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February 2013 Moms
PandasMama0626
member
XP: Baby won't eat enough to gain weight
PandasMama0626
member
Hello ladies! I'm a very desperate mama right now. My son gained weight
fantastically after his birth but at his 2 month check, his growth had
slowed down but wasn't anything to be too concerned with. At his 3 month
check, his weight gain stalled. We started to supplement his breast
milk bottles with formula (I EP) to bring the calorie count from 20 cals
per ounce to 24 and he started to gain again. At his 4 month check he
had stalled and had a round of shots. Shortly after he dropped a bunch
of weight. We worked hard to bring it up, but he was still pretty low on
his curve.
Since then, we have had a REALLY hard time getting him to gain anything. We started to get him to gain and by his 5 month check he was doing pretty good so we quite supplementing him so much. At his 6 month check he hadn't gained at all and in fact, lost weight.
He only drinks .5 to 2 ounces at each feeding, once in a while I can get him to take a 3 oz bottle but its rare. This is every hour to 3 hours 24 hours a day. He simply will not eat more than that EVER. We see his dr. each week now, a feeding therapist, nutritionist, and soon a pediatric G.I. specialist. He has been checked for allergies, intolerance, heart problems, kidney problems and all are negative. He is a happy little guy but just will not eat enough to grow.
after his 6 month shots about 10 days ago, he has dropped from eating 30 oz a day to 18. He will not drink more than an oz of water or juice either. His last doctor thought maybe it was a dairy intolerance so we put him on a soy formula and fortified it...HA! With the lack of fluids it constipated him so bad that he screamed and cried while trying to poo and his BM was rock solid, dry, and streaked with blood today. I have since started pumping again and trying to rebuild my supply since this never happened when he was on breast milk (I eat a lot of dairy which is why the dr. put him on the soy formula and said to stop giving him breast milk just to see how he would do.)
So here we are... he will be 7 months on the 22nd of this month, eats like a new born, and only weighs about 14 lbs which he fluctuates at. The doctor today was honest and said she has no idea whats wrong and isn't really sure where to go next. He started life at the 10th percentile, dropped to the 5th at his 4 month check, and is now at the 1 percentile. I'm scared to death and don't know what to do to get him to eat more. He is developmentally advanced (crawling like a champ and just started pulling himself up to standing last week!). It seems like the shots send his weight issues into over drive but right now, hes not bouncing back
Has anything like this happened to any of you? I'm desparate and looking for help or advice from anyone.
Since then, we have had a REALLY hard time getting him to gain anything. We started to get him to gain and by his 5 month check he was doing pretty good so we quite supplementing him so much. At his 6 month check he hadn't gained at all and in fact, lost weight.
He only drinks .5 to 2 ounces at each feeding, once in a while I can get him to take a 3 oz bottle but its rare. This is every hour to 3 hours 24 hours a day. He simply will not eat more than that EVER. We see his dr. each week now, a feeding therapist, nutritionist, and soon a pediatric G.I. specialist. He has been checked for allergies, intolerance, heart problems, kidney problems and all are negative. He is a happy little guy but just will not eat enough to grow.
after his 6 month shots about 10 days ago, he has dropped from eating 30 oz a day to 18. He will not drink more than an oz of water or juice either. His last doctor thought maybe it was a dairy intolerance so we put him on a soy formula and fortified it...HA! With the lack of fluids it constipated him so bad that he screamed and cried while trying to poo and his BM was rock solid, dry, and streaked with blood today. I have since started pumping again and trying to rebuild my supply since this never happened when he was on breast milk (I eat a lot of dairy which is why the dr. put him on the soy formula and said to stop giving him breast milk just to see how he would do.)
So here we are... he will be 7 months on the 22nd of this month, eats like a new born, and only weighs about 14 lbs which he fluctuates at. The doctor today was honest and said she has no idea whats wrong and isn't really sure where to go next. He started life at the 10th percentile, dropped to the 5th at his 4 month check, and is now at the 1 percentile. I'm scared to death and don't know what to do to get him to eat more. He is developmentally advanced (crawling like a champ and just started pulling himself up to standing last week!). It seems like the shots send his weight issues into over drive but right now, hes not bouncing back
Has anything like this happened to any of you? I'm desparate and looking for help or advice from anyone.
This discussion has been closed.
Re: XP: Baby won't eat enough to gain weight
DD1 was a preemie and also never ate more than 3oz at a time until she was 2 years old. Then she drank 4oz. Meanwhile, all the other moms on our bmb were talking about their LOs eating 6-8 oz / feeding when they were like 4 months old. DD1 also went through a phase (maybe about 6 weeks?? I think I've repressed how long and awful that phase was) where she would eat 0.5-2oz every 20min-1hour. I was happy when it started because she had violent, massive projectile spit-ups before that when she was drinking 2-3oz. However, it quickly became extremely tiring and both my MW and pedi said it was bad for them to eat more frequently than every 2 hours. The reason is that all the milk from the last feeding hasn't left their stomach yet, so the new milk mixes with the old in the stomach and the new milk starts to get digested sooner than some of the old milk. That's bad because the old milk, if it's in the stomach too long, can start to ferment and cause gas.
At the time, I was at a total loss because I couldn't make her drink any more than she was, and obviously 0.5oz is not enough to make it more than 45 min or so. Anyway, it was a very stressful time, and I tried to follow their advice and slowly stretch out the time in between bottles. As in - for a few days she had to go at least 30min between feedings. Then 45min for a few days. etc. Honestly, though, it didn't work all that well. Sometimes she would start crying for more after only 15 min, and there was no way I could let her be hungry-crying for 30 min before feeding her again. Eventually she worked out of it on her own and usually went 3-hour stretches, day and night, drinking 3oz. She was in the 3rd percentile for h/w and never really varied from that, so the one big difference in our stories is that my DD1 was following the curve.
DD2, by the way, also almost never drinks more than 3 oz. During the day she is also a snacker and drinks 1-2oz every 1-2 hours. She is dropping on the percentiles curve (50 for quite a while and at 6 months down to 30). My pedi isn't concerned, and DD2 seems healthy and happy, so I'm just going with the flow for now.
I hope my stories with my DDs help you feel like you're not quite so alone, and I hope that things start to get better for you soon.
BFP1: DD1 born April 2011 at 34w1d via unplanned c/s due to HELLP, DVT 1 week PP
BFP3: DD2 born Feb 2013 at 38w4d via unplanned RCS due to uterine dehiscence
DD1 sounded a lot like your child. She was around 10th percentile at birth and eventually fell off the charts (below 1st percentile) between 6-8 months. She was having enough wet and dirty diapers, so my doc wasn't concerned. She's just a tiny person and she still is at 2 years old. Eventually she came back up on the charts, but she has never made it back up to the 10th percentile.
From what I understand, most breastfed babies fall down on the chart around six months, when they get mobile. It has happened with all of my babies. Is your doc using the growth chart for breastfed babies or formula fed babies?
https://kellymom.com/health/growth/growthcharts/
Also, I think nightweaning is a bad idea. If your child is anything like my last two, they need frequent small meals. It's just how they are built - we are all different. My last two babies have eaten around the clock every 2 hours for very short amounts of time. Cutting those night feedings out would starve her, I think.
Be trying more solids to help. Avocado , bananas, sweet potato are all good ones . Juice as well but is avoid water as it fills them
Up with no calories . I would not cut back on the formula either .. If he takes it then you need to keep giving it for
Calorie purposes . If he's happy and his digestive system seems to be working ok then don't worry too much just keep trying new foods to see what he takes .
Good luck and pls keep us posted .
My DD1 was 16 lbs at a year and is still small at 2.5 years old (about 23 lbs) and she is strong, healthy, and thriving. I'd say the fact that your LO is hitting milestones and happy and active is a GREAT sign. Just keep BFing/pumping as much as you can, and make sure that any solids you give are calorie dense (adding coconut oil is great.) There is only so much you can do to make a child eat and if he's acting happy, healthy, and meeting milestones then I'd say you're ok for now.
I think I have DD1s weights in my siggy if that's helpful. She was born small but gained well the first month, then settled in at the 0-3% and has stayed there ever since. DD2 is a smidge bigger but still only 13.5 pounds at 7 months, which was also a slow down from 6 months. She was gaining about a lb per month but only gained 1/2 pound this past month. She seems energetic and healthy so I'm not worried.
She truly is doing great. Being little hasn't slowed her down. She's energetic, athletic, and she talks more like a 4 or 5 year old than a 2.5 year old.