Skinny Baby

[tams]

hi guys, need some help on this one. My little man is a very happy and content baby. Sleeps really well, hardly ever whinges etc. An angel I am lucky to say.

The problem is that he is sooo skinny! He is 6wks old and at birth was 9pound even, he did loose the 10% of his birth weight in his first few days but now 6wks later he is only 9pd 8oz. I don't think this is enough of a weight gain. He is very long so was always on the lean side but any chubbiness he did have on his face, arms & legs is gone and even when I burp him all I feel is his shoulder blades! He is very healthy looking though, skin etc. apart from the thinness.

He feeds well, for anywhere between 30min - 45min a session every 2.5hrs during the day then sleeps from final feed at 10pm and just has one feed at 4am before waking at 7.30am.

He hardly ever cries that he is hungry but I still get him to feed every 2.5hrs because he is so thin! Could it be a lack of quality milk on my behalf? I think quantity is fine as I can still get enough manually out of them so I am not sure what else it could be. We have a doctors appointment tomorrow but as I live in a rural area it is not with someone who specialises in feeding or even babies so any advice would be wonderful!

[misskittyfantastico]

If he is happy and content, then I'm sure he's fine. Breastfed babies often don't gain weight as quickly as formula fed ones. I would reccommend getting in touch with the ABA (australian breastfeeding association) they be able to give you some reassurance and guidance.:)

[meme]

hiya,
a good way to check if bubs is getting enough would be to look at his output. how many wet and poopy nappies.
it's great that you can express a good amount, expressing alone is not a great judge of how much milk you can produce, some mums breastfeed fine but don't ever seem to express much, not sure if it would go the other way though:rolleyes: .
how is attachment? if he is attaching well and you are noticing your breasts let down, or his sucking change as they release the stored milk and he is having plenty of wet nappies, that's a good sign.:thumbsup:

[cheezelkat]

Don't panic! Lots of girls here can give you heaps of advice about this. My bub is on the small side too but its just the way he is built. As long as he's happy and doing plenty of poos and wees, everything is fine.

[kookaburra]

My little man was breast fed for 5 months and he is on formula now, and he is very skinny, but he is very long too. He is very happy and content and has heaps of wet and poopy nappies.

If your little one is happy and content, lots of wet and poopy nappies then I wouldn't worry too much about it, all babies are different.

But if you are worried and want reassurance then I would contact the local child health clinic, or GP etc.

[InSaneOne]

my little girl is on the skinny side at nearly 13 months and weighing 8.7kgs and is 80cm tall. (she was 3.3kgs born) she was breastfed for 6 months and is currently on a formula/cows milk combo.

my friend's baby is about 1kg lighter and 5-10cms shorter and is 5 months older. she is still breastfed.

as long as his output is normal i wouldn't worry to much about it. typically breastfed babies are slimmer.

[tams]

Okay thanks ladies for the advice, I will try not to worry too much.

His attachment is good I think but I will refer back to one of my leaflets at the next feed to make sure it is 100% and I will count his wet nappies tomorrow.
:fingerscrossed:

[Rainbowbrite]

My 15.5 month old is still bf & still not 10kg. As the others have said, as long as bub has plenty of wet nappies, try not to stress too much :hugs:

[Funkychicken]

From memory, I think as long as a bub has 6 good, wet nappies/day then they are doing OK. Breastfed babies can go up to 10 days between poos though, so don't be too concerned if you don't see many poos.

[Areca]

As long as bubs is happy, healthy and output is good you shouldn't worry. DD is 9 months old and was 4.1kg at birth. She is now 7.3kg. She hasn't gained or grown for a month so we go back to the gp in two weeks to weigh her again. If she hasn't gained we are off to see a paediatric dietician...but she's not eating any solids at all yet (refuses) and that's why. If your gp expresses concern (I have had CHN's tell me something was wrong with dd...they aren't all good so take their info with a frain of salt) the ABA can assist you with getting your bub to gain weight, without formula feeding, if that's what you want.
My gp has never been concerned about dd's weight, even now she's just covering her own butt by recommending we see a pd.

[tams]

well I have been having another TERRIBLE day/night with him. He usually only wakes for 1 feed during the night but last night he was waking every 2hrs but would only feed on my breast for 15min at a time! I ended up giving him a bottle at 4am this morning because he was so hungry.

This morning he slept in until 9am and then was happiest baby in the world - until I tried to feed him again and all day today everytime I put him on the boob he just screams, is happy (not crying with hunger) until I try to feed him! I ended up giving him a bottle just now which he wolfed down because he hasn't fed for more than 5min x 4 times since 4am this morning!

Am feeling very rejected... :crying: So now for the rest of the day I am going to try to give him breast each time I feed him but if he doesn't take it I'll have to give him a bottle because I weighed him again today and he still hasn't put on any weight this week either. I rang a local midwife and this is what she suggested I do.

any other ideas or has this happened to anyone else?

[bec79]

Please don't stress yourself out over this issue. (Easier said than done, I know).
Your situation sounds like a carbon-copy of what I went through with my DD.
She was exclusively breastfeed for the first 5 months. Was a very long, thin baby. People would do a 'double take' when I told them how old she was. I was forever getting "shes so small" comments. She also went through a phase of breast refusal. It was eventually something that she overcame...well she had to if she wanted to eat. A baby won't strave themselves...so when their hungry enough they will eat. Like others have said, as long as shes happy, healthy, and having plenty of wet nappies, I wouldn't be concerned.

[kymmy]

Sounds like my first son. He was almost 9 pound at birth. He is still skinny though he aets constantly.
I think the fact your baby is happy and content is the best indicator that things are well.
My kids are all different - #1 is chubby #2 skinny #3 in between! but all healthy and happy