failure to thrive

[Belinda1000]

hi everyone just had my 8mo DD to the dr with a cold and he said that she is under weight and used the term failure to thrive. she weighs 6.5 kg and hasn't put on any weight since she started crawling at 61/2 months. i was a little concerned but put it down to her being very active. she has never been a big eater.anyway the dr reccomend that i come back when she is over the cold to see a peadiatrician. just wondering if anyone else has a similar problem and what was the cause. i feel terrible and such a bad mother.
any advice would be appreciated thanks,belinda

[Mrs Little]

I'm sure you're doing a great job Belinda. We mothers can try to be wonderwoman all the time but it's just not possible.

My friend had her baby labelled failure to thrive too....she was breast feeding and had a problem with her milk supply. As a result bubs was not getting enough to eat.

I would assume that when you go back after your bubs cold is gone...that the dr. will determine with you what might be slowing her weight gain.

HOWEVER....if your bub is happy and healthy and has enough wet nappies and all the other signs...then i wouldn't be panicking. The dr. wouldn't have sent you home without addressing the issue otherwise.

Hope i've helped.

Mrs Little & Son.

[jarrahsmumma]

(((hugs))) what a terrible thing. I would seek a second opinion, as FTT is a term that should not be flung around loosely. Sounds like she is a small active baby! A friend of mine has a girl who at 12 months only weighed 8kgs, and she was an active, smart baby. Just a little on the light side. Definitely take her for a second opinion, as Mrs Little said, when she is over the cold.

[Mrs Little]

Nel09- I think a second opinion is a great idea!:thumbsup:

It would put your mind at ease to know that another DR.-unrelated- thinks the same thing or not. Another DR. might be more helpful to you emotionally or even give you some advice for the short term if he thinks it's needed.

You'd be surprised how many Dr.s think they are the be-all and end-all....and they really AREN'T!

Mrs Little & Son.

[rynosmum]

I think your Dr has 'failure to be human and have any type of decent bedside manner'. Maybe you should have 'failure to pay !'.

She may be a light little girl and by all means get a 2nd opinion but find a doctor who has some people skills.

I had my miscarriage referred to as a spontaneous abortion by my own sister. I dont think people realise how hurtful these terms can be.:(

[nemosmum]

I agree seek a second opinon, it cant hurt.

Also just because the dr has no tact does not mean his advice /opinon is incorrect.

I know my DS's Paed. at the allergy clinic he goes to is the head in her field BUT she has terrible people skills (a real pain in the butt) but she is the best in her field so I make allowances:rolleyes:

A friend of mines bub was labelled FTT and although it was a little overwhelming at first she got the help she needed and now her little one is 4 yrs old and doing great:)

I know as a mum you will have alot of guilt either way with what ever happens but please try to remember its NOT your fault, you cant control everything.

Good luck with your second opinon:fingerscrossed:

PS this is for K- hun I am so sorry to hear what your sis said:crying: thats just awful!!!

[bronny-jane]

A friend of mine has a girl who at 12 months only weighed 8kgs, and she was an active, smart baby. Just a little on the light side.

my dd is 19 months and weighs 9.5kg on a good day. she's always been sall and active, but noone told me she was failing to thrive. in my dd's case its genectic her aunty and grandma from dh's side are really tall and weigh under 50kg their 24 and 40 something.

im sure your doing a good job with her. its a terrible thing to be told, i keep getting told to feed my daughter more, how do i do that, force feed her she eats all day.

dont let this opinion get to you, i know i let it get to me and just helped my pnd get worse.

[lukaelmo]

Hey Belinda 1000,

My little dude is 7 1/2 months old and weighs about 6.3 kilos. I have been told by one doctor and two CHN that this is a failure to thrive. I would like to kick them up the bum. The fact is, I have a really happy and healthy little dude, about whom I didn't worry until I was told to. I don't think any of them looked at him properly. He is very little, but he also has lots of chub - he is in fact just a little baby. He is perfectly happy though, he eats just fine, but is by no means a huge eater.

If any of those dumb people had taken the time to look at me, they probably would have put me in the "failure to thrive" bracket also. I am just 159cm tall and weigh about 46 kilos. Not exactly king kong. I actually eat heaps and am just fine.

If you think your little girl is okay, then she most probably is. I really believe a mother could tell if something were really wrong.

Anyway, I go to a different CHN now, one that has confirmed what I had thought in the first place; he is just little that's all. I go to see her now every two weeks to get the dude weighed, and every two weeks he is just fine.

Go and see different people and get lots of opinions, you are not a bad mumma at all, you just have had someone word something badly to you.

[Chickadee]

What a load of ****. I agree that the term failure to thrive should not be used lightly. Do get a 2nd opinion a few weeks after her cold has passed, give her a chance to recover from it. But I'd also ask these basic questions too:

- was the scale the same one at both weighings? Scales differ slightly from each other.
- Was the scale calibrated recently, checked that it is balanced and zero's correctly?
- Has your DD grown in other ways? Head size and length? Weight is just one thing to look at for development and growth.
- How is her weight tracking on the growth curves? Every bub slows down in the rate that they gain weight and this can happen at slightly different ages.