12 Mo CU - Feeding Advice?

patchen30

DS is TINY - not even on the charts for height (27 1/4") or weight (16 lb 9 oz) - this isn't hugely surprising since I'm 4'11" 108 lbs and DH is 5'5" 140 lbs.  Pedi isn't worried, but of course I'm a tad concerned. 

He's currently getting 3 bottles, 7 ouces each, per day, plus solids.  He won't eat table foods (the pedi didn't think this was an issue and said maybe he's just not ready) and is picky about the solids - hard to get veggies in him, impossible to get meat, etc. 

I'm switching to cow's milk and am wondering if I should drop a bottle, or give it to him in a sippy, in an effort to make him hungrier for solids in hopes that he'll eat a wider range of foods and maybe even table foods.  Or, should I keep doing what I'm doing b/c he's tiny. 

My pedi didn't really offer me any guidance and I just feel like he's making no progress in terms of his eating habits maturing.  At the same time, I certainly don't want him to lose weight.

kujayhawkgirl

We haven't had her 1-year check-up yet, but I weighed her this morning and she 16 lbs even and today is her birthday. My DD eats 5 bottles (total of about 20-22oz) -- so about the same as your DS. We are not plannign to replace bottles right now, but we are trying to introduce sippy cups of WCM during times that she's snacking or eating infant ceral or pureed foods.

cantalopes24

My daughter is also underweight. Are you FF or BF? Has anyone talked to you about fortifying the milk? I don't think at this age it's a good idea to drop the amount of milk and hope your baby becomes hungrier when weight is an issue. Solids are a great way to get added nutrition but BM and formula have complete nutrition for them. What if dropping the milk doesn't change your picky eaters taste?

UFCasey

Rocco is not underweight, but he is a TERRIBLY PICKY eater. He only will eat Cheerios, one specific brand of yogurt melts, and goldfish consistently. That's it. He will not pick up any other foods with his hands, and he will wave his head no and swat at your hand/utensil if you try to give him anything else the vast majority of the time. My pedi is concerned and said by 15 months he needs to be eating better, but didn't have much advice in the way of getting there.

UFCasey

I forgot to add - I would not drop a bottle to get your LO hungrier/eat more foods. If anything, I have a better chance of getting Rocco to cooperate with trying food when he is not very hungry. When he is very hungry, he gets very upset and completely melts down until he gets what he really wants, and will not even entertain the idea of anything else. I would keep up with the same amount of milk and just keep offering foods all the time in the hopes that something will click eventually. But that hasn't worked for me yet either

patchen30

cantalopes24:

My daughter is also underweight. Are you FF or BF? Has anyone talked to you about fortifying the milk? I don't think at this age it's a good idea to drop the amount of milk and hope your baby becomes hungrier when weight is an issue. Solids are a great way to get added nutrition but BM and formula have complete nutrition for them. What if dropping the milk doesn't change your picky eaters taste?

No one has ever labled DS as "underweight" b/c his height and weight are neck and neck...he has a little belly, etc.  He just seems to be a small kid.  No one has mentioned fortifying the milk - what's that involve?

He's FF now, but I'm switching to WCM, so that's where the issue lies.  It doesn't have the same nutrition as formula, so if he's still not eating more, that concerns me. 

cantalopes24

patchen30:

cantalopes24:

My daughter is also underweight. Are you FF or BF? Has anyone talked to you about fortifying the milk? I don't think at this age it's a good idea to drop the amount of milk and hope your baby becomes hungrier when weight is an issue. Solids are a great way to get added nutrition but BM and formula have complete nutrition for them. What if dropping the milk doesn't change your picky eaters taste?

No one has ever labled DS as "underweight" b/c his height and weight are neck and neck...he has a little belly, etc.  He just seems to be a small kid.  No one has mentioned fortifying the milk - what's that involve?

He's FF now, but I'm switching to WCM, so that's where the issue lies.  It doesn't have the same nutrition as formula, so if he's still not eating more, that concerns me. 

For Lo her milk is fortified to 34 calories so we add extra powder (4.5 scoops in 5 oz of water) to the formula and a tsp of rice cereal per ounce. The higher calorie has her gaining weight faster without overfeeding. You don't have to switch to WCM, you could use a toddler formula. I see he was full term, how big was he when he was born and I'm guessing he's just on his own curve? Unless he was at a higher percentile and dropped I wouldn't worry about it at this point as long as you know he's getting enough calories/nutrition and he's otherwise healthy.

 

patchen30

cantalopes24:

patchen30:

cantalopes24:

My daughter is also underweight. Are you FF or BF? Has anyone talked to you about fortifying the milk? I don't think at this age it's a good idea to drop the amount of milk and hope your baby becomes hungrier when weight is an issue. Solids are a great way to get added nutrition but BM and formula have complete nutrition for them. What if dropping the milk doesn't change your picky eaters taste?

No one has ever labled DS as "underweight" b/c his height and weight are neck and neck...he has a little belly, etc.  He just seems to be a small kid.  No one has mentioned fortifying the milk - what's that involve?

He's FF now, but I'm switching to WCM, so that's where the issue lies.  It doesn't have the same nutrition as formula, so if he's still not eating more, that concerns me. 

For Lo her milk is fortified to 34 calories so we add extra powder (4.5 scoops in 5 oz of water) to the formula and a tsp of rice cereal per ounce. The higher calorie has her gaining weight faster without overfeeding. You don't have to switch to WCM, you could use a toddler formula. I see he was full term, how big was he when he was born and I'm guessing he's just on his own curve? Unless he was at a higher percentile and dropped I wouldn't worry about it at this point as long as you know he's getting enough calories/nutrition and he's otherwise healthy.

 

He was 6lb 3oz when he was born and was in the 10thish percentile so he has dropped but my pedi seems to think he's "falling into his genetic curve" ie my husband and I are both pretty small.

Thanks for everyone's advice! It's good to know my baby isn't the only super picky/difficult eater and little guy.