Low weight baby...why should I be concerned if doctor isn't??

[mom2grace]

DD was the same, never on the growth chart, 6lb 15oz birth weight. She is now 3 yrs 3 months and weighs 26lbs, she is 38 inches tall.

I now have DS, exact same birth weight, 12 months old, 21 lbs.

DS has been diagnosed with reflux. I believe DD had it too, I just didn't complain about her crying. (I am very tolerant of babies crying I guess)

DS's only symptoms of reflux was screaming, arching his back, and very thin, dry secretions lining his nose. Nothing EVER came out of his mouth.

We ended up the a pediatric hospital ER, the nurse suggested reflux (I agreed)...the dr. (Specialist in ped ER, remember) said "Oh, he's thriving, it can't be reflux!"

I went to see our regular Ped. and he readily agreed with me and we did Zantac for several months.

Grace made the weight chart on her 2nd birthday checkup. She always gained, just very slowly. Her curve looked like a normal curve, just in the "red zone". She's never been about the 3rd %.

She eats as much as I do, she just has a metabolism that doesn't stop. She is 50% for height and has been all along.

Our Ped's rationale was that she never lost weight and was reaching all of her milestones on time (She didn't walk until 15 months, by walk I mean use that as her primary means of locomotion).

She's fine! However, I wish we had tried the Zantac with her. I nursed her for 9 months and then did soy formula until she was 2. She had an intolerance for cow's milk products that resulted in ear infections. She is super healthy, much healthier than DS.

So, trust your instincts, try some Zantac. However, I don't think it will affect her rate of growth!!

Good luck!!

 

[katerkat]

If she's eating OK, I wouldn't be too too worried... I was always off the charts - my mom drew her own chart for me. I followed the right "curve," just not on a chart. I weighed 80 lbs in eighth grade! Took college to get me into the normal range. And past it, a bit!

 

[ZachnElli]

My dd was 6lbs at birth too (just 6lbs, no oz). She was and still is very skinny. Her dr was worried at 12mos and had me feeding her rice cereal several times a day. She gained 2 lbs over the next 3 mos. I think she was just waiting for a growth spurt. She's in kindergarten now, tallest in her class, 45 1/2" and 41 lbs, skin and bones! She doesn't get it from me!

 

[Keli]

Originally posted by 6_Time_Momma
Now, I sit and ask myself.......if the doctor doesn't seem worried, then why do I??

Ok, I have your answer for you...You should worry and look into Olivia's lack of weight gain just like you worried and looked into things when Garett wasn't doing well and the doc's said it was he had down's syndrome when you knew it was more than just that. You are an experienced mother and a nurse and you are a reasonable person. If your gut is telling you something isn't right then you need to look into it.

 

[Judy from Boise]

I think this is too classic for reflux to not try a little med "challenge" and see if she improves.

 

[BuzznBelle'smom]

Another vote for a second opimion--for your peace of mind if nothing else. We went through a spell with Buzz where he was very sick--no diagnosis was found, but we knew every specialist in the area, he was not only falling off the charts in weight, he was vomitting and not hitting his milestones. Now he's 7 and perfectly healthy, but I spent many, many sleepless nights wondering if we were missing something.

BTW, in NY anyway, doctor's are required to report children who are 5th pecentile or less, for evaluation for failure to thrive. We were bumping up against this with Buzz, but the doctor told me not to sweat it, because he didn't fail the "look test"--i.e., he looked okay, just skinny. Of course, I was sweating pretty much everything with him at the time!

Bottom line, go with your instincts--worst case, you're a nutty mom. Personally, I could live with that!

 

[snoopy]

I didn't read all the replies but I've always understood the rule of thumb to be this. If the baby was born into lets say the 50th percentile and then 9 months later is in the 10th percentile, you should start worrying. But since she was small to begin with, she is probably just a naturally small baby.

 

[ckr]

Based on your experience, Go with your gut!

You're not just a new jittery mom. God gave you Mommy Radar. I'd listen to it if I were you.

Good Luck, sweetie!

ckr_nc

 

[JessetheCowgirl]

Originally posted by RitaZ.
Just get a second opinion to put your mind at ease.

I agree

 

[mbb]

Originally posted by ckr
Based on your experience, Go with your gut!

You're not just a new jittery mom. God gave you Mommy Radar. I'd listen to it if I were you.

Good Luck, sweetie!

ckr_nc

ITA

Let us know

 

[The Mystery Machine]

I just had to chime in because well dd is on growth hormones and I got a little education there on growth, etc...also dealing with it for all of her life.

There is something that is called SGA. It is named as Small for Gestational Age. Basically a child that is SGA needs to be gaining normally by a certain age (I think 18 months).

As far as the immediate concern, I would look into reflux as a cause. That is a painful condition and worth checking into.

Basically track her gain every 3 months (or every month since she is a baby) and then you will get a clear picture of her issue. It really isn't about the percentile as it is about the gain on the curve. That is how you will figure out a problem for sure.

 

[missypie]

People on this board tend to be very reassuring, but I think you may be right to be concerned.

Our neighbor's daughter was a tiny baby who never gained much weight. She was a third child, so it's not like her mom didn't know something was amiss. At 7, she is still very small for her age, and is pretty slow at school. She repeated kindergarten which was good for her. I think her slowness isn't related to mental disability, but rather being developmentally delayed/behind. Don't know if anything could have been done for her as a baby, but her "issue" with lack of weight gain didn't just go away over time. I don't want to be alarming at all. Just trust your instincts and if you think she isn't growing and developing, seek a second opinion.

 

[6_Time_Momma]

Thanks for your replies. I think if she had always been in the 3rd%, I wouldn't be as concerned. But, she started out slightly over the 10th and has just had a real flat incline, now dropping almost off.

There is no other ped in the practice or around here. I think I will try to keep a good diary of exactly how much she is eating, and then go from there.

As far as development, while she is not real far off, there are some things that I think she should be doing by now that she isn't. She doesn't wave bye-bye......she'll make the hand motion on her own, but not when someone waves to her and says "bye-bye". She still doesn't crawl on her hands and knee....she does "commando" crawl, but that's it.

On the other hand, there are a lot of developmental things that she seems right on for, so who knows?

Guess we'll start with the food diary and go from there (I'll also start kieeping better track of her crying spells.)

 

[zagafi]

Honestly? Mama often does know best. If you're concerned (and frankly, I would be too), seek a second opinion. Doctors are human and subject to mistakes. If for nothing more than your peace of mind, I'd get that other opinion.

 

[patriciah2]

As an "older" mom I had 2 daughters who were both 6lbs. at birth. The older is 4'10" (was 18 inches at birth) and weighs about 100 pounds (size 5 or kids size 3 shoes) The younger one was on prednisone for almost a year after she was born, did not grow, and is now 5' and about 100 pounds. Both have had chronic health problems - my older daughter had 3 surgeries on her kidneys and they promised me she'd grow after that - but didn't. However, both kids lead very active. normal lives. My older daughter (23) will have her doctorate next year, was a very good gymnast and captain of her high school soccer team despite her size, asthma, and allergies. My younger daughter is also an honor student, a cheerleader, etc. But, you need to have everything checked out. We saw several different doctors for each child and both were misdiagnosed at first and neither one would be with me today if I had followed my instincts. However, because of the delays, my older daughte has kidney damage and my younger daughter has some scarring from a growth in her neck, that I was first told to do nothing about as it would resolve itself. I am also a worrier, but you have to be!