Help please.

sweetmelissa0707

I know I've not been posting lately. But I need feedback if you could. I ask knowing you're not doctors and with the knowledge that I trust my Ped.
I EBF LO and he is 4months 1 week old. He was big at birth, 10lbs 4 oz and 22 inches long. He's reduced in percentile ( but grown, obviously) in the last four months he was in the upper nineties/ 100 and as of appointment yesterday is 52nd weight at 15 lbs 13 oz and 74th at about 26 inches.

As a result of his percentiles, my Ped has labeled him as failing to thrive. He suggested starting solids ( rice or oatmeal) I suggested just feeding him more frequently, even of he doesn't seem hungry.

So does anyone have any suggestions/ similar experiences? What did you do?

What would you do now, increase feeds until the weight check in a month?
Or start solids right away even if you had planned to wait until six months?

edoliesmom

I'm a FTM and definitely nowhere close to a doctor, but 15 pounds sounds like a healthy weight for a 4 month old to me. Five pounds in four months? That sounds normal... And as long as he's having regular pee diapers and is eating regularly, I would think about getting a second opinion.

sweetmelissa0707

He eats about eight times a day. Normal diaper amount 6/ 7 wet plus 2 bowel movements/ day. He's rolling over, using jumperoo, laughing etc etc. no other issues. Least fussy of all of my babies

hlm184

Your doctor is a moron.

UnofficiallyLO

I vote second opinion.

Jvavra724

I have literally never posted on here but I have the same exact situation as you! My baby was born 10 lbs 2 oz 21" long, and at her 4 month well visit she weighed 14 lbs 1 oz and was 25.5". I was worried our pedi would suggest solids or feeding her more too, but she said as long as she is having regular diapers and is eating regularly she is fine! I told her we wanted to wait until 6 months for solids and she said that was great. I think big babies just start out big at birth then level out.. Or at least that's how mine seems to be! Maybe we just have long n lean babies I hope this helps!

sweetmelissa0707

@Jvavra724 my MIL says he has the exact same body type that my husband did as an infant, long and skinny. I'm glad I'm not the only mom with a string bean!

PoppySeedWindsor

Merri is the same way (95 percentile in both length and weight at birth, shot up past 100 percentile for length at 2 months -- seriously, she was 26+ inches -- but plummeted to 20 percentile for weight). You're right...baby is happy, making his developmental milestones, not hating life (aka acting hungry all the time...then you're doing awesome. Keep up the good breastfeeding you're doing and find a new doctor.

Holljade

Are you sure it's the percentiles he is worried about or the actual weight he has gained in the 4 months?

I went through this too and they were more concerned with weight gain NOT percentiles.

My LO is kind of labeled FTT but they are waiting until my 6 months appointment to run tests since he each weight check he gained the same amount of weight
t (they think he burns through calories quicker than most babies do). There was a 5 day period they tracked where he didn't gain any weight so they just want to make sure he doesn't fall off the chart again.

FTT is a terrifying sounding label, however the ladies on here really helped to calm my nervs.

lalamama was really helpful with the bfing/weight gain knowledge and kept me from tears on numerous occasions. Hopefully she'll check out this thread!


FTR my lo is in the 1% weighing in at 12lbs 7oz last thurs.

sweetmelissa0707

I just pulled both of my other kids' charts, they have all had same Ped . At the same age DS1 was 16 lbs even, and in the 70th percentile for weight.
DD was was only 13.4 lbs. and she was at the 44th.
I think I'll just up his feeds and see where we are in a month.

sweetmelissa0707

I'm going to email him today and ask for specifics.

cjpell0

Similar to others, my LO has dropped %iles since birth (started at 35th? down to 17% at 4 months) but he's developing on or above what's expected and he's a very happy baby so our Ped is satisfied with his growth. 

RedDawnsRevenge

DD1 was born 98%. At one point she dropped off, OFF, the chart completely. Our ped had us start solids at 14wks. It didn't help her gain weight. Plus everything @LalaMama81‌ said. If he really truly believes this is FTT why not do more follow ups? Labs?

Ashleypixie

I don't know how this is considered as failure to thrive. We had our appointment today and she is 13.5 lbs and 50th percentile. No mention of failure to thrive. I was FTT and I fell completely off the charts. As in, I wasn't even 13lbs at a year. I turned out pretty damn perfect. If you are really worried, mix a little cereal with formula I suppose but FTT is so much more extreme than 52nd percentile. I just really don't understand why he'd give you such false information and worry you for absolutely no reason.

mamahann

For comparison my DD is 4.5 months and 12lbs even. She fell from the 20th percentile for weight at 2 months to the 8th at 4 months and our Ped didn't diagnose her a failure to thrive. She takes 3 4oz bottles while I'm at work and nurses 3-4 times per day and has good diapers. Her Ped said she's probably just small and there's no cause for concern because she's happy and satisfied after eating. We started oatmeal because she's been very interested in food but we've only oferred it after a nursing session and she only takes 3-4 bites. I'd ask for more details from your Ped because he sounds perfectly healthy. 

railroadRN

I'd get a second opinion ASAP. This does not sound like FTT.

J&NL

You know your baby best. Do what feels right. Also, get a new dr.

AcaAwkward

I really think your baby sounds like he's doing just fine! I would demand a hell of a lot more answers / input from your pediatrician before changing what you're doing. 

BGGP9196

52% is not FTT, is it possible that the charts could have been mixed up or if they use EMR that he had the wrong patient on screen?  I just don't understand how 52%=FTT?

If baby is happy and is having the normal amount of wet/soiled diapers, I wouldn't incerase feeds or introduce solids just yet.   LEt us know if/when they email you back with what he says.

goblue4433

As long as they are growing at an ok rate, percentiles at this age mean very little.... Let us know what your doc says but I'd probably be switching!

MamaFantastic

ask for a plotted out growth chart so you can see what the doctor is seeing.  the trajectory in the past 4 months makes a big difference.  a steady gain for 3 months followed by a flatline for a month WOULD be concerning.  a moderate to mild gain over the 4 month span of time is less concerning, even though it might result in a significant decrease in the percentiles.

push for clarification.  if something feels off to you, ask for further information until you feel satisfied with the answer.

smushi

My LO is the same age, and they measured him today at 26 inches and told me he's in the 90th percentile for height...  

ETA that means I don't understand percentiles and think they're dumb.  I agree with mamafantastic, what are the trends?

lokimau

We had her 4 month appointment today and at 17 weeks she is only 11lbs 12oz and 24 inches long. Her pedi is fine with her growth. She has good muscle strength and very alert. I would get a 2nd opinion.

navyfiance18

Umm my baby was semi smaller at birth and is only 25% in weight 30% in height but she's 14lbs at 4 1/2 mths old and my dr thinks she's perfect? So I wouldn't worry about that crap! Or find a new pedi! But I'm also a smaller person? But still come on!

Bluebird2318

As far as that doctor's advice goes...

It sounds like your baby is fine and gaining weight at a normal pace for breastfed babies. My son was 90th percentile at birth and 50th percentile by his 2 month appointment and the pedi was perfectly fine with that. I second everyone who said to get another opinion!

yellowflower15

I was at DS's 4 month appt today. The Dr. didn't chart at all and this has been my experience with both kids. Our docs don't seem interested in the percentile and instead focus on growth, weight gain, diaper output and milestones. If it's the percentile that's the concern, I would really question that diagnosis. I think there's a big risk of getting hung up on percentiles when it's really just one tool of many.

sweetmelissa0707

I sent a detailed e mail to his direct account last night asking him to qualify the FTT diagnosis. Hopefully I will hear back from him by the end of the week. Either way, thank you all who wrote a response. Sometimes I feel like a complete newbie, even though he's my third! LO is a happy baby who seems to be doing fine in every other way, so I'm going to keep on doing what I'm doing unless my doctor can come back with some very compelling support for starting solids early. I'll post again once he responds.

spano41

My LO has had weight gain issues, we've had weekly weigh ins her whole life (soooo many dr appointments!) and let me tell you, you can bring a horse to water, but you can't make them drink. Babies won't eat I'd they're not hungry and you can't make them, force feeding does not help because it leads to aversion. We ended up fortifying her BM with formula and she just eats less to compensate for the extra calories. I Just have to trust that her body knows what it's doing.

cwm11985

Ummmm my 2 year old us in the 6th percentile and isn't even labeled FTT (he's grown great along his own curve). My april14 baby weighs 13 lbs and isn't FTT either. What did the pedi day was the reasoning he was labeled as FTT? Makes no sense to me.

thejewelster

I read an article (will try to find and post) written by a doctor who essentially said to stop focusing on baby weight. Yes, weight can be an indicator of something, BUT if your baby is happy and meeting milestones, that slow weight gain or falling off percentiles is genetics playing into the equation. Makes a sh*t ton of sense to me.

Oh, and your doctor is a moron... As others said!

Edit: link is drjaygordon.com
Article/blog is called "Look at the Baby, Not the Scale"

sweetmelissa0707

Hello ladies, sorry it took so long. Finally got a response a couple days ago, but I was away on vacation. To be honest, it was a shockingly poor response. I was really expecting a lot more information from him; it's usually not like this I don't know if he's especially busy or if he really didn't know what to tell me. Basically he just said that he was sorry for worrying me by giving me that diagnosis and he was sure that with the care I was taking that everything would end up being fine. There was no explanation of why his growth seem to be slowing if that was the case and there was no direct response to my question about whether he was comparing his birth percentiles his current percentile, so overall I have to say I'm pretty disappointed and I'm not really sure if I want to stick with this doctor even though I've had him for my other two children without issue. I go back in another few weeks for a weight check in September and then in October for his six-month appointment but if things don't seem to improve by then I'm gonna have to look for another doctor I think.