That's very helpful, thanks Teresa- I had not thought to look at the WHO growth standards. Of course the fact that some babies may be growing at the rate of the 3rd percentile and that this is normal for some babies will not mean that it is normal for all babies who are gaining at that rate so looking at the whole picture is important.
Karleen Gribble
Australia

> 
> Well, I disagree with this fairly strongly. If you look at the WHO charts, you will see that the babies on the bottom curve (who are HEALTHY BABIES) are gaining less than 30 grams a day. The babies on the top curve are gaining more. But there is nothing wrong with those babies on the bottom curve! 
> 
> I described in an earlier post my daughter who gained roughly half the 30 g a day you mention. She was healthy, she was breastfeeding well, there were no problems. I think it is very important to understand the variations in weight gain patterns - one of the good things about breastfeeding is that babies determine their own rate of weight gain and some are meant to be smaller than others. 
> 
> I remember one mother I worked with whose baby was consistently gaining about four ounces a week. The doctor was concerned that it was not enough, and they tried a bunch of things: work on the latch, domperidone, switch feedings, etc. Nothing seemed to help. Finally the frustrated mother gave up and put the baby on formula. And the baby continued to gain about four ounces a week - refusing to finish the bottles of formula when she tried to feed him more. Now, of course, the doctor wasn't worried and said "well, babies are all different." She was pretty annoyed. 
> 
> Teresa
> 
> 
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