Failure to Thrive

[pinesnow]

Hi feb15! I've been lurking all along but have yet to post. I hope it's okay that I join in! I was just curious if any one else has a similar experience- my LO is a teeny peanut and has not followed her weight curve. We have had bi weekly weight checks for the past few months and have done quite a bit of testing and blood work. No answers yet and her doc has a hunch that she may just be a petite girl. She was 13 lbs at her last weight check (6.5 months old) and is no longer on the growth chart (less than 1%)

Everyone I know has a chunk of a baby and I worry about my sweet girl even nothing has been shown as medically wrong at this point. Anyone in the same boat as U.S.?

[lilyelayne]

Hi & welcome! No experience with that here but I know some ladies on the board have had babies drop percentiles. Just wanted to say hi and sorry you're dealing with this.

[Mom2Ms]

Howdy! Welcome! DD was always in the very, very bottom of percentiles when it came to weight. A lot of the time single digits. She's 7 now and still in the super low percentages for her weight. I'm sorry you're going through this, but like you said, she could just be really petite. Keep us posted!

[michelle142]

Hi!
Not with this baby, but my DS (now 3) was always small and we dealt with constant weight checks and GI referrals. At his low, he was -8% for weight -- I didn't even know they would do negatives, but apparently they do.

After years of struggling to gain, he finally caught up at his 3 year check up and jumped up to 20% for weight.

He's still small, but he's at least on the chart now. There was no medical reason, he was just a peanut.

[mishka29]

Hi Pinesnow!

Yeah I have peanut too. She fell off her curve a bit and is holding up at 15% for both weight and height now. At 6 months she was 14 lbs.

DD1 (my feb13 baby) was also a peanut too. She's still on the smaller side of average but no issues.

[WittyLittle]

Hey pinesnow, good to see you coming out of the shadows! I had failure to thrive as a baby because I was coeliac, but I'm assuming this will have happened before you introduced gluten into her diet. Also since all of the tests have come back negative I'm guessing that would be covered. Is she breastfed or formula fed? Any problems with milestones or that kind of stuff? If everything is checking out ok and she is still gaining some weight, then my only guess would also be that she is indeed petite. I can imagine though that this is really worrying. Big hugs!!! I hope you can get some clarity soon!!!

[FlutterOfYoshis]

Welcome pinesnow ! My DD is petite (9th%ile weight and height at her 6 mo checks) but her pediatricians are only concerned since she dropped from 50something%ile in weight at her 4 month appointment down to the 9th%ile it is now. My family has a lot of petite women on both sides so it would not have been a concern except that she lost weight. Has your LO been consistently gaining at least? 6+ full wet diapers a day? happy and active? Those seem to be the important things. Also, that's definitely a relief the tests came back negative. In our situation it seems as though my breastmilk supply suddenly dropped and needs to recover, but if not DD will have to get those tests done as well to be safe. (They weren't too terrible, were they? I'm kinda dreading the possibility of putting her through that.)

[crispywheats]

No experience with our LO, but I was that kid. The pediatrician told my parents I wouldn't be taller than 5 feet. I'm 5'7". I just took a little longer to gain weight/height. Of course it doesn't always work that way, but just some encouragement that it can.

[osumegs]

Welcome!

DD was considered failure to thrive. Her reason was dropping from over the 70th percentile at birth in weight and height to a weight percentile around 8% (I have so many numbers in my head now in regards to her weight that I can't remember exact numbers). She also went from 3 months to 5 months without really gaining weight, but the main thing was a drop of more than 2 lines on the chart. She also started struggling with physical tasks. She stopped rolling and holding her head up as well.

We've also been through the full workup. FlutterOfYoshis, assuming you have to do the same ftt workup, it's not too bad. We had to do several blood draws. The first showed elevated calcium so we had to do thyroid hormone. We also did a urine collection and a sweat chloride test to check for cystic fibrosis. The sweat chloride test was essentially just a sweat collector placed on her forearms and wrapped in plastic wrap. The blood draws are slightly worse than vaccines but not too bad if they let you hold your child.

We also had everything (including the genetics tests) come back normal. We breastfeed so we started doing pumped milk for awhile during the day and from the tap at night. That allowed us to see how much she was taking. We are thinking there was a transfer issue. She also has a milk protein allergy so we eliminated dairy from my diet. Doing this, she has gone up in weight and height and has resumed her previous milestones (rolling and is now sitting well).

I honestly agree with everyone else that there are some things you can do, but there are some kiddos that will always be petite just like some babies will always run on the larger size.

Sorry for the book!

[pinesnow]

Thank you so so much for all the kind words of encouragement!

WittyLittle she was tested for celiacs which was negative. She is, however, allergic to egg whites and dairy which we have known since she was about 3-4 months old. She is breastfeed and keeping up with her milestones. She doesn't sit unassisted yet but she is almost crawling! She had a few instances of losing weight but has been going up the past two checks. I was so pumped when we finally cracked 13 pounds!

FlutterOfYoshis she has plenty of full wet diapers so no worries there. She is the sweetest most content baby. Seriously, so happy! Like I mentioned above, we have had a few instances of losing weight but have been moving up for the past few weeks. Another weight check on Tuesday so my fingers are crossed. How did you know your supply had dropped? I saw an LC a few weeks ago after all the tests were ordered because I was so worried that I wasn't producing all that she needed. We did a weighted feeding and it showed she was taking about 4.5 oz in a feeding. It was a relief! She mentioned making sure baby is getting the fatty hind milk or the "cheesecake" as she called it, lol! The bloodwork and testing we have done so far was manageable. She obviously didn't love the blood draw but it was over relatively quickly. We also had a chloride sweat test done. DD didn't love having sensors applied because I had to hold her arm very straight and still. Once it began, I nurse her and she feel asleep for the remainder of the procedure.

[pinesnow]

osumegs don't apologize for the book! I love it! I have been hoping to find others who can relate to this issue. Her doc also wants us to start pushing pumping/bottles but my DD hates a bottle. I can barely get her to choke down an oz or two! I was afraid if make her lose even more by constantly trying to force feed bottles to her when she nurses so well. Idk. It's so hard and I always feel like I'm doing something "wrong".

My dd was also on the larger end of percentiles at birth (8lb4oz though I don't remember exact percentile) but has consistently dropped since about 2 months old. When I was "failure to thrive" on her lab work write up I was so upset.

[FlutterOfYoshis]

pinesnow The wording "failure to thrive" is so harsh, I don't blame you at all for being upset! It sounds like you've got a lot of positive feedback from lots of directions though.

I only learned my supply dropped this past Thursday. I was told DD lost 7oz since her last checkup, we weighed on 2 scales to be sure, then I nursed her from both sides and weighed her again...no weight increase. I was shocked because she's been happy, active, wetting diapers, etc. I also used to have waaay over-supply so I only ever needed to feed her off one side. The only thing that changed in the past week was how often she wanted to nurse and how infrequently she pooped (though I had attributed that to starting solids).

I was told to nurse both sides ever hour to try increasing supply and try supplementing with formula. Unfortunately, DD also hates bottles. She took 4oz the first day, .5 the second, and none this whole weekend. We've tried different bottles, sippy cups, having the formula room temp, having it cold, using pumped milk to supplement, having me give it to her, having DH do it, giving before nursing, giving after nursing...she's not having it. We have upped her solids intake to 2x a day, but I doubt there will be enough change at the follow-up tomorrow. It's been a trying few days. I'm just praying something clicks soon. At this point I'm so scared she's gunna starve herself.

[osumegs]

Aug 23, 2015 19:20:22 GMT -5 pinesnow said:

osumegs don't apologize for the book! I love it! I have been hoping to find others who can relate to this issue. Her doc also wants us to start pushing pumping/bottles but my DD hates a bottle. I can barely get her to choke down an oz or two! I was afraid if make her lose even more by constantly trying to force feed bottles to her when she nurses so well. Idk. It's so hard and I always feel like I'm doing something "wrong".

My dd was also on the larger end of percentiles at birth (8lb4oz though I don't remember exact percentile) but has consistently dropped since about 2 months old. When I was "failure to thrive" on her lab work write up I was so upset.

I think it's hard in a different way when you're breastfeeding because it really does feel like YOU are failing your child. There's a big push of "look how cute my little chubster is...isn't mommy milk amazing" or so it seems to me when im being super sensigive about dd's weight. When you are bf and not seeing results, it's really hard not to see it as you failing your child. I still feel that way from time to time but I try to remind myself that I'm still a good mom regardless of xyz issue. The fact that you care means you're a good mom and you're doing your best!

As for the bottles, it took us until 20 weeks to get one down her. Rough battle for sure! Some ladies on here are still fighting that one.

[pinesnow]

osumegs YES about the chunky babies. I love a chubster as much as the next mama but it's hard not to compare. I swear everyone I know wants to compare their big ol' babies to my teeny one and gush about how she's "soooooo small! Look at my fat baby compared to her!!"

I know no one means anything malicious by it but it's all just hard. I'm sure I'm extra sensitive which doesn't help.

[pinesnow]

michelle142 I meant to ask, what did the GI referral consist of?

[MapleMomma]

I certainly don't have a petite baby, but my J was born at the 85% and by 4 months dropped down to the 60%. At that point her doctor wasn't upset but not thinking everything was normal either. I was voicing concern because she was spitting up so much. We determined she has a milk protein intolerance and I cut it out of my diet. By 6 months, she was back up to the 85%.

I felt a lot of guilt because my grandma tried to tell me that her spit up didn't seem normal around a month (lots and painful). I wish I had caught it sooner, but I can't even begin to start down the road of beating myself up over it.

Just keep working with her doctor. You are a great mom and doing so well!

[seamonster]

Welcome pinesnow. I hope you get some answers. Failure to thrive is a really harsh term, but don't think it's anyone's fault. Tiny babies happen. Hopefully it turns out she's just naturally a petite kid.

I agree about the judgemental looks people give about non-average size babies. Tiny babies, you're clearly not feeding them enough. Big babies, you're raising a monster or feeding them too much. Don't let other people get to you.

[flamegoddess]

My son is also failure to thrive. I agonized over it when the doctor dropped that bomb on us because I'm breastfeeding also and it really did feel like it was all my fault if he wasn't doing what he's supposed to. At his follow up after being told this, his doctor decided that he's just a slow grower. After my mother looking at my and my siblings growth patterns, we found out that my sister was also slow growing (though not listed failure to thrive). My husband also was slow growing and is of small stature (5' 9" and was less than 100 pounds and is finally closer to 145 after being exposed to my home cooking) so I'm hoping he takes after his daddy. I've been fortunate in that DS is still gaining...albeit slowly.

Like others said, just keep working with her doc and it will all work out. Best of luck to you and your LO!

[jensoprano82]

Hi pinesnow!!! Another peanut mommie here, we have gone from 1% to 5th% over the last seven months. You're clearly a loving mom and taking great care of your baby girl, and this place is a great and judgement free zone where you will get lots of love and support. These mamas rock, don't let the numbers freak you, just follow your doctors' advice.

Sorry if this has already been asked and answered but my LO's GI doctor has encouraged us to feed my little guy chicken and avocado (blended) to fatten him up some, are you trying any supplementation?

Either way welcome!

[michelle142]

Aug 23, 2015 20:01:13 GMT -5 pinesnow said:

michelle142 I meant to ask, what did the GI referral consist of?

After several failed goals at weigh-in's with the pedi, she referred us to a GI Specialist.
The GI doc just asked a ton of questions regarding feeding habits, spitting up, sleeping habits, solids intake, how active he was, if he was meeting milestones etc. An hour was spent with just Q&A.

She has us supplement feedings with pumped milk for 2 weeks after breastfeeding to see if that made a difference. She also had me submit a sample of my milk to test the breakdown of my milk to see if it was meeting the nutritional needs of DS (it was, but barely).

After the 2 weeks of supplementing, they did a GI workup, which involved a camera down DS's throat to check his stomach lining and his esophagus. That sucked, I won't lie. Everything was all good though, so that gave us peace of mind.

With that, we were told to continue with breastfeeding. Feed on demand, and offer up high-fat solids (he was 7 months old at the time). He ate avocados like it was his job.

Basically, it came down to my milk not being fatty enough. I made some changes to my diet to see if that would help, but it didn't seem to make a difference.

Genetics also came into play for us. DH was a small baby. I was a small baby. We certainly weren't going to have a linebacker for a baby! Eventually his Pedi acknowledged that and she backed off on the pressure a bit. DS was meeting all of his milestones and was thriving in every other way, except for weight gain. 

As I said earlier, he caught up on the chart at age 3. He's healthy and happy, and that's the main goal I guess

I know it's hard not to stress, but just take things a day at a time. If your LO is meeting milestones and is otherwise healthy, you're doing it right!

[misshart00]

DD was considered failure to thrive basically because no one knew what was wrong with her. She threw up for two months and went from 17 pounds at 5 months to 11 pounds at 7 months. We had a meeting with a specialist to discuss surgery.

[jensoprano82]

Aug 24, 2015 7:41:37 GMT -5 misshart00 said:

DD was considered failure to thrive basically because no one knew what was wrong with her. She threw up for two months and went from 17 pounds at 5 months to 11 pounds at 7 months. We had a meeting with a specialist to discuss surgery.

Omg that's terrifying! I'm so sorry

[FlutterOfYoshis]

Aug 23, 2015 20:44:38 GMT -5 @holachica said:

I hope everything goes well tomorrow FlutterOfYoshis. I'm the sure the past couple days have been tough, but you're doing amazing.

Thank you! We got good news today: she's gaining again after we went from 1 to 2 solids per day. Since she refuses the bottle, we are now upping solids to 3 times a day to continue to encourage gains, adding extra calories like someone else here said through avocados, expressed milk in oatmeal, olive oil mixed in the purees, etc.

[FlutterOfYoshis]

Aug 24, 2015 7:41:37 GMT -5 misshart00 said:

DD was considered failure to thrive basically because no one knew what was wrong with her. She threw up for two months and went from 17 pounds at 5 months to 11 pounds at 7 months. We had a meeting with a specialist to discuss surgery.

I think I remember reading this from you before and then she recovered miraculously before the surgery? I was a mess after DD lost a few ounces; I can't imagine what a trying time that must have been for you both. So strong!

[misshart00]

Aug 24, 2015 10:46:13 GMT -5 FlutterOfYoshis said:

Aug 24, 2015 7:41:37 GMT -5 misshart00 said:

DD was considered failure to thrive basically because no one knew what was wrong with her. She threw up for two months and went from 17 pounds at 5 months to 11 pounds at 7 months. We had a meeting with a specialist to discuss surgery.

I think I remember reading this from you before and then she recovered miraculously before the surgery? I was a mess after DD lost a few ounces; I can't imagine what a trying time that must have been for you both. So strong!

Yep. Stopped throwing up the day after Memorial Day. I remember reading all the diagnoses on our insurance paperwork and failure to thrive was one. I have no problem with it but it defintely felt like a cop out.

[lulu783]

Hi pinesnow! Another small baby mama over here. DD was born 9lbs 4oz and is currently 15lbs10oz at 6.5 months. She drops on the charts every pedi visit. We haven't had to do weight checks and the pedi thinks it could just be her settling into her body type, but I can commiserate with you about the stress of 'making the numbers' and comparing to all the chunky babies.

[ChickenOnSunday]

My first was/is FTT. I hate the label of FTT because there often is not a true diagnosis of an issue. We are still struggling with weight gain and she will be 3 years old at the end of October. We as parents, and especially mothers, take the lack of weight gain of our children as a personal failure. I will still have a rotten day when my daughter doesn't eat. Anyway, I can go on and on and on.

The big thing will be that your baby follows their own curve. Yes, they might not hit the percentiles (Willa finally hit the chart at 2 years old when she put a dot on 3%). The GI docs/nutritionists had us adding formula to my expressed breastmilk to up the caloric content. I wish I had my milk tested like michelle142. We also did things like avocado at most meals because of the high fat content. We mixed coconut oil into everything.

Good luck and you will find a lot of support on this board.

[Deleted]

Aug 24, 2015 20:15:16 GMT -5 lulu783 said:

Hi pinesnow! Another small baby mama over here. DD was born 9lbs 4oz and is currently 15lbs10oz at 6.5 months. She drops on the charts every pedi visit. We haven't had to do weight checks and the pedi thinks it could just be her settling into her body type, but I can commiserate with you about the stress of 'making the numbers' and comparing to all the chunky babies.

My DD has almost the same weight measurements. 9lb 4oz at birth, 15lb 15oz at a little over 6 months. And I don't think she gained length since 4 months (maybe 1/4 inch). Doctor wasn't worried yet, but I am
kind of. Trying not to.

[abseptember]

A friend of mine had a baby who was FTT. He had a severe cows milk allergy and had to be on elemental formula. The formula doesn't taste very good and he pretty much only drank enough to survive. Once they started solids, he was a great eater. He's still a peanut but his parents are small too. He's totally thriving now and is such a good eater hope things improve for you soon. FTT is such a harsh term