Since we started solids, both hubby and my MIL have been anxious for me to feed Gavin more because they are concern that Gavin is losing weight.  My MIL thought his cheeks were looking thinner while hubby has been keeping his eye on the weighing scales which don’t seem to be displaying any significant weight increases. 

I have been trying to explain to the hubby that the clinic weighing scales always record a heavier weight compared to the digital scales we have at home.  For instance, at Gavin’s last doctor’s visit, he weight 9.5kg but when we weighed him on our home scales the next day, he was only 8.9kg.  When I weighed him yesterday, he was 9.6kg so clearly he is still putting on weight. 

After Gavin’s godmother visited yesterday evening and made another comment about his thinning cheeks, I took some extra measures.  When I took Gavin to the doctor’s this morning, I weighed him on the clinic scales to confirm that he had gained weight since his last visit.  Sure enough, he is now 10kg.

When I saw the doctor, I raised both my hubby’s and my MIL’s concerns about Gavin’s weight and this is what the good doctor had to share with us:

• An average caucasian 6 month old baby is 7kg
• An average caucasian 1 year old baby is 9.5kg
• An average caucasian 2 year old baby is 12kg

You can see from the above figures that there is really nothing to be concerned about with regards to Gavin not weighing enough.  As long as his height continues to increase, we have nothing to worry about even if his weight remains stagnant.  He also said that it is natural for babies to lose the chubby cheeks and as they continue to lengthen, it will appear as though they are getting thinner.  So that was hubby’s and my MIL’s concerned taken care of.

As for Gavin being overweight (which was my concern), Dr Lam said that some paediatricians would be a little alarmed about Gavin weighing 10kg and would even advise that we reduce his food intake to help reduce his weight gain.  Dr Lam, however, felt there was no need to be concerned at this point because most babies who get off to a fast weight gain start usually hit a plateau phase where their weight stabilises before other babies their age.  This apparently happens regardless of whether parents make dietary modifications or not.  The time to be concerned about childhood obesity is between the age of 2 to 5 years.

Gavin wasting away?  I think not!

Gavin: “Do my cheeks look thinner?”

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