Today I took Alex in for his 9 month checkup. His weight has fallen off. He's barely 15 pounds. He was born weighing 8lbs. Well his weight has fallen off since his 6 month appt. I've tried blockfeeding and giving him whole milk yogurt and egg yolks, but's he's gaining very little. He's eating really well, alert, happy, babbling, crawling, trying to stand on hs own, and getting into everything. Plus he's diaper count is good. He's has had some stool and blood tests before, but all were negative. So now the ped is referring him to a gastro internalogist(sp?) to see of he may have something wrong with his esophogus or something internally. I feel like a bad mom, since He's not gaining like he should. Plus since my inlaws do not like me or support breastfeeding, I know I'm going to really get grief on Thanksgiving. I am so worried, if something is really wrong with him or it maybe something that I have done. I wonder have anyone had this happen before? I don't know what to do.
I feel your pain. My daughter is almost 8 months and when she went to the doctor about 2 weeks ago she weighed in at 13lb 4oz. Her doctor is watching her weight gain but she has always been on the small side. I have been told we do not feed her enough even by the people at wic. If she was not eating enough she would let us know. Babies cry when they are hungry and she is happy and doing what babies her age should be doing. It drives me crazy. I have started to invite people over to watch how much my little girl eats because she is going to eat us out of house and home, lol. Let me know if you need to vent.
Oh i see I guess I read it wrong - I think you should try to formula feed then -sometimes you see babies that dont thrive when they are Breastfeed its not anyones fault but you need to do whats best for the baby (thats not healthy at all) and its not the end of the world to even supplement w. formula
Quoting StarEyez:
Quoting avegajenkins:
I think He should be on formula - not whole milk
He's not drinking whole milk, just eating whole milk yogurt. He's breastfed and my ped has not and will not suggest formula, she's pro breastfeeding.
I have a friend with a 3 year old who weighs less than my 2 year old some babies are just tiny as long as your dr is worried you shouldn't worry too much. since he's old enough to eat finger foods you can give him stiff with a lot of protien like beens, eggs or tuna fish that should help a little
my best friends 2 year old is barely 20lbs where as my 2 year old cousin is over 30lbs
sometimes babies just grow differently than others. you can try supplementing with formula ( i never liked that idea when i thought about breastfeeding). but if nothing turns up at his appointment i would just keep feeding him like you do and if you want supplement with formula. good luck momma
Stick with the breastmilk, it is best for baby!
My youngest had a hard time gaining weight, we were also exclusively breastfeeding.
He was born at 7 14, and at 6 months was still under 10 pounds!! He was seeing a GI, which I highly recommend! They were wonderful, it will probably take a few months to get an appointment.
They thought my little guy had reflux, he threw up all the time. We did all the standard testing, and he did have MILD reflux, which should not have caused the limited weight gain.
At 6 months our Ped GI, had us run an allergy test! Guess what, he was allergic to eggs, and beef!! I cut those out of my diet, and boom...within a week he started sleeping through the night, stopped spitting up, and started gainng weight like a mad man! (at one year he was 21 pounds!!!)
I had to do the food journal for me,and a nursing journal for him (to see if he was getting enough). He was eating plenty, but the eggs (mainly the eggs, because I ate beef for a long time, per allergist saying it was okay, but eventually cut that out too), were making his belly upset.
So, ask for an allergy test, just in case (its a simple blood test).
And, don't stop nursing, breastmilk is the perfect food for your baby! Now that he is eating solids, I would start pushing more high calorie foods, no juice at all (its purely empty calories).
Did he just start crawling? I find babies at that age, when they first start being really active, seem to slow down in gaining weight as well. Also, are you little? He might just be a little guy, as long as he is happy, growing (even slowly), eating, wetting enough, odds are he is just fine!
Good luck! Enjoy thanksgiving, and don't worry!!
Quoting StarEyez:
Quoting avegajenkins:
I think He should be on formula - not whole milk
He's not drinking whole milk, just eating whole milk yogurt. He's breastfed and my ped has not and will not suggest formula, she's pro breastfeeding.
my 18 mth old is in the same boat hes been at 20 pounds forever now, and his baby sister who is a yr younger is already at 18 pounds.. he has a upper and lower GI scheduled for next month. I felt like bad mom also, but then my dr reassured me there was some things you cant control no matter what. ive tried everything from feeding him fattier foods to pediasure. i really hope you can find out what is going on with your child. as far as the in laws tell them you are doing everything you can and you are doing the best for your baby breastfeeding. 
proud mommy of 4 wonderful children and blessed to be adding another one to the group in march 2010
If he is otherwise developing well and doesn't appear to have any eating issues (vomiting, diarreah, persistent crying) I would not worry about it. My niece was a small baby; she was tested up the wazoo and everything came back normal; also her mom switch her completely to formula and was feeding her 3 meals a day solids from 4mo old--it made absolutely NO DIFFERENCE. My niece was about 17lbs her entire second year.
She seems to take after her fathers side which just produces smaller people. By kindergarten she was about the same size as other children.
And if your inlaws give you any grief I'd tell them that you came to enjoy yourself and have the baby visit with the family; and if they make you feel unwelcom you will take YOUR baby, and leave.
could be celiac, doesn't tolerate glutens very well. My friend had her daughter about 6 years ago and she wouldn't gain weight either, same problem as your son...she was able to go to a specialist and he took her off any food with gluten and she started gaining weight again instantly. It's a lot more work with someone who can't tolerate glutens, but it really is a lot healthier.
Would you ever consider being a surrogate mother?
- StarEyez
on Nov. 24, 2009 at 9:20 PM