failure to thrive - Page 2

[aet.tea]

My DD was 11.5 pounds at 6 months. She was always little, though - 5 lb 11 oz at birth. Her slowest weight gain was between 6 and 9 months, when she only gained a pound. She has never been diagnosed with FTT but it is a constant challenge to keep her weight gain up (she's between 15 and 16 lbs now at 13.5 mo). She was born with a single kidney and that may have something to do with her size, but it's not the only factor. Her dad and I are both fairly small, and I think she inherited a beanpole metabolism from him.

We also have an extremely easygoing pediatrician who ran the PICU for years - he's seen so many really sick babies that he's not disturbed by variations of normal.

If weight alone is your concern, I wouldn't worry too much - if she seems content, engaged with people and her surroundings, and meeting milestones, just continue doing what you're doing.

Re: high calorie foods - avocado is great. You can give certain kinds of oils - our DD LOVES cod liver oil, flax oil, coconut oil. Mix oil or butter into her cereal. Sweet potato with oil or butter. (I think butter is less allergenic than milk itself but I have no direct experience with dairy allergies)

In addition to breastmilk I give DD a concoction of 3 parts goat milk with 1 part coconut milk. High fat and she drinks it right down. Recommended by a nutritionist who says that goat milk is an acceptable formula substitute for infants, especially over 6 months old (but check with your doctor/nutritionist if you think your DD might be sensitive).

Good luck! Keep up the good work!

[PatioGardener]

Originally Posted by Lauren31

AVOCADO! Lots of it and breastmilk too. Nurse nurse nurse.

[boobs4milk]

do you do breast compressions? sorry i can't add anything else. there were a few threads floating around about increasing the fat in your milk, too.

my dd1 was ftt @ age 2 mos. the pediaidiot said she was allergic to my milk so we switched her to formula. no matter what we gave her, she spewed like a volcano. turns out she had immature sphincters and the little flaps weren't closing to keep the milk in. she was 7.1lbs at birth, 15lb 14 oz at 1. she'll be 18 saturday and she is 6'2" and 175lbs of muscle and basketball star!

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[staceychev]

Originally Posted by Pookietooth

to you. I have two friends whose babies had trouble gaining weight -- one was officially FTT, the other was just threatened with it. Both turned out to have gluten intolernace (celiac) as well as a dairy sensitivity. It's hard to do, but you may have to have your baby tested for gluten intolerance. There is a stool test that is less invasive, but it's not accepted by most mainstream doctors. Hope you figure things out.

I've been researching celiac recently for my mom, and have read that FTT is often undiagnosed celiac or gluten issues. That being said, I've read that they've come a long way with testing and that there is a blood test now that is very accurate. I don't know if you would need to have the villi test done.