9 month old loosing weight and low hemoglobin

[lil_stinkyfeet]

I had my little guy in for his 9 month check and he has lost 7oz (actually probably a little more) since his 6 month check. I normally don't even look at the charts but he went from being in between the 50th and 75th percentile to falling to the 10th percentile. (He weighed in at 18lbs1oz)

Brief History: He was born at 37w by C-Section (my first C) he weighed 8lbs even which made him my smallest birth weight baby.

We don't have a history of small babies my smallest 9month old baby was my daughter weighing 22lbs, my boys were both 23lbs at 9mos. It is odd but doesn't really bother me that he is the shrimpy one of the family b/c I know all babies/kids are different. I do think though that in a 3 month time span he should have gained something or even stayed the same as opposed to loosing weight.

Ds is completely breastfed but does get solids a few times per day, I don't have any sort of strict feeding schedule so I can't really tell you how much or how often he eats. He just eats when he is hungry and I am pretty sure he never or rarely goes more then 3 hours without nursing.

My doctors opinion is that he is probably just not getting enough calories and I am wondering if he is just filling up on too many low cal foods. We did discuss my options supplementing with formula or whole milk and/or using solids to increase his caloric intake.

I decided that I don't want to supplement with formula or milk right now I can't imagine I would get him to take it anyways. So I am looking for some high calorie foods I can give him to help fatten him up I have an appt in a month to re-check his weight and see how things are going. Any opinions suggestions would be appreciated!


After I wrote this post I got in the results of his Hemoglobin and his number was 10.3 which is a little low right? In looking it up it seems to fall under mildly anemic. So if anyone wants to chime in on that, it would be much appreciated as well!

[lil_stinkyfeet]

Or if anyone has any links to a thread talking about something similar.. I can't seem to find anything.

[Llyra]

It's very common for weight gain to slowly a lot during the second half of the first year. But I think with a baby who's actually not gaining at all, or even losing, I'd be concerned.

I think the first thing I'd do would be to take steps to get more breastmilk into him. At 9 months, that's the best thing for him. Therefore I'd probably increase feeding frequency. I'd offer every hour and a half, even if he doesn't ask to nurse, during the day. If he's too distracted to nurse well, I"d consider taking him at regular intervals to a quiet room so he can get down to business. During the night, I'd wake to feed every two and a half to three hours, like you were dealing with a newborn (or of course more often if he wakes more often). I would also start pumping after a few feeds a day, to try and increase supply. I'd look at your own diet and hydration, and be sure you're getting enough calories and fluids to ensure your optimal supply.

Next, if you're going to supplement with solids, I'd start with high-fat calorie-dense whole foods like egg yolks, cheese, whole fat yogurt, meats, liver, chicken, fatty fishes, butter, olive oil, etc. When I offered vegetables or starchy stuff, I'd offer them buttered or served with olive oil, or coconut oil, or something like that.

As far as the iron goes, finding a way to offer meats can help a lot with that. Egg yolks also have iron, I think. You can also get iron into baby by cooking in cast iron cookware.

I would think that increasing his breastmilk input, plus adding in a few high-calorie solids, would probably help him start gaining appropriately again. Keep in mind, though, that it is entirely normal for gain to slow remarkably at this age, so it won't be the kind of gain you usually see in very young babies. If he doesn't start gaining at all, though, I think I'd ask for more testing, in case there's something else going on.

[lil_stinkyfeet]

Thank you for the advice! I was kinda thinking that if he doesn't gain something by his 12month check or at least for sure if he looses anything between now and then I would have them check into things more.

I will try some of your suggestions, Thanks!

[Pandme]

According to kellymom, 10.5 is low end of normal for the blood test. So 10.3 is really not that low.

[smpayne]

Is mom getting enought fat and calories in her diet? What are mom's hemoglobin levels?

[askew]

My DD has other issues, but our ped told us to put some fat in everything she eats. So whenever she eats solids, be it veggie baby food or homemade soup her serving gets an extra teaspoon of fat. Sometimes coconut oil and sometimes butter or ghee. I might try doing this in your situation. You can also take an iron supplement which should increase the iron in your breastmilk.

[lil_stinkyfeet]

I admittedly don't have the best diet but I do take supplements, not iron though.