Weight concern at 6 month apt

angiekillaire

LO had his 6 month apt today. His pedi is concered that he hasn't been gaining very much. He weights 15.12 lbs, which is up only 4 oz more than he was a month ago.  She sugested to give him more formula (2 bottles a day instead of 1) as she thinks its a supply issue. I think shes probably right. I don't get full like I used to. She also sugested more cereal as it has more calories then veggies. He only gets about 1 1/2 tbsp twice a day. She sugested 3ish. I feel bad, like I'm not giving him what he needs. I guess I'm just wondering if any of you ladies had this issue with LO. What did you do to get them gaining? thanks!

rssnlvr

My LO has fallen from the 50% in weight to the 8%. At 6 months and 3 weeks, he weighed 15 lbs, 10 oz. My pedi wasn't concerned. After the exam, she could see he is a happy, thriving baby who is ahead of all his developmental milestones. The problem is that he won't take a bottle well b/c he's a dedicated boob man. He just kind of holds out while at day care, only taking 4-5ish ounces per bottle. We recently decided to try the next nipple flow up, and now he's taking the full bottles again. Yay! We're also jumping right into solids with three meals a day (even though he's not a big fan yet and doesn't eat much).

I guess my point is, there's more to consider than just weight alone. You are worried about your LO. You respond to him when he cries/seems hungry. You sound like a great momma, so don't beat yourself up too much.

angiekillaire

aw thanks! I feed him all the time(every 1 1/2-3 hours), but if its a supply issue it makes sense hes not gaining much.  He takes the bottle just fine. He seems totally happy and heathy. Hes hit all the milestones on time if not a little ahead.

abbyfp2324

Hi, just lurking on this board...but I would be concerned your supply will drop even more if you supplement more with formula. Just something to think about. 

Also, you might think of trying high calorie fruit/veggies instead of cereal...like avocados, banana, sweet potatoes. They have more nutrition than cereal anyway.

Good luck! 

tokenhoser

I agree that some babies just grow more slowly! My guy dropped from around the 50th percentile to about 20th between 4 and 6 months, and he's still gaining slowly. But he's also alert, hitting milestones, and just a happy little dude. I can't feed him more often (he breastfeeds all the time) and we're doing baby-led weaning and I have zero interest in force-feeding him. He knows if he's hungry.

He only gained 1.4 lb between 4 and 6 months. I really don't think he has a problem, and while my doctor mentioned it she didn't try to scare me or think there was much wrong either.

angiekillaire

I don't mind if my supply drops anymore as I'm looking to slowly wean him over the next month or so. Pedi didn't scare me or anything, just showed a bit of concern. Thats all. Thanks for the sugestions. I feel much better knowing theres other babies growing like he is .

rjveldman

From:https://kellymom.com/babyconcerns/growth/growthcharts.html

I have heard of many breastfed babies (including my own) whose doctor was disturbed at some point because the baby wasn't gaining weight quickly enough, even though the baby was well within the above parameters for weight gain. The problem is that many doctors are not familiar with the normal weight gain patterns of breastfed babies, and rely too much upon standard growth charts.

Healthy breastfed infants tend to grow more rapidly than formula-fed infants in the first 2-3 months of life and less rapidly from 3 to 12 months. All growth charts available at this time include data from infants who were not exclusively breastfed for the first 6 months (includes formula-fed infants and those starting solids before the recommended 6 months). Because many doctors are not aware of this, they see the baby dropping in percentiles on the growth chart and often come to the faulty conclusion that the baby is not growing adequately. At this point they often recommend that the mother (unnecessarily) supplement with formula or solids, and sometimes recommend that they stop breastfeeding altogether. Even if mom realizes that her baby is perfectly healthy and doesn't follow these unnecessary recommendations, she ends up worrying for no reason (and moms don't need anything extra to worry about!).

abbyfp2324

rjveldman:

From:https://kellymom.com/babyconcerns/growth/growthcharts.html

I have heard of many breastfed babies (including my own) whose doctor was disturbed at some point because the baby wasn't gaining weight quickly enough, even though the baby was well within the above parameters for weight gain. The problem is that many doctors are not familiar with the normal weight gain patterns of breastfed babies, and rely too much upon standard growth charts.

Healthy breastfed infants tend to grow more rapidly than formula-fed infants in the first 2-3 months of life and less rapidly from 3 to 12 months. All growth charts available at this time include data from infants who were not exclusively breastfed for the first 6 months (includes formula-fed infants and those starting solids before the recommended 6 months). Because many doctors are not aware of this, they see the baby dropping in percentiles on the growth chart and often come to the faulty conclusion that the baby is not growing adequately. At this point they often recommend that the mother (unnecessarily) supplement with formula or solids, and sometimes recommend that they stop breastfeeding altogether. Even if mom realizes that her baby is perfectly healthy and doesn't follow these unnecessary recommendations, she ends up worrying for no reason (and moms don't need anything extra to worry about!).

 

Krissi0931

My son weighted the same as yours at 6 months. Only gainned a pound from his 4 month. I see it as he didnt want to eat as much becuz he got 2 bottom teeth and right after his 6 month check up he got 4 top teeth within 2 days. So I understand the painful gums and that can be a eating problem. I he is now 18.6 lbs and gainning more. I now started feeding him more baby food or another nursing feeding. That has worked wonders.