so I'm hoping that he is getting a good variety of nutrients in his diet.We too haven't yet had the iron test. I'm assuming they'll do it at the next visit when they do the lead check. I'm not too worried about the iron since the ped was so adament about giving her lots of cereal, which is all fortified. We've started adding coconut milk to it for fat too. Silverfish, sure I'm always happy to take some suggestions on foods...
We actually did go right out and see a nutritionist, but I have to say she wasn't much help. She gave us tons of crap about being vegan only to go on to say that dd shouldn't eat cow dairy anyway due to her having excema and dairy's effects on me (it makes my asthma and sinus problems way worse, and does horrible things to my stomach). Nor did she actually suggest any animal products specifically, only said things like "yes that would be good" when my dh suggested them (goat milk, eggs, etc). She also went on about how dd should be on supplements for vit D, b12, zinc etc, which I thought was weird since the whole point of seeing her was to get advice on how to get these things from food... whatever, her logic in just about everything she said was just unbelievable awful. It was pretty frustrating but, yeah we just did the nod and smile thing basically. We're on the fence about whether to keep dd vegan or give in about things like eggs and goat milk. The more I look into it the more I want her to stay vegan though, especially when I think about the concentrations of toxins through the food chain.
DS1 was 8-6 at birth. He had a really hard time gaining weight. I think at 6 months he was less than 10%-ile and stayed pretty skinny, but not so that people commented. Now at age 3 he's at 50%, but low on height (16%).
DS2, on the other hand, was 9 at birth and is 16 lbs at 3 months. 90+% all around. Same mom, same boobs, same milk (and same dad!). Funny how that works.
We too haven't yet had the iron test. I'm assuming they'll do it at the next visit when they do the lead check. I'm not too worried about the iron since the ped was so adament about giving her lots of cereal, which is all fortified. We've started adding coconut milk to it for fat too. Silverfish, sure I'm always happy to take some suggestions on foods...
We actually did go right out and see a nutritionist, but I have to say she wasn't much help. She gave us tons of crap about being vegan only to go on to say that dd shouldn't eat cow dairy anyway due to her having excema and dairy's effects on me (it makes my asthma and sinus problems way worse, and does horrible things to my stomach). Nor did she actually suggest any animal products specifically, only said things like "yes that would be good" when my dh suggested them (goat milk, eggs, etc). She also went on about how dd should be on supplements for vit D, b12, zinc etc, which I thought was weird since the whole point of seeing her was to get advice on how to get these things from food... whatever, her logic in just about everything she said was just unbelievable awful. It was pretty frustrating but, yeah we just did the nod and smile thing basically. We're on the fence about whether to keep dd vegan or give in about things like eggs and goat milk. The more I look into it the more I want her to stay vegan though, especially when I think about the concentrations of toxins through the food chain.
i don't think there is much point in giving up veganism for health. we are pretty relaxed vegans and dd has had some animal products in social situations where i wasn't able to provide an alternative (friend's first birthday party, grandma feeding her over christmas holidays etc). there is a line that i don't want to be crossed, but a mouthful of birthday cake or pumpkin pie isn't it. it's not something i would start doing for health though, because i agree with you, i don't think animal products are superior in nutrition. anyway, it's true that it can be a little more challenging to feed a high protein, high fat diet because some of my standbys are either harder for her to eat (beans), or not really appropriate at her age (nuts). chunks of cheese, meat and so on are pretty convenient and simple sources of calories.
anyway, i started thinking about feeding her like she was some kind of athlete. we almost never give typical baby purees of simple veg/fruit... i try to make sure everything has some good fats in it. we also do the coconut milk with oatmeal, but i also mash some banana in. she is fond of chunks of tofu, and is starting to be more into soft cooked beans than she used to be. two of my favourite meals with her are shepard's pie (mashed potatoes with a tempeh or tofu base: the potatoes provide the perfect vehicle for getting 'meat' and veggies into her mouth) and lentil curry with brown rice. we use coconut milk and puree the lentils and rice quickly so the rice is easier to eat. i use olive oil on EVERYTHING, and my other favourite fat before we started giving almond products is pumpkin seed butter. that stuff is high in fat, really high in iron and super delicious. there was a point a couple months ago when i put it on everything. i even stirred it into her cereal a couple times. we checked the labels on the coconut milk and found that some brands were watering down a lot more than others. we use the highest fat content we can find. hummus, avocado, other kinds of seed butters, can be spread on anything.
now that she is eating three solid meals a day, i am letting up a bit and giving her more stuff like crackers, grapes, steamed broccoli, applesauce, puffed rice, etc. before i wanted the solids she did eat to really count, so i wasn't too big on the low cal stuff (she obviously got veggies/fruit all the time, just not plain with nothing else).
DD is only 5 months so we'll see how things change when we start solids but for now my skinny minny baby is thriving on breastmilk. She was 7 lbs at birth and 11 lbs at her 4 month appt. Our doctor is very supportive she just told me that not everyone can be in the 100th percentile. She's healthy and growing well on her own curve.
You could just subscribe to it, mama! 
Just an update.
We had our weigh in today. It went ok. Dd gained a pound since last visit, and grew and inch and a half. Doc (who didn't bother to see us herself, but told her nurse) says that's good, but still wants another weigh in in a month. Could be worse. I'm not surprised she grew more in height than weight, she's super active. Her favorite thing right now is climbing the stairs.
Silverfish, thanks for the suggestions. We will definitely have to try Pumkin Seed Butter. She actually really likes refried beans, and since she'll be a year next week I think we'll introduce nuts.
Im bumping this up to ask all the skinny babies mamas a question about keeping how you are keeping your babies restrained. My baby just will not stay seated. For example, when we are at the grocery store, I try to wear her but sometimes she doesnt tolerate it and I put her in the seat of the grocery cart and she can stand up. She is so skinny that, on the smallest setting, she can pull her legs up, turn around and then slide out of the strap. If it wasnt for her huge cloth diaper she'd do it with ease every single time. Same with restaurant high chairs. Even the smallest setting wont keep her sitting down. Has anyone else found this to be the case or has anyone found a solution?
We use a shopping cart cover that has a harness on it. She can sit sideways in it, by pulling her feet up from the holes in the cover/cart, but she can't stand up.
Joining in... and quick question... did any of you do any testing to see if your baby was ok? I'm getting worried about little Amaryn.
My husband and I are both on the thin side, but he was a huge fat baby and I think I was closer to average in the first year (fell off the charts later in life maybe? i was small as a kid, but my mom said I doubled my birth weight by 6 months which would put my at much bigger than amaryn). And our first child Haley was at the top of the charts (they had the exact same birth weight and gestation) and fell to maybe 25th %ile for weight by 2 or so. So this growth pattern is different from any of us and it's a bit worrisome to me.
Here it is...
Birth: 8lbs 1oz
2 months: 10lbs 2oz
4 months: 12lbs 1oz
6 months: 13lbs 5.5oz
She'll be 8 months on Saturday and she's 14 lbs which would put her just under 3rd %ile on the WHO charts
She initially had some nursing issues. Not horrible, but she would occasionally scream and refuse to nurse for hours. After 4 months, that ended and she now nurses very well and on demand. I only work a few hours on Saturday and I'm gone maybe an hour on Wednesdays, so she otherwise is with me and nursing. She's extremely active and started moving quite a bit by 4.5-5 months, was hands and knees crawling at 6 months, and now is really fast and pulls up, stands, etc. No lethargic baby here. Output seems normal to me. I'm still worried by how teeny tiny she is.
To me, it sounds like she is a combination of small genetics and active baby skinniness-- more active babies seem to lose the "baby fat" more quickly.
Aimee, do you think it would also work in a restaurant style high chair? Also, how does it fasten to the shopping cart?
Thanks! Thats EXACTLY what Ive been looking for (i think).
Yes, I have used it in the restaurant highchairs as well.
It goes on like this: First, the front part hooks over the shopping cart handle. Then, there is a pouch-shaped piece at the back of the cover that goes over the back of the shopping cart seat (that part that folds in when you're not using the seat). Finally, there are ties on either side that tie to the sides of the cart. The back piece with the harness is attached to the seat of the cart cover but not to the back pouch piece, if that makes sense. The end result is that they're securely strapped in, but can still move around.
I got mine at Target, and last time I checked, my Target still carries them.
Here it is...
Birth: 8lbs 1oz
2 months: 10lbs 2oz
4 months: 12lbs 1oz
6 months: 13lbs 5.5oz
She'll be 8 months on Saturday and she's 14 lbs which would put her just under 3rd %ile on the WHO charts
And for comparison's sake, here's my older daughter as a baby:
Birth: 8lbs 1oz
2 months: 12lbs 8oz
4 months: 15lbs 6oz
6 months: 17lbs 3.5oz
9 months: 19lbs 13oz
12 months: 21 lbs
So DD2 at almost 8 months is the size DD1 was at maybe 3 months? I guess that's part of what has me worried.
I think this would help with small babies, too: http://www.mypreciouskid.com/huggabebe-baby-support-pillow.html
dd doesn't spend enough time sitting still to make me think we need one, but it's an idea.
I achieved the same effect with massive amounts of throw pillows when Cecilia was smaller. 
Joining in... and quick question... did any of you do any testing to see if your baby was ok? I'm getting worried about little Amaryn.
My husband and I are both on the thin side, but he was a huge fat baby and I think I was closer to average in the first year (fell off the charts later in life maybe? i was small as a kid, but my mom said I doubled my birth weight by 6 months which would put my at much bigger than amaryn). And our first child Haley was at the top of the charts (they had the exact same birth weight and gestation) and fell to maybe 25th %ile for weight by 2 or so. So this growth pattern is different from any of us and it's a bit worrisome to me.
Here it is...
Birth: 8lbs 1oz
2 months: 10lbs 2oz
4 months: 12lbs 1oz
6 months: 13lbs 5.5oz
She'll be 8 months on Saturday and she's 14 lbs which would put her just under 3rd %ile on the WHO charts
She initially had some nursing issues. Not horrible, but she would occasionally scream and refuse to nurse for hours. After 4 months, that ended and she now nurses very well and on demand. I only work a few hours on Saturday and I'm gone maybe an hour on Wednesdays, so she otherwise is with me and nursing. She's extremely active and started moving quite a bit by 4.5-5 months, was hands and knees crawling at 6 months, and now is really fast and pulls up, stands, etc. No lethargic baby here. Output seems normal to me. I'm still worried by how teeny tiny she is.
My daughter is my third, and much smaller than my second was (my oldest has a different dad, but was also on the small side). I think it's because I was making almost no milk. We did start supplementing with a little formula at 6+ months (when she was the same weight, or a little less, than she was at 4 months) but didn't want to give her much. She ate a lot of solids but I just don't think she was getting enough milk. I just started taking domperidone for my milk supply and have WAY more milk now-- she hasn't had a bottle in several days and isn't pulling off the breast screaming. I know some babies are genetically tiny but I don't think that's the case with her-- my husband and I were both BIG babies (although thin/average adults) as was my 5 yr. old, and she was over 7 lbs. when she was born, 3 weeks early.
Hi guys,
I think Norah and I need to join the skinny babies tribe. We have had soooo many issues with her gaining weight and our ped is not taking a relaxed stance on it at all. She is now 7.5 months and was 13 lbs 2 ounces at her weigh in last week.
She is super active and tall. Meeting all of her milestones and she nurses like a champ. I also have oversupply so I don't think its an issue with that either. Doc pushed formula and I actually had the hospital nicu test my milk for calorie content just to get him off my back. 23 per ounce btw.
Her thyroid levels were elevated at her last blood draw so they are having us repeat them some time this week. I hate having her blood drawn. :(
So far what has seemed to work is pushing high fat/cal solids. We will have to see how she gains this week. :) She gained well last week and had a leg roll for about a day. I think she grew in height and it went away.
:)
C
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