Anyone elses Premmie still very small?

[woodsmeister]

DD is 5 months corrected (born at 30 weeks weighing 875g) and luckily we have had very few complications since her birth. Her developement has been spot on too. The only thing i am a little worried about is her weight gain. She only weighs 5 kilos now at 7.5 months real age. All anyone comments on is how small she is.. all the time. Even the mat health nurse.
She only feeds around 150ml per bottle and her weight gain is only around 100g a week.
Anyone else have a teeny premmie thats has gone on to be a normal size? she is so far off the scale for weight that I cant imagine her ever catching up!

[TripleTime]

DS & DD2 were considered over size for their gestation when they were born (1124g & 1404gr @ 28 weeks), they are now 4.5kg & 5kg. They are on par for their corrected age & behind for their actual age of 4 months.

DD1 was 1056gr at birth & not long ago cracked the 4kg mark.

100 grams a week is a really good gain.

I was born at 36 weeks & was never on the scale. Im the same size as an average 12 yo.

[3BoysBlue]

DS1 was born at 35wks weighing 1705gms
at 7 1/2 mths actual he was 6.2kgs
he was averaging around 200-300gms a month
so 100gms a week is great
My DS1 now at 3 1/2yrs is only 12.5kg
he is slowly starting to catch up

as long as she happy, healthy, developing and gaining weight (no mater how small it is)
I would take it as a good sign she's doing well

some kids are never on the charts
(DS1 has just hit the 3% for the 1st time at 3 1/2yrs)

[Percy]

DD was six weeks early and weighed 6lb. She was considered a good size when she was born.

She has just had her 18 month checkup up and is still only 7 kilos. She is not on the charts at all, but is very happy, walking, reaching her milestones and saying a few words. Her paediatrician is not worried at all, some children are just small.

( Doesn't stop you from worrying though does it?!:hugs:)

[bubaloop]

Hi there our DD she will be 8mth next week actual age and is about 6.5mths corrected she was born at 34wks weighed 2535g 5lb 7 which was a great weight apparently 85th percentile we had her weighed yesterday and is 5.3kg she is no where near the charts. So your bub is doing great. It doesnt stop us from worrying though I still hold my breath when they put her on the scales.

[Salypod]

Just wondering if your bubs are being fully breastfeed or formula fed or both (breastfeed with top up formula)?

[TripleTime]

Fully FF in this house, never had one drop of BM/EBM.

[bubaloop]

Our bub was bf until about 4.5mths with formula top ups after every feed first it was 30ml top ups then as she grew we did 60ml top ups. My milk never came in when she was born so really battled with supply issues so I gave it up. She is now FF on neocate lcp she also is feed through a NG tube 24hrs a day and has 6 bottles during the day sometimes more and still struggles to gain weight.

[lokibird]

:wave: I'll join the teeny tiny bubba club!:)
My daughter was born 5 weeks early, so now at 10.5months (just over nine months corrected) and she still only weighs just over 7 kilos.
I really used to beat myself up over it, but was reassured by her doctor (and as everyone else here said) she is happy, reaching all her developmental and behavioral milestones and gaining some (albeit only a little at a time) weight.
On another note - because she was so tiny when she was born, and my supply was very bad, I was forced to top her up with formula from birth although I did persevere with the breastfeeding every single feed (with top-ups) until she was 6 months old. This was when she fully refused the breast as she was starving and frustrated about not getting enough breastmilk.
Her growth rate was terrible in the first 6 months and I still beat myself up about that part. You see, I was so hung-up about needing to breastfeed (and giving in to social pressure to breastfeed) that even though I knew my supply was bad I still kept offering her the breast first every time before giving the bottle as a last resort.
Now I wonder if it was to her detriment as all her health professionals actually advised me to just stick to the formula so that she could feed simply and without complication or interruption. As soon as she went exclusively to formula her weight gain was much better and she was a much happier baby. Oh well - as I mentioned, she is small, but happy.
Don't worry about your bub - 100g a week and 150mls per feed sound great to me.:)

[MummaBear03]

My baby was 7lb 8oz at 36 weeks lol. Big bubba for gestation considering how little food was consumed through pregnancy.

Anyway, I was told that it can take up to 2 years for premmies to catch up. We have an 18 month old at daycare the same size and the same developmental stage as an 11 month old. She's learning new things all the time and we think that in the next 6 months she'll be like any other 2 year old. Her mum can see changes in her each and every day with what she can do, and she's growing fast lately as well.

[Poppetfish]

My premmie DD is no longer small! She is huge! She is off the charts in height and weight for her actual age. She was born at 31+6 at 4Lb1 and the last time i weighed her (4 weeks ago) she was 12.9kg!:eek: She is now 9 months old. 7 months corrected.

[lokibird]

My premmie DD is no longer small! She is huge! She is off the charts in height and weight for her actual age. She was born at 31+6 at 4Lb1 and the last time i weighed her (4 weeks ago) she was 12.9kg!:eek: She is now 9 months old. 7 months corrected.

Holy crap, that's amazing!!!:thumbsup:
Do you mind if I ask if you did anything to help her ie. foods/solids, formula etc? I'd love my bubba to put on some more weigh as well.

[Poppetfish]

Holy crap, that's amazing!!!:thumbsup:
Do you mind if I ask if you did anything to help her ie. foods/solids, formula etc? I'd love my bubba to put on some more weigh as well.

I just fed her when she was hungry and didn't push the issue. She only started solids at 8 months old as well and we are doing BLW. She still does guzzle 2 tins of neocate a week though!

I think genetics is the reason she is big. I am 6'4" and DH is 6'8". DS was 14kgs at 12 months and is 19kgs at 27months.

[kotakai]

My premmie DD is no longer small! She is huge! She is off the charts in height and weight for her actual age. She was born at 31+6 at 4Lb1 and the last time i weighed her (4 weeks ago) she was 12.9kg!:eek: She is now 9 months old. 7 months corrected.

Well done :thumbsup:

I think DS3 is going to be similar.

DS2 & 3 were both born at 33+2. DS2 weighed 2.4kgs & DS3 weighed 2.1kgs.

At 16 mths, DS2 has only just cracked the 10kgs, but he's still a little skinny minny.

DS3 is 4.5 mths & just over 7 kgs. He's a total chubber & has had no solids yet.

They were both on Elecare from very early on.

[chloesma]

Chloe was 955g at 31 weeks, she is now 3 1/2 here are some of her weights
term ( corrected) 2.285
6 months 4.8kg
1 year 6.8kg
1year (corrected) 7.4
2 year 10kg
3year 12kg
3 1/2 13kg
Chloe has eating issues but has really caught up in the last year.

[Whispers]

DD was six weeks early and weighed 6lb. She was considered a good size when she was born.

She has just had her 18 month checkup up and is still only 7 kilos. She is not on the charts at all, but is very happy, walking, reaching her milestones and saying a few words. Her paediatrician is not worried at all, some children are just small.

( Doesn't stop you from worrying though does it?!:hugs:)
My daughter is 19mths old she weighs 8.2kgs she was born 5lbs2oz but only 2 weeks early she also walks and has reached her mile stones and says a few words. Im glad to see there are other children just as small as her I thought she may have been the only one and have been looking for ways to fatten her up so to speak :o

[sandy cheeks]

What is neocate?

DD was born at 33weeks weighing 4b4oz I bf with some top ups.
She came home scn nurse want to push the bf thing dd lost weight and ended up back in hosp then put on fortified ebm and formula then I dried up she stayed on fortfied feeds till 7months.
She is 11kg now at 16months she loves her food always has so Ithink that has helped.

[woodsmeister]

mine isn't the only small one then... she is now 5.5kg at almost 9 months (6.5 months corrected)
did you find that your bubs took to solids well? mine hasn't. Have been trying for about a month now and she spits almost everything out.
did you try 'fatty' solids to try to stack the weight on?

[sandy cheeks]

mine isn't the only small one then... she is now 5.5kg at almost 9 months (6.5 months corrected)
did you find that your bubs took to solids well? mine hasn't. Have been trying for about a month now and she spits almost everything out.
did you try 'fatty' solids to try to stack the weight on?

My dd loved food from the get go.
DD had weight problems and we went to a pead dietation which I found helpful she had heaps of good ideas maby you could try that ask your pead or gp to give you a reference or ring MCHN.
I think a dietation is they way to go they know how to deal with weight and nutrition safely as each case is very different.
I was also told not to keep dd on fortfied and extra fatty foods for a extended period as that can lead to problems later on iykwim.

[Poppetfish]

What is neocate?



Neocate and elecare are special chemical formulas for babies with severe allergies to all other formulas. ;)

[sandy cheeks]

Thanks poppit :thumbsup:
I always wondered what it was. I thought it might be a plumping up formula.

[bubaloop]

mine isn't the only small one then... she is now 5.5kg at almost 9 months (6.5 months corrected)
did you find that your bubs took to solids well? mine hasn't. Have been trying for about a month now and she spits almost everything out.
did you try 'fatty' solids to try to stack the weight on?


Woodsmeister we have stuggled with solids. We have started them 3 times now and we are always told to stop she is 9mth now and still not eating. The hard thing is she loves to eat and I feel sorry for her when we eat she sits there and watches us and is constantly chewing and reaching for our food but she has multiple Gastro issues and her GI specialist gets us to try and then gets us to stop giving them. She has not had to much trouble eating the food but her body does not digest it well and causes a lot of discomfort for her. She has a 7hr gastric emptying delay in so she will still be vomiting breaky at dinner time nothing like trying to get bananna out of her nose after she projectiles it 7-8hrs after we have given it to her. She loves rusks ect so going to try and start maybe giving her finger foods crust of toast ect to see how she goes I dont think she will really eat that much but with give her taste and texture and might stop her whinging when we are eating.