9 month old's low weight gain

[nicksmom]

My DS just had his 9 month checkup and we discovered his weight dropped from the 25th percentile to 10th. His height and head circumference remained steady at 50%. I am a bit (OK, ALOT) worried that I am not feeding him enough or of the right things. He is currently taking half of EBM and half formula, about 25 oz a day, 20 oz is from bottles and the rest is still from nursing mornings and evenings. He eats about 8 oz of baby food and 1/4 c of cereal/day. The ped wants me to give him yogurt and cheese and avo to increase caloric intake. My sis thinks I should up the formula/BM and forget about increasing solids. I am just plain confused.

Why is it OK to give him dairy products but not whole milk? What kind of cheeses are made for babies? I forgot to ask the ped. As for yogurt, I checked out the "YOBABY" from Stonyfield Farm but one four little oz container contains something like 16gms of sugar, and sugar is the second ingredient listed. My little guy has never had any sugar or salt before and I am hesitant to add these things to his diet prematurely. Anyway, I apologize for being so wordy. But would REALLY appreciate any wisdom, advice, or experience you are willing to share. Thank a bunch in advance, Kellie

[mamahill]

First of all - you're doing a GREAT job. As a mother to a baby who has dropped into the 5th percentile for weight, I can reassure you that some babies will NOT eat more than a certain amount. I have tried feeding her everything at all hours of the day. Some babies just have higher metabolisms.

That said, has your son just started crawling/walking? A sudden slowing down in weight gain might be that he is more active and burning more calories. Is he fussier? Does he seem hungrier? How many meals is he having?

At about 9 months I introduced a second meal (and a third at 10 months -- I think I had waited too long to introduce another meal, but she just didn't seem interested). I also introduced yogurt and cheese. The important thing is to watch his bottom carefully (haha) for a "ring of fire" or rash, since this is often an indication of an allergy. Ainsleigh's manifested itself by a rash on her chin. I withheld the cheese, and then tried again in a couple week. I think it was almost a month and a half later when she finally could have the cheese without a problem (and boy does she LOVE cheese!).

I would go with what the ped says, over what your sis says, unless your sister is a doctor/ped as well. Oh, and if you're stirring water into the cereal, maybe change it to formula or BM for added calories/iron. A lot of babies like avo. Ainsleigh has never been a big fan, unlike her mother...

Sorry to go on for so long, but I want you to know that you are not alone in your worry over your smaller baby. I completely freaked out when Ainsleigh weaned herself at 10.5 months (I think the post is in the Lounge...) because she has never taken formula (except for in cereal) and refuses any and all bottles. I was convinced my child would starve. But, she hasn't! She's still small for her age, but she's one tough kid who can hold her own!

Oh, and don't be afraid to call back and ask your ped questions. I too don't know why cheese and yogurt are ok, but whole milk isn't (that being said, Ainsleigh went to whole milk at 10.5 months when she refused everything else, including BM in the sippy - we've never had any allergy problems and she loves the stuff!). HTH...

[Momof3Labs]

One of the reasons that they want you to hold off on whole milk until 12 months is because they (peds) don't want it to replace formula/breastmilk. Up to a year, babies still need the added punch from formula/breastmilk. So it isn't all about the dairy factor (although that is also part of the reason).

That said, if they won't nurse and they won't drink formula, what else can you do??

[newbelly2002]

On a similar topic, what to do when your baby starts refusing solids?

DS has been eating solids for about 3 months now. I just added a third meal (breakfast) last week. About the same time he started refusing breakfast, lunch and now dinner too. He'll eat if it's just fruits, but refuses the vegetables and cereal (we've tried with EBM, with formula, with water, with fruit). He also refuses to drink water and tea. The only liquids he'll drink is fruit juice (which I don't want to do because of the sugar content) and formula/EBM. He's also started cutting way down on the amount of nursing he wants to do, going sometimes 4-5 hours without eating (either meals OR nursing). Since he's 8 months old, I'm starting to get a little panicked over how to get the nutrition into him.

Any suggestions?

Paula

[Rachels]

It's really common for weight gain too slow at this age. The most important thing is to watch his behavior. If he's engaged and interactive and progressing developmentally, he's fine. As for formula or breastmilk, it's important to really keep those up. They meet a baby's nutritional needs for the first year. Some babies will have nothing to do with solids, and that's okay in the first year. Think of breastmilk or formula as a well-rounded, balanced meal. Solids are gravy-- definitely good, but no match for baby milk. That said, many babies love yogurt, so it's worth trying. Choose full-fat yogurt. I prefer Stonyfield Farms because it's organic. I just buy the plain yogurt and then stir in a little fruit puree, thus avoiding the high sugar content of the baby yogurts.

You're doing a great job!

-Rachel
Mom to Abigail Rose
5/18/02

[nicksmom]

Thanks everyone! I am feeling better after reading your responses. I will call my ped to ask more questions but I sometimes feel that her answers are inadequate. I tend to place more trust in "fellow Moms" who are currently in the midst of raising babies. Anyway, some more questions....

What kind of cheese do you Moms think are appropriate for little people?

Is it still OK to give stage 2 jarred food? It is pureed (spelling?) and not very lumpy. I also make my own pureed version of meat and veggie meals.

When can I just chop up chicken and feed it to him? What signs should I look for? He has five teeth but does not really chew.

Thanks again... :-)Kellie

[nicksmom]

I just had another thought. What about fish? Does anyone have experience with giving their little person fish? What kind? When? How do you serve it?

[mamahill]

I give Ainsleigh American cheese. I don't really consider it "real" cheese, but I give her the stuff with extra calcium because I figure it can't hurt. I've also given her mozarella (cut the sticks so there are circles on her tray - and cut those in half to make half-circles) and cheddar, but she definitely prefers American.

Ainsleigh still love pureed food. Sometimes it's the only stuff she'll eat, so I always keep a couple jars in the cupboard. I think as long as the chicken is chopped pretty fine, you can give it to him now. And I think white fish is fine. Maybe even any kind of fully-cooked fish, as long as you're careful about the bones.

I try to let Ainsleigh try everything we're eating, but sometimes it's still cooking while I'm feeding her, so I feed her leftovers. And for some reason, she prefers her food cold. What a weirdo, I know. I'm wondering if it has something to do with teething, though.

Anyway, glad you're feeling better!

[mamahill]

Ugh - I remember going through this. Sometimes I would "trick" Ainsleigh by alternating a small spoon of fruit with a HUGE spoon of cereal. Does he like yogurt? Putting a little yogurt with cereal really helped us. If you're worried about fruit juice, are you diluting it? If I give Ainsleigh juice, I dilute it to about half-strength. Also, do you have Cheerios over there? They are really high in iron, and for a while Ainsleigh would only eat those by the fistful. I didn't worry too much, as long as she was getting her iron. I don't know if this has been helpful, but don't worry - it WILL get better! Isn't it amazing how they can already form opinions?!

[Rachels]

I've read that you should hold off on fish until 12 months. You can definitely grind up some chicken and try that. I have several times ground up a little chicken with some cooked veggies and broth and made kind of a thick stew for Abigail. She loves that. She also just likes little bites of chicken, although she definitely chews. (No teeth, but lots of chewing.) Have you tried a little chunk of something softer, like avocado or baked apple? He might chew if there's actually something in his mouth that needs chewing.

-Rachel
Mom to Abigail Rose
5/18/02

[sparkeze]

I also agree that you don't really need to worry. My DS dropped from 50th% at his 6 month check to 25th% at his 9 month check. Not surprising to me considering that he doesn't stop moving ever. And he nurses about 8-10 times a day and eats ferociously!

I want to suggest reading Super Baby Foods. After reading it I felt really well informed about how I can make the most out of every bite DS takes of solids. There's really good info about when you can start giving particular foods and a lot of good recipes also. As a mom, I think the best thing you can do is have nutrient-packed foods available for your baby to eat. I think babies know what they need and as long as you keep offering foods they'll take what they need. Last week my DS scarfed down 2 days worth of solids in one sitting! I was in shock! But then he was not interested in solids for the next 2 days. Looking at food intake over a week period instead of daily helps too.

IMHO, I think you should offer your baby more EBM/formula first. That way you know he's getting all the nutrients he needs. The problem with upping solids is that there's no way that your baby can eat enough solids to get all the nutrients, calories yes, but not nutrients he needs. I'm definitely no expert but looking at my DS who nurses and eats a LOT, but is pretty skinny, your DS is probably in great health!

Good luck!!

[belindapooh]

My experience & 2 cents worth: My dd went from the 25th and dropped all the way down to the 2nd percentile in weight but head and length were fine. Our ped took a blood test to make sure she was ok - she was borderline anemic but is normal when babies start solids. She also got us a referral to see a nutritionist to do a calorie count. We did a diary of her food intake - 2 days at daycare and 2 days at home. It turned out Nyah was getting enough to eat but to try and get her back to average weight, the nutrionist suggested we add more fat (good fat) to her diet. Fat is good for brain development - which is what they added to Enfamil Lipil and Similac Advance - DHA & ARA stuff. In our fridge, I have a lot of fat free stuff like cheese and yogurt. So I just got the regular stuff fo her and added a little butter to her veggies. I also started giving her some vitamins - Enfamil Polyvisol in her milk. It doesn't taste very good and we haven't kept up with it. I all add it to her juice if she's starting to get a cold. We stopped with the extra fat within a month - she was eating everything - and still does love to eat. The ped saw us monthly until her 12mth appt. Our ped wasn't concerned as she kept gaining (slowly) every month. Her latest blood test shows she's fine. The ped says it's probably just her size - my husband and I aren't big people. He's 5'8 and I'm 5'2. Nyah is doing great - loves to eat, loves daycare. She is the littlest one but I was always that way growing up. She's 13mths now and is barely 18lbs.

HTH,
Belinda
Nyah's mom
Born 2/6/02

[kransden]

Fish sometimes has high level of mercury and other toxins. A lot of people have shellfish and other seafood allergies. I would skip it for now and go only with Dr. approved foods like yogurt. Plus it sure would make for really stinky poop! Don't buy all that sugary yogurt get the Stonyfield or Dannon plain. No extra sugar there. You can always add a little pureed fruit to it if the baby doesn't like it plain. That way you are in contol of what your child eats, not some dairy company.

Karin