I broke down at the Dr's office today. - Page 2

[jewelsJZ]

Originally Posted by madeleines_mom

Wow, she's recommending you start formula at 1 year of age? I've honestly NEVER heard of that before. Cow's milk, yes. Goat's milk, sure. But formula at a year? No. I think that your doctor is misinformed.

There is a plethora of things you can do to help your daughter gain weight. Increasing her intake of solids is first on that list. Include things into her diet that are high in fat such as full fat yogurts/cheese, avocados etc. Offer solids more often throughout the day. Full fat cows milk (I've seen as high as 3.8% organic homo milk here) should help too, if you're okay with introducing it. There is NO reason to stop breastfeeding and I'm glad your doctor sees it that way as well. There is no more fat in formula than there is in breastmilk. However adding more solids and some full fat milk into her diet could give her the calories she needs to get to her weight potential (to me, that is the weight she is with proper balanced nutrition).

Giving formula at this age would be silly for the following reasons:
-It's VERY expensive
-It has the same amount of fat calories as breastmilk and whole cow's milk
-Your daughter will probably hate it

Also, keep in mind (as I'm sure you are) that she's likely just a smaller kid. nothing wrong with that. Of course any drop on the weight charts is a cause for concern and it should be investigated to make sure that there is nothing wrong. If increasing her solids, offering higher fat foods, introducing cows milk and continuing breastfeeding are all being done, and her weight is still dropping off, then I would be concerned (and STILL formula would NOT be the answer). However don't be surprised if with all those measures her weight still is in the 5th percentile. If that's her weight potential, then going over it would be making her overweight and that's not what we want either.

Exactly!

[craft_media_hero]

Originally Posted by Mommy2anangel

Yet I am so upset and I refuse to give her formula. I do not know what to do. I started crying in her office and cried all the way home. I am worried (a little really, not too much) about DD's weight. I know that it's probably because she's sick, and she may have lost a few oz, and the Dr. even suggested that as well. We have to go back in 2 weeks to recheck her weight, and for vaccines, which is another issue for me. I do not want to vaccinate and I feel like she is pushing it on me. (that's another subject in itself)

But anyway, my issue is what do I do. I mostly do BLW and she doesn't eat a whole lot of solid food anyway. I just need some advice and I'm at a loss with what to do. Please help mamas...

ETA DD has been exclusively nursed, and not had any bottles etc. and I will continue and plan on nursing for as long as we both are comfortable.

I can soo sympathize with you! What you're describing are fears that I went through with my daughter when she was around the same age. She has always been on the small side (5th percentile or less, like your lo). I do believe that breastfed babies (from observation) can be more petite than ff kids the same age. This was always the case with my dd, too. As long as she's healthy, it's okay for her to be small. And like you said, she'd probly dropped a few lbs from being sick.

And for your doc to suggest vaccines right after she's been sick? I dunno, I imagine that's gonna wear down the lo and she might even lose a little more weight from that. I let them pressure me through the vaccines, too. Now I look back and wish I hadn't. It took me til she was at the end of almost all of them to realize that she probably would've been healthier this whole time if she hadn't had them . . . I can relate, and it's a horrible feeling.

You have to consider how many factors are going into that weight average that they're comparing her to. I don't really consider it accurate. I look more at the WHO's scales and also, think about how much bigger US (I'm assuming that's where you are) kids are from just two generations ago? I do think that's partly because our diets have so much growth hormone and and other weird stuff in them . . .

Anyways, I just wanted to sympathize and let you know that I totally understand how you're feeling.

For me, the answer has been only going to doctors when dd is really sick. She hasn't been sick enough to take her to a doctor since I quit taking her *shrug* about three years. We don't even do well checks. She's still small, but I know she's healthy. I was really "burned" by the medical establishment here (long story, pm me if you're interested ). If I could find a naturopathic family doctor that would take our insurance, then we might do well checks. I dunno, tho, it has seemed really unnecessary so far.

Every mama's got to find her own way! I hope this gets easier for you, soon.

Oh, BTW, you don't have to give her the formula! The solids she does eat can be made to be more calorie-dense, and you can bulk up your milk, give her coconut oil and yummy avocado treats! My baby never had a bottle either, good for you; you will be proud that you stuck with it later.

[treeoflife]

It's really hard when you have doctors trying to make your child fit in the middle of the growth chart.

DD1 was under 16# at a year, 26# at six, and weighed 48# at 10.5 when she started growth hormone. She is now 13 and 80#. She was very happy and healthy.

So when DD3 was small on the charts and kept slipping in the same way at the same ages, i had familial history to fall back on and the ped ended up deferring to that. She turned 1 in Oct and weighed 17#. I believe that by doing BLW and nursing round the clock and feeding her nutrient dense food like avocado, she ended up a little heavier than her older sister and climbed back up the charts a bit.

Trust your instincts.

[scrabblelover]

your baby is beautiful. she just happens to be small. someone has to be at the bottom end of the percent and it doesn't mean you are doing anything wrong. you are giving her exactly what she needs.

i say this, with experience, my dd is 18 months and weighs 19pds. she is below 5%. but she is growing, happy & nursing.

you are doing a great job and don't let them tell you differently!

[brennan]

I could have written this post myself...and I did, like a month ago
We are heading to the pediatrician on monday and I am prepared with the WHO charts with all of her weights plotted on it, showing that she follows a PERFECT bf line.

Check out the other charts and bring them in!

[crazyrunningmama]

Originally Posted by madeleines_mom

Giving formula at this age would be silly for the following reasons:
-It's VERY expensive
-It has the same amount of fat calories as breastmilk and whole cow's milk
-Your daughter will probably hate it

And it's full of all kinds of weird, crappy mystery ingredients. Organic avocado is a fun food at that age, you can cut it into spears for easier grabbing and eating, too.

[Megan73]

Doctors never seem to understand that the charts represent a range of HEALTHY children.
I'd keep doing what you're doing while emphasizing higher-calorie solids such as avocado, Mediterranean-style yogurt(10% fat), buttered veggies, cubes of cooked meat or chicken with skin etc.

[MountainMamaGC]

My DD is happy healthy and in the 3rd percentile. At 21 months she is 19.5 lbs. I will not let anyone tell me that kid is unhealthy. She is bright eyed, smart, energetic and gorgeous. She is skinny and short but not sickly. If this sounds like your DD then I would not worry. Look at the child and not the chart. If she was tiny and lifeless, and tired all the time, if her eyes looked dim and she was pale with dry ashy skin, I would consider that something was wrong. I just wont let anyone tell me my healthy petite kid is not healthy. Also its normal to lose a little weight when sick. Some kids get lean once they get mobile too. They lose their chub from all the running around. I have seen this happen to a few toddlers in my playgroup.

[ellesmom]

I have not read all the respones. I just wanted to give my support. My dd who is now 3.5 and still nursing has always been really small. She was below the 3rd percentile all through until her last check up at 3. We have not been to the doctor since then. I always worry about her being small, but she eats well, she is still nursing. Our doctor back home was never worried about her. She always said that it was genetics. I am 5'2" and my mom is 4'11" and we are just not big people. Anyway, I would try not to worry, or give her formula. Neither of my children have ever had formula. My ds who is now 17 months is on the other end of the spectrum... he gets that from dh's family! He is almost as tall as my 3 year old and weighs more than her! Anyway, I am just rambling now... I just wanted to offer my support from a mama of another small child!!

[jr'smom]

Why worry about her weight? Is she developing normally? Does she wet several times a day and defacate once a day or more? My 11month old DD is around 16lbs (don't know exactly because we don't weigh her officially--it's been months since she's been for a check-up). And she was born 10lb 6oz. Some babies just weigh less! I was very little until I was 2 yrs old. My mother was always very little. Both my boys were big babies and continue to be average weight and tall.

Especially if there actually is any concern over her thriving I wouldn't add vaccines to the mix! If you're inclined not to vaccinate, just don't. If you're unsure, at least put them off for a couple of years while the little nervous system develops to minimize the danger.

Hope this doesn't come off too strong. Just trying to support you and your choices, mama.

[anotherpeanut]

My kiddo was a chunker so I have zero advice in that department, he was a great nurser once he got the hang of it, and a great eater once we got to "real" food! I guess I"m lucky. As far as vaccines go you really need to know what you want to do and be informed on your decisions. It doesn't have to be an all or nothing thing, read up on what may be prevalent in your area of the country and consider your lifestyle when deciding what or if to give vaccines. Our doctor felt a few were very important and so I took that into consideration when planning our schedule. Doctors are required to push what the CDC recommends, but they are also advised to follow a parents wishes on vaccinations, they cannot force you to vaccinate your child. After I came in with a full, written out schedule of how I wanted to do things my doc (totally old school) has left me alone. For me I feel that vaccination is something that is important but done on MY timeline, not theirs. I'm still nervous when it's vaccine time but I'm glad he's only getting 1 shot instead of 3 or 4! Stand up for yourself and your child! Be strong, this is only the beginning

[fyrwmn]

it sound slike that may be the norm for your dd. my dd has always been opn the low end of the percentage charts for weight. at 1 yr i think she was somewhere around 16 lbs. she just turned 4 in november and is 36 lbs (only gained a few ounces at most in the last year) and nearly 4 ft tall already. her dr wasn't worried but did suggest we recheck her weight in 6 months to see where it's at by then. in contrast, dd is 6 months old and just shy of 17lbs. both kiddos were exclusively bf, never a drop of formula. with dd, we did encourage whole milk yogurt, milk, avacado, etc. she's always eaten very healtrhy though, prefers fruit and veggies to sweets. i wouldn't say to completely ignore things just in case there's an issue, but i wouldn't get too worried either.

[calebsmommy25]

Originally Posted by madeleines_mom

Wow, she's recommending you start formula at 1 year of age? I've honestly NEVER heard of that before. Cow's milk, yes. Goat's milk, sure. But formula at a year? No. I think that your doctor is misinformed.

There is a plethora of things you can do to help your daughter gain weight. Increasing her intake of solids is first on that list. Include things into her diet that are high in fat such as full fat yogurts/cheese, avocados etc. Offer solids more often throughout the day. Full fat cows milk (I've seen as high as 3.8% organic homo milk here) should help too, if you're okay with introducing it. There is NO reason to stop breastfeeding and I'm glad your doctor sees it that way as well. There is no more fat in formula than there is in breastmilk. However adding more solids and some full fat milk into her diet could give her the calories she needs to get to her weight potential (to me, that is the weight she is with proper balanced nutrition).

Giving formula at this age would be silly for the following reasons:
-It's VERY expensive
-It has the same amount of fat calories as breastmilk and whole cow's milk
-Your daughter will probably hate it

Also, keep in mind (as I'm sure you are) that she's likely just a smaller kid. nothing wrong with that. Of course any drop on the weight charts is a cause for concern and it should be investigated to make sure that there is nothing wrong. If increasing her solids, offering higher fat foods, introducing cows milk and continuing breastfeeding are all being done, and her weight is still dropping off, then I would be concerned (and STILL formula would NOT be the answer). However don't be surprised if with all those measures her weight still is in the 5th percentile. If that's her weight potential, then going over it would be making her overweight and that's not what we want either.

When my ds was between 10-13 months he was very slim, but bulked up shortly there after. He started to walk, and run and was mostly just nursing. When he started wolfing down good nutrient dense foods + mama's milk, he really took off. I'm sure your little one is fine. Don't let your doc bully you into anything you don't want to do, from formula to vaxs.

[Breeder]

My little E-Train is a short stack and was off the bottom of the charts at 1 year, went back to check at 18 months and he was back up to the 10th percentile. Their little bodies are changing so much at this point I'd just keep the healthy fatty foods up. Avocados are good. We do a lot of cereal bars at our house and constantly offer snacks.