my baby's too skinny *updated pg2*

[purple13]

i've just taken my little (operative word) boy to be weighed and, despite cracking bf-ing, he's only gained 4oz in a fortnight. he's almost fallen off the lowest percentile for weight now

he's such a skinny little thing although he's grown about 8cm in length since he was born.. think that must be where its all going... i felt so sorry for him at the clinic next to everyone else's big biff babies.

i know i've got lots of milk cos it leaks all over the place constantly but its just not enough.

so on the HV's advice, i'm going to start giving him formula top-ups after each feed. need to trawl the formula threads now for the best way to make up bottles overnight; don't really want to have to wait for 30 mins for the water to cool

i'm hoping the upside to all this is that he might start sleeping better at night time...

 

[Squiglet]

babies tend to grow at different rates ... sometimes they grow lengthwise sometimes width wise. I find that if either Tia or Serena put on a load of weight, its because they are about to shoot upwards and all the weight disappears, and they become skinny lil things and they drop down on the weight percentiles. Tbh your LO has grown more in height than Serena did in her first month, she only grew 6cm.

Also newbs tend to loose a chunk of weight in the first month, and then there is a battle to put it all back on. Has he only put on 4oz on to his birth weight?

At two weeks Serena was only a couple of grams over her birth weight, but in actuality in those two weeks she had gained nearly 1.5kg as she had been ill and lost a bit.

Don't give the top up if you don't want too... I was told to give top ups by our GP but I refused and now we are doing well with weight gain etc. But its your decision. HV generally give useless info in my opinion... and your instincts as a mother are far more important and viable.

If your LO is doing well, is happy and bright and not constantly hungry and looking for food then I can't see the need to introduce formula. but remember its entirely up to you.... if you feel he needs it then give it to him... its not poison and lots of babies thrive on the mix.

 

[weenik]

Dylan lost a lot of weight when he was born, and at first it was a struggle to get him to put on weight. I was advised & encouraged by everyone to give him formula but I stuck to just bf'ing because I knew it would be ok in the end. Eventually (after me realising that he had to be on me almost 24/7) we cracked it and he slowly started to put on weight. All through this time though I still think he was healthy because he was content and had plenty of wet/dirty nappies.

I do think you should do what you think is best - if giving him formula to help him put on weight will make you feel better and more relaxed then you should probably do it. As squiglet said, it's not poison however I would say that some babies prefer bottles once they start having them and it may be hard to get him back on the boob. I had that struggle when I fed hm EBM for a week so I could see how much he was taking. Good luck and remember to do what's best for you.....they don't stay tiny babies for long and I think it's very important that you enjoy this time as much as you can xx

 

[purple13]

thanks guys mid - you're like my own personal agony aunt - cheers pet 8) 8)

i let him eat til he isn't hungry any more, so feeds can be anywhere between an hour to 2.5 hours (at night when we're co-sleeping). like dylan, he's doing lots of wees and poos, and his little tummy upset from last week seems to have settled...

i'm eating loads, though prob not the right sort of stuff too much chocolate for definite... i drink about 8-10 pints of water a day as well...

completely agree about HV's being crap; bit of a shock after being mollycoddled by my midwives! i am worried that connor's about to fall off the bottom of the percentile scale, and i hate seeing him look so tiny against other babies; but i also hate the HV's making me feel like i'm neglecting him cos he doesn't fit in with their percentages

squig - he was 6'9 when he was born, dropped to 6'2, went up to 6'8 a fortnight ago, but has only put on another 4oz since... but he's happy and bright, and only constantly hungry at nighttime - and he feeds for as long as he wants then...

i think i might just start doing a formula feed at night and see how he gets on. even tho i'm co-sleeping with him, i don't sleep v well when he's feeding. it'd be nice if the co-sleeping actually involved sleep...!

here's my skinny boy...:

 

[Squiglet]

Aww bless him... don't worry hun... he was small to begin with, but it seems that he's gaining weight on boob milk albeit slowly.... but if he is happy and bright then thats good too.

As others have said... do what you think is best.. but don't pay too much attention to the percentile charts... At a month old, lil miss was off the charts and the high end for weight and height, but she is by no means fat... its just that our genetics (mine and DH's) dictate that shes going to be very tall, and now at 2 months, while her height is still off the percentile charts, her weight has evened out.

But the GP made me feel bad for over feeding her yet shes exclusively bf... so

it makes you feel like a crap mum when you're clearly not...

Do what makes you feel better... as weenik said... they are only tiny for such a short time, so enjoy it as much as possible .

 

[kelsey]

Hi, with my last child I had the same thing happen and my hv said the same thing to me. However as soon as I started giving top ups he started sleeping a bit longer from the formula and my milk got less until i was fully bottle feeding him.

After having this one (she was 5 8 born) I have been exclusively bf and she's not putting on a lot of weight (she was 9 7 at 14 weeks). I have been talking lots with my new hv and she is happy that she's putting on weight although not as fast as maybe she should. She suggested I try expressing and giving her a bottle of expressed milk before bed.

I found a website that has lots of information about bf and i have found it really helpful. I only wish i knew about it when i had the others.

Hopefully it will help you
http://www.kellymom.com

 

[Krystal]

I am not a breatsfeeding mum but has your HV explained that the charts are for bottlefed babies?? It may be worth asking for a breastfeeding chart? Thats as long as the one your using isn't. Sounds like your doing brilliantly anyway

 

[Gem & Leland]

it took leland 4 weeks before he gained much post post weight , then he went and gained a pound a week till last week and now weighs 10lb14 , he was 6lb5 when born , so dont worry chick !

 

[x-kirsty-x]

Ryan is a skinny baby too, he's gained about 8lb in 10 months. This was him a few months ago, you can tell by his arms and legs that he's nowhere near as chubby as other babies his age but he's happy and healthy so I don't worry too much

*Edited*

 

[purple13]

cheers again ladies. i feel so much better for the advice on this site - its worth a million of my health visitors!!

ryan's gorgeous kirsty - connor's arms are just like that!

thanks for the link kelsey; connor's only gained an average of 4oz a week in the last fortnight, so less than the chart on that website recommends, but he's also grown 8cm, which is far more than the average baby grows in a month...! i really don't think the HV were taking that bit of info in when they were going on about me giving him formula...

sweetcheeks - are everyone's red books different? mine doesn't say if its a chart for bf babies or formula babies... i'll have to ask the HV next week...

thanks again

 

[Tasha20]

The charts for babies at most health clinics are for formula babies ( they dont tell you that because most are thick as shite ) Sorry it really gets my gripe!


Here is a link to the real chart

http://www.who.int/nutrition/media_page ... _z_0_5.pdf

Your hv should have one, and should provide you with one.

http://www.kellymom.com/babyconcerns/gr ... -gain.html

Great site!

If your child is happy, content, feeding well and his general well being is just fine, I wouldn't top with formula.

He looks just fine to me, all the formula would be doing is adding unnessessary fat to his body, your milk is made to be enough for him, your body is very intune and knows what your baby needs and like I said unless hes unhappy, please dont top with formula.

Your hv is obviously not clued up about breastfeeding.


If you can find a local breastfeeding group in your area please attend that, I am sure they will think hes just fine also

 

[Tasha20]

Also it is a known fact that most breastfed babies are very lean.

( she is comparing your child too a formula baby, the thick cow), your baby will only take what he needs, and I certainly dont think he needs formula.

 

[lisa&alex]

this is ed.. he looks about the sam as your little monster.. as the girls have said they eat when they are hungry and most weight charts are for formula babies

 

[purple13]

aw he looks so sweet in that basket!!

its a big relief to see other skinny babies - thanks hon

 

[Ladybird]

My DS was 11lbs, 2.5oz when he was born and needless to sa, off the chart! By 3 months he had only gained 2lbs and was just baove the 25th centile. He sometimes only gained 2oz in a fortnight, normally 4 or 5. when you breastfeed day and night for 14 days and they only put on 2oz, it is a bit disapointing!

My HVs are great! They have all said "Don't worry. As long as he...looks alert, happy between feeds, bright eyes, plenty of wet nappies, no dry skin, no other sighns of dehydration, he's okay."

don't worry Hun!

 

[beanie]

Sere was the same, slow at putting on weight and was a skinny minnie for a while, whilst Cally is just gaining weight like its going out of fashion. Both completely different. I worried about Seren but eventually stopped getting her weighed as I could see she was alert, happy and was growing.

 

[purple13]

just had connor weighed and he's put on 1lb!! i'm chuffed to bits!

 

[KJ]

Hiya,

Ash has always hovered around the 25th percentile. My red book has a separate chart for breastfed babies. He was exclusively breastfed for the first 6 months of his life.

From Jan he put on 1lb per month which is less than most babies. And in the last month he's only put on 5oz! But I think that's because I've been trying to drop a breastfeed and give him formula instead, but he just doesn't like it as much so he doesn't take as much.

2.5hr's for a feed! You must be a saint! I wouldn't have that patience. At that age, Ash was taking around 25 mins to feed. Now he can be done in 5 mins!

It's so difficult to know what to do. They make you feel so bad at the weigh ins if your baby isn't on or above the 50th.

Glad to hear he's put on so much recently, well done!

K.xx