FET Babies

jusgigi

Has anyone noticed that their FET are slow to gain weight? Particularly from 3-9 months old? And then stay in the lower weight percentiles after that?

i have a May 2019 baby (from sept 2018 fet) and a September 2020 baby (from a January 2020 fet). May 2019 baby was born in the 50% and by 3months was in the 20% and around 10 months jumped up a little bit but never got back on his growth curve. September 2020 was born in >97% by 3 months had dropped to 50th and by 5 months was in the 23rd (still currently there as he has only gained 1 lb in 4 months).

i know IVF babies tend to be smaller at birth but havent found anything for afterwards. It just seems so weird that both kids are struggle to gain weight even though they eat more than typical babies their age. They meet all their milestones and are doing well. 

cashewchicken

I haven’t found that to be the case with my kids. I have two kids through FETs. My son is just turning 3 and he’s stayed in the 20-25th percentile for weight and height his entire life. My daughter was born in August 2020 and she’s stayed on the 50-60th percentile growth curve. If your kids are meeting all their milestones and are doing well, then I don’t think you have anything to worry about! 

[Deleted User]

@jusgigi I'm sorry you're feeling concerned.  I agree with @cashewchicken if they are meeting their milestones that's the important thing, and they may just be smaller.

Both of mine are FET babies and they were both born plenty big (99+ and 87 percentiles).  We had early weight issues only because of my milk supply.  They were gaining "enough" while slipping off their curves until I started combo feeding at 3 months.  That has absolutely nothing to do with how they were conceived.  My first was born bigger and is still a sturdy girl; my second is long and thinner than her sister, and that's just how they are!

If you are still concerned, I would speak with a lactation consultant and/or your doctor because if there is a legitimate failure to thrive or growth issue, then there could be something going on there that may need to be addressed.  But if they are meeting their milestones then that's probably not actually the case, so. 🤷 Kids are kids, all babies are different, some are bigger some are smaller.  Sorry that's not too helpful, but if your care providers are happy with their growth and development, that's likely just how they are!

mbradfo2

I'm sorry you are feeling concerned over your littles. My immediate reaction to your story is that they are simply smaller babies and it's a genetic thing (are you or your husband small sized? Or anyone in the family?). The CDC growth curves are actually not useful for infants, particularly those breast feeding, and most recommendations are to use the WHO growth curves instead. These also deal with a wider demographic and tend to be more inclusive of smaller sized babies. A baby who is meeting all their milestones and is happy/healthy, not showing any signs of poor nutrition, but just is small is likely just a small baby.

My daughter is a FET baby and she only lost 2 percent of her weight after birth and quickly gained it back. She was always in the 70's-80's percentiles for weight until she got a little older -- now she's around 50-60 at 3 years.

jusgigi

Thank you all for your replies! I think I remember all of yall from previous FET rounds. Funny enough, i thought the bump got rid of their community chat last year as one day I couldn’t find it anymore ( ive since realized that they just reorganized the app 🤣).
with my ods, the doctors were concerned and they literally referred us to everyone to try to figure out the issue. They never found an actual issue and since he eats an appropriate amount and has always met his milestones and it pretty tall for his age, they came to the conclusion that this was just his normal. When it happened again with my YDS, they gave the suggestion to feed him more but also just figure this is his normal as well. Both have always been in the 90-99th percentile for height, so they are growing, just very skinny. I do think its very odd that YDS has only gained 1 lb in almost 3 months.
I just figured i would ask around and see if this is a common thing among FET babies

wildrainbow

@jusgigi I wanted to weigh in as someone who didn't have FET babies. *TD* I am a multiple loss mom who stopped IF treatment because H didn't want to continue. End TD** I have 3 boys, all preemies. None of them were on the growth chart when born. They are now 5, 2, and 9mo. My 5yo is in the 90th percentile, and just this yr hit the 50th with weight. He'd previously been in the 30th.  My 2yo is in the 80th for height and barely the 25th for weight. My 9mo old has just made it on the growth chart for weight, while height wise he had already been there. My 2yo was even declared FTT due to severe reflux,  but had since caught back up.  My 5yo is super skinny,  like if he weren't so tall he could wear 2T pants,  my 2yo can still wear 12mo pants,  again if he weren't so tall.  Our ped has never mentioned any concern about their weight as a whole.