To Jan Barger,

Just a comment from the pediatrician about rapid weight loss.  Good point
to question such a rapid loss because it is unlikely that a normal baby
with normal bodily functions would loose so much so quickly!!.  The usual
way you can have that happen (and even faster is if you have increased
losses such as vomiting and/or diarrhea).

Remember that weight is a very imprecice piece of information.  Yes, I
know most of my colleagues are hung up on it because it is a number and
we all know docs like numbers but the fact is that many weight babies
wrong or I should say inconsistently:  per example
  -  using different scales can throw you off a big deal because of
different calibration

  -  weighting the baby with or without clothes (especially up north in
the winter) or with a dirty diaper (several oz sometimes)

only a few problems with the weight.  As a clinician I think it is
worthwhile for all of us who deal with small babies to be familiar with
other ways to asses a baby and in particular their hydration.  I have
trouble with people using only 1 parameter to make a decision about the
baby's status.  I think we all should get into the habit of questionning
the data and making sure all the pieces of information fit.  Otherwise
we'll be seeing a lot more of these bizarre unexplaned dehydrations or wt
loss.

Maryelle Vonlanthen,MD
Little Rock,AR