Toddlers: 12 - 24 Months

feeding schedule if your LO needs to gain weight?

So last week we learned that DS actually lost some weight after his 9 months appointment. Now we're trying to figure out what to feed him to get him to gain some weight - the pedi gave some suggestions, but I wanted to see what all of you were doing. Plus, I feel like I'm feeding him ALL the time, and he never seems to want to eat much. I'm still nursing, but here's kind of what we're doing right now.

6:00 - at least 6 oz whole milk in sippy

7:00 - breakfast, usually oatmeal with fruit, 1-2 oz WM

8:30 - nap, nurse

10:30 - snack, usually whole wheat toast with cream cheese, 1-2 oz WM

12:30 - puffs, while I grab some lunch

Lunch is sometimes before his nap, sometimes after, depending on how hungry he seems. I feel like the toast fills him up so he usually doesn't want to eat much until after his nap.

1:30 - nap, nurse

2:30 - lunch, veggie, fruit, 1-2 oz WM

4:30 -  sippy of milk, 4-5 oz

6:00 - dinner, veggies and milk

7:30 - bed and nurse

I also sub in yogurt with fruit for a snack sometimes in there, or it's part of his lunch. I guess I'm not really sure what else to do. Feeding him takes 30 minutes, especially if it's finger foods, so he's eating all the time. But I guess that's what it takes to get him to gain some weight? A lot of the time he doesn't even seem that hungry.

Anyway, I'm rambling. Anyone in the same boat? What does your underweight LO eat?

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Re: feeding schedule if your LO needs to gain weight?

  • Oh yeah, and we mix a Carnation Instant Breakfast into his morning sippy. Forgot about that!
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  • My kid is super skinny, too, but the pedi says that's just him so she's not worried.  And your kid eats way more than my picky boy.

    Maybe do a yogurt every day.. the kind with the higher fat contents.  We try to do one every night for supper since it also fills him up more for the overnight.

     

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  • My DD is little and eats all the time but she is on her curve so my pedi is not worried.  At nine months she had not really gained anything from 6 months but was back on track at 12.  I would ditch the puffs and give him a high protein bean such as edamame, I also would add a lean protein to his lunch.  My DD loves pretty much all types of beans and they make great finger foods.  You can put hummas or avocado on sandwiches.  My pedi said to look at whole foods she believes they carry Tuna in olive oil, if not, add olive oil to tuna that was packed in water.  She also suggested I  incorporate unsweeted almond milk at a time when she would normally have water with a meal.    

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  • DS is almost 2 so I don't know if this will help. But his is in the 4th percentile for weight (up from 2%).

    Anyhow, we do three meals and two snacks a day. I always make sure to add fat to whatever he eats (butter, sour cream, hummus, olive oil, peanut butter, cheese). We also have done carnation instant breakfast with his milk which I also sometimes add a little cream as well. He drinks milk with all his meals and water at snacktime and throughout the day. We also give him dessert a couple of night a week. We do this sort of randomly so he can't anticipate eat and decide not to eat his dinner.

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  • We are struggling with weight gain here also.  We feed all the time (enough that my family asks if we ever leave the kitchen).  What we do is three standardize meals a day and 3 snacks.  I divide up my veggie, fruit and meat requirements into three meals and load up on grains to make up the rest of the meal.  (ie breakfast: fruit and toast, lunch; veggie, fruit and meat, dinner: veggie, meat and grain)  Than I put diary and high carb items in at snack.  She gets whole milk with 5 out of the 6 eating times a day (2-8 oz depending on how much she drinks) and juicy water at the 6th just for something different.  My pedi recommended banana and peanut butter starting at 1 year but we can't do that do to peanut allergy.  He also suggested pedisure every other day to make sure she gets the nutrients she needs.  He said that this time of year it is natural to see a slow in growth and not to worry as long as she remains healthy and does eat.  Meals take about 30 mins to eat and she eats like a bird.  There are a few things I know she will eat that I put on her plate anytime she gets to picky.  Unless your doctor is worried than just continue what you are doing and your lo may just be small.  Hope this helps.
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  • I feel like LO eats all the time he generally eats 3 meals a day and 3 snacks.  Our schedule is similar - 8:00 Breakfast, 10:00 Snack,12:00 Lunch then nap,3:30 Snack,5:30/6:00 Dinner, 8:00 Snack.  Other than dinner I cater to foods LO likes, dinner he gets what is made for the family.  

    He had lots of weight problems (mostly due to reflux) but seems to even out for the moment (at about 19/20 months).  Personally between 9 months and 12 months babies get really busy so the weight loss would not be unfathomable. When do you go in for a weight check?  Just keep up all the work eating all day :)

    Have you tried avacado? My LO can eat a whole one.  

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  • Can you nurse him immediately upon waking up from his naps, perhaps even while still drowsy?  DD likes to have some milk when she wakes up.

     

    And, as others said - more high fat foods.  Yogurt, cheese, avocado, homemade hummus, roast your veggies w/ lots of olive oil, etc.

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  • Read the Ellyn Satter book How to get your kid to eat, but no too much. It has helped us.
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  • imageTiffanyBerry:

    Can you nurse him immediately upon waking up from his naps, perhaps even while still drowsy?  DD likes to have some milk when she wakes up.

    And, as others said - more high fat foods.  Yogurt, cheese, avocado, homemade hummus, roast your veggies w/ lots of olive oil, etc.

    I'm actually working at weaning right now, so I'm trying to get him to drink more WM, which is what the pedi wanted. Maybe I could start offering a sippy when he wakes. Right now he's nursing to sleep, then having a snack when he wakes.

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  • You're right - I should do yogurt every day. Maybe I should always mix that into his fruit that he gets at lunch or dinner. He's not big on fruit as a finger food yet except banana so he still gets it as a puree.
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  • imagesnicksnack:

    My DD is little and eats all the time but she is on her curve so my pedi is not worried.  At nine months she had not really gained anything from 6 months but was back on track at 12.  I would ditch the puffs and give him a high protein bean such as edamame, I also would add a lean protein to his lunch.  My DD loves pretty much all types of beans and they make great finger foods.  You can put hummas or avocado on sandwiches.  My pedi said to look at whole foods she believes they carry Tuna in olive oil, if not, add olive oil to tuna that was packed in water.  She also suggested I  incorporate unsweeted almond milk at a time when she would normally have water with a meal.    

    Edamame is a great idea! I think we have some in the freezer, actually.

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  • My daughter has been small too.  Our pedi suggested carnation instant brkfst or pediasure daily.   We found that it filled her up too much in the am so switched it an after dinner drink.
  • Would it be possible to hold off on weaning?  Breastmilk increases in fat content after a year of nursing (and is already higher than whole cow's milk), so that's a lot of valuable calories that he might not otherwise get.  (I realize that you may have other reasons for needing to wean, but thought I'd throw that out there.)
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