Itty Bitty Babies Club (Slow Gainers)

[WW1]

Hi Megewansmum

I'm so sorry you're feeling so down. It sounds to me like your LO could possibly be a little under the weather - have you taken her to the GP to be checked out? It's possibly nothing but she may have a virus or something ~ in which case it might be a waiting game but at least you'll know she'll pick up her eating once the virus has subsided.

In this weather babies often drink less but of course she'll need enough to keep her functioning. Is she still having lots of wet nappies? You may be right with the teething as well - recently when we've been feeding, the teat has hit a sore spot on Rebecca's gums several times which causes meltdown and an abrupt end to feeding!

I can assure you that you're not alone in feeling how you do - when Rebecca is "off her food" which she sometimes is, I feel particularly worried as I know she's a little bitty one and needs all the food she can get! Having said that, she also has days where she eats loads and I tend to forget those

All I can do is offer you big and say you're doing a FAB job.

 

[WW1]

Hi all - I hope everyone is well.

Logansmum - fab weight gain

We had Rebecca weighed last week and she is now 13lb 14oz (at 25 1/2 weeks) so she has moved up a bit from the 9th percentile

At the consultant's appointment, they also couldn't hear her heart murmur at all (which they could hear at 6 and 16 weeks) so they think it is nothing at all to worry about

She is due to have her operation for craniosynostosis in September and the anaesthetist said she was a perfectly good size for the operation (I was worried she'd be too diddy to cope with the anaesthetic). He wasn't concerned about her size at all.

So all in all, a good appointment

 

[Eala]

WW1 - that's great news What a fantastic gain! It must be a relief to know that the anesthetist is happy for her to have the op

Megewansmum - Sorry to hear you've been having a hard time with your LO's feeding It might be worth getting her checked at a doctor. My daughter got a tummy bug which left her pretty poorly for a while, and even when she was on the road to recovery, she still wasn't up for taking much milk, or any solids.

That said, when she did get her appetite back... oh my goodness, it was like I couldn't keep up with her! She was taking nearly 40oz a day for about 2 weeks, then it settled back down. When I took her to get weighed, she'd still had a really good gain, so it didn't affect her negatively.

You are a fantastic Mummy, please don't put yourself down I lived in Canada for 2 years, and I remember how far away from all my family I felt. It can be really lonely. Are there any Mum and Baby groups in the area? Maybe have a look on Google, or see if there is a Canadian version of Netmums. Hope you're feeling better today

 

[megewansmum]

WW1 and Eala - Thank you both so much for your supportive comments. It really helps.

Thankfully we had a scheduled pediatrician and nutritionist appointment yesterday at the hospital. They checked her over completely and couldn't find anything wrong, no temperature, ear infection or anything. The pediatrician said that her top gums do look slightly swollen so maybe she is teething again. She'd still managed to put on some weight though and actually weighed 17lb 12oz

Unfortunately though she is now concerned that DD can't support any of her own weight. When she sits and falls backwards she makes no attempts to pull herself back up to sitting. She had us hold her and try to walk her along but she just dragged her feet. Now she thinks that she is behind on her gross motor skills and asked us to try to get her to prop herself up on furniture a few times a day. She isn't crawling yet either or making any attempt to get mobile. So not only do I have to worry about her food and fluid intake I'm now worrying about her mobility. If its not one thing its another We've now got to go back in 8 weeks again.

I used to go to a Baby Group for a few months but when DD went from 3 to 2 naps it clashed with the start of her nap. Hopefully I'm joining again in September when she starts in the older baby group which has different times. Will be good to get out of the house.

WW1 Brilliant news that Rebecca has been given the all clear about having her operation. What a relief that must be for you. Here's me stressing about not eating, fussiness and mobility and you have that to contend with.

 

[Eala]

What on earth is it with healthcare professionals and their need to put every baby in a frickin' box

My HV was going on about "gross motor skills" in a voice-of-doom way as well. It drives me absolutely up the wall! Megewansmum - Romilly isn't crawling yet either. She's not bum shuffling. She will quite happily sit and spin 360 degrees, and will sort of... jiffle her way around a little bit, but she is by no means "mobile". She can't pull herself up into a sitting position if she's laid down, and she's never tried to pull herself to a standing position from a sitting one. If we stand her up and leave her leaning on the sofa (well, not *leave* her, but ykwim!), she'll stand there for a bit and then bump down when she leans back.

My point in typing all that out is... well I'm not sure I had a point, other than to say "You're not alone." I don't give a toss at the moment what my HV thinks about Romilly's "gross motor skills". I never crawled myself, I went straight to coasting. My husband never crawled. My Mum never crawled! And yet, because my LO isn't crawling, this is somehow a tick in the box against her

If your LO is healthy, happy and active (and what a great gain btw!), then that's what's important! The healthcare providers and their stupid ticksheets and boxes can go take a running jump!

Ooh, I'm all fired up now! Bet I'm not like this when I take LO to get weighed tomorrow

 

[teal]

ww1 - that's great news!

eala - goodluck at weigh in tomorrow

My son was weighed today and he's now 12lbs 6oz He gained 1lbs 1oz in 2 weeks! I told the hv I didn't want him weighed so often so I'm not seeing her again for 4 weeks! She wasn't overly happy he's still below the 2nd centile but I'm delighted with his gain! xx

 

[florabean1981]

great weight gains everyone!

ww1- that's such great news about r's heart murmer! you must be so relieved!

teal- sounds like g's heading in the right direction too.

eala- harry's not crawling yet either & cant pull himself up to sitting if he's been laid down. he does however army crawl like a pro & roll ad infinitum to get to what he wants & can pull himself up to his knees but not to standing. and still no teeth. i figure he'll do everything in good time when he's ready to. in the last 2 weeks he started 'walking' if we hold his hands, so i'm happy & my hv said he's developmentally where he should be, so it's all good as far as i'm concerned.

megewansmum- big to you. xxxx I know what you mean about nurtimingen- it's rank! My nephew was on it for a while before switching to soya milk. do you have a door bouncer? they're pretty cheap & are a good way to strengthen LOs legs up reading for pre-walking. i hope everything else is ok?

 

[Seity]

teal - that's great weight gain and sounds like he's doing just fine.
megewansmum - I sometimes think they aren't happy unless they're making us worry about our babies.
eala - we get weighed tomorrow too. It's the 4 month visit for us, so he'll get his next round of shots too. I'm curious to see what he weighs now.

 

[Seity]

Just got back from our 4 month visit. Gabriel is now 10lb 12oz at 19 weeks. That puts him at 0.5th percentile on the charts. The doctor is happy with his weight gain and says just keep on doing what we're doing and we'll see him at 6 months.

 

[Eala]

Seity - fantastic! Yay for the doctor being happy, you must be over the moon!

I got my LO weighed today too. Luckily, it was a different HV, as mine wasn't there today. Romilly now weighs 16lbs on the nose! Which is a 9oz gain since June 16th The HV I saw was really positive, and said it was obvious that Romilly is really thriving. I asked about her "gross motor skills", and this HV said that what Romilly is doing sounds fine for her age, and not to worry (so different from my own HV!) So for once left the clinic feeling really positive That's me safe for another month

 

[Seity]

That's great Eala. It's nice when the doctor's recognize that the baby is happy and thriving.
Gabriel started near the 5th percentile and then dropped off the chart because it turned out I had a low milk supply. He's still playing a bit of catch up on the weight, but he is catching up.
I'm glad you got reassurance on the gross motor skills. It's amazing how different babies can be from one another.

 

[WW1]

Fab weight gains Seity and Eala

 

[teal]

Well done on the weight gains Seity and Eala xx

 

[florabean1981]

Awesome weight gains Seity and Eala

Isn't it frustrating though that what one HV says can be soooo different from another? But that being said, it's always lovely to hear when a person says your baby is just fine & thriving

 

[Eve]

I emigrated to Canada from England 3 months before she was conceived having been told that we would probably never have children and have no long term friends here or family. I do feel so alone and such a failure at times. I often wonder if she would be better with another mummy and that are all her problems something that I'm doing wrong. No one else seems to go through all this. It just seems to have been one thing after another. Its so hard

I am in NB which isn't too far from you



You seem to be doing great! I hope it's teething too!

 

[megewansmum]

Help...

Could you give me some idea of what your LO's eat each day. I am getting so worried about Megan she's 9 months next week and hardly eats anything and has now reduced her milk intake to around 10-12oz a day too

I absolutely dread mealtimes as she will only take a few teaspoons and then refuse. She picks up finger food but usually just gums for a while before throwing whatever on the floor.

Thanks

 

[WW1]

Help...

Could you give me some idea of what your LO's eat each day. I am getting so worried about Megan she's 9 months next week and hardly eats anything and has now reduced her milk intake to around 10-12oz a day too

I absolutely dread mealtimes as she will only take a few teaspoons and then refuse. She picks up finger food but usually just gums for a while before throwing whatever on the floor.

Thanks

Rebecca is 6 months (and 14lb ish). On an average day she'll have:

porridge + fruit (pureed) for breakfast

pureed veg (approx 2 - 3 ice cubes) or 1/2 jar of ready made baby food, fromage frais or fruit

27 - 31 oz milk

I've just started with some finger food which she'll gum at for a bit but doesn't seem massively interested!

I hope that gives you some idea.

 

[megewansmum]

Mum2K&Jx2

Hi, thanks so much for your support. I have to admit that I'm finding it so hard at the moment. Whatever I do she just seems to whinge and whine all day long I know she isn't tired as I'm lucky she STTN and has 2 x 1.5hr naps a day. I'm pretty sure its not teething though at the moment either. I think because she can't crawl yet she gets really frustrated. There's also separation and stranger anxiety thrown in too To top it all she's hardly eating or drinking anything at the moment. I wish they came with instruction manuals.

New Brunswick looks lovely on the clips they show of it on the TV. I think you seem to get better summers than us but harsher winters.

 

[megewansmum]

WW1 - Thanks for that. Sounds like Rebecca is doing great with her solids. I wish my DD would drink so much milk. I think even before solids she would only take 20-24oz max all day. I really don't know how she keeps going on so little and why she isn't thirsty all day long. She won't even take water. Mind you she still poops between one and three times a day so I guess she must be digesting something.

 

[megewansmum]

Help...I seem to be having problems with this thread. My posts jump from 444 to 451 so I have loads missing. Does anyone know how to solve this? Thanks.