Houston Babies
Opinions please.....
I took DS for his 4 month pedi appt yesterday and he is 14lbs. 14oz (50th percentile) and 26 in. (90th). Pedi says he is growing just fine but she would ideally like to see his weight a little higher in proportion to his length. She wasn't all that concerned and said the he might just end up being a "long and lean" baby. (I don't think he stands a chance to be short...I'm 6' and DH is 6'3") Anyways, I mentioned his spit up issue (some of you probably saw my post last week) and told her that I didn't want to put him on any medicine but that I was concerned because sometimes it seems like it's his whole meal coming back up. (When she talked to me about the weight thing it got me a little concerned....not gonna lie.) She suggested that I put a small amount of rice cereal in his bottles and see if something more "solid" helps his food stay down more. I am planning on breastfeeding DS until he's one and always thought they should only get BM until 6 months. I am torn on what to do. Obviously I want to do what's right for DS but I don't want him to start rejecting BM by starting solids too soon. (I don't even know if that can happen but I'm paranoid.) Our nursing is going so well right now and my supply is more than enough to feed him but I don't want him to continue spitting up his whole meal. She said she would rather me try the rice cereal before medicine. I've been researching a little bit today but just wanted to see what y'all did or plan to do. Thank you! (sorry this got so long)
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Re: Opinions please.....
So Tasty, So Yummy
I would not be concerned about the height/weight ration. DS has consistently been in the 75-90% for height and 25% for weight. And he really stands no chance of being tall (I am 5'2" and DH is 5'10") so I have no idea why he is so long.
As far as solids, I don't have any advice since we started at 4 months. I think the range is b/n 4-6 months. DS' formula intake did not change when we added solids. If you don't want to medicate yet, then why not try a little rice cereal? If you don't want to do that either, then I don't know of any other options. I have heard that you shouldn't put the cereal in the bottle b/c it is a choking hazard.
i am going to our 4 month next week and am curious to see what our pedi says. I, too, prefer to EBF for the first 6 months (if my supply keeps up). I may talk to her about easing in some formula later on since my supply has been slowly declining,and now I just barely pump what DS eats during the day. Based on some convos with her, I could see her going either way, depending on what I feel like. However, DS isn't spitting up too terrible right now, so I don't have a reason to include rice cereal.
Is it happy spitting? He shows no signs of pain? Are you only worried about the height/weigh ratio, or is the spitting up truly bothering you?
I wouldn't worry about the height/weight - esp. since you guys are so tall. Seems like he is just going to be long and lean. If he is happy spitting, I would give it another month. If he is still spitting up at 5 months - go ahead with the rice cereal (per pedi rec), and you know you have given him a little extra time to get ready for it, but you can still address the spitting up problem, so he is not uncomfortable. Or, he may grow out of the spitting up by 5 months, and you can continue as planned to EBF for 6 mos.
My EBF baby is eight months now and i didnt start solids until she was six months. She was fine at her 4 months so i didnt start solids. If she would of had a problem and solids were recommended i would have tried it but probably not with cereal in the bottle. I know that this was done a lot in the past but from what i've read now it seems to be discouraged. I don;t think that stsrting cereal will discourage bfing but you could get a second opinion. When I've had issues with my baby and feeding I call the lactation consultants at the women's hospital of texas. They've always been so, so, so helpful. Maybe you might give them a call?
My son has been in the 10th percentile on weight his entire life. He dropped to the 5th percentile once, and the doc said we'd have to watch it. If he didn't gain, she wanted to supplement with formula.
So, we watched for the next few visits and he was back firmly in the 10th percentile for weight.
I bf'd exclusively until 6 mos. Then he had some cereal made with bm and also nursed until 8 mos. At that time, ear infections made sucking painful for him unless he was sitting up, so he stopped bfing.
Doc never suggested rice cereal until 6 mos. when table food was suggested - and the suggestion had nothing to do with weight gain. She just recommended the standard 6 mos. table food thing.
He is consistently in the 10th - sometimes 15th on weight. He is 95th on height. So, you can imagine that I think 50th sounds like a nice healthy weight.
We watch the weight because he is on the bottom bracket, but doc says that consistency is more important than percentile. She watches but after two years of consistency doesn't worry - she is now convinced this is his genetic programming.
(Given that both families trend toward tall and skinny, I was not surprised by DS's build. My mom always complained about how hard all three of my brothers were to fit in pants - tall and skinny.)
Based on that experience, 50th percentile sounds super healthy. I'm suprised by the suggestion wanting closer percentiles, especially given your height. Might be worth a second opinion.
Personally, I would not worry.
The only time I have heard reference to modern doctors recommending rice cereal in a bottle is with reflux. I'm not sure how widely this is recommended, but I have heard of it on the Parenting board. I'm not sure if it would be my first step, though. I personally waited until 6 months to introduce solids, but my DS barely spit up. Has your pedi been cautious on recommending solids otherwise?
These might be helpful:
https://askdrsears.com/html/10/T110225.asp
https://askdrsears.com/html/10/T106000.asp
I'm just wondering if there is something in your diet causing your son to spit up? Have you tried eliminating different things, like dairy (which is usually a big culprit)?
Also, he may have just been odd but my son threw up anytime I tried to give him rice cereal!
First of all, don't worry. Many docs don't realize the growth charts they use are for formula fed babies. Breastfed babies have a totally different growth chart. The composition of our milk changes as they get older and contains less fat as we go along. 50% is after all SMACK DAB IN THE MIDDLE of the growth chart! My DS started at 75% then went to 50%, 25% at 2, 4 and 6 month visits. He has been in the 10th% since. My pedi said he's just not a chunky baby but is perfectly healthy. We had horrible reflux that was medicated for a while but it had nothing to do with his weight since he was off meds at 4 months and it was gone.
Cereal was never suggested. The only thing we did in leiu of meds was to offer a few baby spoons of prunes beginning at 5 months for really bad constipation. Had it not been so bad, I would have waited.
Also, you may want to look into pribiotic drops (we use bio gaia brand which can be ordered by any pharmacy without a prescription). They have been wonderful for digestive issues which are luckily now a thing of the past. Prior to using them, he had a horrible time.
I'm no doctor, but I am so confused as to why so many pedis are pushing solids early unless there is a medical reason. It can lead to increased risk of food allergies and diabetes risk. Is it really worth that?
This is not true. Starting solids before the recommended 4 months or after 7 months can increase the diabetes risk. Same goes for food allergies. The recommended period to start solids is 4-6 months.
My younger daughter has always been a little peanut. She's consistently hovered between 10-15% for weight, a little more for height. She received only breastmilk the first six months (I pumped exclusively) and although my pediatrician told me I could try solids with her at four months, I waited until she was six months old.
I've probably been more worried about her weight than the pedi, who keeps showing me her growth chart on the computer so I'll calm down. My pedi's thoughts are that as long as she's following her own curve and gaining weight and height consistently, she isn't in any danger just because she's little. I think I have a tendency to compare her to my older daughter, who's in the 97% for height and 90% for weight!!!! My two girls just have different body types.
I don't want to AW someone elses post, but that's not all true either. I'll give you diabetes risk AFTER 7 months but the food allergy issue is altogether true. https://www.askdrsears.com/html/3/T032000.asp #1 in this article talk about how intestines fully mature around 6-7 months and how it relates to potential food allergy especially when parents have allergies theselves, which DH did. Also, more recent reasearch has caused the WHO to update it's recommendations to reflect the new school of thought which is to delay until as close to 6 months as possible. https://www.babycareadvice.com/babycare/general_help/article.php?id=21
in addition to all the other posts, i have always heard to absolutely never give cereal in a bottle because it presents a huge choking hazard. like PAGAS, i switched pedis when solids were pushed on me. my older son was EBF until 6 mos and we started solids with avocado. he never even had rice cereal.
my son was in the 90th for height and weight until 9 mos, when he went to the 75% for weight and at a year he was 80% for height and 25% for weight. tall and skinny but perfectly healthy. and has a great appetite and diet.
Gosh, thank you SOOOO much for all of your opinions and links. It really does help. I'm getting a second opinion from my homeopathic doctor (whom I adore and trust.) I think I already know what his answer will be about solids and therefore have pretty much decided to go with my original plan and wait until 6 months. I am going to discuss the spitting up with my doctor as well and I think he'll be able to help DS. I really don't think he has reflux...just a "happy spitter"....haha! Thanks again.
Side note....it has taken me until just now to realize that the percentiles don't mean squat. They should concentrate on a child thriving and growing, not necessarily numbers. I will be the first to admit that its easy to get caught up in the numbers when you're a new mom.
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