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Is he meeting milestones? Is he gaining consistently? If yes then I wouldn't worry!

That's the stance I've taken with P! She was 6lb 1oz at birth and is now 14lb at 8 months. She didn't have the big initial gain like most bf babies because of severe tongue tie until 7 weeks that her pedi & ENT refused to clip (we had to find a pedi dentist on our own to do it), along with lots of food intolerances that caused extreme reflux & really cut the fat out of my diet. She's basically gained a lb a month & until this last weight check she had been consistently dropping on the percentiles chart.

I got alot of flack from her pedi since she was dropping on the charts & was really pushed to start solids despite her not being ready.... This was primarily due to them measuring a small head circumference at her 6 mth check... they measured wrong & instead of remeasuring to double check, they dropped ftt on me. I'm not gonna lie & say it didn't kinda freak me out because it did worry me & I started measuring her head myself at home. I continually told myself that I was a small baby & she's meeting all her milestones which are important factors to take in. Despite the worry & close eye I started having I didn't push solids & just let her nurse on-demand like I did ok the beginning..... She didn't really eat that much more than she had been though.

It's only been in the last month that she's really started filling out & is finally in, or atleast near, "normal" range for her percentiles. All babies are different & as long as he IS growing & he IS developing then you just need to remind yourself of that. We are not a one-size fits all species & its okay to be small.

ETA: I should add that we don't see any specialists & only visit her pedi at her normal well-chil visits. I'm not anti-doctor, just don't visit them unless its something we can't watch, maintain, or treat naturally..... I'm sure if we were it would be harder for me to look at the full realm of growth & not get stuck on her weight.

@winniebee: Is it possible to drop the GI doc? If your little misters issues are being managed well maybe just go back to seeing the pedi only.

I should add that P was born at 41+5 so had she come earlier she would've been MUCH smaller.

If I were in your position I would chat with my pedi about dropping the specialist because it seems to be causing unnecessary worry.

I don't have a small baby but I know that C has not gained anything or grown at all in nearly 3 months (she's 8 months old). It's not unusual for their weight gain to slow a lot as they get older and more mobile. As long as he is happy and meeting milestones, I don't see why it's an issues. Some babies are just smaller than others.

@winniebee: Hmmmmm.... I think I would take extra steps to remind yourself of his small size not being a "bad" thing then. Since growth is more than just the numbers I would maybe make a list (mental or actual) of things like his on point milestones, you & you hubby being smaller sized, etc, and then read it before & after your appts with her. I know reminding myself of those things REALLY helped diffuse my worry after our 6 mth appt & settle on the WHOLE picture as opposed to the small percentile part..... Even though she was 1.8% for her weight & .1 (I measured 1.8%) for her head.

Tbh I'm pretty aggressive when it comes to things I've researched & I would probably end up telling the specialist something...... "I know your area of speciality IS weight tracking, but its not the only area that determines flourishing growth & since bebe is doing well in meeting milestones & I was a small baby as well I don't think it's necessary to get so worried about the %..... She's gained consistently & developing on-mark." If the specialist didn't stop I would ask my pedi for a different referral (if possible) or keep establishing my stance. I love medicine, but the specialists job isn't to scare or bully you, it's to create a secure trusting relationship & help monitor/treat your sons issues.

Our LO was 5 lbs 13 oz at birth - and he was a week late. My husband and I aren't especially tiny people, and I was monitored for possible IUGR during pregnancy, which they eventually determined I did not have.

In the last few weeks, he's been gaining weight like a champ - no chub yet, but hopefully he'll fill out. I definitely worry about his small size and how that might impact other aspects of his life (like sleeping through the night!), but as long as he continues to gain, I guess I can't freak out too much.

I also have a small baby. I think you should recognize my story now from previous replies to your post. She was born at 40w1d 5lb5oz and 20 inches (growth curve is similar to your son's). At 11 mths, she weighs 16lbs (scale at home). Everytime i bring up her weigh issues, the ped always says it's genetics and theres nothing much i can do. I'm barely 5ft and DH is about 5'6 (both asian)so yes, she will be a small baby. She does have rolls on her arms and legs tho. They are not huge rolls but it's there. She was diagnosed with silent reflux when she was younger. We tried prevacid for about 1.5 mths and then stopped bc it wasnt really helping. Feeding her a 4oz bottle of formula takes abt 30-45 min but she eventually learned to love the bottle at abt 9 mths. She is purely on formula since bfing didnt work out after 3.5 mths. Solid wise, she's a very picky eater and i'm still struggling 3x/day with trying to get her to open her mouth and not cry at the high chair. I try to be relaxed about her weigh issues but it's hard not to be worried. Aside from that, she is meeting all her milestones at the right age. She is cruising and taking a few steps by herself, sleeping well, playing well and doesn't have seperation anxiety (thank goodness). Eating remains her only 'fault' lol. I know it's hard not to worry but do what you can. As long as your son is meeting his milestones and is happy, then you've done the bulk of your job. Eating is just something you can't really control.

My LO is 6 weeks old and 7.5 lbs. she was 5 lbs 2 oz at birth. I was induced at 38 weeks due to IUGR, according to my growth scans she had dropped from the 10th percentile at 34 weeks to the third percentile at 38 weeks. They induced me the same day as my 38 week ultrasound. At first I was worried about her size, I couldn't believe they let us bring her home from the hospital at 4 lbs, 11 oz!
At first I took her to breastfeeding support group to be weighed three times a week, but she consistently gained so now I only go about once a week. She's meeting all milestones, has the right amount of dirty diapers and is happy so I'm not concerned that she hasn't ever gone above the 5th percentile. My ped has never mentioned her weight being an issue or suggested we supplement either.

Wow - some of these doctors need to work on their people skills! I think most doctors (not all) tend to be risk adverse and alarmist. A friend's LO dropped to 50th percentile for weight from 70th at his 4 month appointment, even though he's been eating well, and the ped told my friend that some babies are "content to starve." It made her feel so badly though he was hitting all his milestones and is a perfectly happy and healthy looking baby.

My LO is 4 months and 12 lbs, 5 ounces - 13th percentile. She was born 38 weeks and 2 days, and weighed 5 lbs, 10 ounces at birth. I also constantly worry about her weight gain, but she is maintaining her percentile and her growth curve looks good. The ped is not concerned at all and LO is hitting her physical milestones, so I try not to worry as well. She might just be small!

I never worry. I'm small, and unsurprisingly, my baby is small. Yours has more than doubled his birth weight at 7 months, which is absolutely plenty. You've got nothing at all to worry about.

@winniebee: There are things you can do to add calories without as much bulk. We made our own baby food so we would cook the veggies in oil and then puree them. We also had a month where we added more formula to the mix (thicker formula). This didn't work for us because he started refusing bottles. He knows what his little body needs and is fantastic at moderating his own food intake. He refused the extra calorie formula and when we put oil directly in purees he stopped eating those. So as long as your baby stays on a curve (our is off) then I think they are just fine.

Toddler X was big-ish at birth (8lbs), but since then he has been on the small end (currently 7percentile for his weight at 1 year, down from 38percentile at birth). His weight worries me a lot. But, I guess I'm lucky-- our pediatrician has been really good about reassuring DH and I, reminding us that he is growing, has no major medical issues, he's meeting milestones-- he's a healthy kid. She also points out that she uses the WHO growth chart, not the CDC growth chart (which is apparently more accurate?). There has been one instance where I really doubted her guidance, but overall, I trust our doctor so I try to hang on to the fact that if she says Toddler X is doing great, then he's doing great.

@winniebee: yes! I have a such weakness for Janie and Jack!

@winniebee: yea!!!!