exclusivley breast fed infants ***READ THIS***?

Question

My son had his six month checkup yesterday and weighed in at 14.8 lbs wich put him in the 25th percentile for weight. The doctor said that this is a problem because he has been in the 50th percentile up until now. My sons height and head circumference remains in the 50th though. So he has to go back and be weighed again in a month. So of course I come home and and am feeling like crap and worried because my son's doctor isn't happy with his weight (although he did gain weight since last visit just not enough to keep him in the 50th percentile) I did tons of researching last night and found this>>
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/about/major/nhanes/growthcharts/GrowthchartFAQs.htm

Are these charts appropriate for exclusively breast-fed babies?

The 2000 CDC growth charts can be used to assess the growth of exclusively breast-fed infants, however when interpreting the growth pattern one must take into account that mode of infant feeding can influence infant growth. In general, exclusively breast-fed infants tend to gain weight more rapidly in the first 2 to 3 months. From 6 to 12 months breast-fed infants tend to weigh less than formula-fed infants.

http://www.kellymom.com/babyconcerns/growth/growthcharts.html
Growth charts and breastfed baby growth
I have heard of many breastfed babies (including my own) whose doctor was disturbed at some point because the baby wasn't gaining weight quickly enough, even though the baby was well within the above parameters for weight gain. The problem is that many doctors are not familiar with the normal weight gain patterns of breastfed babies, and rely too much upon standard growth charts.

Healthy breastfed infants tend to grow more rapidly than formula-fed infants in the first 2-3 months of life and less rapidly from 3 to 12 months. All growth charts available at this time include data from infants who were not exclusively breastfed for the first 6 months (includes formula-fed infants and those starting solids before the recommended 6 months). Because many doctors are not aware of this, they see the baby dropping in percentiles on the growth chart and often come to the faulty

conclusion that the baby is not growing adequately. At this point they often recommend that the mother (unnecessarily) supplement with formula or solids, and sometimes recommend that they stop breastfeeding altogether. Even if mom realizes that her baby is perfectly healthy and doesn't follow these unnecessary recommendations, she ends up worrying for no reason (and moms don't need anything extra to worry about!).

Answer 1

First of all, CONGRATS on breast feeding for so long! Stick with it!!!

Doctors can scare parents with standardized info like charts. My doc said my son was over his weight goal (he was at 70%) but he was at the 90% for his height. He said the high average of his weight was NOT because of his height....uh...YES IT IS!!!

As long as you know your son is eating well and is gaining weight, that is all that matters. Sometimes doctors do not know best. We mom's know this from experience. Every baby is very different and they all gain weight and height differently. I am sure he is fine. Some children get a rapid start on gaining weight, others put it on slowly.

Children don't fit on a chart of any kind. Don't worry, and if you are uncomfortable with this doctor throwing charts in your face, change doctors. No doctor should make you feel like something is wrong with your precious bundle of joy. Breastfed or not, your baby is developing like all babies do...at their own pace!!

Answer 2

My youngest daughter was exclusively breast fed until just before she turned 7 months. She was running about 50th percentile for weight and 90+ for height until she turned 1 year when she dropped down to 25th percentile for weight and 75th for height. I was fortunate enough to have a doctor who trusted my judgment as a mother and neither of us got too concerned at this point. When my daughter was 14 months, she self-weaned and headed into months of slow-growth with frequent "growth-check" mini appointments with the doctor. A gain of ounces and 1/4 inches was reason to celebrate. We decided to judge her growth based only on if she gained (which she always did even if in small amounts) and how healthy she was and forget about the growth charts for a while since they are only guidelines. My daughter is now a perfectly healthy 9 1/2 years old on the thin side and tall for her age. I am not a doctor, but I have been a mom for 27 years. I know that all kids are different and go through a variety of growth patterns. I suggest that you relax, continue to breast feed him and see what happens in a month.

Answer 3

Maybe the concern was that his percentile dropped from 50th to 25th, not that it was at the 25th percentile. My Dr was not too concerned even though my baby's weight was in the 5th percentile, he just tracked the growth curve and as long as it was going up, there were no worries. But, your baby might be getting ready for a growth spurt which will show up in a month a the next checkup.

don't worry mom, you are doing great!

Answer 4

Don't stress. My daughter went 10 days once and I almost freaked. She is using all your milk. Your breasts are evening out. If you are concerned about your supply getting low, try to offer a few more feedings each day or pump a few times to up your supply. The more feedings, the more milk you'll have. Also, contact the lactation nurse at your hospital or your local Le Leche League person (you can find someone locally from their website). If you go in, they will take off babies clothes, weigh her, you can feed her, then weigh her again...it will show how many ounces she took in. It's also good to have someone to reassure you and support you in your nursing efforts! As long as those wet diapers are there and she is having a few BM's each week and she's gaining, she's fine.

Answer 5

Ok my daughter is 10 months. She ways 16 lbs 9 oz 28 inched long. That weight at six months seems fine to me. My daughter is formula fed though. So maybe there is a difference I don' tknow. BUt at her 6 months appointment she was only 13 lbs.

Answer 6

I know, it's so annoying isn't it? You do your best to stick to exclusively breastfeeding and they go and use standardised percentile charts for formula fed babies!
My advice to you, is that you know your baby best and you know if he isn't gaining enough.
Also, this is the age where many babies start sitting up and using up more calories because they are moving more, hence, they don't keep to the same percentile lines as easily.
You know you aren't starving your baby, and you know that you are feeding enough, so don't worry about what one doctor says.

Answer 7

I would not worry terribly about charts you find on the internet. I would listen to any advice the pediatrician gave you to get his weight back to where it should be. At 6 months old, he should be either eating or starting to eat sold food (cereals, single flavor fruit/veg baby food, etc). Introduction of these extra calories could help, but check with the doctor first. You could also ask about supplementing your milk with formula. Breast milk's ca;orie content can vary but formula is consistant. I did it with my son when he was 2 weeks old because my milk did not have enough calories to satisfy his demands. He gained weight after that and my milk also started being richer so I was able to wean him off the formula after 2-3 weeks and he kept gaining normally.

Just get that doctor on the phone and don't waste time beating yourself up about this.

Good luck to you and your little guy

Answer 8

both of my kids were exclusively breast-fed, neither one of them ever had a bottle and they were just fine. Healthier than all of their bottle-fed cousins, and they grew just fine. Babies grow at different rates, I never paid any attention to charts and all that crap. You are giving your baby the best possible nutrition there is, don't let anyone convince you otherwise - my mother-in-law was convinced that my babies were going to starve because breastmilk couldn't possible be enough - I asked her how the human race had managed to survive before formula was invented!

Answer 9

i have two adult daughters and both were told this with one of their children so do not worry,children are individuals not robots,one of my grandaughters is 12 now and a healthy happy girl ,the other is my grandson who is 4 and he is still small but never sits still long enough to gain weight anyway

Answer 10

Hun, I have had four children and know where you're coming from. Dr's always tell us each child is different, but then they throw charts in our face. I'm sure he's fine :)