big change in DD's weight--a concern?

C-Charm

I'm trying to decide if I should be concerned that our DDs weight has decreased.

I often joke that DD lives on air because she still doesn't eat a lot of solids.  I'd been only slightly concerned.  I noticed that she isn't as chunky as she was as a baby, but she has a round tummy & rolly polly thighs.  Also, she still nurses around four times a day (day care drop off/pick up, when we get home, bedtime) and during the night.

I took her to the pedi today for an ear infection and asked about her weight out of curiosity.  I told the nurse that it had been a while since anyone had mentioned her percentile to me.  I wanted to know what it had been historically and what it was currently.  She pulled up that page on the electronic record and I saw that at some point she'd dropped to a lower curve.  From birth until some point her weight ranged from in the 50s and as low as 47th percentile.  At some point she moved to lower curve on the chart and she ranged from 27% and into the 30s.  Right now, she's in the 32nd percentile.  I'm really shocked that they never mentioned this and embarrassed that I hadn't thought to ask.

We need to switch from this practice for other reasons,  but haven't done so yet.  I'm wondering if anyone of you all would be alarmed that no doctor mentioned this to us and concerned in general about the change in weight.

 

ETA:  She's never lost weight.  The pace with which she was gaining decreased.

cstyles

I actually recently asked this question at a local mom's group.  All of the mom's there reported that as their kids got older they dropped percentiles.  For instance, my niece was 75th, then 50th, now 25th (that is 2 months, 4 months, and 6 months).  I thought this was because my sis follows a scheduled feedings and she wasn't getting enough...but all the mom's at the group who do/did demand feeding said their LOs did the same thing.

Coop has been 95th percentile until his 6 month check up, he feel down th 75th. 

Has she lost weight, or just gaining at a slower pace?

Coop has lost 1/2 a pound over the past 2 weeks, and his doc is not too concerned about it.  They said he'll put it back on when the RSV goes away.  He however eats like a little piglet.... he would nurse and eat solids constantly if it was offered.  They did tell me to nurse as often as possible and offer as much solids as he wants (they said to even offer juice, pedialite, etc...but since he won't drink anything that doesn't come from a boob, that's not happening)

C-Charm

cstyles:

I actually recently asked this question at a local mom's group.  All of the mom's there reported that as their kids got older they dropped percentiles.  For instance, my niece was 75th, then 50th, now 25th (that is 2 months, 4 months, and 6 months).  I thought this was because my sis follows a scheduled feedings and she wasn't getting enough...but all the mom's at the group who do/did demand feeding said their LOs did the same thing.

Coop has been 95th percentile until his 6 month check up, he feel down th 75th. 

Has she lost weight, or just gaining at a slower pace?

Coop has lost 1/2 a pound over the past 2 weeks, and his doc is not too concerned about it.  They said he'll put it back on when the RSV goes away.  He however eats like a little piglet.... he would nurse and eat solids constantly if it was offered.  They did tell me to nurse as often as possible and offer as much solids as he wants (they said to even offer juice, pedialite, etc...but since he won't drink anything that doesn't come from a boob, that's not happening)

 

You're right.  I totally worded that wrong.  She hasn't lost weight, but she began gaining at a slower pace.

goodheartedmommy

I wouldn't be concerned at all. DD1 started at around 25% and slowly went off the charts (negative). Her doctors have never been concerned, so neither have I. Some kids are just small, but it's very normal for a child to slide down the charts a bit after 6 months. Do you know if they're following her on a regular growth chart or a breastfed baby growth chart? There is a big difference.

KateLouise

My Dr once said to me when I was concerned about her weight was, "you feel free to bring her in here anytime you want us to weigh her so you can see the weight on the same scale, if you're even a little worried, but you would never look at your baby and think she was in anyway unhealthy."

So I've always used my own common sense. Does my child in anyway seem underweight, malnourished or unhealthy? The answer has always been no.

It is natural for LOs to thin down once they get more mobile because they're using so much energy.

get your LO checked out if you're concerned, but my gut feeling is, if she looks healthy she probably is. 

C-Charm

goodheartedmommy:

I wouldn't be concerned at all. DD1 started at around 25% and slowly went off the charts (negative). Her doctors have never been concerned, so neither have I. Some kids are just small, but it's very normal for a child to slide down the charts a bit after 6 months. Do you know if they're following her on a regular growth chart or a breastfed baby growth chart? There is a big difference.

No.  I thought about telling them that the CDC recommended making the change, but I didn't. 

 Thanks, also, for sharing your thoughts.

goodheartedmommy

I always took the breastfed chart with me in the first 2 years, but I never had to pull it out.

Anyway, trust your gut. If you think something's wrong, it's something you should explore. If you think she's healthy, then be confident in that. You may want to look up the weights on the chart yourself and see if she's following more of a curve on there. 

abb08

fredalina:

I would not be concerned about the weight or the doctor not mentioning it. In fact, I think it may be a good thing they didn't mention it. People put too much stock in that stuff. If there's no reason to be concerned then there was no reason to mention it .

I agree with this.  I do like that our pedi's office goes over this with us at every appointment, but I also like that they tell us not to worry when we don't need to.  DS just had his 9 month appointment and he has dropped from about 45-50% to 10-15%.  He is happy and healthy and a good eater, but he has gotten more mobile (not quite crawling, but definitely more active).  Our doctor told us he might even go down a bit more, and that's okay, particularly since he is still BF.  She just told us to continue what we are doing, however, when talking about solids, she did say to start including things like whole-milk yogurt (we already were), which are higher in fat and calories.

terri_doula2010

I wouldn't be concerned either. That really isn't that much of a change. By 4 months DS was 91% for weight. At 6 months he was around 76%. At 9 months he was 25% and he is still perfectly healthy. Height has dropped from 41% to 25% as well. Head circumference is up to 99.5% tho.

AliciaCM

You've gotten a lot of good responses already, I just wanted to throw out that jamie was born in the 80% and is now in the 40%. My doc isn't concerned since she's meeting milestones and still has some rolls and I'm not concerned either.

Like pp said, I wouldn't worry unless she looks or acts malnourished