BLS for littlies

[Swoop]

I've noticed while looking through the BLS threads that a few of you have had littlies as far as weight goes. DD is below the 3rd percentile for weight and at her 6 month check today the dr has raised her concerns one again and given us a month for her weight to improve before she's sent back to the paediatrician again.

DH and I feel that she's healthy, just small. Just wondering if anyone has faced similar issues? Did it make you think about offering purée? Did you change the way you were doing solids at all? I feel quite determined to stick with BLS - she's doing so well and enjoying it so much, but a little niggle in the back of my mind is asking if I'm being too black and white.

[briggsy's girl]

i don't have a small baby, so i may be off track with my answer here - but i will ask - do you offer your DD anything like yogurt? food that is always going to be spoon fed, but isn't puree? we have gone with BLS, but every couple of days DD gets yogurt for dessert. she will continue getting it when she's older, so i don't have a problem offering it (it's not like she will later have to get used to yogurt being a different texture kwim?). we load the spoon and let her feed herself. she gets a bit on her face, but manages to feed herself surprisingly well! same with spag bol and vegie soup (though we put some bread in that sometimes to make it a big chunkier!)

i can only imagine how difficult it would be to be in your situation at the moment. when our kids are involved, the little things (pardon the pun) get to us big time. if you're content that your baby is happy and healthy, then let instinct (not fear) guide you. if you WANT to introduce puree, introduce it - but do it because it's what you want, not because it's what you think will boost DD's weight and keep her from going to the paed kwim? keep long term goals in mind as well as short term hurdles...

[~Kim~]

My little guy is on the 10th percentile, so he is quite little - BUT, he is the same weight and height as my DD at the same age and on the charts in her baby book they are on the 50th percentile - they have changed the charts in the last few years, so on the old BF based charts your DD wouldn't be so 'little'.

I've used BLS with both of mine and initially with DS, when I was getting comments about his size I was paranoid, I have to admit I did try some commercially prepared babyfood. He hated it anyway so I stopped.
He still eats pittance but same as your little girl, he's happy, feeding well and meeting all his milestones.
As long as she's still drinking well, food isn't their main source of nutrition at that age. Stand your ground. YOu are her mum. Some kids are just little.

[allycat06]

I've had exactly the same problem. DS has always been in the 10th percentile for height and weight and we started BLS at 6 months but he wasn't particularly interested. It didn't bother me too much as I knew he still got plenty of BM but then at around 8 months he started losing weight (previously he was going steadily along the 10th %ile line). It was only a little but I couldn't help but doubt myself a bit. I'd always maintained that he is just a small fella who was born a little early, but now that he was losing weight I just couldn't justify relying solely on BLS.

The MCHN was actually always quite supportive of my choices and suggested introducing meat BLS style to put some weight on but DS just couldn't manage it especially as he had no teeth. So I started spoon feeding him one meal a day (mashed or finely chopped) and now his weight has improved greatly.

Now at 10 months we're back on track with BLS, he feeds himself mostly but we have the odd spoon fed meal for yoghurt, porridge etc but I try and encourage him to put the spoon in his mouth. He's still a little guy but very healthy,active and reaching some milestones early etc. The spoon feeding seemed to work as some gentle encouragment to show him that food was more than something to play with.

I'd say go with your instincts on this one, I know how hard it is to stay positive when people always comment on how small your bub is or you see them next to other babies their age, it also doesn't help that MCHN/doctors generalise so much with those graphs that do not take genetics into account. I would have continued with just BLS if DS hadn't started losing weight, I don't regret my decision but I'm so glad we're now back doing things our way!
Good luck

[elliskirsty]

I had a little one who stopped putting weight on between 3-4 months and was seeing a pediatrician for this. He was never concerned with what percentile her weight was in, only that her weight gain was following the curve.

When it came time to start solids, I asked if there was any medical reason for not doing BLS (my MCHN was not really going to be supportive of BLS). Aside from the issues mentioned in Gil Rapleys book, he said only if she stops putting on weight. Milk remained the main food for her. Her weight gain since has been great.

Good luck!

[Daydream Believer]

When DD started BLS she was in the 75 percentile, she went up o the 95th & has since plaeaued (sp?) at the 70th just recently

[Early Kids]

Sorry to hear your DD is sick Balmaingal.

Tristan is below the %ile chart, well below it. At 6 months old he was only 5.7kg roughly 700 grams off the bottom of the chart (3rd %ile) At 9 months old he was 7.04kg still roughly 500gm from the bottom of the chart. Interestingly he is smaller than Brendan was at the same age, yet he was twice Brendan's birthweight. Anyway... We have been doing BLS here for around 1-2 months now and he loves it. He is far happier to feed himself. Weight gains have been a little better than what they have been even when he was spoon fed and seemed to eat more!

I think you should trust your instinct. If she is happy and healthy and gaining weight (even if it is not what they want) then that's all that matters. The charts are only a guide

My little guy is on the 10th percentile, so he is quite little - BUT, he is the same weight and height as my DD at the same age and on the charts in her baby book they are on the 50th percentile - they have changed the charts in the last few years, so on the old BF based charts your DD wouldn't be so 'little'.

Boys and girls have different charts. A boy and girl weighing the same will be on different percentiles despite being the same age. My boys have the same charts in their books, from the National Centre of Statistics ... ect year 2000. The chart in my book is pretty much inline with the WHO charts.

[Swoop]

Thank you all so much for your responses and support. I want to respond properly but DD is sick and wants my constant attention and cuddles, so I'm just popping in quickly on the iPhone to say thanks for now

[Swoop]

I've finally managed to put poor little DD down and get on the computer so I can see who said what when I reply

Thank you all so much for your advice and input, it helps to hear other peoples experiences and to know that there are others out there who are overcoming the same issues.

Brigsy's girl - I have offered her yoghurt on a spoon a couple of times - I've held the end and let her steer it into her mouth, which has worked quite well. I gave her spag bol for the first time today, I used pasta spirals and just put a few on her tray and she seemed to manage with it quite well like that. I don't mind giving her foods that are normally eaten on a spoon that way, she does need a little bit of help with it, but she's still making the main effort. I think that one phrase, 'let instinct (not fear) guide you' says it all though and that's what I need to keep remembering!

Kim - that's interesting about the charts! How old is your DD? That's quite a significant difference from 10th to 50th!!

MantaRay - Thanks for the link - I looked at the charts with great enthusiasm, but she's below the 3rd on them!! I'm not sure we could increase the number of BF she has... she is very much fed on demand and has a BF before and after each meal and before and after each sleep (some of these feeds coincide...) plus 2 feeds through the night now. At some of these daytime feeds she just has a little and i think if I tried to introduce any more feeds she would just decrease the amount she is having at each feed even more - I think she's getting sufficient for what she wants IYKWIM?

I think the main thing is that if I was to do something different now it would just be to avoid the paed appointment, and that just seems silly. I don't want to stuff her full of baby rice with the aim of making her heavier at the cost of her nutrition and all the other benefits she is getting, such as good eating habits and fine motor skills (which I can already see improving at this early stage). Last time she was referred he asked me how i felt and I told him I thought she was healthy, just small, which he seemed satisfied with, so hopefully he will be supportive of my choices again. I think perhaps he and our GP are on a slightly different page, although she didn't seem to have a problem with BLS as such, just with DD's weight.

[~Kim~]

He actually sounds like a keeper, but if he's going to say that....what's the point of going?

My DD is nearly 4.

[MummyTummy]

Balmaingirl - Sorry to hear about your DD's weight issues. We started BLS while very low on the charts - I can't remember exactly - but it was definitely inbetween the 3rd and 10th % line. BLS has really put the weight on him, but he is still below the average. But I know that he is where he should be for him. And as MR said - it takes all the weights to make up the average.... there has to be some babies at the top and some at the bottom.

My only thoughts are, from your post above, is that perhaps your milk supply has dwindled for some reason. DD may still be feeding, but the content may not be there as you think it might be. The only reason I say this is that someone in my MG had to go and see a paed after her DS was having the same issues. He was eating quite well (BLS) and Bfeeding alot. But he was just not putting on enough weight. The paed established that it was her milk supply just wasn't there. There are many reasons for this, such as you are busier than normal, stressing, bub is not sucking effectively so therefore not demanding the milk that is needed to keep the supply up, etc. Perhaps you could look at this? Maybe call the ABA to get some tips to boost your supply? I personally had to use Fenugreek because my supply was up and down all over the place, but I was lucky enough to have a bub that would let me know as soon as it dropped.

And FWIW, most people I know that have seen a paed and are following the BLS feeding method have said that their paed had no problem with them starting/continuing solids this way. It always seems to be the MCHN that have the issues. So I wouldn't be afraid of the paed, unless you know they are an unsupportive one.

Good luck, I hope you find the solution, in whatever shape or form it takes!

[Swoop]

Double post

[Swoop]

Yeah he is, he has a great reputation and we've found him very good so far. I think the only reason to go would be to keep the GP happy! No, in all seriousness, I suppose if he did think there was an underlying problem that we needed to look further into then I would respect his opinion.

Wow - a big jump in stats for just 4 years!

[Swoop]

Thanks MT - it's worth looking into, although I'm not sure that will be the issue. She was born on 10th and dropped to the 3rd at 6 weeks after a plethora of BF issues. I used various methods to boost my supply back then, and ended up with too much milk (the lc recommended by the paed and I were both sure supply wasn't the issue, but I gave it a try anyway just in case) so ended up dropping it all (one thing at a time). I suppose it's possible it has fallen since then though.

ETA - it's reassuring to know that others who have seen paeds re little bubs have been fine with their choice to go the BLS route

[Swoop]

Just thought I'd pop in with an update...

We've had friends visiting from overseas (6 adults and 5 under 5's in our house!!!) and it's been really hectic, which resulted in me offering DD a couple of pureed pouches throughout that time. She didn't like the veggie ones at all, ate a few mouthfuls of the fruit ones but nothing significant and she definitely seems to prefer feeding herself... so, given that I'm not willing to force food into her when she's not interested, I'm not convinced that she would eat much more if she was on puree anyway. I just didn't want to end up giving her cruskits all day every day as an easy option while I was run off my feet.

She's had a cold followed by a cough over the last few weeks and not seemed quite herself (I think the stress of all the visitors is at least partly to blame though) so I took her to the gp yesterday to make sure that it hadn't gone onto her chest. While I was there they weighed her again and she's dropped right off the charts now so we're off to the paediatrician again on Thursday.

I still maintain that she's perfectly healthy and happy (this being the first cold she's ever had), maybe a bit clingy and not the best sleeper at the moment, but nothing unusual for this age from what I've read on BB and heard from talking to friends/mothers group. But the dr has suggested that she needs blood tests to see if there's something serious wrong which is making her so small.

In the meantime our guests have left and we're right back on track with BLS, all be it a bit slowly as DD is a bit off her food with her cold/cough... she's still enthusiastic about most foods and having a go initially, but not keeping up for very long. I'm nervous about what the paed will say about us doing BLS, but I suppose he just as likely could be supportive and say it's fine. Just hoping that they will find that she's fine, just small and we're fine to continue as we are.

[~Kim~]

ah hun

[AliBaby]

is she getting plenty of milk (bf or ff)?

It does sound like a little bit of a concern if she is right off the bottom end of the scale only because they need their reserves if they get sick but as you said you cant force her to eat. The only thing I can think of is to up her milk intake if she prefers that. Not sure how old your little oneis though.

[MantaRay]

hun. That must be very worrying for you.

The charts that you should be relying on are the WHO ones which I posted the link to earlier in this thread. They are the latest charts showing normal growth patterns - the ones in the blue/red books are old and show formula fed growth patterns which are not normal patterns. Having said that, unfortunately your DD is off the bottom of the WHO charts too from the information you have given in this post. While this is not necessarily a problem, it might be reassuring to have her checked just so you know for certain that there is no medical issue.

It's also worth keeping in mind that bm is the main source of nutrition for growth until around the 12 month mark, so her not eating much solids really is not contributing to her small size. There are many reasons why babies can be off the charts. I hope you get some answers and reassurance soon.