Meals and weight gain, real suggestions appreciated.

Kathryn - posted on 01/07/2010

Thank you all for your replies. It is great to know that I am not alone. I am going to have her checked for reflux and also going to try to stop worrying so much. Thank you for the feeding schedule. this has been so helpful. I really appreciate all your responses, I cannot tell you how much it means to hear from others who are going through the same thing. I really thought that I was alone because every baby around us is so big. Thank you!!!

Catherine - posted on 01/03/2010

If weight gain is a concern nursing on demand is the healthiest thing you can do for her. AS far as solids, I'd just keep offering them. Does she eat any table foods? She might be bored with purees. What does she drink? You can give her pumped milk instead of water. I'd avoid juice because she will just fill up on it and those calories will not be good fattening calories.



Is there a reason you are worried about her weight being int he 12th percentile? Some kids are just small. Also, which chart are you looking on? My son is not on the CDC charts at all, but he is just beneath the 15th percentile on the WHO charts, which are better for breastfed babies. http://www.who.int/childgrowth/standards... has all the girls charts. Have you read what kellymom.com has to say about increasing weight gain? http://www.kellymom.com/babyconcerns/gro...



My 11 month son eats like a little piggy. I don't keep track of how much he eats, but I know he nurses at least 5 times a day and he typically eats 2 large (for a baby) meals of solid food per day. He drinks water or pumped milk only, no juice. He's been on table foods since he was 7 months old. He is very healthy and happy, and meeting all his milestones which is what matters according to my pediatrician.

Jennifer - posted on 01/02/2010

I too can relate to your frustration. My little guy is in the 1/3rd percentile, not even close to the very bottom line on the growth chart. He is bf, and is on stage 2 foods. He nurses about every 3 to 4 hours, and has solids 3 times a day sometimes 4. He just turned 10 months and is 12lb, 12oz. He never took formula, so was strictly bf. I had a friend who suggested chamomile tea. I had made it just like I would brew it and then added a little sugar, just to where it tasted good to me. My son really liked it, it seemed to calm his little tummy when fussy and he received fluids at the same time. Try mixing cereal with your baby foods. Also if you have a walmart nearby try those teething bags (ring with a mesh bag attached) you can put fruit, veggies, etc in those, and the baby will not choke. I may have ranted on about nothing, and did not answer your question at all. Good luck.

Michelle - posted on 01/02/2010

I know a little bit how you feel. My son has been in the third percentile since he was 9 months old. He's now 2. He's otherwise healthy. He does eat, but when he has toddler bouts of not eating (as many normal toddlers do) I get a little worried because he's already under weight. You can try using carnation instant breakfast mixed in with her milk. If you decide to do pediasure I would say do it at the end of the day so she's not filling up on it instead of eating (so she's not skipping meals she might otherwise eat some of). The vacation probably threw her schedule off quite a bit so just wait a couple of days and see if she settles back in. I used to nurse my son when ever he wanted to because I wanted him to gain weight so badly too. None of it has helped. Do your best to calorie load (it can help to offer her high calorie things as opposed to lower calorie stuff when you can) and give her snacks between meals. Your doctor will probably tell you if it's affecting her health. She may just be small. Hang in there.

Tricia - posted on 01/01/2010

I completely understand where you are coming from! This is pertaining to my almost 3 year old daughter now, but she has been in the 1% for her weight since the day she was born, and continues to stay there. The doctor said she is perfectly heathly she is just considered to be in the failure to thrive category. She suggested loading her up on the calories and what not also. But it continues to not help her gain weight. Also those pediasure drinks once a day. I would say since your daughter is almost a year old you could possibly try the pediasure, maybe half of it at a time, or even mixed in with breast milk. Yes it will make them feel full, but it also has the vitamins and calories needed. As for my daughter, I say as long as the doctor says she is healthy and active, he weight is not an issue anymore for me. Hope this helped a little!

Cat - posted on 12/30/2009

If you're breastfeeding and baby's not gaining, you might want to look at your own diet and weight. Check out mypyramid.gov for a nursing mother plan, and make sure YOU are getting enough calories and nutrients for both of you, especially if you exercise much. Make sure you get plenty of water too.

Also, it might help to establish a routine if you haven't, and offer food and then a breast every 2 hours throughout the day whether she seems hungry or not. Little nibbles add up, and she's more likely to eat if she knows when to expect her meals. Don't feed her in between, give her time to build a little appetite. Two hours will not hurt her. Once she adjusts to that, you can start spreading it out more.

This is how I have always had to eat myself, because I have a very fast metabolism. My mom used to wake me up and feed me oatmeal right before she put me to bed, even up until I was 5 or 6, or I would wake her up in the middle of the night screaming because I was so hungry. To this day if I wait to eat, my stomach hurts by the time I realize I'm hungry.

It's also important not to stress about it too much. Stress hormones get into the milk, so if you're stressed it will make the problem worse. Does she seem otherwise healthy and happy? If not, do check for reflux, and for allergies.

Kathy - posted on 12/30/2009

I completely understand. My little man is around 15lbs 6oz at nearly 11 months.(on the 6th) He is not even on the charts yet. The Dr's are driving me nuts about him and telling me to feed him all the time. Well the poor kid won't eat all the time. Some days great, some not, just like yours. After all this stress from the Dr's I finally got mad because they are making me worry all the time and I find myself missing all the great stuff because I'm always stuffing food in him. I was nursing and they kept telling me to wean him, promising that he would gain weight. So I finally did after stressing over it for so long, and he is not. Finally took him to another Dr and found out that he has reflux. Put him on meds and now he is eating really well. This Dr also told me to feed him every 4 hours. Not before. She said he needs to feel hungry. He has gained over a lb in the last 3 weeks now.. Finally! I'm really mad that he had has this reflux and it has gone unnoticed. It is definitely not something I noticed, he doesn't not spit up, does not have colic, is always happy. Silent reflux they call it. Now I just deal with the sadness that I weaned him for no reason. Anyhow, sorry for the rant... I'd just let her eat as she wants. Offer her food and if she eats it great, if not she will when hungry. Maybe check her for reflux? I know that's a pretty common problem with smaller babies (or so I just found out..) If she is happy and healthy I say just enjoy her!! She will eat when she is hungry...

Sarah - posted on 12/30/2009

I am the same! I also need some suggestions, and you are not alone. Our little one will eat solids great for a week and then refuse them for the next two weeks. She breast feeds okay but her weight gain is slowing down a lot, also. She is super mobile and burning calories like crazy, but her stool is getting thicker and harder to pass. We have been told to increase fruits and juices and even to use benefiber and karo syrup, but she throws her hands up and won't take it. The only way to get juice into her is to use the end of a drinking straw and drop it into her mouth a little at a time. Not a habbit I want her in. I am still feeding at night, too.

Dawn - posted on 12/30/2009

I can not account on the nursing, as my son is formula feed, but I just took my son to his GI specialist today for a followup (he was diagnosed with reflux 6 months ago after "failing to thrive). My son has been in the 15th percentile since his 1st visit but following his curve until this visit; the Dr seems to think maybe his weight hasn't caught up to his height, but still wants him to gain weight (weighed in at 18 lbs, 6 oz today). He suggested that I increase his meat/protein intake by offering more chicken, tuna, beans, cheese, and even peanut butter. Also adding cream cheese, whole milk yogurt, butter and jelly to fruit and vegetables to add to the calories I am giving him. he also suggested I reduce the amount of empty calories I give him, like the Gerber Puffs my son LOVES!! I am going to try a few of these...I will let you know. And, as far as feeding in the middle of the night, don't worry about it..I doubt she will always want to and you know best when it comes to your child!! Good luck

Iona - posted on 12/30/2009

My daughter is also very small (like 5th percentile - weighed 15 lb 4 oz at 10 mo) and I worry also. However, I keep reading and re-reading "Child of Mine: Feeding with Love and Good Sense" by Ellyn Satter. In there, she talks about a couple of things that have become my mantras. First, consider what she eats on a weekly basis, not daily. Some days they eat a ton, and others next to nothing. So long as it averages out it is ok. Second, it is our job as parents to decide what and when they are to eat, it is their job to decide if and how much.



Aside from that, I too feed my little one when she wakes up at night, and get really frustrated when she doesn't nurse - as I know that she needs her milk. So, I try to pump if it's been 4 hours since she last nursed, just to make sure my supply stays up. And, I try to time her solids around her breastfeeding, so that she is sure to get her milk.



As for what she eats, she eats what we eat. Some days she gobbles it up, others I end up giving her some cheerios so that she eats something. And, she generally eats around 8:30, lunch around noon, a snack around 3, and dinner around 5:30. Nursing, she generally eats around 7:30, 10, 1, 4, and 7 (then once or twice at night).



Good luck.