poor weight gain...what happens?

Hi everyone,

I came home from my DS 8 mnth child health nurse visit in tears because yet again his weight gain is less than expected. He has dropped now to the 10th percentile after being born on the 75 percentile. His length is pretty steady just under the 75th and his head on 25th.

The nurse told me to add oil to his diet, up his meat intake and begin to include snacks. Currently he has 3 meals plus about 500mls of EBM. He can't have dairy due to a milk protein allergy so adding this into the diet can't happen. He also doesn't like avocado.

We have a paediatrician appointment in a couple of weeks and we are just about to have a blood test for coeliac disease as I'm coeliac.

Has anyone else experienced a baby who drops low in the percentile charts? What intervention happened? What happens if adding oil in his diet doesn't lead to an increase in weight? I'm scared, can he literally just fade away or is there some type of medical assistance that kicks in at some point?

My DD was born on the 75th and went down to around the 10th for weight. Her height is 50th-75th and she has a fat head (90th). Her weight is pretty stable now between the 10th and 25th percentiles. Over time, i have come to realise that the weight is right for her. I'm not going to stuff her with food if she doesn't want it. - She is a healthy, happy kid who eats well.

Are you and your partner on the light side? Maybe he has just settled into his genetic weight. Is he happy, healthy in other ways?

My DD is a smidgen above the 10th percentile and was within the 25th from birth up until she turned one. I have spoken to numerous doctors and even spoke to a paediatrician who said she is fine, shes very active and has a petite frame. I haven't been told anything even when i mentioned her not eating alot. They said shes a kid and she will sort herself out.

In all honesty i would hold off doing anything until you speak with your paediatrician. I don't agree with the oil not at his age. To me what he is eating sounds fine and if he is happy and healthy thats all that should matter.

There are options such as high-calorie formula supplements if required. But I would wait until you see the paediatrician before worrying overly much - he may simply be a healthy, skinny kid. And if really truly fading away is an issue then a feeding tube can be used - though I think you are a long way from that.

My DD2 was on about the 50th percentile for the first few months and then dropped down to around the 15th. She is now about the 3rd. She is on the 70th percentile for height so really is a string bean. She hasn't put on any weight at all in over 18 months.

We see a paed with her for other issues and while he would like to see her increase weight, he is happy that she is extremely active mentally and physically. I have asked him about supplements for her and he has said if it makes me feel better then go for it, but otherwise she is what she is. She is just a little girl that really doesn't like food and eats the bare minimum to survive.

:hug: you poor thing. Worrying about weight gain or lack of it has got to be one of the worst things that a Mum has to endure.

My DS was born on 25th % and dropped to 10th after birth and has stubbornly stayed there. Nurses were a bit concerned in the begining as we had issue establishing breast feeding but looking back now I realise that he had just settled into his curve. I know his drop is smaller than your DSs but it could just be his "real" line. Havent heard about adding oil to diet but we tried offering all the usual fatty foods etc to see if it would bulk him up but didn't work. At 8 months your DS is probably also starting to be a lot more active than before all of which will burn the food that he consumes which will slow down weight gains.

Hang in there until you speak to your paed but try not to stress too much. I keep repeating it to myself they won't let themselves starve. And I now accept (took me 2 years lol) that he is what he is. A very busy active 2 year old who doesn't have an ounce of fat on him who eats when he is hungry and doesn't eat when he isn't (or when there's something more exciting to do : lol: )

My second DS was born on the 25th percentile for his birth age, above the percentile chart for gestational age and by 5 months old he had slowly tapered off and was below the chart. We tried everything, special formula, saw dietician, naturopath, paediatricians, child health nurses, etc, etc, we added things to the diet, excluded things, we endured many many blood test and stool samples, including for coeliacs and other food intolerances. He was even labelled Failure-to-Thrive to try and get more help to find out what was going on. No one could give us an answer, no-one could help. He's 2 1/2 now and still below the chart for weight, but he's happy and healthy so at the end of the day that's what matters to us. Developmentally he is on track, a little behind, but nothing for us to be concerned about :)

I hope that helps x

My bub was born at 25th perc, went up to 80th by 3 months and then just stopped growing!! At 9mths she wasnt even 7kgs yet so in the 5th perc, the nurses booked me in for an appointment but I forgot (oops!) and I figure, she eats soooo much and is healthy, hitting all her milestones. So I dont stress anymore. :)

Considering you are Coeliac, that may be why he is smaller if he is too, other than that, as long as he is eating well then he may just be little..


Sent from my iPhone so sorry for the spelling and punctuation!!

He could have coeliac, but also I have known quite a few bubs like this, and often it comes down to metabolism.

He might just have a fast metabolism. Also the weight/height percentiles are just a guide, often the health nurse (or mum) will worry unnecessarily.

If he appears happy & healthy try not to worry about the percentile too much. Your Pediatrician will tell you if he is concerned about anything.


Chris

Black & Grey '88 GQ TB42

Hi, given your family history it is worth testing him for coeliac. As others have said there is no need to stress. the 10th percentile is a perfectly reasonable percentile to be on! When a baby is born, their size depends more on conditions in utero - whether the placnta was working effectively etc. When a child is born they will grow more toward their genetic potential. What are you and your partner like? Big people? Where would you be on the adult percentile charts?
In terms of solids what is he having? You've always had a bountiful milk supply (I think) could you express a bit more for him?

Thanks for your quick responses.

We are both on the small side of things so it could be genetic. I wouldn't worry so much if he was just cruising on a low percentile it's the issue of him continuously falling on the curve. I just wonder where it will all stop. I think what also increases my worry is that my family openly talk about how thin I was getting as a child and there was a point where they wondered if I would even see another year out. I literally was a skeleton as my coeliac disease was undiagnosed (a long story of inadequate GPs where we lived and little knowledge of coeliacs). They never spoke about this to me as a child but they do now as adults.

Currently his diet looks like this:

7am-ish - EBM (maybe about 130mls)
9am - 2 x weet bix with a bit of pureed fruit and maybe 50mls of EBM
12.00 - offer some EBM (usually will only take maybe 30 or so mls)
1.00pm - soy yoghurt with fruit. This will now be changed to meat and veg.
3.00pm - offer some EBM will only take a small amount
5.00pm - a big bottle of EBM
6.15pm - meat and veg
5.45pm - a small bottle of EBM
9.30pm - a big bottle of EBM

I'm on motilium so I do have a good BM supply. DS won't take anymore BM. The only thing I could do is get him up in the middle of the night. I used to do this up until 2 months ago as I was up to express anyway. His milk intake would probably increase maybe by about another 50mls if I did this. I stopped doing it as he is capable of sleeping through the night and it was one less night time activity for me to do. On my last visit to the paediatrician she told me that I could stop doing the middle of the night feed (he was on the 25th percentile for weight then).

Generally DS is happy and seems healthy enough (although we have a grizzly patch this week the nurse said it was tantrums) and generally speaking his development is on track a little ahead on some things like fine motor skills and a touch behind on gross ones.

Hi, I think you do need to get him tested and checked out throughly - I can see your family history is worrying and it fits with the pattern of coeliac to have trouble gaining weight one solids are started. I agree with the nurse that getting some more meat into him would be a good idea, and some good fats and oils. Breastmilk is still the main game for him - maybe offer milk before solids feeds and anytime he is grizzly. It is not unusual for babies to swap percentiles up or down.

It sounds like he's doing pretty well Lisa B, but getting him checked for coeliacs is a good idea for sure.
I wouldn't write of grizzles as tantrums at this age!
My DS was on the 90th percentile for weight at birth and steadily dropped to the 20th or so. It did go up and down a bit between 3-12 months and I think it's probably normal for breastfed babies to be lighter (on average) between 6-12 months (just comparing the standard charts with those on teh WHO site). In any event, get some peace of mind. If there is a problem then hopefully you'll be on top of it very soon.