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Hi ladies, Just wondering if anyone can give me any advice or support.   My daughter is 10 weeks old and totally breastfed.  My problem is that when I've taken her to be weighed  that she does not seem to be following her growth line and hv is starting to ask questions along the lines of are you feeding this child?  She feeds for anywhere from 15 mins to an hour.  Sleeps 9 hours a night.  She has plenty of wet and dirty nappies but shes 10 weeks old and weighs 9lb 2 she was only 7lb at birth and 2 weeks early.  Any advice would be a great help.  Hayley and Jennifer-May 10 weeks.

hi. my advice would be if you can to change hv. charts are there for the average baby. yours being early although not too early is not average. most lose weight before they put it on and so long as she has at least 8 wet nappies your hv shouldn't have a problem. wet nappies means she's taking food so ignore her.

i looked at my charts both my girls put 4lbs on at that age but mine were not early. both also lost weight to start and both breast fed.

yours is at least gaining weight slowly but she's putting it on. she's very happy and content as she's sleeping well. i think your hv is upsetting you over nothing and you don't need extra things to worry about which i why i say switch if you can.

i also think early babies take longer to catch up than your average baby which is what she's doing in her own time and rightly so. which means she won't be following her growth chart.

if you are concerned about what she said and it bothers you go to the docs for a health check, they will know better if there's a problem, explain your hv has put a fear in you and that you want docs opinion on her weight.

hope this helps a little.

Hi Hayley i dont think you have got much to worry about as its obvious your baby is taking milk as she is gaining weight and is content enough to sleep 9 hours a nite which is really good.Have u tried expressing that way you can actually see how much your baby is taking. x

Hi ladies thanks very much for your advice. I feel much better now.  I do express for my daughter but it's a battle to even get her to take a bottle.  I can't be in the room when she has a bottle as she can smell me and wants me not my husband.  It can take him anywhere up to an hour to get her to take 4oz .  She only gets 1 bottle a day as I don't wish to confuse her, but I like all mums I do need a break every now and again, especially as I have a 20 month old son to look after as well.

Hi Hayley, dont worry too much about what your health visitor says I learnt that with my first child they just look at the red book & stick to the charts, but in actual fact the charts are in relation to average bottle fed babies and not breast fed. With my little girl who is now 7mths the hv was saying she wasnt putting enough weight on so refered her to hospital we saw the main consultant and he basically said her development was correct for her age, as long as she was putting gradual weight on there was no concern, you shouldnt let hv weigh too often (at one point when she was 4wk old they were weighing her every two days!) and dont take much notice of the red book because its all down to diff factors ie parents build. As long as she is happy feeding and content in herself dont worry. Ebony is still very petite for what it states in the red book but the consultant said I was doing well to breast feed and since then I havent let the h v weigh her because I know as a mummy she is fine just like you will with Jennifer-May. Just remeber your her mummy and you know your own baby!! Sorry for the long winded reply, enjoy your baby and dont worry what the h v says. take care. natalie, ethan 3yr & ebony mae 7mth.x