s/o small babies - question

mrsd0907 · July 2010

I'm thinking of looking for a new pedi. We took Derek for his 12 month appt yesterday and he's 19lb 4oz which isn't on the chart for his age and he's 30" and 50% for height.

The pedi seems to think that we need to give him more high calorie foods and feed him more. But seriously, the kid eats ALL.THE.TIME. Albeit, not necessarily high calorie foods but baby food and some table foods that are all healthy. He's also still getting 24 oz of formula a day. I'm not sure I agree that he needs to "fatten up". WWYD?

Daisygirl613 · July 2010

I'm pretty sure Jax was 18 lbs or less at 12 months... so I can relate.

Dr didn't say anything. He's always said that since DH and I were small (when we were babes/kids) then it makes sense that Jax is. Combine that with the fact that he NEVER.STOPS.MOVING, then he's burning everything he takes in pretty quickly.

We are not concerned.

Who is your pedi? If you aren't on the same page, I might look for a new one too...

seansgirl2006 · July 2010

My son is on the smaller side too and our pedi also suggested the same thing. She didn't say to feed him more but did say to give him higher calorie snacks and better, more healthy snacks. She didn't seem too concerned about it though and was happy with everything with him at his 15 month appt. I am just continuing to do what we have been. It didn't bother me. Is there anything else you don't like about your pedi? For me personally, I wouldn't switch only based on one piece of advice you didn't agree with if you're happy with everything else. You're not going to agree with everything your pedi says and you know what's right for your child.

andrea922 · July 2010

We heard the same thing. I do think it is fine to be feeding him healthy fats, and if he isn't eating a lot of high fat foods maybe you can start by just adding butter, oils, etc to his foods. If you really are unhappy with the pedi's advice you should switch, we switched within our practice because I would leave in tears every time we saw our old pedi and got lectured about ds's low weight.

MrsKLB · July 2010

I think the most important thing is how you feel about your pedi. If you are not confident in or comfortable with him/her then you should probably consider seeing a new one. I think it's important to trust your pedi and also to trust your own instincts.

So, with that caveat stated, you probably do want to be sure Derek is getting enough calories. You say he is eating some baby food and some table food, and still getting forumula. From everything I've read and conversations I've had with my pedi, baby food and formula are not really appropriate for 1 year olds. Do you plan to switch him to whole milk? Can you try switching off the baby foods and making sure he's eating some higher calorie foods?

I think he is adorable and don't think you should necessarily fatten him up, but just be sure you feel comfortable with the amount of calories he is getting. Beyond that, I'm sure he'll gain weight eventually, so don't stress too much. Good luck!

andrea922 · July 2010

Also, have you switched him to whole milk yet? That may help too!

mrsd0907 · July 2010

MrsKLB:
So, with that caveat stated, you probably do want to be sure Derek is getting enough calories. You say he is eating some baby food and some table food, and still getting forumula. From everything I've read and conversations I've had with my pedi, baby food and formula are not really appropriate for 1 year olds. Do you plan to switch him to whole milk? Can you try switching off the baby foods and making sure he's eating some higher calorie foods?

We're doing half milk and half formula and gradually switching to milk but have been cautious because he's been on Alimentum due to a milk protein allergy as a baby. He eats some of the stage 3 meals and some of the gerber toddler meals, which I consider baby food but are closer to table food. I'll try adding the healthy fats like oils and butter to his foods to see if that helps.

She wanted him to come back in a month and have gained some weight but since he never stops moving and hasn't gained anything since his 9 month appointment and become so mobile I'm not sure what to expect.

keg · July 2010

If you're not comfortable with your ped, I would switch, but I wouldn't worry too much about his weight. I think when kids get to about 9 months, their weight gain seems to slow down. I want to say my DDs were about the same weights at their 9, 12, and 15 months appointments. One DD is about your DS's size and we never got the food lecture. Her sister is 4 lbs heavier and we haven't gotten a food lecture for her, either. However, their 18 month appointment is tomorrow, so we'll see what happens then. ;-)

andrea922 · July 2010

If he can have milk, maybe try pediasure as well? You can also add cream to his milk (I know, it sounds so gross) to add some extra calories as well. We basically had to revamp our thinking, and our grocery lists, so we still use I Can't Believe It's Not Butter but for ds we use regular butter. I still use low fat cheese, but his sandwiches have full fat cheese.

We have to do weight checks all the time. It sucks. We had to do one in April after he dropped off the chart at his 2 year appt.

mrsd0907 · July 2010

I hadn't even thought about adding cream to his milk too. It does sound gross but if it'll help him be healthier I'm all for it. This is the first time he's dropped completely off the chart. At his 9 month he's was 10% for weight and pedi didn't seem concerned but yesterday she was very upset.

JoelsGirl07 · July 2010

If you're not happy, then switch. You'll often hear me say that dr's work for YOU. Anyway, Eli is 16.25lb and 26.25" @ 10 mon....no way in heck he'd be even as big as Derek by 12 months!

rara855 · July 2010

mrsd0907:
I hadn't even thought about adding cream to his milk too. It does sound gross but if it'll help him be healthier I'm all for it. This is the first time he's dropped completely off the chart. At his 9 month he's was 10% for weight and pedi didn't seem concerned but yesterday she was very upset.

Jackson was tiny for so long. We added cream to his food for a while to help up the calories in his diet. Even though they never stops moving, they still need to gain. Jackson is also milk sensitive (so am I) so we do Silk Original and Silk Vanilla. Although in the beginning we did start with whole milk. He did great with whole milk and then oddly when we switched to 2% he started having tummy issues so we moved to Silk. Our pedi said this was fine. Since he is getting the calories and calcium just not the dairy.

Honestly, if up until now you have agreed and liked your pedi. I would wait it out this month with her and do the weight re-check. It sounds like she maybe doesn't want to "fatten him up" to the point that he is obese more just see a healthy weight gain. This is something we have always had to be careful with Jackson. Maybe at the re-check express your concerns and make sure you understood each other. At that point if you are not on the same page, I would look for another Pedi.

slwprincess · July 2010

Gavin was small at birth, then chunked up quite a bit until he started walking, and has completely tapered off since then. He has weighed between 24-27 lbs since he was 11 mos old. I have watched him steadily drop from 90% in weight to 5% and probably less now. But he is still 75% for height. He's just tall and skinny. Looking at him, you would think he was well over 30 lbs, he doesn't LOOK as small as he is. Anyway, our pedi is really not concerned. Everytime we go in, the nurse will mention it but then the Dr says he looks healthy to him and that he's just following his own curve and don't worry about it. I try to remember this, but honestly, it was really tough having to go to Walmart to buy him an infant life jacket b/c his toddler one STILL doesn't fit. Anyway, I think you should go with mommy instinct- if you know he's healthy and eating a well balanced diet then don't worry about it. I don't think I would switch pedi's over this alone, but if there were other concerns as well, then yes... I'd start looking. Personally, I need a pedi who's going to keep me grounded but also be proactive when he needs to be. That's why I LOVE ours.

JoJoEspana · July 2010

I'll just echo what everyone else said... i wouldn't switch pedis just because of that, but I would probably be on the defensive a bit about it. One of the pedis at our practice saw caroline for an ear infection when she was maybe 9 months old, and we did a weight check. She started "threatening" labeling her failure to thrive, running metabolic tests, etc. But she was pretty much never on the charts from like 3 months on so her size wasn't a surprise tome. Then, around 18 months, she hit a HUGE growth spurt, and had gained like 3 pounds by her 2 year visit. We are thrilled that she is now in the 23% for weight.

So long story short, I would keep an eye on it but try not to stress. Just make a conscious effort to feed him healthy fats and a well-balanced diet w/lean proteins and lots of produce. Avocados, cheese, olive oil, etc are all good. You can also sprinkle some flax meal in yogurt or applesauce.

it sounds like your pedis biggest concern is that he dropped off of his curve vs being concerned about his actual size. So its definitely something to keep an eye on, but it wouldn't cause me to switch practices as long as we were communicating well and on the same page on everything else.

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