My infant needs to gain weight...

[tt7]

Hi-What do you recommend as far as weight gaining recipies? My baby is on formula, was VERY premature only weighing in @1lb. 10oz and is just now eating solids @9months corrected(actually will be 1 year chronologically). Yes I know its confusing...he is truly a miracle and is currently eating CLO, avocados, butternut squash, chicken livers and chuck meat. They are all pureed, frozen in cubes, etc. I add butter and CO to them as well. I am staying away from all grains and starches. What else is good to add weight/nutrition to my son? tx

[gbailey]

I wish I could help. I'm not sure about adding butter to a 9 month olds diet though. Did the pediatrician offer any advice for weight gain? I think they make a special formula for babies who were born prematurely. Good luck

[hummingmom]

Hugs to you. My DD2 wasn't significantly premature, but she was only 3 lb. at birth (thought to be due to an unidentified genetic disorder), and had to have two major surgeries which really put a dent in her weight gain. She's now 18 months old, and has got up to the 25% in height, but she's still quite thin.

I'm afraid have no real advice. Whenever I go out of my way to try to "fatten her up," she always comes down with a virus or some such thing, then loses all the weight she's gained. So I've pretty much stopped pushing the high-calorie foods; I'd rather have a healthy and slim baby than a chubby and sick one. But it's so frustrating.

It sounds like your DS is getting a lot of nutritious food. The only thing I would add is broth; it's a great source of minerals and amino acids.

[bremen]

maybe egg yolks and yogurt?

[AarenLisbeth]

Hey there Mama. . .I've been there myself. MY DS 2 was 1 lb 8oz and born @ 25 weeks. . .We were still strictly BFing at 9m/ year but my suggestions to you would be very soft boiled egg yolks from happy pastured hens- good stuff- when my milk( and my sanity ) wasn't keeping up to the demand around a year and 1/2 w/ DS2 we started supplementing with S. Fallon's formula in NT. It was winter and the dairy formula was contributing to phlem IMO so we went with the meat based one, and OMGosh he just thrived with it!!! I'd rotate livers from pastured animals, rotated from chicken to beef bone broths and added not only C. oil but Coconut cream also. He couldn't get enough. Making this forumula for another year +, we really honed our technique. . .If you are intrested I'd be happy to share more. Enzo is still a little munch. He was not, nor will ever be that fat baby my first was. It is a heartache that is dull now, however, he is strong and healthy and has an AMAZING immune system, and that is all that truly matters. Hugs and love to you mama!! And give that CLO in conjunction with the butter oil or gobs of regular butter. . .you simply cannot give too many healty fats to these little munches

[TzippityDoulah]

egg yolks, yogurt and bone broth I think were all good choices. bone broth is so good for the tummy, and has so many good things in it. Egg yolks are high in good fat, and yogurt will provide lots of calcium and probiotics.

they make goat yogurt, I've seen... but I'm sure it's also easy to make yourself.

[guestmama9904]

Originally Posted by gbailey

I wish I could help. I'm not sure about adding butter to a 9 month olds diet though. Did the pediatrician offer any advice for weight gain? I think they make a special formula for babies who were born prematurely. Good luck

if your baby is not intollerant to dairy i see nothing wrong with giving butter. its very nutrient dense.

to OP; is your baby underweight?

hummingmom: do you think your babe gets sick from the fattening foods or is this coincidental?

coconut cream is a great idea if your baby is handeling coconut ok. its so delicious.

[tt7]

What is coconut cream and what do I use it in? How do I make these broths that you mention? Also nice to hear that I am NOT alone! I am a single mommy and work full time. To think that I was in the hospital 1 year ago with my severe pre-eclampsia, then they took him by emergency c-section is amazing. But in some weird way when I read about all you mommas that were able to breastfeed, have a home birth and had a wonderful experience, etc.-I do get sad that I didn't get to travel that path. But it was not Gods will. Please keep the suggestions coming it truly helps, thank you so much. t

[SageR]

Originally Posted by tt7

What is coconut cream and what do I use it in? How do I make these broths that you mention?

I agree on the coconut products. Eating it myself while bfing and giving directly to my underweight son helped him gain very nicely when nothing else seemed to be working.

When you open a can of coconut milk there will be a thick , firm layer on the top - that is the cream. You can mix it back into the milk or spoon it right out and eat it like a pudding - it is really delicious with a drop of maple syrup! It is also available as cream only. You should be able to find canned coconut milk and cream in the supermarket in the "ethnic" aisle. (you can make it yourself from fresh cocnuts but I'm guessing you don't have the time for that!) You can use it like milk or cream - as a beverage, in coups, with cereal, in smoothies (my ds really liked these, I was able to get some greens into him this way as an added bonus).

Bone broth is very easy to make at home, especially if you have a slow cooker/crock pot. There are a few different ways to do it but what I like to do is either take the carcass from a roast chicken, or place an entire whole uncooked chicken in the crock pot and cover with cold water and a splash of vinegar. I let it sit for an hour and then put it on low for about 24 hours. You want it to be just barely simmering. When you do this with a whole chicken you get all the meat cooked and can use it for sandwiches or whatever, plus you can skim the fat off the top and use that for cooking. I freeze it by the pint and in an ice cube tray, and then just pull out the amount I need.

[hummingmom]

Originally Posted by arismama!

hummingmom: do you think your babe gets sick from the fattening foods or is this coincidental?

I don't think it's coincidental. It's also not the type of food that's the problem, as it happens whether I load her up with extra fat, potatoes, baby food from a jar, or whatever. It seems as if it's just more food than her system can handle.

From what I've read, in the old days, preemies and "delicate children" were given less food than other children, and less concentrated food at that. There was a lot of concern about the danger of overloading their stomachs, leading to catarrh (mucus) in the GI tract and respiratory system. I think there's a lot of wisdom in that. Not that you want to give them too *little* food, obviously... but it's a delicate balance, and contemporary medicine doesn't seem to respect that. Most of the doctors we've encountered just want to stuff the kids with calories, and use meds or surgery to deal with the side effects (vomiting, diarrhea, constipation, etc.). Ironically, the excess food can mess up their digestion so much that they aren't absorbing the nutrients, in which case they'll actually gain even less weight.

This sort of thing is why we drive far out of our way to see a holistic pediatrician, who understands about paying attention to the body's signals. I'm very glad that this is an option for our family. She doesn't have a "magic bullet" to help DD gain weight, but at least we're supported in our approach. When you have a child with a history of serious medical issues, it can be very hard to go against doctor's orders.

[AarenLisbeth]

Originally Posted by hummingmom

I don't think it's coincidental. It's also not the type of food that's the problem, as it happens whether I load her up with extra fat, potatoes, baby food from a jar, or whatever. It seems as if it's just more food than her system can handle.

From what I've read, in the old days, preemies and "delicate children" were given less food than other children, and less concentrated food at that. There was a lot of concern about the danger of overloading their stomachs, leading to catarrh (mucus) in the GI tract and respiratory system. I think there's a lot of wisdom in that. Not that you want to give them too *little* food, obviously... but it's a delicate balance, and contemporary medicine doesn't seem to respect that. Most of the doctors we've encountered just want to stuff the kids with calories, and use meds or surgery to deal with the side effects (vomiting, diarrhea, constipation, etc.). Ironically, the excess food can mess up their digestion so much that they aren't absorbing the nutrients, in which case they'll actually gain even less weight.

This sort of thing is why we drive far out of our way to see a holistic pediatrician, who understands about paying attention to the body's signals. I'm very glad that this is an option for our family. She doesn't have a "magic bullet" to help DD gain weight, but at least we're supported in our approach. When you have a child with a history of serious medical issues, it can be very hard to go against doctor's orders.

I'll have to disagree with a few of your points, but I do agree with others. . . That being said I STRONGLY feel that the TYPE of food is the most important point!

Nutrition is the MOST important factor in creating/ repairing a healthy functioning system IMO. Chosing which foods/ supplements is an important task. I do agree that following a child's own cues is critical in this. That being said, I've found that most kids will crave/ consume quantities of what they need to thrive, if given the oppurtunity, naturally.

While in The NICU we went against the norms and decided NOT to use "fortfiers" in my milk. My pumped milk was super rich and high in cal. ( it was spun every other day to get cal. count ) and many times I would add hindmilk to hindmilk for an even fattier brew.

Preemies, like my guy, use up soo many calories just doing "normal" things like trying to breath on their own, or learning take a bottle and/ or breast. Most times my guy would burn more than he was able to take in. By not loading him up on a "synthesized nutritional cocktail" (which could cause unknown/ uncertain future outcomes years later in his life), he stayed very small, but was therefor able to breath on his own earlier than his less sick/ severe roomates.( He was also able to come home much earlier than was projected, but 106 days in the NICU is still a long time in my book.)

At two and 1/2 yrs. actual he stuffs himself with nutrient dense foods. He has an AMAZING immune system and is smart as a whip, but is still a string bean.

He loves livers and beef marrow, eggs, bone broth soups, all things coconut, yogurt, raw fish and butter! Every child is different in their constitutional make up, but I do believe entirely that the choice of foods, and the order in which they are introduced play a critical role in the long term health of the gut and the brain.

We are discussing a sensitive subject, and I in no way mean to pass judgement on others' very personal and difficult decisions on this matter. We all do what we think to be best in our own specific circumstances. My goal in the above is to only shed light on my own beliefs and choices.

Bottom line, for me, is that everyone kept telling me that a fat baby was a healthy baby. . .Maybe, in a perfect world. But I have finally come to accept, in all my efforts to fatten up my LO, that the most important thing is a HEALTHY baby. And if my former tiny sick preemie is that, well then I'll take a little munch of a guy who never gets sick and has recovered perfectly from his past issues
( of which in the NICU there were MANY). That is what truly matters the most.

[TzippityDoulah]

hummingmom and AarenLisbeth,

I think you both have such good insight! I almosted added that but I didn't... it concerns me when the main goal fo a doctor is to "fatten up". to me that can disguise a serious problem! There are MANY formula fed fat babies out there and I"m willing to bet if you compared them to a breastfed fat baby (who's mom is TF/NT) you'd see a big difference in their actual health.

a skinny child doens't mean an unhealthy child. it can be a concern of course if they are not getting enough calories... but I do think some children need to take is slower.

Isn't this where things like bone broths come in handy? easily digested? full of so mnay vitamins that rebuild and build up immunities, muscle and fat systems. they are also cleansing. and yet, very light. alone they could suppot a person for a while... added to other foods you can make them as dense and fattening as you want. Bone broth is a lot like breastmilk in a lot of ways (not the same. but similar as it's a liquid food that's dense in nutrients but easily digested)

just a thought...

[hummingmom]

Aarenlisbeth, I'm not sure which of my points you disagreed with; based on your post, it seems to me that we're pretty much on the same page with respect to nutrition. While I think there's wisdom in the old-time advice, we do offer high-calorie foods to our DD. We just don't make a point of offering *only* high calorie foods, serving her extra snacks, or all the other "tricks" that contemporary doctors often recommend to parents of smaller toddlers. Those things are what seemed to make her more prone to getting sick. I'm confident that offering her a variety of healthy, natural dishes from the family table, and letting her choose her own mixture of high- and low-calorie foods, is the best approach for her. Well, reasonably confident. Can we be sure of anything, as parents?

Speaking of which... you're right that feeding is a sensitive issue, and I can't see how critiquing the use of fortifiers in the NICU is going to help the OP at this point. Everyone's circumstances are different. Sometimes, there's a very strong case for using them; for instance, fortification might help a baby to reach a sufficient weight to undergo life-saving surgery. Sometimes, the way things go, the decision is out of the mother's hands entirely, and the baby might have to go onto formula. In any case, it's not a choice that any of us on this thread are facing right now (thankfully!), and I think it might best to focus on the present and future.