>> That's where you might see a weight
>> gain of 4 oz the first week, 7 or 8 oz the second, and finally the baby is
>> actually improving his position on the charts.
>
>WHY does his "position on the charts" matter if everything else looks great?
>7 or 8 oz in a week is a big gain and you won't see that with all babies.

In private practice I may see a baby who's still at birthweight at 6 weeks.
His  weight is flat-lining and he looks like a tired old man; by comparison
his parents are utterly thrilled to see him start putting on an ounce a day.
 But all that does is keep him from falling still farther behind.  He needs
catch-up growth - "super-growing" as I explain it to the parents.  If he
doesn't begin to gain at *faster* than his otherwise normal rate, he can't
get back to where he wanted to be in the first place.

I use non-commercial, very rough charts with hardly any numbers or
graph marks on them, and I tell parents I like the charts because they're
not precise enough to obsess over.  What they *do* show us is that yes, this
week's gain was great: we're back in the ball game.  But he still needs
another *two pounds or so* before he's about where he wants to be, and if it
takes him a month to gain those two pounds, he'll still be two pounds
behind.  He needs to start closing the gap.  It helps keep both me and them
rooted in reality if it's a baby whose "improved weight gain" really isn't
gaining him any ground.

I give a copy of the chart to the parents if they want it.  Today's parents
often see *no other young babies*.  They begin their parenting never having
held another baby.  They don't see their own baby's ribs sticking out.  And
when they go to the pediatrician, all they hear is, "Your baby needs to gain
more weight.  That's why we need to supplement."  More weight compared to
*what*?  How much more?  I figure slow growth is fine for a naturally
slow-grower, but slow growth following a stalled start is often just not
good enough, and the chart helps all of us keep a sense of what's going on.

Diane Wiessinger, MS, IBCLC  Ithaca, NY, one of whose sons hovered at or
below the bottom line on any chart but who was sturdy and thriving, and who
hadn't "lost his personal line" at the start
www.wiessinger.baka.com

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