slow weight gain - normal?

[spu]

I'm b'feeding my 4 month old twins and one baby gained 2 lbs in 2 months, which is fine, but the other only gained 1 lb 2 oz in 2 months.The dr. recommended starting solids now to help with the weight gain. I'm a little nervous since they're so young still and I don't want my milk supply to go down. I'm thinking the reason the one baby gained less is because she's a snacker and doesn't nurse long enough to get hind milk. She also loves her thumb and is such a happy and 'talkative' baby that she'd rather talk and play than eat.

I've heard that if they start solids now, it may not help with the weight gain, and could actually introduce new problems - my milk supply could go down, and the babies nutritional intake would also go down if their bodies are not ready to digest the solids yet. They don't exhibit the usual signs of readiness yet and I'd feel more comfortable waiting until 5 or 6 months before starting solids.

Any thoughts or suggestions for what I could to to help her eat more? They both sleep through the night from about 8 pm til about 4:30-5:30 am. Once in a great while, they might get up for a 3 am feeding. If they don't, then I usually pump. I'm thinking of waking them instead and feeding them rather than pump.

Has anyone else encountered a slow weight gain at this age? Should I be concerned? They're getting taller and their head circ. is fine, and they're doing tons of talking and have good tummy strength to hold themselves up. The lighter baby even rolls from tummy to back, and back to tummy. The dr. doesn't want to see them for another 2 months but I might bring them in sooner for a weight check.

Thanks for your help. Maybe I'm just a little nervous, but I want to make sure she's gaining enough weight before it becomes more of a problem.

susan

twin girls 7.20.02
charlotte & else

[jojo2324]

Hi Susan. I can't say if this is normal or not, but I noticed that DS started to slow down in the weight department last month. He was 5 months yesterday. At the end of three months he weighed 16 lbs and now weighs about 18.5 lbs. Initially he was gaining that much a week!

We have not started solids yet because he still exhibits the tongue thrust reflex and also we have a family history of allergies and asthma. The ped told us to wait until 6 months. Does your ped think that the girls are showing signs of readiness?

I don't know how comfortable you are with this, but have you considered supplementing with formula? I suppose it's more of an issue of your one girl's interest in playing as opposed to eating. I only suggest formula because it is higher in fat. Have you tried nursing her in a dark room with little distraction? How can you, you exhausted thing! :) You've got your hands full, especially BFing. Kudos to you!

[Rachels]

Yikes, I would get a second opinion about this! Babies do nurse less once they start solids, and solids don't have the nutritional balance of breastmilk since the baby isn't eating full, rounded meals. And you're right, solids too early can cause digestive problems in immature tummies. You might ask about this on the mothering.com message boards. The philosophies of most of the posters there aren't very mainstream, but those boards are an EXCELLENT source of information for questions like this.

FWIW, I have a friend with twins, and one of her babies was slow to gain. She's perfectly healthy now (and actualy always was). Somebody has to be on the low end of the growth chart-- it's a bell curve. It's impossible and unnecessary for all babies to weigh in at the 50th percentile.

Totally jealous of your good sleepers, by the way! :)

-Rachel
Mom to Abigail Rose
5/18/02

[egoldber]

I agree it is curious that your ped would suggest solids to improve weight gain at that age. Solids have far fewer calories per ounce than either breastmilk or formula. This is why they are sometimes recommended for babies that get large early, since it makes them feel full without giving them all the calories, not what you want for your smaller girl.

As long as she is gaining steadily, I wouldn't worry about it. You may want to think about offering her the breast or a bottle more frequently, but I wouldn't stress if she doesn't want it.

I know it's hard not to worry. Sarah was slow to gain initially (took 4 weeks to re-gain her birth weight) and that was about the most stressful period of my life.

HTH,

[spu]

That's really interesting about breastmilk having more calories than solids. I never looked at it that way. The people at LLL were helpful in giving me advice like feeding one baby on one side all day to make sure she's getting hind milk, and waking to feed in the middle of the night if I was going to pump anyways. I have a call into my L.C. from the hospital so they might be able to shed some light on this too. I started feeding her every 2 hours all day rather than on demand, so we'll see if that helps too. Thanks for all your advice!

susan

twin girls 7.20.02
charlotte & else

[megsmom]

I would definitely go with more BM over solids since they just turned 4 months. Breastmilk is certainly higher in the calories and fat which is what babies need to grow. Once you start solids too, life will get a whole lot more complicated and messy! :) Seriously though, it sounds like you got good advice from other folks to help make sure your little "snacker" gets what she needs. It's interesting how some babies personalities really come through in every way, even in the eating dept. My little one from day one has always been kind of a baracuda, aggressive and very focused when she's eating. But just when you're settling in, she's done and moving on to the next thing! My cousin nursed both her twins and found that one of her sons (she calls him the easy going one) was always a little behind in the growth dept,. They're two now and still different in size and personality (they are not identical) so I guess they just grow the way they are made to. :)

Jen
mom to Meghan
7/13/01