Author Topic: My little wee man  (Read 1594 times)

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Offline lauradj

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My little wee man
« on: December 18, 2013, 23:37:11 pm »
My DS is now 4 months old and we had our second round of shots and check up last week.  The doctor said that he's in the third percentile for his weight so she'd like me to bring him back in January just so we can ensure he's not dropping lower. 
I was initially alarmed but I was also rather surprised for the following reasons: 1) I just donated 120oz to the breast milk bank, it's not like I'm lacking in boob juice.  When I pump in the morning I get 7oz on average, sometimes 9! 2) both my husband and I are quite fit and neither of us were ever chubby babies, 3) he looks ok to me!
Has anyone else experienced this?  He's EBF and is a chugger, he's done in 7 minutes!  I've been trying to get him to stay on for a full 10 minutes since the doctor visit but it's a challenge.  I'm going to try and hand express when he hits the 7 minute mark to make sure he's getting all the hind milk but I always check when he's done and there's never any milk left. 
Please tell me there's other wee ones out there and they've been just fine.  I don't want to turn feeding time into a battle, it's our special time.


Offline MasynSpencerElliotte

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Re: My little wee man
« Reply #1 on: December 19, 2013, 00:09:35 am »
Has he dropped centiles significantly? Or is he just keeping with his own curve?

Tbh I dont know what centile E is as I dont remember from her last appt but in my mind she is fine...she eats well, has plenty of wet diapers and is growing, albeit slowly! But then DH and I are both short and our older girls are quite little too compared to their peers.
Heidi




Offline Skadiver13

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Re: My little wee man
« Reply #2 on: December 19, 2013, 00:15:34 am »
As long as he's not dropping I think you are fine. My lo is just a peanut. He was 20% at birth dropped to 15% then 10 but even his doctor wasn't worried because all of this happened during his bouts with reflux and MSPI. He has stayed on the 10th % for the past year. He grows very slowly compared to his peers but still maintains his curve. I don't think it's a bad thing to bring him in to be checked in Jan just to make sure he's on the same curve wont' harm to have info. I ended up buying a scale I weighed him every week just to make sure he wasn't dropping. I didn't care what he gained as long as he maintained that curve and it worked well. :) Good luck.
My dreamed for Angel Baby DD (other than dreaded 40min naps) Born 4/30/16
Reflux, MSPI, Love my Spirited,textbook little munchkin DS Born 5/17/2012



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Offline Lindsay27

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Re: My little wee man
« Reply #3 on: December 19, 2013, 02:17:21 am »
As long as he's not dropping I think you are fine. My lo is just a peanut. He was 20% at birth dropped to 15% then 10
Agree with this, and my DS was pretty much the same...and he was formula fed!  Started at 25th, dropped to 10th, and now maintains 25th.  I think if you still maintain the curve you are fine :)  That said, I didn't BF, so I don't know much about that part of it. 

DS never drank as much as he was "supposed" to and I stressed myself out constantly about it, but he was happy and healthy so eventually I reserved myself to the fact that he was still maintaining his curve, but was just a little less than average on the intake.

Good to have the follow up appt though to be sure :)



Offline becj86

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Re: My little wee man
« Reply #4 on: December 19, 2013, 02:28:54 am »
I had loads of milk and L was not gaining as he should (not following along a centile line) and it was due to oversupply - he wasn't getting enough hind milk. He was in a lot of pain, struggled with with and screamed almost all day though, so I think if that were a major issue, there'd probably be other symptoms than "just" low weight gain.

Agree with PPs - if he's following his own centile, then all is likely fine. The entire spectrum on the growth chart is normal and not every kid can be average. Just as with adults, some will be smaller and some larger than the numerical average :)

Offline lauradj

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Re: My little wee man
« Reply #5 on: December 19, 2013, 20:26:53 pm »
He is EBF and he started at the 50%, I guess that's why the doctor brought it to my attention.  When I checked the dieticians chart it looks to me like he's closer the 15% but that's still a big drop.  I'm going to try block feeding him to ensure he gets the hind milk.  I don't mind if he's not a butterball but I want him to be healthy!  My SIL said she had a scale at home so I think I'll get one too, then I can weigh him consistently from the same scale every week.


Offline becj86

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Re: My little wee man
« Reply #6 on: December 19, 2013, 21:14:37 pm »
The other consideration is whether you had IV fluids while in labour and if his birth weight was increased by that - but I'd have thought if that were the case, he'd have dropped and then sustained weight gain along the lower curve.

Block feeding was brilliant for us. L went from gaining 20g/week to 500g/week til he was back on the 25th centile, then just followed that pretty much. FX it helps you too.

Offline weaver

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Re: My little wee man
« Reply #7 on: December 19, 2013, 21:31:32 pm »
Agree with PPs but would add that you should trust your mama instinct.  If you were in no way worried about his health before the appointment, I wouldn't let it scare you too much.  I avoided weight checks etc with both of mine because they were EBF and small, so I knew I'd just get grief. They were perfectly healthy in themselves, didn't lose or gain weight significantly, but a stranger looking at a chart might not have had the same view!  Just my opinion!
*Anne*, loving mama to a honeybee (2010) and a sweetpea (2012).  BF for 4 proud years.


Offline *Ali*

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Re: My little wee man
« Reply #8 on: December 19, 2013, 23:55:14 pm »
There are some great tips here for dealing with oversupply Oversupply and Overactive (Forceful) Let-Down
Cadan Dec 2009 and Colby Aug 2011


Offline lauradj

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Re: My little wee man
« Reply #9 on: December 20, 2013, 04:13:39 am »
Thank you everyone!  Weaver, you read my mind.  I had no concerns at all before I went to the doctors appointment so I'm trying not to get concerned now.  I'll do block feeding for a bit but my little man is really fighting the prolonged feedings.  If he keeps fighting it, I'm just going to say 'To heck with it!' and not worry about it for the time being.


Offline becj86

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Re: My little wee man
« Reply #10 on: December 20, 2013, 04:19:58 am »
I'd not worry too much about the time - block feeding is more about feeding off one breast for a period of time.

Something you may want to consider is that block feeding should reduce your supply. If you still want to donate milk, you may want to pump one breast before a feed and let LO drink the fattier milk that's left in that one, then pop him on the fuller breast for more foremilk.

Offline *Ali*

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Re: My little wee man
« Reply #11 on: December 20, 2013, 07:53:18 am »
Mine were down to 8 and 6 mins BFs at this age.
Cadan Dec 2009 and Colby Aug 2011


Offline lauradj

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Re: My little wee man
« Reply #12 on: December 20, 2013, 18:25:57 pm »
Really?!  That makes me feel way better!  My funny bunny is done in about 7 minutes and after the weigh in I've been trying to keep him on 10 minutes but now my nipples are getting sore because he's just sucking on them.  :-[


Offline *Ali*

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Re: My little wee man
« Reply #13 on: December 20, 2013, 20:00:14 pm »
We have the question a lot about LO suddenly taking only minutes to feed and loads of mamas agree that their LOs become much more efficient after about 2-3mo. If he comes off and seems content he is probably full.
Cadan Dec 2009 and Colby Aug 2011