Most effective ways to get babies to gain weight

Bernadette - commented on Nov 20, 2011

just been going through this with my 7 month old son. Between 4 and 6 months doctors weren't happy with his growth as it pretty much stopped altogether over this period. But he is just a skinny baby. I was a skinny baby. Some of my nephews are skinny babies. My sisters were skinny babies. My dad is a very skinny man! And, my son had also been sick and on antibiotics which gave him diarrhea for over 2 weeks. Of course he didn't put on any weight in that period. But he was meeting milestones, EXTREMELY happy and certainly dirtying/wetting his nappy often enough. The doctor had me stressed out at first, but when I looked at all those other factors I realised there was nothing wrong, he was just on the skinny side. And solids? He just flat refused to have them. Only finally started having success with it yesterday - same day he started crawling. Must be hungry work, I guess.

Julie - commented on Dec 21, 2012

O.k. I'm really surprised to hear your doctor isn't concerned about her weight, given how premature she was and the fact that is struggling to eat. My son was 2 months premature and has struggled to breast and bottle feed since birth. Since starting solids it has been slow going. He doesn't want to eat and drink most of the time which has led to poor health. He has an oral aversion. A baby's first instinct is to protect their airway so if your daughter is having trouble breathing then she will be afraid to eat and drink especially if she has aspirated into her lungs in the past. So I have several suggestions for you. My son was struggling so much that rather than sit there for hours a day trying to get him to eat enough to gain weight, we had a g-tube put in so we can give him formula through his stomach and make sure he's getting enough calories to gain weight and enough fluids to stay hydrated. So unfortunately it sounds like your doctor is not very knowledgeable about the special needs of preemies. So I would recommend seeing a neonatologist who specializes in preemies and probably saw your daughter in the hospital after she was born. Next I would recommend you take her to see a pediatric gastroenterologist. He can look into the cause(s) of your babies eating problems. If she has reflux she can be put on Zantac. If she has a poor appetite they can put her on an appetite stimulant. They can do tests to see if she is aspirating when she eats or has any other abnormalities with her digestive system that are causing her to struggle with eating. They can determine if she needs a hypoallergenic formula like my son. After ruling out things and trying the least invasive interventions if she is still struggling to gain weight, they may recommend she have surgery to get a g-tube. I know that sounds scary, especially with your daughter's breathing problems, but it has been the best thing for our son. Now I don't have to count calories and stress because he didn't eat enough. I don't have him in the hospital because he's dehydrated from not drinking enough. I have a way to make sure he gets what he needs when he can't take enough on his own. It's been such a blessing. So the thing you have to look at, is if your daughter is eating regularly then you just need to boost her calories to help her gain. The doctor can give you powdered DuoCal to add to her milk which increases the calories. Add butter or canola oil to EVERYTHING for extra calories. Add coconut milk or heavy cream to her cereal. Load calories wherever you can. That's about all you can do and if she's eating and otherwise healthy I'm sure she'll be fine. If she's struggling to eat though, which it sounds like she is, then I would really consult with the pediatric g.i. because this is their specialty and they will have the best recommendations to help your daughter gain weight. Also I would ask your doctor for an order for occupational or speech therapy if your insurance covers it, to help your daughter with her feeding issues. They usually work through homecare and come to your house a couple times a month to work with your daughter and teach you tricks to help your daughter eat. They have been invaluable with my son. A lot of children who struggle with eating later struggle with speech so it's really important. If you don't have this benefit with your insurance, call your local school district to inquire about Early Intervention coming to evaluate your daughter for services. My son also has this. They have occupational therapists to help with children who have feeding problems and depending on where you live these services are available at little or no cost based on your income. I hope what I've told you has helped. My son was 2 months premature and weighed 2 lbs. 15 oz. and after a 42 day stay in the NICU he has struggled a lot especially with eating and gaining weight so I've had lots of experience with this the last 2 years. Good luck and I hope I've been of some help.

Jessica - commented on Nov 6, 2011

We had the same problem with my daughter and found out about a mix that's called duocal. It's flavorless and can mix into drinks n moist foods. It's used to add calories to food it help so much that she never had to have anymore yucky sweet drinks or medical tests. She's now nearly 5and eating n growing great. Most dr don't think of this product but u can get it on line or with presription.

Julie - commented on Nov 16, 2011

Yes, the gastroenterologist gave it to me with our daughter. I'm not sure why they didn't with our son. Do you have to have a prescription to get it? I think the issue with my son isn't just that he is in a vicious cycle of gaining and losing, gaining and losing, or that he doesn't eat enough, it's that he doesn't want to eat at all because of these oral aversions he has. Still the little bit he does eat I would think would be helped with the addition of duocal. I don't remember how many calories or fat it had so maybe they thought the heavy cream and butter had more?

Jenny - commented on Oct 6, 2012

What i did was feed my son breakfast then a snack the lunch then a snack then dinner the desert and on time not different time of the day i did like he woke up at 8 am feed him, snack at 10am lunch at 1130 snack at 2pm and we ate dinner at 5 we still do that to this day so thats going on for 8 years so i know that hes getting what he needs and it will teach the kids when to eat

Julie - commented on Nov 4, 2011

I was told to add the extra powdered formula by our pediatrician, a neonatologist, a NICU nurse practitioner, several nurses and a dietitian so I feel confident it is safe. As long as your baby is drinking enough daily to have a minimum of 3-4 good wet diapers a day then you do not have to worry about dehydration.

Jenny - commented on Oct 6, 2012

my son was 5 pounds 8 ounces and 9 years later he is only 56 pounds and only 48 inchs tall I get so scared cause if he plays any sports or dose anything even basket ball he will lose weight fast even if he eats three meals plus snacks and most nights he can out eat his dad in meat and vegges but still does not gain weight at age 5 he was down to 44 pounds he lost 5 pounds in 4 days just playing for 30 minutes a day by him self but again he still was eating and doctors say he was healthy not hes better

Julie - commented on Nov 4, 2011

My daughters were the same way. I think when the parents were small and the child is eating well and their weight and height are proportional they don't really worry. It's when the child is not eating well and not gaining or eating well, but suddenly losing weight that causes concern.

Jenny - commented on Oct 6, 2012

well with my son his father and his family were all big baby's and the same with me and my family so how did my son get to be so small i mean he is 56 pounds and only 48 inches tall and is 9 every male on both side are 6 foot and taller by age 15 he's got a long way to go haha

Crystal - commented on Oct 27, 2011

I believe cow's milk can be good for many, but I also think it's better in the form of fatty yogurts, cheese or cream. Too much of anything can be bad, however, that's why we have such a high intolerance in America for cow's milk and wheat; it's in everything. Fatty veggies and fish are excellent sources for healthy fats; avacado for example, or salmon...

Julie - commented on Nov 4, 2011

Yes I add half a mashed avocado to my son's veggies as well. My children have high metabolisms and gain weight slowly once they start crawling and I have found they do better eating every 3 hours; 3 meals a day and 3 snacks. I try to make the snacks a healthy carb and a protein. Maybe that's what your doctor was trying to get at and just didn't communicate it very well. Also my kids once they become active are too "busy" to be bothered with eating and I have to make them eat a certain amount so they can be healthy. I'm sure you're offering your son plenty of food, but maybe he's not eating very much right now. One thing that helped me as well when my kids became toddlers was to leave their food on the table for a little while once they didn't want to sit anymore, and they would play and come back and take a bite, back and forth several times. Kids up until age 5 are physically incapable of sitting for more than a few minutes. There bodies are always in motion. My doctor suggested Carnation Instant Breakfast for my one daughter who didn't like to eat breakfast. Children need fat for their developing brains from all sources including dairy. Quite a few of my children and my husband are lactose intolerant so we use almond milk, rice milk or coconut milk. It is actually an old wive's tale that dairy or milk causes more mucus production. It most definitely does not. When you already have thicker mucus say from a cold or allergies and you drink milk it coats the mucus and sticks there making it "feel" thicker which is why when you are sick doctors tell you to drink lots of CLEAR liquids to thin it out so it's easier to blow out and cough up. Anyway it sounds like genetics is definitely a factor and if your son's weight and height are proportional, meaning if he's in the 25th percentile for height he's about the same percentile for weight, then he's fine. Also if you feel like he's eating a lot and satisfied he's probably fine. If he's hungry he'll let you know and just let him eat what he wants, within reason, and as long as he has energy to do all the things he wants and isn't sleeping too much I'm sure he's fine. My husband and I were small as kids too and we've gone through this with all 7 of our kids, and I haven't worried except for with the 2 that were preemies.

Jenny - commented on Oct 6, 2012

banana milk shakes, peanut butter and banana,( MY DADS PICK LOL) , just bananas , and giving the baby/ kids fatty foods before bed does great because they can't burn it off that's why they say for adults NOT to eat fatty food or food past 6pm cause we adults dont need or wont to gain think about it fatty healthy foods like fruits and ect

Avril - commented on Oct 25, 2011

If anybody has any more ideas I am open to them. My twin are complete opposites in every way one gains weight and the other cant.