skinny baby!

[MrsBone]

Took my 6 mo old girl to the Ped today and she is in the 5th percentile for weight and 95th for height. Last appointment she was 25th for weight and 95% for height, before that it was 50th% for weight and 95% for height. Dr. recommended I supplement with either formula or goats milk. She seems like she's getting enough milk from me, doesnt act hungry..why would I need to supplement? I gave her some banana the other day for a first food and she wasnt too interested. She has no teeth yet, not sitting up on her own..just  FYI. He told me that if she was just low on weight but consistently gaining, he wouldn't be so concerned but the fact that she's only gained about 5 lbs since birth concerns him. he wants to weih her again in a month after trying supplementation. What should I do? I dont' really want to give her formula, and raw goats milk isn't  so bad and I'll do that if I need to, but do you all think

i need to? His biggest concern is brain development, since so much of that is relied upon fat in milk.He also told me that any table food I give her right now, fruit, veggies, whatnot aren't going to contribute to brain development like milk does. You can tell she's thin but she doesn't look underweight or malnourished in any way. Need some insight!

Edited by MrsBone - 11/10/11 at 12:42pm

[Honey693]

I think breastmilk has more calories per ounce than formula doesn't it?   I'd probably just weigh her before and after feedings for a few days and see how much she's taking at each feeding then decide what to do.

[whozeyermamma]

I think some babies are just naturally skinny. Case in point, my DD (now 8) who has always been in the 5-10th percentile in weight. She was 40 lbs for the past 3 years at every checkup - just kept getting taller, not heavier.

My DS (16 mo) is in the 50-75th % for weight! Both kids were/are EBF, delayed solids, vegetarian. Go figure.

Best advice I ever got was "look at the baby, not the chart." If your baby looks healthy, isn't fussy and acting hungry, if you're doing a full feed on both breasts (making sure she gets that fatty hind milk) - I think you're fine. Figure in the next few months you can add some fatty first foods - like avocado, yogurt, etc.

[Megan73]

I think your doc may be right to be concerned but he gave you bad advice. A breastfeeding-friendly doctor would have suggested you see a lactation consultant to work on getting more BM into her.
The average BF baby typically gains five to seven ounces a week in the early months and doubles birthweight between three and four months. You can check whether her growth follows a curve on the WHO charts and the info on normal breastfed babies' growth on kellymom.com.
I'd focus on trying to get more breastmilk into her and see if she's gained over a few weeks. You could try pumping after feeds and giving her the pumped milk in a cup, using breast compressions when you nurse and switching sides several times after baby "finishes" one breast. A galactagogue - particularly domperidone - may help.
If you do need to supplement (and can't get donor milk), formula is IMO is the best option. Dr. Sears advises against using goat milk for babies because it can cause intestinal irritation and anemia.

[cameragirl]

Another thing to consider - are Mom and Dad thin? It may just be her body type. I also agree with seeing an LC to help increase supply instead of supplementing with formula.

[MrsBone]

Wow, so glad to see a range of replies. As far as body type goes, DH is average, and I'm average but I was thin/borderline underweight my whole life. I'm now at a healthy weight. 5'9" and 150 lbs. I used to be 5'9" and 125 though, pretty thin. My mom told me that I was in the 25th percentile until I was 4 months old when she started feeding me solids. She said that my percentage may have gone down had she not fed me solids at that time. Who knows. I understand why some of you would be concerned about feeding baby goats milk but I will not give my baby powdered milk and corn syrup. even if I had to supplement raw goats milk has GOT to be healthier than that. :) I think I'm going to try and just nurse her often for awhile and see what happens, weigh her and see if she's gaining. I think the doc's biggest concern was brain development. But how is anyone suppose to know that her brain isn't developing at a good rate?!

[montessorimama1]

Just FYI, guess who developed the growth charts and established "appropriate" growth percentages that doctors now swear by?  Formula companies.  Why?  To make mothers believe that their BM wasn't good enough and they had to supplement with formula.  Read the section on breastfeeding on "Baby Matters" before making any decision.  Good luck!

[Megan73]

Originally Posted by MrsBone 

But how is anyone suppose to know that her brain isn't developing at a good rate?!

I presume your doctor measured her head circumference - literally to make sure her brain is growing, among other reasons - and asked you about milestones like sitting up, babbling, grasping toys?

[Megan73]

Originally Posted by montessorimama1 

Just FYI, guess who developed the growth charts and established "appropriate" growth percentages that doctors now swear by?  Formula companies.  Why?  To make mothers believe that their BM wasn't good enough and they had to supplement with formula. 

Sure, some doctors do use outdated charts. But the U.S. Center for Disease Control advocates use of the World Health Organization Child Growth Standards based on studying thousands of breastfed kids around the world - including the U.S.

[kathrineg]

Well, formula does have corn syrup in it (or sugar, depending on the brand). That is because human milk has much more sugar per ounce than cow's milk, so it needs to have sugar added to it so that the nutritional balance will be similar to human milk.

Sugar gives our babies the energy they need to grow and keep those big, calorie-burning brains supplied with energy. Our breastmilk is FULL of sugar. Cow's milk and goat's milk...not so much.

I also feel that raw milk for a 4-month old is unnecessarily risky.

However, I agree with the comments suggesting trying to get more breastmilk into her--but not panicking as long as she seems to be happy and healthy.

[DaisyO]

Why don't you just get pasteurized fresh non-skim goat's milk?  That's what we use for the baby to drink, also goat's yoghurt.  You can get it at the health-food store or Whole Foods.  Oak Knoll is the brand, it is wonderful. 

If that won't do, you can get powdered (pasteurized) goat's milk with nothing added, mix it up, put vitamin drops (or powder--we use Rainbow Light) and a little maple syrup and canola oil in it.  Also you can bust open a fish oil pill and put the oil in for DHA.  This powdered goat's milk is also available at our local health-food store.  This is what our pediatrician recommended in place of formula when my daughter wasn't gaining enough.  Then you get no preservatives, cow protein, soy estrogen, corn syrup, etc etc like you get in formula.  We didn't end up doing it, though, because the baby started refusing all bottles (even with breastmilk), so I took fenugreek instead in case my milk was low.  She's still in the 10th-20th percentiles for weight but nobody is worried since the height, and, more importantly, the head circumference are okay.

I really wouldn't go with the raw milk for such a young baby, like the other ladies said.  PM me if you want the actual receipe the ped gave me, I'll e-mail it to you.  Or you can just wing it with the amount of maple syrup and oil, and use either fresh or powdered goat's milk.  It would be about the same and you wouldn't have to mix up a whole big container at once.  The vitamin powder comes in packets; you want to use 1/2 a packet per day for a baby that age.

[Bokonon]

If she's in the 95th percentile for height, she's obviously growing.  

I'd try to nurse more often, or pump and feed the expressed milk before giving formula or another kind of milk if you are concerned.  But again, she's obviously growing, and that doesn't happen without fat and calories!

[MrsBone]

Well, the very next day I noticed she's not getting full at each feeding, will try and nurse to get sleepy and then she might fall asleep for a nap, but she usually wakes up after about 45 minutes, hungry. She used to take 2 2-3 hour naps a day and sleep 12 hours at night, now she still sleeps 12 hours at night, but hardly naps at all. By bedtime she's so tired, she just passed out at the breast. I try and take advantage of that time and let her nurse even when she's sleeping because I know my body will produce more milk. I started giving her avocado and egg yolk by dr. recommendation, but I know giving her food isn't helping with my supply. I pumped after a feeding today to get the hindmilk and only got a 1/2 oz. from 15 minutes of pumping. I gave that to her and she was still hungry so I pulled a bag out of the freezer and gave her another 2 oz. She sucked that down and is now crying, and hasn't had a nap yet today. I am not really sure what to do at this point, because I wasn't worried before, but now she actually seems hungry like she's not getting enough milk. Thoughts?

[Bokonon]

Why do you think she's not getting full at a feeding?  If she's falling asleep on the breast, then she is probably getting satisfied enough to fall asleep at least.

What you pump is no indication of what your baby is getting at the breast.  1/2 oz. is a respectable amount to pump when you aren't a full-time pumper.

If your baby is still hungry, nurse her again - the more she nurses, the more you'll make.

[MrsBone]

I feel very comfortable giving my baby raw milk. Many of my friends give their babies raw milk from the same source and no one has ever been sick. My best friend's mom owns the farm, and gives the milk to her grandbabies. Really not worried there. I have seen recipes for homemade formula, and I would consider that before using powdered formula. Corn syrup and powdered milk just seems wrong, plus she's sensitive to cow's milk(I can't eat it) and I will not give her soy. YUCK, so goats milk would be my only other option. She's 6 months, not 4, by the way :)
 

Originally Posted by kathrineg 

Well, formula does have corn syrup in it (or sugar, depending on the brand). That is because human milk has much more sugar per ounce than cow's milk, so it needs to have sugar added to it so that the nutritional balance will be similar to human milk.
Sugar gives our babies the energy they need to grow and keep those big, calorie-burning brains supplied with energy. Our breastmilk is FULL of sugar. Cow's milk and goat's milk...not so much.
I also feel that raw milk for a 4-month old is unnecessarily risky.
However, I agree with the comments suggesting trying to get more breastmilk into her--but not panicking as long as she seems to be happy and healthy.

[MrsBone]

She only falls asleep at the breast at night when she's so tired she just passes out, but during the day, not so much, she'll nurse through one let down then get fussy because no more milk is coming out. I finally just lay her down awake, and sometimes she'll go to sleep, but lately, not so much. Yesterday she was up all day and seemed hungry all day.

[MrsBone]

The only thing about that is yes, I do nurse her again, but she's impatient and won't wait for it! :(
 

Originally Posted by Bokonon 

Why do you think she's not getting full at a feeding?  If she's falling asleep on the breast, then she is probably getting satisfied enough to fall asleep at least.

What you pump is no indication of what your baby is getting at the breast.  1/2 oz. is a respectable amount to pump when you aren't a full-time pumper.

If your baby is still hungry, nurse her again - the more she nurses, the more you'll make.

[Bokonon]

Have you seen this about banana babies?

http://www.askdrsears.com/topics/breastfeeding/faqs/how-much-weight-will-my-breastfeeding-baby-gain

[strawberryprincess]

supplementing may be necessary, but try supplementing with your own milk first.  Keep pumping and keep nursing as often as possible.  You can try laying in bed all weekend, half naked and nursing as much as baby will allow (skin to skin contact also helps increase milk supply).  Breast compressions may also be helpful, both to keep baby interested and to get out all the fatty hind-milk.  I agree that because she is gaining in height, she is growing.  How many wet/poopy diapers is she having each day.  what goes in must come out, and is also a good indication if she is getting enough milk.