DS hasn't gained weight for 2.5 months!

[Debobu]

Hi All,

We just came back from the pediatrician's office for my DS' 9 month check up (he is actually 9.5) and he has not gained any weight for the last 2.5 months!!!!! He weighs 18 lbs 13 oz, exactly the same number from last time's visit!

I am a little surprised and concerned because he has always gained weight really well and consistently been in the 55-65% for weight and 95-off the charts for height.

He is now in the 15% for weight and 80% for height : (

I know they are just numbers but this has never happened before....
He is exclusively breastfed and does not like solids much so far.....

He has been very active-crawling, cruising, jumping and even took first steps a copuple of weeks ago....

She had recently done a blood test and he is not anemic.

Should I assume my milk supply is decreased?

Anyone else's babe experienced this?

Dr suggested increase solids and pedialite????

Any thoughts or ideas?

Thanks!

Concerned Mama to my gorgeous DS

[Mrsboyko]

Weight gain does slow in the second half of the first year. All that movment burns off a lot of calories. I would not assume your milk is lacking in any way. Solids has less calories than breast milk does, and pedialyte has NO calories, just salt. If he is not dehydrated he does not need pedialyte. It is irresponsible for the doc to suggest that as it would fill him up and make him take in LESS bm (and therefor LESS calories).

Keep doing what you were doing. If he seems interested in solids, make sure they are calorie dense foods, avocado, potatoes, even meat. Rice cereal and oatmeal have very little a growing body needs, so they should be at the bottom of the soilds list.

He really does sound like he is doing fine. A starving 9.5 months old baby would not be walking.......

ETA: was he plotting the weight on the regular curve, or aon a Breastfed baby curve? THey are different....

[gruver]

his activity level has soared since he started crawling, playing, etc. i think it sounds totally normal. as long as he isn't lethargic and is having plenty of BMs and wet diapers i think there is nothing to worry about it.

[blessedwithboys]

i think you meant to say pediaSURE LOL heres my btdt...i nursed ds1 for 24 mos, and he was your typical nursie-monster solid-food-hater. he hadnt even doubled his birth weight at 12 mos. his pedi threatened to call cps, so i took her advice to use pediasure, which was free on wic. ds loved it and drank it up but never put on weight. i was on the first leg of the crunchy journey, so i found a new ped and donated the shakes to the food pantry. pediasure is loaded with junk, artificial vitamins and tons of sugar.

if you feel like trying to pack some weight on your kiddo, maybe find some healthier food choices. jmho

[beckyand3littlemonsters]

i'd have to dig out chloes red book for exact weight but i remember getting her weighed at 6 months and 7 months and her weight was the exact same each time, then at 8 months she had lost some weight (not a lot a few oz at most i think) between 6-12 months she feel from the 50th to the 9th centille and she was on solids at 13 weeks (please don't flame me anyone my hv said she was ready for solids and i thought that she must of been because she took them ok) so solids don't nessacerily help.
once lo's become more active they gain weight at a slower pace so please don't worry too much.

[nummies]

For what it is worth, my DS was 20lbs at 4 months old. At 1 year he still weighed around 20lbs. He gained so much in the first 4 months, he just maintained his weight after he started moving around. I probably wouldn't worry.

[PatioGardener]

Here is the WHO curve - based on 'normally fed' babies (that is, brestfeeding was taken as normal). It may be reassuring for you! http://www.who.int/childgrowth/stand...boys_p_0_2.pdf

If your DS has fallen off that curve, my next thought would be do do some weight checks on scales you are really sure about. Scales can be so inaccurate. I'd want to know for sure that baby wasn't gaining at all before acting on it.

Finally, if baby isn't growing as expected, a good, breastfeeding friendly doc's first suggestion would be to increase milk transfer. If you don't have access to a good BF friendly MD, are you able to access a good LC? La Leche League? It may be something as simple as squeezing in one more nursing session a day, or eating oatmeal to bump up supple a little

[SeaDoula]

I highly suggest: a) calming down, if he is developmentally on track and moving a lot this is normal and he is not failing to thrive or anything. b) I would use REAL food before supplementing with anything.

coconut milk is great
avocado
eggs (if he does this already)
hummus
cheese
lots of high quality butter
olive oils..

Think fatty, but also nutrient dense

nut butters are also great, but you may wish to wait until he is older.

In terms of yourself, just making sure that your diet is rich, and you are getting enough to eat/drink so that your milk is as nutrient dense as possible.

Goodluck, sounds like the LO is doing fine...

[Debobu]

Thanks ladies for the replies!!!!!! I feel better.

She -Dr did say that mobility could slow weight down, she wasn't too concerned but wants to weigh him again in a month.

He is very active. He just crawled 2 flights of stairs without hesitation, really fast and in one go!!!!!!(for the first time ever)

I am a tad concerned about my supply...I was remembering that about a month back my DS spent a couple of weeks a bit unhappy and rooting constantly...and sometimes he would complain at the breast and I wondered if he was hungry and wasn't getting enough milk
But then that stopped...?!

Maybe I need to go back to galactalogues/pumping. I also think I may not be eating as much as I should. I am very tired and I am not cooking as much as I used to.

I would love for DS to eat some more solids but he doesn't really. He does not like purees, we offer small pieces of foods, mainly fruits/veggies but he looks disgusted and mainly plays with them. He is very interested in our food but often we feel nervous to feed him stuff with spices/herbs....

Is it ok to feed him food sauteed in olive oil, garlic for example and salt/herbamare, etc????!!!!!

Thanks again! It really helps to hear others' experiences !

[momoftworedheads]

My second son went right to table food at 9-10 months, we let him eat small pieces of our food and he was fine. He is an extremely healthy 7 year old who loves all kinds of food.

I would let him try your food, especially if those are the foods he is going to be eating in the future anyway.

Take care!