Am I doing something wrong?

[New Mrs W]

My boy was 8lb 5.5oz at birth. We had a really tough first four weeks where I just couldn't get the hang of bf. After seeing a LC who told me that my positioning of LO wasn't quite right and taught me how to do it properly, he began to gain weight well. By four weeks old he weighed 8lbs 8oz. At 12 weeks he is 12lbs so he has gained 3.5lbs over the last 8 weeks. Ive read that babies should gain between 1.5-2lbs a month so he's doing just as he should now. But I feel like I really let him down those first four weeks and that now he's just going to be playing catch up for ever. He is following the 25th line for weight but was neqr the 75th at birth. But he is super long (91st line). But I keep seeing little chunky babies everywhere with rolls on their arms and legs. Mickey isn't a chunky baby. He doesn't have rolls on his arms and legs. But maybe if I'd got my act together in the first place he would have. My other son was never a fat baby either so maybe we just don't make chubby children. But I still am left with the feeling that I'm not doing as well as i should be with him, like the chubbier the baby the better job you are doing, if that makes sense.

Anyone else have a lean bf baby? X

 

[LegoHouse]

My son was 8lb5oz at birth, he was 12lb at 5 months! He was really, really skinny. We saw so many doctors who all said he was fine, he was such a content little baby. He is around 18lbs now at 1, he is slightly chubby now, and as tall as all the other babies his age. I think children just gain weight at their own rates, and whilst sometimes going off their curve can be an indication of a problem, most of the time it isn't. You did nothing wrong, BFing is hard to establish and you kept at it! Sounds to me like you did everything right!

 

[LegoHouse]

I don't want to get shot down for saying this, I know some BF babies are quite chubby and that is perfect, but as humans we're not all designed to be big. We are all different. My OH was 5 stone at 16 lol

 

[CandyDay]

my LO is naturally skinny. Not all babies are meant to be chunky. There is a low end of the scale for a reason. Just because you had a hard time at first doesn't mean you in any way harmed your child. Lots of woman have a hard time Bfing at first it's not just you. Some have slow gainers at first and then they catch up and then they get chunky. Some slow gainers are just naturally slow gainers. How boring would the world be if all babies (and adults) were exactly the same wieght, height etc at the exact same time. The fact that you kept going even though you had a hard first few weeks means you did exactly the right thing.

 

[summer rain]

Over the years I have come to realise I'm just not meant to have chunky, big boned looking babies with fat rolls. Two of mine gained masses of weight at first over a pound some weeks but then didn't gain well at all for the rest of their first year so they were very slim by the age of one. My eldest was a very slow gainer at first but by about 10 months he was very chubby looking. All of mine have gone chunky as toddlers. So far my youngest isn't a massive gainer, he gains 6-7oz a week so far and took 16 days to just about regain his birthweight but he is happy and healthy and has already grown a lot in length and head circumference so I think he is naturally meant to be tall and slim xx

 

[Care76]

I am sure you didn't harm your baby in any way. In fact I think you did best by your baby by continuing to BF, good for you!

We had many issues with BF for the first 4 months. My baby gained amazing during his first few weeks then he seemed to take forever to gain. He was 9 lbs 9 oz at birth and is only 15 lbs 8 oz at almost 8 months.

 

[BellarinaBaby]

My little guy took 17 days to regain his birthweight and was only 5lbs8oz at birth. Now at 8 months he's a little over 16lbs and I've decided that he's just meant to be lean. I stressed over his weight so much in the beginning. Now I like to think that some babies have to be at the bottom of the chart, some in the middle, and some at the top. He's always been happy and healthy though so I must be doing something right!

 

[Bunanie]

Me! My dd is fairly skinny, she's on the 40th line since week 3... Her weight gain was steady, whereas other bf babies I know got real chubby by 4 months. I started to question about my supply...

But now she's still gaining the same amount as previous, while the "norm" baby has slower growth (according to the chart), so she's catching up. she's above the 50% line now...

 

[New Mrs W]

Thanks ladies. Im just a worrier. If he was tubby I'd be worried about that probably!

 

[Serafina83]

Hiya I also have a long lean baby. 8lb1 at birth 50th centile 13.1 at 16 weeks 9th centile. He's also just above the highest centile for length. As long as he's active and alert then he's fine. It usually the formula fed babies who are chunky!

 

[Serafina83]

Has been the other way round for me though. Gained really well to start with then from 9 weeks till now has gained just over a lb since and dropped the 2 centiles. Was a little worried at first saw hv and she said bf babies do gain at diff rates compared to ff who gaine the same all way through