[angelapittman]

I just got back from our WIC appointment and my baby (4 months old) was weighed. She is 12 pounds, 2 ounces and 25." She put the numbers into her fancy computer chart then told me how little she was. When I told her I wasn't concerned, she looked at me weird and said "You're not?!" She then went on to pressure me into giving her formula to fatten her up.

: What is wrong with not having a huge baby?? She's in the 75th for height and 25th for weight. My baby is happy and healthy so I wish people would just lay off!

 

[kalamos23]

People honestly just can't keep their mouths shut sometimes. My baby is "fat and chubby and I should put her on a diet" *mad* I always tell them, and you should too - the reason the scales are there is because SOMEONE has to be at the top and the bottom - we all aren't in the 50th percentile or it wouldn't BE the 5-th percentile!

Little babies are great because :
Baby can actually wear clothes more than once before they grow out of them.
You can baby wear for a lot longer without hurting.
Smaller diapers are cheaper and much more cost effective!
People don't expect your child to be hitting much later milestones because your baby actually looks like the age she is vs. a lot older.

There are definite upsides! Btw, 75th percentile - that girl is tall! If you or your DH is tall and skinny (DH and I are both tall, and DH is heavy big boned - so it's expected DD would be big), I would just tell them "Well, 2 Great Danes (or whatever dog you guy's body shape looks like lol) don't make a Chihuahua!" People seem to get taht better because they don't expect a Chihuahua to have a Great Dane sized puppy, you know? Somehow they expect that us humans shouldn't be varied though... *rolls eyes*

 

[prettypixels]

As long as she is gaining, I wouldn't be concerned, but sometimes weight *can* be an indicator of other problems. If it's not, it's not, but it's one of those red flags that people are sometimes trained to look for. I'm sorry it's bugging you!

 

[angelapittman]

I'm 5'7 and 140 when not preg and my family is all smaller than that. My mom is 5'10 and like 125! My husband, on the other hand, is 6' and about 240. Our first daughter is built like his family, big boned, thick, and tall. Maybe this one will be like my side?

A funny note: I remember them telling me my first daughter was too big! (At 2, she is 3ft and 40 pounds)...I just wish they would realize that people come in different sizes and to quit freaking out.
I was just annoyed at her pushing formula and the reaction she gave when I said I wasn't worried about her simply because she doesn't weigh much.

 

[Leisha]

My dd is quite "small" too. At 6 mo she was about 14-15lb (6.48 kg, hope I converted it alright!).

At the checkup the nurse said she was on the lower percentiles (about 25% for weight I think, and a bit over 50% on height) and asked if I was breastfeeding (on demand) and I said yes, and she said "oh, it's totally fine then"

and that bf babies can vary a lot in size.
I guess the logic was that breastfeeding pretty much guarantees that baby gets all the nutrients she/he needs, so even with a smaller baby, the size is nothing to worry about. (As long as baby is happy and healty and peeing and pooping well etc, of course

)

And yeah those percentiles (all within normal range) wouldn't exist if there weren't normal, healthy babies of that size!

 

[ewe+lamb]

As long as babe gains weight then there is no problem, my dd was a fat chubby baby and everyone would say how worried they were about her and how fat she was - it was horrible, then when ds came along he was too skinny - nothing can make anyone happy

- if you need them I have the WHO Charts for EBF Babies - just email me and I'll send them along.

 

[accountclosed2]

Someone has to be at the bottom of the chart - actually , 25 percent, or a quarter of all healthy (hopefully exclusively breastfed) babies are smaller than your DD!

Proud Mama of a 3rd percenter

 

[Phoenix~Mama]

I totally totally feel for you!!!

I have a small baby too and it gets sooo upsetting. We can't go anywhere without someone asking her age then going, "oh!! She is soo tiny!"

My DD was born small, at 5 lbs 13 oz and at about 2.5 months she was at 9 lbs 9 oz. Her 4 month appt is in another 2 weeks and I'm sure she is over 10 now, but I don't know by how much, I just hope she has gained enough that they can keep all their mouths shut.

I actually had a woman ask me this weekend if my DD was only a few days old!!!! Oh yeah! Cause all fresh newborns can hold their head up and "talk" back to you and smile and laugh.

My DH has finally actually started to get POed about it too and was like, what when she starts walking they will still be asking, "oh is she only a few weeks old?"

I try to let it roll off, but it's so hard to hear. All babies I know are SOOO big.

I love DD being small though because it would hurt more to hold her long periods of time if she was bigger and she got to stay in some clothes longer, not all, because she is sprouting in length considerably! lol

So, basically... you are not alone! It stinks when people can't keep their small baby comments to themselves.

 

[limabean]

Quote:

Originally Posted by AislinCarys Someone has to be at the bottom of the chart - actually , 25 percent, or a quarter of all healthy (hopefully exclusively breastfed) babies are smaller than your DD!

:

I never understand why people don't understand that, on a chart of averages, it's mathematically impossible for everyone to be over the 50% mark.

 

[lulutattoo]

At 3.5 months, our dd is just 10 lbs and 23 inches. About 5 percent on the CDC charts. Totally happy and healthy! Someone has to be little! She had stayed on the same curve since her second week of life (seemed like there needed to be a bit of adjusting--she started out at closer to 50). As long as your baby stays on the same curve, that's all that matters.