Calling mama's with small babies.....

[Snowflower]

I have one and sometimes i worry when I catch myself comparing. He was born at 6.13 and is now 5 months and weighs probably under 13 lbs. He gained between 4-5 oz / week, but the Doc still gave him the dreaded failure to thrive dx. :(  

i've been taking domperidone, high doses of fenugreek, pumping, supplementing with donor milk when i get the chance...it has been a long and hard 5 months. He is still a little dude. He is happy, very vocal, working on his core muscles.... seems healthy to me. but still....I have a friend who had a baby 2 weeks After me and her baby is At Least Twice as big as my baby!  It's hard to deal with. ok, the truth is mine has only had breast milk and hers is ff large amounts. She gives him 10 oz bottles with 6-8 Tbs of rice cereal And an entire jar of baby food (all in the bottle somehow) often. Like every few hours. Seems like a lot to me, as mine can barely finish a 4 oz bottle of ebm. But its even other bf babies...I saw a little 3 month old bf baby that was bigger than my 5 month old.

I suppose I just want to hear that I am not the only mama with a small babe. What are your stories and experiences? Did you give formula? Can I bf AND ff?? Should I?

I am currently switching Doctors. Mine was pressuring me to vaccinate and give my babe formula and I just couldn't stand her anymore. So we haven't got our charts done for awhile. I am feeling insecure about his size though. It's sad my Dr made me feel sooo bad about his size that I don't see his "cute little arms and legs" I see his "too small arms and legs." It's bumming me out.

Anyone else have a little baby???!

Thanks for any and all comments. <3

[parsley]

I currently have my second small baby.  With my older daughter I worried and stressed and felt guilty.  I assumed I had supply problems and at the advice of an awful ped I supplemented for 36 hours.  I then switched peds and never supplemented again.  My daughter did start to gain more weight when she started solids but in retrospect its because I gave her extra calories (slipping a T of olive oil into everything she ate) to subvert what I now think was her natural body type. 

With this babe I sometimes feel self-conscious when someone exclaims "she's so tiny".  I'm working on smiling and saying,
"Yes.  And, cute too!".  I breastfeed on demand and often.  After each nursing session she's happy and full.  She pees and poops a ton.  And, despite being born at 36 weeks due to placenta previa (ie: it's not like she was ready to come out early) she's met every developmental  milestone right at the early end.  I'm not worrying!  I think this is just how she is. 

My advice:  1) dump that ped.  2) if your babe seems content after each feeding then let it go.  If you babe still seems hungry then supplement after feedings with formula or donated milk.  3) Look at the WHO growth charts.  They'll make you feel better than the ones based on U.S. formula fed babes. 

Hugs!  I know how hard it can be.

[Snowflower]

  only One mama with a small babe? Please tell me there is more....

I was really hoping for more reassurance or guidance. 

[AnnieA]

I have a tiny baby. She's 8 months old and tipped the scale at 14 lbs 6 oz at her checkup last week. Now to be fair, she has a congenital heart defect and has had two open heart surgeries. So she had trouble gaining weight. But she has always followed her own growth chart which has been around the 8-10th percentile. She dropped down to the 3rd percentile after her last surgery but she's back up to the 8th percentile now. She's on EBM, takes 3-4 oz per bottle. She eats a few solids but it's mostly for fun. I'm not a big person so her doctors have never been concerned.

[wendizbaby]

We just had our 4 month appointment and my babe went down from being in the 5th percentile for weight at his 2 month to being in the 2nd percentile.  He is EBF, very content after eating, meeting all of his milestones, etc, etc, etc.  I'm still worried, though.  My ds1 always maintained in the 5th percentile, so being so small didn't bother me, but going down the charts does.  When he was two weeks old, he wasn't gaining very well either.  My pediatrician recommended supplementing with an extra bottle of breast milk or formula.  I decided to try the formula (my ds1 never touched the stuff).  I was okay with that until suddenly all over the news there was a baby who died from formula and it was the EXACT same kind I was using.  So, I haven't gone back to supplementing.  

You mentioned your baby won't drink more then 4oz from a bottle?  I was going to suggest going to a lactation consultant to see how much he is getting.  I guess they weigh the baby before eating and then after to see how much.  That way you could rule out your milk supply.  

My neighbor went through the exact same thing you are going through with her first.  Her doctor constantly made her feel like she was starving her child.  Being a new mom, she didn't stand up for herself and tried any and everything to get her daughter up the charts.  She is now a happy and healthy (but VERY skinny) 5 year old who isn't much into eating.  It's just how she is!  It sounds like you are doing all that you can with the fenugreek and pumping, I don't think that formula is going to make much of a difference.  

[Ramzubo]

My DS was born the same weight as yours and has stayed on the small side. When people see him for the first time they comment on how little he is, but those who see him regularly usual mention how much he's grown. So I guess comparing him to other babies, he's small, but comparing his growth from week to week he's doing good. He made it up to the 13th percentile at 6 weeks and has been staying on that track. My doc is perfectly fine with him being there because he's a healthy, happy baby. I would second looking for a new ped if she's only looking at weight and not the overall health of your ds. Really it's about health, not adhering to some standardized "ideal" of what a baby should weigh at X month.

As for supplementing...We had an aggressive LC initially who had us supplementing with formula, but the doc told us that wasn't really necessary since the baby wasn't in danger, he's just small. I now give him expressed milk 2X a day by bottle because he's a slow nurser and falls asleep before he gets full. This way I know he's got a full tummy a couple of times a day and he can pretty much nurse however he wants the rest of the time. Since we started doing this he seems to be gaining faster (plus crying less and sleeping more).