I know i'm probably neurotic... (CP)
mcatmay
member
...but my veterinary training combined with my mom worries are making me a basket case. Tell me whether you would worry about the following scenario or not.
Penelope's always seemed to gain weight well. The first month, she gained 35 ounces, the second month she gained 25 ounces. This last month, however, she's only gained 19 ounces. I weigh her weekly because we own a baby scale (yes, i know, this is where the neurotic mom part comes in, i realize ;-) and last week, she didn't gain ANY weight. This week, she seems to be back on track. Since her 2 month appointment, we've been struggling with sleep (she wakes up every 2-3hrs) when she used to STTN.
Looking up the WHO charts for breastfed babies, she seems to be falling off her curve. She was 40% percentile for weight and now seems to be around 25%. Her 4month checkup is coming up december 16th. Which of the following would you do? She seems otherwise happy and healthy, smiling and easily meeting developmental milestones (actually seems way ahead of a lot of them).
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Re: I know i'm probably neurotic... (CP)
I voted Call your Pediatrician - and ask the nurse on call. They can listen to your concerns, check her chart and help determine if it's necessary to come in before to get weighed. I think that waiting until the 4 month appt would provide you more Q/A time with your pediatrician to talk about your concerns. If you bring her in for a weight check, will the pedi actually see her, and answer any questions you have? If it were me, and I took LO in for a weight check that registered lower in the percentages, I would get more freaked out. Also, remember that all babies grow at different rates. If she's happy, thriving in other developmental areas, I wouldn't be too concerned.
Have you tried weighing her, feeding her, then weighing her again? Then you could make sure that she's getting enough milk at every feeding. That might help you put your mind at ease.
Otherwise, yes, I think it couldn't hurt to call the pedi.
TTC #2: BFP 12/17/11, m/c 1/7/12 and D&C 1/12/12
baby blog/cooking blog
DS has fluctuated percentiles quite a bit and our pedi has said it isn't anything to worry about as long as other things are going well. Sometimes DS has jumped up in one area but stayed the same or only had a slight change in others. At his 9mo appointment his percentiles for head circumference and height jumped a bunch but weight went down slightly.
DS woke up more often around 3-4 months too, I think it was a growth spurt that made him extra hungry because he definitely ate each time he woke up.
I don't think it would hurt to call the pedi and calm your fears.
I have a couple of other thoughts. They grow in spurts. A baby might not gain in a wekk and have massive growth in another week. as long as your baby isn't losing weight, I don't think it's a huge concern. Also, the disruption in sleep might be related to hunger. I remember when my DS was that age he would have a week or so when he ate everything in sight followed by a period where he would sleep, not each much and grow a lot.
I don't know if this will make you feel better, but M slowly dropped in weight percentages until his 6 month appt., but he's been pretty steady around 25% since then. Our pedi was never concerned.
Thanks, Ladies, that was the input I needed. I figured I was obsessing a little too much but I sometimes have trouble defining whether my concerns are valid or not. I am EBF, which is why i've been weighing her. When i pump for daycare, i always seem to have plenty of milk and she can down 4 ounces at daycare with no problem. I think i may take the suggestion of weighing her before and after and then call it good until the 4month appt.
Thanks again for making this crazy mom calm her fears a bit ;-)
I'm glad I'm not the only "crazy" scale-owning mom, now. I held that title for way too long!
My LO has always been at the very bottom of the growth chart - he's gone from 5th-10th and is hovering around there now. He's 50th for height and a little bigger than that for head circumference, but he's just skinny. If you look at his dad, though, you can see why - DH is very slender.
Babies do gain in spurts, so weighing weekly (or, ahem, daily) is not necessarily the best idea. In my experience, the pedi won't really be concerned as long as LO is meeting milestones and thriving. EBF babies also tend to gain at a slower rate and generally weigh less than formula-fed babies, and that is true for my LO.
I can only speak from my experience, that if you're BFing I'd try to do some weighed feedings to see how much she's actually getting. See where that gets you - could just be a growth spurt, but may be something to mention at the 4 mo visit.
H was always in the 50th % and all of a sudden at her 6 mo visit she dropped off the chart - she hadn't gained, and in fact had lost a teeny bit since her 4 mo visit. Turns out my boobs were crapping out and she wasn't getting as much milk as she should have been. She wasn't acting any different (she was already colicky) so we had no clue it was going on. We wound up supplementing with formula from then on.
Mssaint, I also am glad that i'm not the only one out there ;-) I'll be glad to take some heat away from you and share the title :-) I'm completely aware that I can over-analyze things but this is the way i am so i accept that i'll always be worrying about SOMETHING... Isn't the cover of the current Time magazine about how anxiety can be good for you ? ;-)
Belize, i think i will do a weighed feeding and see where it gets me. It's at least something to keep an eye on.