Mystery, or How to Make a Mom Feel Inadequate

Monkey3's four-month well check up.  Scale, measuring tape, questions about what she is doing developmentally and how long she sleeps at night, ... same old stuff. Except, "she dropped percentiles in weight. You need to bring her in for a weight check in a month. That way if there is a problem, it can be addressed before her next well visit (in two months). She might need supplements, or you might think about starting solids early."

What?
Wait, what!?

She gained weight. In two months she gained 1 pound, 12 ounces, but her weight gain has slowed dramatically from the previous curve she has been charting.  Pediatricians have growth charts, and each  well visit, the baby is weighed and measured (length and head circumference), and these numbers are plotted on a graph. Out of a hundred babies, some will be big, 90th percentile, some will be average, 50th percentile, and some small, 10th or 5th percentile.  It simply means that compared to a hundred other babies, this baby is, say, bigger than 90 other babies, or perhaps 5 other babies. These are the percentiles. Generally, a baby will grow on a curve, sticking approximately to one percentile. When there is a large jump from one percentile, or growth curve, to another, this is a red flag of a problem.

Except there are no other symptoms.

Monkey3 is a happy baby. She is not colicky, does not spit up much, outputs diapers, sleeps well, is alert and interested in people around her, is meeting her milestones such as smiling, rolling over, holding up her head, grabbing things, etc. I had no idea she was "not getting enough."

For two days I wandered in a frightened haze. What would happen if she was not charting correctly in a month? I breastfeed her, as her sisters before, and I do not want to supplement formula. As for starting solids before six months, that just sounded absurd to me. Monkey3 can't even sit up on her own yet! What is going on? How could I be so clueless? She is such a happy active baby! How can anything be wrong? Don't babies tell you if they are hungry?

A week before, at a baby shower/moms' evening, a mother of five was commenting on how she had extra weight checks on her baby, who is two weeks older than my Monkey3. I accosted her for a few minutes one morning at Vacation Bible School.
"Yeah, he "failed" his weight check," she said, rolling her eyes. "I'm feeding him avocado. Who feeds their four-month-old avocado? I do, because it keeps them off my back. He has another weight check in two weeks."
He's her happy baby too. We take our children to the same pediatric practice.

After supper I thought of La Leche League. They would know. They would have answers. They would have suggestions, tips, sympathy, and support. I looked up the area meetings. There was one that night, 65 minutes from now. I called my husband at work. His office voicemail answered. Hopefully he was on the bus home. He was, because ten minutes later he walked in. I immediately told him I wanted to go to a LLL meeting.
"When is it?" he asked.
"7:30."
He looked at the clock. "I wasn't going to go running because my heel still hurts, but I guess I can walk.... Monkey1, Monkey2! Get your shoes on! Go to the potty! You're running with Dad tonight!" A local running store has weeknight training fun runs, typically a five mile loop, though there are also walkers who do a three mile loop, and then a social hour. The wine shop a few doors down has figured this out and holds wine tastings late evenings post-run.
So, all five of us were out the door.

La Leche League is a wonderful resource, both as a source of information and help for breastfeeding moms and as a source of fellowship during what can be a bewildering time for women becoming mothers. After the customary round-the-circle of introductions, as each introduced herself and her baby and briefly described why she came that evening, the leader, who scribbled notes during the introductions, furrowed her brow, and said that as there were so many different issues, and she would try to address all of them, but she'd start with the most concerning problem.

That was me. And Monkey3.

Dropping percentiles is potentially a sign of a very serious issue; inadequate weight gain could signal a host of nutrition problems. However, since she is a happy baby (and Monkey3 was with me, taking in the room and people, snuggling down to nurse, babbling when done, and otherwise pleasantly carrying on), and so plainly "getting enough," the LLL leader was hesitant to suggest a course of action. She encouraged me to find a lactation consultant, preferably one with an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant accreditation. Another person, a mother of a two-year-old, pulled out her cell phone and gave me the number of the IBCLC lactation consultant who had helped her.

Feeling so much saner, the next day I contacted the lactation consultant. We spoke on the phone at length, and she was plainly baffled. She had not run into this -- a drastic drop in weight percentiles and lack of other symptoms -- before. She's on it though, and will research and consult with colleagues. At her request, I sent her all of Monkey3's height and weight numbers from the well baby check ups, birth onward.

I still don't know what to do. I try to nurse Monkey3 more, and when she's not interested, she certainly lets me know!