My babies skinny what should I do?!

Anne - posted on 04/29/2010

My wee boy was weighed today and weighs 14lbs 4oz, my health visitor has been amazingly helpful, he lost weight when he started solids although he refused nothing!! She got us an emergency appointment with a dietician and now we're adding a table spoon of olive oil into all his main courses and we're giving him a pudding with added cream (of course we had to put a tiny bit on his lip 24 hours before giving it to him properly to make sure he wasn't allergic to cows milk). so that was up 8oz in the fortnight of doing this. When he was born he stuck to the 75th but then at new year he started rolling & his weight just started to drop week after week no matter how much milk he took, he's now on the 0.4th centile. So here's hoping things keep going up!!

Candice - posted on 04/28/2010

I'm glad i could help! trust me.. be thankful for your slim baby.. hefting around 21 lbs of kid all day long is hard work!!! lol I've got really big guns though.... a plus i guess

Allison - posted on 04/27/2010

My daughter is a skinny breastfed baby too. She is in the 90th percentile for height, but only 20th for weight. Yours may just have a fast metabolism. My doc recommended feeding my baby mashed bananas and avacados, which helped her to gained 6 ounces in 10 days. As long as your son is gaining weight and seems happy I wouldn't worry about it too much.

Franchesca - posted on 04/27/2010

Yeah I usually get some food for myself and the baby from this program in miami called WIC...and everytime I go to receive my checks there is more than one mom with a HUGE baby (by huge i mean chunky) and I ask her how many months the baby is and they end up telling me that the baby is the same age as mine...so I end up not telling them how many months mine is so they dont think wrong but Im starting to see improvement in him his cheeks are getting chunkier and his legs are too...so hopefully the doctor see's it too :-)

Franchesca - posted on 04/27/2010

Thank you for the info Candice that website helped alot!!!

Candice - posted on 04/27/2010

My son isBreastfed but is quite a bit bigger than yours. but as others have said some babies are smaller than others. Yours is investing all his weight gain into growing longer instead of wider....nothing wrong with that. Drs use a growth charts ment for FORMULA FED babies... not breastfed ones.... you can go to Kellymom.com and search for breastfed baby growth charts and see where you son is at on that.

Michelle - posted on 04/27/2010

Franchesca, your baby is just fine. Some are just bigger then others. My son is 6 months old and weighed in at a whopping 20 lbs and 28 1/2 inches. My son is formula fed but thats because my milk did not come in. My brother has two boys and they are both small. His one son is 4 (almost 5 ) and weights 38 pounds. My son weights almost as much as he does. Both of his childred are small and always have been. My brother growing up was always tall and skinny, I on the other hand was short and struggled with my weight. I think your son is fine and I wouldn't worry about it. If he was hungry he would let you know. You shouldn't have to force feed your son to get him to gain weight. They will let you know when they are hungry or full!! Your are the mommy and your instinks will tell you what to do.

Tracy - posted on 04/27/2010

Franchesca - I was thinking about you last night. I was advised to give my son a dream feed when his weight dipped and thought this might help you to get your wee boy to gain more weight!
at 3am you just pick up your baby and feed (don't talk to him) and put him down again. He shouldn't wake up.
It really helped my son gain weight! The reason 3am is coz that is when your milk is at it's best.
And.. I just wanted to say that it sounds like you are a great mum and go with what you feel and what your son wants. If he wants more he'll soon ask.. Good luck hun. xx

Tiffany - posted on 04/27/2010

i personally think that he is just slim and lucky u by the way my guys 22 pounds at almost 6 months and let me tell u he gets heavy in the arms right away !!! i would love a thiner baby for that reason!!! also he is just strickly breastfed so i think he just a bigger baby b/c of his daddy... dont worry that much about it i know a 14 month who's only 20 pounds and they dont worry about it cause he eats like a horse!!!!

Franchesca - posted on 04/26/2010

Thank you...thats the same thing I thought its just that everytime the doctor says theres something wrong it makes ME feel like a bad mother...but then in the back of my head I know that I am feeding him...I guess I just really have to go with my motherly instincts...

THANKS!! :-)

Summah - posted on 04/26/2010

my little boy is 6 months 2 weeks and he is only 6.05 kg (13.31 POUND) my doctor didnt seem to be concerned ? now i am a little worried? my little one was born premmy ? was yours ? he was only 2.1kg born 4.6 pound. i have started feeding my little on on solid food and also topping him up on a formula bottle just to try and bring his weight up as well.

Jennifer - posted on 04/26/2010

Krystal, how do they know your milk is skim? That sounds suspicious to me. Formula fed babies do often grow fatter, but that's not always a good thing -- they tend towards obesity.
See:
http://www.kellymom.com/babyconcerns/gro...
http://drjaygordon.com/pediatricks/newbo...
http://www.askdrsears.com/html/2/T023600...
http://www.drjacknewman.com/help/Slow%20...
http://www.breastfeedingonline.com/4pdf....
http://www.breastfeedingonline.com/newma...
http://aappolicy.aappublications.org/cgi...

Jennifer - posted on 04/26/2010

He could just be naturally slim. Has the doctor checked him for reflux? Or food sensitivities? Has the doctor checked to see if he has a tongue tie? Have you looked at the growth charts for breast fed babies? See:
http://www.kellymom.com/babyconcerns/gro...
Is he really active? That can burn off a lot of calories.

Tracy - posted on 04/26/2010

Hi - My son was the same. I'm just looking at his chart now - he was 14lb 4 at 7 months. He was breastfed too.
Breastfed babies don't gain weight the same as a formula fed baby and all babies are different shape and sizes just like adults.
I wouldn't worry as long as your baby is happy and healthy!

As for my daughter she is 6 months and weighs 18lbs 10!! Im breastfeeding her too - she has always been a really hungry baby and loves her milk and food! My son didn't weigh this much until he was 9 months. This shows just how much babies differ! xx

Elizabeth - posted on 04/26/2010

my little guy has grown much more in length too- he dropped from the 40th to the 20th percentile for weight (he's 85th for height). The dr kind of scared me too and told me to feed him cereal with extra formula (I mostly breastfeed). That seemed to work at his 6 month he was still in the 20th but at least didn't drop. If he is eating well and still growing then just go with your gut. If he seems healthy and you or your partner have a fast metabolism he's probably fine. Babies come in all shapes and sizes. But if you think something is not right request weight checks and keep on your ped to figure it out.

Krystal - posted on 04/26/2010

Rylan was only at 12lbs 9oz at his six month check up. He has grown over six inches in length though. He has been on formula now for about a month and a half, and our doctor said to add a little more powder to the water for more calories. Ex: 4oz of water 2 1/2 scoops of formula.

Part of our issue was my milk so so skim he wasn't getting as many calories to compensate for the growth.