula fed babies and didn't correctly reflect breastfed ones growth patterns. As long as little one is alert when awake and having plenty of wet and dirty nappies, you have nothing to worry about. Saying that, my best friend formula fed and she also had similar issues with HV being concerned about weight.

How on earth did women manage centuries ago without these charts? Sometimes they cause more worry than necessary!

Good Luck xxx

 

[Sprout]

Thanks all for your replies! Little update: Everything was fine when she was weighed again She seems to just be hovering about between the 25th and 50th centiles and the HV saw no reason to change anything. BFing is going really well and no plans to wean til she's at least 6 months.