FWIT, I had two children - one hugged the bottom of the curve, one the top.
They both nursed on cue, slept with me every night, seemed to nurse well.
Eventually, they both were quite tall and both now need to be careful or
they will be overweight.

My son, the first, had some problems with jaundice at first. He was born
about 3 weeks early. During the first week, he was off the breast for five
days at which time he was given formula (to which he was very allergic). He
nursed very frequently for a long time and gained slowly. However, except
for the food allergies, which I dealt with by restricting my diet, he was
very healthy, alert, and happy (as long as he was close to me.)

My daughter weighed 2.5 pounds more at birth, had no allergy problems.She
was born on her due date. She nursed about half as frequently as her
brother, but gained easily and was very "fat" until she started walking and
it melted off until she became a very normal sized toddler. She was much
more easy going than her brother, right from the start.

So, why was my first on the bottom of the curve? Born too early, wasn't
really nursing as well as I thought, allergies interfered with
digestion/metabolism or he was just genetically programmed to gain more
slowly. Impossible to say. They both had plenty of wet and dirty diapers
(although my son had more greenish stools which I think was related to his
allergies.).

My thought is that if the baby is nursing on cue (including at night), is
gaining steadily, is healthy and is meeting all other milestones, not to
worry. If the mom is really concerned, then she could investigate ways to
help her baby achieve a better latch and perhaps take in more milk per
feeding.

Sharon Knorr, IBCLC

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