Does anyone else have a small baby?

My son is so small. He was 6lbs 11oz when he was born and dropped to 6lbs 1oz. a few days after birth. Now, a little over three months he is only 12lbs. Add to that, his weight gain has slowed down dramatically to about 3-4 ozs per week in the past month.

I EBF and i think that is part of the problem. I feel so responsible for his weight gain and i feel like i am doing something wrong. % wise he is staying relatively the same on the charts (20% percentile), but I am afraid at the 4 month mark he is going to drop off to 10% or lower.

My pediatrician has never made his weight or weight gain a problem, but somehow I still think that there is something wrong. I guess I am just looking for some reassurance from other mommies that it's okay that my son is so small right now, and that he will catch up eventually....

Message edited 4/15/2008 11:13:35 AM.

Re: Does anyone else have a small baby?

He doubled his weight in only 3 months. i think that is great! My dd was 7 pounds 1 oz and gained only a pound a month. So even though she was slightly heavier then your child at birth, she still weighed less at 3 months. KWIM.

Re: Does anyone else have a small baby?

My son was just about the same size as yours (mine was actually a wee bit smaller at 6lbs. 8 oz. and he was 15-20% (for weight) up until his first birthday and then he shot up to 50% and then now he is between 75th and 90th).

My suggestion is that if your ped is not concerned,then I would not worry about it. One thing I've learned as a mommy of 2 (am preggo with #3) is that those % really don't mean much right now.

Good luck!

Re: Does anyone else have a small baby?

I babysit 5 month olds and one of them is only 12 pounds, the other is 13 pounds.

Re: Does anyone else have a small baby?

Sofia was born 6 lbs 3oz

she was 4mts on Sunday and she is 12.5lbs.

the dr said she is GREAT!

Re: Does anyone else have a small baby?

My son was a preemie and sometimes I get caught up in how small he is. like whenever people ask how old he is, I always feel the need to justify his small size (almost 5 mos, and about 12 1/2 lbs)

If the dr. isn't concerned then I wouldn't be. As long as he is gaining and not losing, then that is good.

Re: Does anyone else have a small baby?

DS was also small. He was early, but not a preemie. He was 6lb 1.5 oz the day I brought him home. He was 6lb 10oz at birth. He is still small at 10+mos, and is just fitting into 6 - 9 mos clothing. He is 15% on the weight curve & has been since he was born. He was BF for 3 mos & has been on formula & solid food. The ped was only concerned when he got RSV & became dehydrated, b/c he lost one lb is 6 hours. Since then he has been fine & is very healthy. He is long & fit, with awesome chunky legs!

Re: Does anyone else have a small baby?

My DD is 7 Weeks old and weighed 6lbs 2 oz when she came home from the hospital. She now weighs a little over 11lbs and only eats 3-4oz of expressed BM at each feeding. Our ped this she is doing great. I wouldn't worry.

Re: Does anyone else have a small baby?

okay, i am really starting to feel better! thank you all so much!!!!

Re: Does anyone else have a small baby?

both of my children are very small. They are usually in the 5% - 10% for weight. They were both on formula so I don't think it has anything to do with that.

Re: Does anyone else have a small baby?

Taylor is now 1, she was born at 6 lbs, a year later, she is 18 lbs. Doctor is not concerned being that she has been steadily growing. She is definitely on the small scale though

Re: Does anyone else have a small baby?

My DD was 6 lbs 6 ozs at birth and was 12 lbs 1 oz at 19 weeks...Our ped is not concerned.

Re: Does anyone else have a small baby?

my DD was born at 5 pds 10 oz and I always thought she was small even in my womb anyway at her 6 month she was only 14.4 pds (she will be 8 mnths in a couple weeks) sinced then i think she had a growth spurt not to worry all of a sudden your little guy will sprout.

Re: Does anyone else have a small baby?

ps I EBF also. I started ceral at 6 months and thats when i saw my DD sprout. she was wearing 3-6 month cloths for the longest time now she is in 6-9 not to worry

Re: Does anyone else have a small baby?

My oldest was 5lbs, 7 oz. She was 5th percentile for most of her first year but always gained apporpriately. She just turned 2 and is about 28 lbs and 35 inches now . She really started growing faster at about 18 months.
My 2 month old was bon at 5lbs, 14 oz. They were both full term, just small. Since I've been through this before, I'm not worried. As long as they are eating and growing they will be fine.

Re: Does anyone else have a small baby?

my daughter was born at 6lb 1 oz. She is only weeks old, so I can't say if she will stay "small".

I was carrying pretty small when pregnant and everyone comments on how tiny she is.....I THINK SHE's PERFECT!

Re: Does anyone else have a small baby?

My DS and DD are both small. They were born preemie but I really don't think it matters. They are 10mos 7mos corrected and my DS was 15.10lbs and DD 14lbs at our visit a month ago. My DS eats well, my DD not so well. I EBF in the begininging and felt they did so much better. Stick with EBF regardless of weight, it is awesome for them. Good luck and don't worry. I can say that now but it took a long time for me to get over the weight issue myself.

Re: Does anyone else have a small baby?

I have a small baby, too. Keep following the pediatrician's advice. They can only grow so fast. If he starts losing ground, you will take appropriate steps then. For now, I do not think you are in danger. My son was born at 4lbs 12oz and even for his adjusted age, he was smaller than yours. He is advancing on the scale but it takes time. His most rapid gain was probably between 4 and 5 months. It was like he went right from the newborn size into the 6 month size clothes.

Re: Does anyone else have a small baby?

Ive had both..LARGE & SMALL...

I have to tell you that being concerned about their size is a common thing for Mommies. Im just as concerned about my big guys size as I was about my tiny girls...

My twins were 5lbs and 4lb 14oz at birth..by a year they were just shy of 17lbs and 28 inches. At 9 years of age they are still really tiny..just 4 feet and 50lbs. They are just not going to be super tall. They are under the 5th percentile for height and weight and always have been..

DS is, at not quite 8 months, close to 24lbs and almost 30inches..he is above the 97th percentile..

The pediatrician has never been concerned with any of their growth.

Babies simply come in all shapes and sizes.

Re: Does anyone else have a small baby?

DS is small in terms of weight (he's 13 lb.s 14 oz. at 4.5 months), but he is long at 27 inches. His gain has been steady though, his doctor thinks he's fine, just tends to be long and lean by nature. He's only in the 25th percentile for his weight, which scared me at first, but as I said, his doctor isn't worried about it.

Babies do come in all sizes, as long as the gain is steady as it is, I wouldn't worry too much. I think people tend to see a plump baby as healthy, but lean ones are too.

Re: Does anyone else have a small baby?

your baby almost doubled the birth weight at almost 3 months- and they usually look for that at 6 months. i really wouldnt worry. btw, my 8.5 month old is only 16 pounds, and she was born at 7'13.

Re: Does anyone else have a small baby?

I have a little one. She is almost 17 months and she is 20lbs, my DS was 20lbs when he was like 7 months

She is always down in the lower percentiles, but you can tell she is just little. She takes after my DH's grandmother who is 4 foot nothing. I have stopped worrying, because my Dr said she is progressing nicely. She is still EBF and eats table food.

Message edited 4/15/2008 7:00:17 PM.

Re: Does anyone else have a small baby?

DD was 6 lbs 7oz at birth and 5 lbs 15 oz when we took her home. She is in the very low percentile for her weight...always has been on those charts. She's been EBF (still at 10 mths) and is only 18 lbs.

My ped said she's doing absolutely fine for her birth weight.

Don't worry. As long as DC is growing and gaining, then don't stress about it.

You're doing just fine and it's not because you're EBFing

Re: Does anyone else have a small baby?

sounds like my dd...she was always a peanut - and grew at her own rate...they made us so paranoid - and plenty of other moms did too....if i had a nickel for every "she is so small" or "is she sick?" question I got I would be rich....dd neevr lost weight, she just gained slower than everyone else - but she was always happy and a great baby too so we finally gave up stressing and now she is still tinier than others but doing great!

i ebf too....and if that is what you want to do, stick with it....your ds will be fine!!!

Re: Does anyone else have a small baby?

I have a small baby! I was concerned even though our dr is is fine with it. I feel he is outweighed by all the babies we know- even younger babies.

Then I saw my old baby book and he is exactly on track with my weight- almost to the ounce. Small babies just run in my family.

I like getting more use out of stuff like the swing and bjorn.