- Pregnancy
- Baby & Toddler
- Parents
- Getting Pregnant
- Baby Names
- Product Reviews
-
Registry
- Community
-
More
Want a personalized experience?
Download the free app
Austin Babies
Baby having trouble gaining weight?anyone dealt w/ this?
So my 4.5 month old is having trouble gaining weight. He went from 10 percentile at his 4-month well check to 5 percentile 2 weeks later. (He gained 4 oz. but was supposed to gain 14 oz.)
He is now on high-calorie (22 cal/oz) formula. I stopped breastfeeding exclusively mainly because of all this, but I do still breastfeed about once or twice every day and pump. We mix the formula so that it is 24 cal/oz. He is taking the bottle fine, but he is still not eating as much as my doctor wants him to.
I'm wondering if anyone else has been through this with their little one. I'm getting worried about him.
Thanks for reading.
This discussion has been closed.
Re: Baby having trouble gaining weight?anyone dealt w/ this?
Yeah, I kind of felt this way, and that's why I have primarily been formula feeding. I would much rather breastfeed, but if he hasn't been gaining as much as he needs to, you're right?something might be up w/ my breastmilk not having as much fat as it needs to. ?? I don't know. I guess I might have to drop breastfeeding all together and only feed formula.The LC at my pedi's office said I could skim the fat off the top of my breastmilk and add that to his formula bottles, and I've been doing that some.
He has a follow-up weight check on Monday and I'm praying that he has gained some weight.
Thanks for your reply!
We went through that with DD. She only gained like 2 ounces from her 1 to 2 month appts. My pedi wanted to do high-cal formula but I didn't want to do that and wanted to see if the issue was with how much she was getting first. So I rented a scale and sure enough...she was nursing and only getting like an ounce at a time, but going hours in between feedings. So of course she wasn't gaining weight...she wasn't eating enough. Yet she was perfectly happy and content and I let her nurse as much/as long as she wanted and let her dictate when she was done.
So we moved onto essentially force feeding. I would nurse as much as she wanted and then pump and then try and force more BM down her through a bottle. The kid just didn't want to eat! It was extremely frustrating and stressed me out and eventually my supply went downhill because of the stress and DD not keeping my supply up. At one point I thought things were better and had already returned the scale. But for my own sanity I went and rented one again and was so bummed when she still was eating such tiny amounts compared to what she "should" have been eating. Pretty soon, I got a foremilk/hindmilk imbalance and I had had enough of the BF. So we switched to fomula. My pedi wanted to do a high-calorie formula but I just didn't feel right about doing that so we stuck with regular strength formula. Just like with the BM, she just would not eat as much formula as she should have. It was a battle to get her to eat every time. I had never seen a baby that didn't want to eat like she did!
She definitely stayed on the very small side/low percentiles (10% or less) for a couple of months but she has always been extremely healthy and eventually she did start increasing percentiles. Now she's in the 25th for weight.
I know how stressful it is to deal with weight gain issues but I bet it'll get better. I think DD's little body knew what it was doing. She wasn't the "normal" hungry/eating baby but she has always been extremely healthy and happy. And luckily after we cut out formula at 12 months, she has been a very good eater. I think she just wasn't a fan of the liquid diet!! Good luck!
I knew when my foremilk/hindmilk imbalance started because you could see it when I pumped. I went from pumping a thick milk like whole milk to pumping only watery milk like skim milk. Have you noticed a change in yours? Does it look watery?
We went throught he weight issues w/ DD. I discussed w/ two different pedis about supplementing w/ formula and neither thought that would help the issue so we kept bfing. I did try however after bfing to offer her a bottle of expressed milk (or fomula) to see if she was still hungry and not getting enough. She would rarely take it so it was easy for us to see that she was getting enough by bfing, so that wasn't the issue.
We ended up having 2 things going on. (And it took months to figure out.) The first is that DD is just small. She dropped to the 10th percentile and just stayed there. Still there today. That is where she naturally is. She came out larger (like 50-60?) but that wasn't her natural growth curve.
The second issue was the DD had silent reflux. She never spit up and rarely really burped. Apparently silent reflux babies show now real signs of reflux. We finally figured it out b/c she would arch her back, pull off and scream. Not every feeding but frequently enough that they finally figured out that the reflux and pain from it was causing her to not eat enough.
Good luck! DD was totally fine. She was happy the entire time w/ had weight concerns. She met her milestone, was alert and active - all the things she needed to be. The only issue was her weight and it ended up all being just fine.
Thanks so much!! This makes me feel better. It sounds a lot like DS. That's great to know that your daughter is now at the 25th percentile!!
When we were at the pedi's office, we weighed him before and after I breastfed him and he had only taken 1.5 ounces. He REFUSES to take more food when he has had his fill?from the breast or the bottle. Yes, it is SO frustrating. He is very tiny?under 12 lbs. But he is happy and meeting all his milestones!
I'm concerned about these "tests" his pedi says she wants to run if he doesn't gain weight. I wonder what kind of tests they are.
I guess I just need to stop worrying. I'll get more info on Monday when he has his weight checked again.
Sorry, it's me AGAIN!
I meant to mention this in my post but forgot and Abrooks reminded me. DD also had silent reflux so maybe that is an issue with your little guy. We did figure that out though early enough with DD and even after meds, it didn't seem to make a difference in the amount she ate. She just didn't cry when she was eating. Still, I think they were related in some way.
Yes, sometimes it looks very watery at first, but then as I continue pumping it becomes more thicker looking.
Silent reflux... hmmm. That I did not know about. DD had very-non-silent reflux, like the kind which made her have exorcist-like vomit, so I did not know that reflux could be there even if there are no signs. Definitely something to discuss w/ the pedi. Thanks!!!
Sounds like my DD and your DS are alike!! My DD never even really cried when she was hungry. It was like it was up to me to look at the clock and think, "Oh, you need to eat so I better feed you." She wouldn't tell me when she was hungry. It was so bizarre!
If I were you I would stick with the formula/BF for awhile and see how he does before you do any tests if you are hesitant about them. I bet he will be just fine and doesn't need any tests. If he is happy and meeting all the milestones (just like my DD) there is probably nothing wrong with him and it's just the way his body wants to do things!
Hang in there and keep us posted on his next weight check!
My DS had trouble gaining weight. I never had my breastmilk checked, but I think it's possible that I wasn't producing as high of caloric milk as some other people might. DS was also a huge spitter, so he had reflux issues, as well. We were on meds for that for a long time. My ped had us come in for weigh ins and it really stressed me out, but since DS continued to gain weight (just was consisently below 10th perc in weight), we never supplemented formula.
If you can believe it, once DS started getting solid foods, he BLEW UP in weight. He gained 10 lbs between his 6 mo and 1 year well checks. All along, our ped kept telling me that all babies grow differently and I guess he was right. Now he is 75th percentile and I just shake my head.
Honey, I have so been there. I worried myself into a panic over weight gain. It is SO hard to see that your child isn't some Gerber-type baby and to worry constantly about why they aren't eating. If I were you, I'd try to focus on the fact that he is happy and meeting his milestones and try to trust in your DS and the ped. DS will tell you if he's not getting enough food and your ped should be able to tell you if he's possibly got something going on. If the ped thinks "tests" may be necessary, you may want to get a second opinion. Hang in there!
Sounds like your foremilk/hindmilk balance is probably okay. Mine started out just fine but became all "water" by the time I gave up on BF.
And if your DS isn't crying/arching his back during a feeding he might not have silent reflux.
:-) DS definitely lets me know when he is hungry, but after he barely eats any, he's like "ok, good to go Mom!" My daughter was quite the opposite ... she was and is a very good eater.
I'm thinking the same thing about the tests. Unless he has dropped way off the charts, I am not sure I feel comfortable about any tests.
I'll keep y'all posted!!
Very good to know!! Thank you. That's another question for my pedi?can he start on solids? Maybe he gets started on solid foods, he would "take" better to those instead of an all-liquid diet.
Well that is good he lets you know! I am praying for a kid like that with #2...and one that doesn't put me through that weight gain stress again!
My pedi actually labeled DD as a "happy to starve" baby. She was perfectly happy and content even while eating so little. So it just required more work on my part to make sure she was eating enough since she wouldn't do it herself. BFing just doesn't work with those kinds of babies because you can't see how much they are getting. Now that you are doing doing more bottles (formula or BM), I am sure your DS will start gaining a little, although he might still stay on the small side.
This is encouraging!!
I am SO with you, TxAggieBride, on the not-eating baby. It is VERY frustrating!
DD stopped gaining much weight at about 6 mos- dropped from 50% down to well below the 3% line by a year. She's now 2 and still hovering around the 3%, but it's an improvement. We went through lots and lots of testing which ultimately told us nothing that made a difference, except that she is super frickin' healthy and that's the only thing that's kept us away from an official failure to thrive diagnosis. The reason they suggest testing is to rule out a major issue- it's frequently a situation of ruling stuff out. Would suck to treat the lack of weight gain only to find out later on that there's a malabsorption issue, KWIM?
If your baby isn't eating enough, then FF isn't going to make an improvement over BF. The chances of your BM not having enough fat/calories are slim to none, and to get a close answer you would have to pump for at least 24 hours (because morning BM is different from afternoon is different from nighttime) and have the whole batch tested.
DD is now on a medication to increase her appetite - Periactin. It's frequently prescribed to babies with IUGR, preemies, FTT, etc. We fought it for 9 mos and tried other things, but in the end this is what kept her from losing weight. It's definitely worth asking your Dr about but you may need to be referred to a GI Dr (or other specialty- DD's GI is who prescribes it and monitors her weight/dosing).
Thank you all! It's very nice to see that others have had this same issue and are now fairing well. Makes me worry a lot less.