Plump up my LO!

lanea8712 · March 2014

So if you've read the board much about baby weight you'll have seen my LO still isn't hitting 20lbs at 16m and I'm needing to get some weight on his bones!!

I try and keep his meals different so he doesn't get sick of them. I'm a pretty simple food kinda girl. Looking for simple meals and snacks you fed LO, how you prepare it etc. I do a lot of "quick" stuff because I don't always eat also when feeding him. We are currently moving and it makes things a lil crazy too.

That said, what's your LOs fav snacks and meals? What's a " LO shouldnt have" that you give into and let them eat / drink?

maven212 · March 2014

We struggling with weight as well. LO is sick, but she hasn't gained much since 12 months and she has lost 2 pounds since January. I'm probably not the person to give advice, but here is what we are trying.

My attitude at the moment get as many calories in as possible - anyway, anyhow. We are nervously inching towards nuts as well, so for the time being we have started to give her more protein. It usually takes the form of braise fish - something with a sticky sauce on it. She is fond of braised eel sauce, black bean sauce and Tika masala, but sometimes we smear olive tapenade on the fish and cook it that way. She gets a serving of cheesy egg everyday. I've made her an egg mcmuffin -like sandwich in the mornings before and she really likes that. She is also kind of crazy for Heinz baked beans (the ones in the blue tin), which helps keep her iron up, though doesn't do much for weight gain.

We keep a lot of snacks that she likes around the house as well, including various graham crackers and goldfish-like crackers. She gets a smoothie once a day that is mainly spinach and fruit - not much calories there, but we have fortified it with soy in the past. We give her 3 8 oz servings of whole milk a day. On desperate weeks she gets several real and fake/pita pizzas. We cut them into strips and she really likes that. She is more likely to eat pasta if we give her penne, I think, for similar reasons. She really likes to hold the food in stick form. If it is shaped like a stick, she'll eat it very quickly.

The problem we face is that she eats in small amounts over a long period and she is content to just leave her dinner entirely if she is interested in doing something else. Something I'm trying to do is graduate her to something more like a proper chair, so she gets to be more like the adults.

LBStewart · March 2014

DD has done okay with gaining weight. I'm not the best when it comes to food, but these are some things that we do. We get DD up quite early so DH and I can get to work (both teachers). DD will eat a full graham cracker in the car. Then, she gets breakfast with who is watching her for the day. This is typically pancakes or waffles. She also gets a full thing of Greek yogurt. Generally she won't eat again until lunch which is typically a full sandwich with a side of blueberries (or something similar). When my mom watches her, DD get a better variety of foods. My mom is really into organic foods and unprocessed foods. When we get home, DD can have a graham cracker or two or some blueberries as an afternoon snack. For dinner, she really likes eggs or a panini or whatever I am having. She usually has cottage cheese for dessert. Also, she gets two 4-ounce bottles of 2% milk (before nap and before bed). Overall, DD eats okay, but she's not consistent. She tends to eat better with other people than with me. I do give her special treats sometimes like hot chocolate and cookies. I have heard of some people using things like pedisure to help with gaining weight.

persephonerose · March 2014

Are all of you stressing over weight because your pedi seems to think your LO's aren't gaining enough? We were actually told that D would probably start to thin out now that he can walk and is becoming more active and his weigh gain would slow down.

If your pedi is worried did they not suggest ways to help them gain weight?

maven212 · March 2014

In my case it was mentioned to me by the attending doctor the last time we were in the ER. It was more that he was upset to see her losing 2 pounds in 6 weeks. She's always been in the 90 percentile for height, but 40 for weight and no one seemed to mind before that.

It's strange, but she never had a bunch of baby fat, so that's always weighing on my mind.

kerrigrooves · March 2014

I am just guessing here but I would increase whole milk to 15-20 oz a day? My LO takes 12-15 oz whole milk

CCM82909 · March 2014

We went through that with our first guy, even to the point of the pedi telling me I must be starving my child because he was only 16lb at a year old. We were recommended to add the carnation instant breakfast to his milk to add calories into his diet. DH also took to the notion of as much calories as possible, in any way. Ice cream and cookies were a normal dessert every night for a while, and we wouldn't hesitate to give him more milk in his sippy if he asked for it. Even now, we struggle with his weight as he only weighs 2 lbs more than his baby brother (that is a year younger - 26lbs/24lbs).

Both boys love greek yogurt in the mornings. I buy the plain and then mix in some strawberry jam. Fresh fruit like grapes or strawberries are a must for snacks, as is rice cakes and pieces of bread. For lunch, the boys love to eat ham and cheese sandwiches and I'll either give them some cut up fruit or do goldfish. Dinner is usually whatever DH and I are eating. M drinks 10 oz of whole milk before bed, while I only does about 8oz. Like others have said, they are both okay eaters, but it varies from day to day.

lanea8712 · March 2014

persephonerose said:

Are all of you stressing over weight because your pedi seems to think your LO's aren't gaining enough? We were actually told that D would probably start to thin out now that he can walk and is becoming more active and his weigh gain would slow down.

If your pedi is worried did they not suggest ways to help them gain weight?

My pedi has nagged me off and on since he was born. A was born 7lbs - now 19 lbs 14.5 oz. Now he's making me come in next month for weight check. He told me to do carnation breakfast stuff and high cal. My LO eats very little.. Like grazes all day.at a meal he eats a couple bites then climbs out of his high chair or crys till I let him get down. I'm looking for diff meals and snacks to try .. Hoping he will really take to something I haven't thought if.

lanea8712 · March 2014

This is kinda where I'm at @CCM82909. A has had a little choc ice cream two nights in a row now with his daddy. At this point anything I can get in him I'm willing to try! Of course he just got over sinus and ear infection and is teething something horrible on molars. Eating has been something he's not interested in with all that.

persephonerose · March 2014

@lanea8712 Have you tried smoothies? They are pretty easy to make and you can make them with any number of fruit/veg and full fat yogurt. D really loves avocados which are healthy fat. Peanut butter crackers? Peanut butter on just about anything is good. My friend gave her daughter fried chicken for a while, skin and all.

Gargita · March 2014

persephonerose said:

Are all of you stressing over weight because your pedi seems to think your LO's aren't gaining enough? We were actually told that D would probably start to thin out now that he can walk and is becoming more active and his weigh gain would slow down.

If your pedi is worried did they not suggest ways to help them gain weight?

I have to take H in for a one-month weight check, since he lost weight in between his 12 and 15 month appointments. I think he's now in the alleged "2%" category for weight. I don't think my pedi is overly concerned, as he believes genetics will have a lot to do with it at this point. Also, I've read that BF babies tend to follow different weight patterns than other babies. H was an absolute chunk from 3 months to 6 months, which is I think throwing his weight "curve" off.

Did that make sense? That being said, I'm giving him a normal, healthy diet; continuing to focus on offering a wide variety of minimally or lightly processed foods; and trying make sure he gets plenty of fatty foods (avocado, cheese, etc). He eats well and drinks plenty of milk, and I'm not going to do anything crazy to make a healthy, hungry, active toddler gain weight.

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