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Attachment Parenting
Low weight gain at 9 months?
Hi! I lurk on this board all the time, and was wondering if anyone else has dealt with something similar to this?
DD was born at 34 weeks due to IUGR (born weighing 3 lbs 9 oz). Anyway she has pretty much been steadily gaining about a pound a month until now. We took her in for her 9 month check up and she only gained 1 lb since her 6 month check up. She weighs about 16 1/2 lbs now.
We have always BF and I always feed her on demand. We do mostly BLW plus I feed her things like apple sauce and yogurt. The pedi basically told me that I should not be BFing her so much, and seemed non- enthused that I was even BFing still. She told me I need to force her to eat more solids and really cut back on the BFing. She also said that she should definitely not be waking to eat at night.
I always thought that BM should be her primary source of nutrition until one year, and I since we bedshare I do not mind that she wakes a few times to snack at night. I am just wondering what I should do. I feel terrible that she only gained a pound, but I just don't know what to do. I feed her until she doesn't want any more (solids) and BF when she wants.
Any advice? TIA
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Re: Low weight gain at 9 months?
You might also want to look at he WHO charts for breastfeed babies - they are different than the US charts for (mostly) ff babies.
BF babies tend to gain most from 0-6 mos, then slow down, in comparison to FF babies according to these charts. (I think I originally read about this on Kellymom??? not sure)
My DD didn't gain much at all from 8-11 mos, then had a big bump right at 1 year.
My DS was 8 lbs 9 oz at birth (this was like 60 percentile or something) he gained weight, but kept dropping percentiles. By 9 months he was 17 lbs 10 oz, below the 4th percentile (according to his pedi) and we were going in for bi-weekly weight checks. I nursed on demand and fed him 3 meals a day with 2 snacks, but he would only eat what he wanted. At one year he was back at the 9th percentile, so he's gaining ground.
My opinion is that he won't let himself starve. I try to offer healthy fats and protein at every meal. But until one year, the majority of food is just for play and nursing is most important. FWIW my DS does not look unhealthy and has been meeting all of the developmental milestones expected, so as long as he's healthy and happy I'm happy too!
Is she happy and healthy otherwise? BF babies growth rate usually slows dramatically after 4-6 months old so it may be nothing to worry about. And I don't understand your pedi's logic that baby needs to gain more, but baby should not be feeding at night - that makes no sense! I've read that breastmilk produced/eaten at night has more growth hormone than during the day, so I definitely wouldn't stop feeding at night if it's not bothering you. I also found this: https://www.kellymom.com/nutrition/solids/solids-when.html (Scroll down to "MYTH: Your baby is small so you need to start solids") I'd continue what you're doing - maybe even cut down on the solids and try to BF a bit more if you really think she needs to be gaining more.
MYTH: "Your baby is small so you need to start solids."
Another reason often given for starting solids is because baby is small (see Normal Growth of Breastfed Babies). I really don't see the sense in this. Ounce for ounce, breastmilk has more calories than most baby-safe solid foods and significantly more nutrients than any type of solid food that you can feed your baby. In addition, starting solids will quite possibly reduce the amount of milk that your baby is getting overall, rather than increase overall intake. One of the first recommendations for a baby who genuinely has slow weight gain is to decrease or eliminate solid foods and nurse more often.
MYTH: "Your baby is small so you need to start solids."
Another reason often given for starting solids is because baby is small (see Normal Growth of Breastfed Babies). I really don't see the sense in this. Ounce for ounce, breastmilk has more calories than most baby-safe solid foods and significantly more nutrients than any type of solid food that you can feed your baby. In addition, starting solids will quite possibly reduce the amount of milk that your baby is getting overall, rather than increase overall intake. One of the first recommendations for a baby who genuinely has slow weight gain is to decrease or eliminate solid foods and nurse more often.
MYTH: "Your baby is small so you need to start solids."
Another reason often given for starting solids is because baby is small (see Normal Growth of Breastfed Babies). I really don't see the sense in this. Ounce for ounce, breastmilk has more calories than most baby-safe solid foods and significantly more nutrients than any type of solid food that you can feed your baby. In addition, starting solids will quite possibly reduce the amount of milk that your baby is getting overall, rather than increase overall intake. One of the first recommendations for a baby who genuinely has slow weight gain is to decrease or eliminate solid foods and nurse more often.
Thank you ladies so much! DD is happy and healthy otherwise, but this appointment really started to get me worried that she was not growing properly. Thank you all for your reassurance!
I do not get the logic behind not feeding at night, but getting more calories either, but apparently I do not have her properly "scheduled"
I have really been so proud of how far she has come, so this really just made me feel bad, even though I still think that she is doing great.
Thanks again!
Yeah, your pedi is so wrong. Think about it- BM has 20 calories per ounce. Most pureed vegetables have half that or less. I think I did the math and pureed peas had like 5 calories per ounce. So even if LO stuffs themself with pureed fruits and veggies they will get fewer calories from solids than BM. Also, most solids that we feed babies are lower in fat (fruits, veggies, rice, and oatmeal have almost none.) BM has fat which helps with weight gain, brain development, etc.
As for night feedings- if LO is not gaining well, why on earth would your pedi want you to cut out feedings?
I'd seriously consider a new pedi.
FTR my LO was heavier than yours at birth- a little over 5 pounds and has been gaining about a pound a month and just gained about a pound in 1.5 months so she's definitely slowing down. She is on track to weigh about 16-17 pounds at a year if she keeps on this trajectory so it sounds like your LO is still doing well in comparison!