I feel awful - 1 year old lost weight :(

arishia · June 2011

My DS has had a pretty severe milk protein allergy since he was born. BFing was a blessing because otherwise he would've needed really expensive formula. I wanted to wean at about 9 months, but since he was still allergic (we tested it), I kept going. I planned on speaking with the pediatrician at his one year check-up today to see what our options are.

Well, it turns out that DS didn't put on ANY weight in the past three months. He did grow almost two inches, which keeps him in the 80-90% for height. In fact, he lost 8 ounces, which means he went from the 40-50% to the 20-25%. I feel so bad! The pedi didn't say it, but I feel like I've been starving my kid for the past three months.

The pedi recommended that we put him on cow's milk immediately and stop breastfeeding over the next week. It's a bit quicker than I wanted, so I know my boobs will have a hard time adjusting. Not to mention DS is really attached to the boob.Plus, we have to push as many fatty foods at him as possible.

I guess I'm just really upset at myself. I felt so good about bfing to a year, and now it seems like I've hurt my DS because of it. I'm not even sure how to get him to take 20-24 ounces of WCM anyway. He loves drinking from his straw sippy, but today he's only drank about two ounces at a time. Do I just feed him 10 times a day to get him to drink enough? How does he drink all that AND have three meals with two snacks?

Argh, sorry I'm rambling. This just sucks.

TiffanyBerry · June 2011

You might want a second opinion. It makes NO sense to take out a high fat food like breastmilk, which has what he needs. Assuming he's no longer showing any CM allergy, then sure, that too, but breastmilk goes *up* in fat content after a year, and that would be a shameful waste of some very nutritious stuff.

lil_rhody · June 2011

TiffanyBerry:
You might want a second opinion. It makes NO sense to take out a high fat food like breastmilk, which has what he needs. Assuming he's no longer showing any CM allergy, then sure, that too, but breastmilk goes *up* in fat content after a year, and that would be a shameful waste of some very nutritious stuff.

This. And he's clearly growing since he got taller. A lot of kids lose a bit of weight when they start moving around a lot and become pickier with foods.

mljohnson · June 2011

I felt so bad too. My DS didn't gain a single ounce from 9 months to 12 months and he dropped to the 5%. He goes through phases where he eats all the time and then he won't hardly eat anything for a few days. Just keep watching him. My pedi wasn't too concerned either.

Brewtowngrl · June 2011

A lot of kids lose weight at this time. They are more mobile. I would not worry at all. My chunk has only put on 8oz in 5 months.

Alexandra*sMom · June 2011

Wean at your own rate, encourage cow's milk as you feel comfortable. My DD wasn't even 18 lbs at a year (though did gain 2 lbs from 9-12m).

My DD has become really attached to the bottle. I take a sippy of water when we are out, but she has a bottle a lot at home. She drinks three 6 oz bottles a day (wake up, nap & bedtime). She also has a bottle of water/juice a day and will typically be seen with a bottle of water. Some kids have a paci, she is soothed with a bottle.

I understand pushing foods too. DD loves avacados. I am not too sure I push much. If she eats, she eats, if she doesn't, she doesn't. She is happy and growing so that is what really matters - she is just little.

Gen & Joel · June 2011

I would say wean at your own rate or when you feel comfortable! Lo was 23lbs at 9 months and then 24lb at 12months and he was actually 23lbs at his 15month wcc he has grown so much and eats non stop! he is just very active. And he is on whole milk.

af2004rn · June 2011

I think you need a 2nd opinion. My LO didn't gain any weight from 9 to 12 months either. She's very healthy and I attributed it to her increased activity. Breast milk is best. You can always supplement with cow milk but if nursing is working great then I'd keep up without. Weaning for calories doesn't make sense.

liongish119 · June 2011

I hope you read through these posts and notice a common theme: we think you're pedi is not giving you good advice. Breast milk is AWESOME! Especially if you want fat & calories.

If you want him to eat more, I would say offer him food a lot. DD has three meals a day plus all the snacks she wants; I offer her food constantly except in the hour before a meal. You could choose high calorie/fat food too- like nuts (that you chew up first or sugar-free peanut butter), cheese (allergy?), or olives, plus breast and whole milk.

water-fairy · June 2011

I don't necessarily agree with weaning completely. DS started losing (not just not gaining) weight around 11 months. At 15 months he had still lost weight so the pedi asked us to go back for a weight check at 16 months. He had finally gained something. She wasn't too worried because he was still growing in length but I was. Anyway, DS has been gaining a little since then but he is never over 25%tile, and he was around 75%-90% his entire first year. I guess I just have a skinny child because he is eating fine, but is also really active all the time. Bottom line is don't beat yourself up too much, not all children are meant to be chubby. And chubby does not equal healthy. It is normal for them to become more active at 1 year of age. Definitely up the calories in the food he eats. ETA: DS nursed until 16.5 months and didn't really take on cow's milk until 18 months.

greengirl0909 · June 2011

This post hurts me!

We had a doc who suggested we stop breastfeeding every time we went in for a visit. LO has been a slow gainer, and a couple of times he's lost weight. Finally, we switched pedis. When we saw him he said that he thought LO looked great, attributed some of the lost weight to moving around more, and said his muscle tone looks good. I wish we had switched pedis a long time ago.

NO way would I stop breastfeeding like that. I might increase his milk intake, but as you said- LO loves to breastfeed, I'm not going to take away him comfort just BAM. GL

Chrysallys · June 2011

I want to kick your pedi. DS (also a breastfed baby) stopped gaining weight a little before a year. He didn't gain an ounce for months on end. His dr made me go in for weight checks but I knew he was fine, just very active. He was walking at a year and constantly on the go.

And FWIW, DS is almost two now and is still breastfed and not on cow's milk. He is right where he needs to be with his height and weight.

arishia · June 2011

Thanks everyone for the replies! I know it's normal for babies to slow up at this age. He was a bit slow to crawl, but then he just started doing everything at the same time - crawling, pulling to stand, cruising, etc. Our nurse certainly wasn't that concerned.

I guess it was just a bit of a shock for me to hear. I wanted to wean soon anyway, just not so quickly. So we're going to go a bit slower than the pedi recommended and start trying to supplement with WCM as much as possible. I just don't want to traumatize him (or me) with weaning too fast!

It's nice to hear so many similar stories! I feel a bit better now.

arishia · June 2011

TiffanyBerry:
You might want a second opinion. It makes NO sense to take out a high fat food like breastmilk, which has what he needs. Assuming he's no longer showing any CM allergy, then sure, that too, but breastmilk goes *up* in fat content after a year, and that would be a shameful waste of some very nutritious stuff.

That's what I thought! I'm fine with adding in WCM as extra but I thought BF would be better overall.

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I feel awful - 1 year old lost weight :(

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