Anyone else's LO struggling to gain weight?

Codypup · May 2014

My LO has been holding steady at around 10lbs for about 3 weeks now.She hasn't lost any, but just isn't gaining. I just talked to the pedi, who said we can start supplementing with formula. But in the meantime, he's referring us to a gastro doctor too. It will take about 3 weeks to get an appointment with them.

She has her 4 month checkup on the 28th. If she hasn't gained by then, we'll keep the appointment with the gastro. If the formula works, we can cancel the gastro appointment.

I'm so worried about this. In all other aspects she is a happy, healthy baby -- hitting milestones, content, not spitting up a ton, no diarrhea. She eats every 3 hours or so, and takes about 4oz per session. (I did a weighted feed this morning to be sure.) She still wakes up twice a night to eat.

I'm also feeling horribly guilty that maybe my milk isn't enough for her, or there's something wrong with it. I'll absolutely do formula if it means she'll grow better, but I can't help but feel like this is somehow my fault.

Is anyone else going through this?

Codypup · May 2014

ETA -- she was 5lbs 14 ounces at birth, to put the 10lbs in perspective. Also, my H and I are not large people, so I know genetics could be playing a slight role. (NOT because small!!! Just to provide more information.)

hopefuldog · May 2014

My LO has to go back for a weight check.

Ibliss · May 2014

We have been struggling from the beginning. It wasn't until 5 weeks that LO was back up to birth weight. LO had only gained 1 lb 3 oz at her 2 month check. She gains so slowly. I understand being worried and not feeling good enough. We EBF and I make plenty of milk.

We are currently trying a no dairy or soy diet to see if that helps (there was also blood in her stool). If not then we will have to see a GI specialist.

Just taken comfort in knowing you are doing everything possible for your LO and try not to stress.

I know it is hard but just keep at it and you will get through.

coralreefmom · May 2014

We just went through lo not gaining like he was supposed to. He was slipping off the growth curve. We added in formula after every nursing session per the LCs instructions.

I feel really guilty because I had limited his formula intake prevent supply issues due to supplementing. Now he's back on the curve and growing like he should.

((Hugs))) it's hard. I hope Willa starts gaining soon!

JackieP1023 · May 2014

Not officially having this problem, but it is in the back of my mind. LO seems to be growing, but at 3.5m, she still fits into her 0-3 clothes. She was born average weight, 7lb 13oz, and was back up to birthweight at 10days pp. At her 2mo she had fallen from 50ish percentile to 25. Not enough for pedi to be concerned, but her 4m appt is in a couple weeks, so we'll see how she is doing.

Codypup · May 2014

My MIL just sent me this article, which I found very interesting. I clearly am going to do whatever my pedi tells me to, but this article provided a different perspective.

https://drjaygordon.com/pediatricks/newborns/scales.html

If you have been told that weight gain is not acceptable, look hard at this list of questions:

Is your baby eager to nurse?
Is your baby peeing and pooping well?
Is your baby’s urine either clear or very pale yellow?
Are your baby’s eyes bright and alert?
Is your baby’s skin a healthy color and texture?
Is your baby moving its arms and legs vigorously?
Are baby’s nails growing?
Is your baby meeting developmental milestones?
Is your baby’s overall disposition happy and playful?
Yes, your baby sleeps a lot, but when your baby is awake does he have periods of being very alert?

If you have answered yes to the above questions, you may want to progress on to two important questions which the “charts” seem to ignore.

How tall is mom?
How tall is dad?

rachaelmary · May 2014

@Codypup‌ I was just about to send you that link.

My pedi wanted me to supplement with formula as LO is on the small end (11lbs at 3.5 months, 6.7 at birth). I felt the exact same as you...like I was failing as her mom and not providing her with what she needed.

BUT, after talking with my LC, we figured out that she is small, yes, but she's still gaining and has maintained her 15th percentile in weight, so she isn't dropping at all. I am petite so genetics do come into play.

Obviously there is nothing wrong at all with supplementing with formula...your LO will still get the benefits of BM. Just do what is best for you and your LO!

boogerbearoriginal · May 2014

Has she truly not gained a single ounce, or is just a smaller child? Is she not gaining the 5-7oz per week? What about height and head growth? Has she fallen in percentiles or is she steady on her own curve?

Kids do tend to grow in spurts, and mine seem to do this pattern of weight gain then add length seemingly overnight while weight stays steady, then length seems to stall out while weight goes up again. Some kids are long/lean, and it's possible if you/H are smaller people she will be small too.

The only reason I'd caution against using formula is you don't want to be overfeeding her in an attempt to force her to grow outside of her own natural growth pattern. If she's happy, meeting milestones, plenty of wet/poopy diapers, etc. being small isn't necessarily indicative of an issue. If all her growth has stopped, that is cause for concern though. But it seems like sometimes Pedis aren't happy unless kids are at 50th+ percentiles, because big??? My friend's LO was always at 5th and lower, but he followed his own little growth curve. He is still small, but both his parents are small too (short and slight build) and he was FF the whole time.

FX that she's gaining for you!

Codypup · May 2014

Booger+Bear said:

Has she truly not gained a single ounce, or is just a smaller child? Is she not gaining the 5-7oz per week? What about height and head growth? Has she fallen in percentiles or is she steady on her own curve?

Kids do tend to grow in spurts, and mine seem to do this pattern of weight gain then add length seemingly overnight while weight stays steady, then length seems to stall out while weight goes up again. Some kids are long/lean, and it's possible if you/H are smaller people she will be small too.

The only reason I'd caution against using formula is you don't want to be overfeeding her in an attempt to force her to grow outside of her own natural growth pattern. If she's happy, meeting milestones, plenty of wet/poopy diapers, etc. being small isn't necessarily indicative of an issue. If all her growth has stopped, that is cause for concern though. But it seems like sometimes Pedis aren't happy unless kids are at 50th+ percentiles, because big??? My friend's LO was always at 5th and lower, but he followed his own little growth curve. He is still small, but both his parents are small too (short and slight build) and he was FF the whole time.

FX that she's gaining for you!

@booger+bear -

She's definitely not gaining the 5-7oz per week. She's maybe gained 3oz in 3 weeks. On May 6th, she was in the 4.6th percentile for weight. Pedi wasn't concerned because she was in the 4.6th percentile when she was born, too. As of May 6th she was still on her own curve, but now 2 weeks later, she might have dropped off of it. I'm not sure.

For height, she was in the 60th percentile, and her head was around the 40th. Right now she's 24 inches long at 10.1lbs.

FWIW...I am only 5 feet tall, and my H is 5'9". We were both tiny babies. (My mom said I've been below the 5th percentile my whole life.) My mom is only 4'11'' and my dad is 5'7''.

And like I said in my OP...she's a HAPPY little baby. She's almost mastered rolling over, she has great neck control, she's starting to grasp and hold onto things, and she eats happily and regularly. Zero stomach issues (except for a little bug last week, which still didn't deter her from eating.) Literally the only thing "off" is that her weight has plateaued. I'm not trying to second guess my pedi, but she just doesn't seem like a sick baby, you know?

Ughhh this is so stressful. I just bought some formula (holy expensive, yo) and we'll start that tonight. Thank you for all your replies, I feel somewhat reassured.

karich · May 2014

Booger+Bear said:
Has she truly not gained a single ounce, or is just a smaller child? Is she not gaining the 5-7oz per week? What about height and head growth? Has she fallen in percentiles or is she steady on her own curve?

Kids do tend to grow in spurts, and mine seem to do this pattern of weight gain then add length seemingly overnight while weight stays steady, then length seems to stall out while weight goes up again. Some kids are long/lean, and it's possible if you/H are smaller people she will be small too.

The only reason I'd caution against using formula is you don't want to be overfeeding her in an attempt to force her to grow outside of her own natural growth pattern. If she's happy, meeting milestones, plenty of wet/poopy diapers, etc. being small isn't necessarily indicative of an issue. If all her growth has stopped, that is cause for concern though. But it seems like sometimes Pedis aren't happy unless kids are at 50th+ percentiles, because big??? My friend's LO was always at 5th and lower, but he followed his own little growth curve. He is still small, but both his parents are small too (short and slight build) and he was FF the whole time.

FX that she's gaining for you!

This is excellent advice. I hate those growth charts and don't think they should be the only deciding factor in whether a child is growing or if you should supplement.
DD1 has never been over the 10% mark. Ever. She grows on her own curveand is/has developing appropriately so no one is concerned. She's still a petite little thing...at almost 6, her pants are a 4T.

boogerbearoriginal · May 2014

I know you mentioned buying formula, but one other thought/question. How many times per day does she eat? Perhaps you could try feeding her every 2hrs instead of 3 to get an extra feeding/two in. She should be getting ~8+ feedings a day still.

And, with the additional info, she is clearly growing if her height is in the 60th percentile and head in the 40th, so you are clearly not failing her. Some babies are just thinner, just like some adults.

::hugs:: You're doing a great job!

Noethola · May 2014

((Hugs)) Codypup! Its hard not to worry when things don't fit the "average". Trust your mommy instincts, supplement if you need to. Remember, everything you are doing, you have your LOs best interest in mind. You have a plan, and a back up plan. You are doing great!

Growing up I was off the charts for length (long) but underweight according to the charts. I was happy, healthy and otherwise doing fine. It was just me, the way I was made.

Codypup · May 2014

Thank you guys!! I'm feeling much more reassured and more confident. But also a little more confused.

I just picked W up from daycare and had a long talk with the director about this whole thing. The director spent all last week working in the infant room, so she has had good quality time with W.

She essentially said the same thing you all are saying -- that W is hitting milestones, eating happily, and shows no signs of being underfed or anything else. She cautioned against formula as a solution for the same reasons @booger+bear said. She also tactfully told me that she's disagreed with some of the diagnoses she's seen my pedi give. (I guess some other parents have gotten second opinions on his diagnoses, and those opinions varied drastically from what my pedi had said. Not just with the weight thing, but all over the spectrum.)

It also helped that when I weighed W this afternoon, she's randomly up to 10 lbs 7 oz. (The scale is correct! She had eaten recently.)

So here's my game plan, for now: increase her feeds to every 2-2.5 hours, and "top her off" with formula if she seems interested. I also need to make sure I'm giving her long enough nursing sessions -- I think sometimes I assume she's done, when in reality she may just be taking a break.

@ciaomama - ((hugs)) thank you for your post. I needed to hear that "not every baby is going to be on a growth curve."

boogerbearoriginal · May 2014

Given what your DC provider said re: the pedi, it certainly wouldn't hurt to even get a second opinion if you're not 100% happy with her Dr.

But ITA with your DC provider and PPs, there is nothing that you've posted that indicates any sort of problem. She's a long lean baby, and that's perfectly healthy.

BzeetyD · May 2014

We're having almost exactly this same issue. T-bug is 3 months old and we just had a weight check yesterday for this same reason and she weighed 10lbs 11.5oz and that put her in the 10th percentile. At birth she was in the 30th and last month she was in the 12th. So she's "falling" in her curve. Online charts put her between the 5th and 10th percentile for weight. She's in the 30th for height and 50th for head circumference. My husband and I were very lean kids and are slightly taller than average, but no giants.

She's hitting her milestones as well, has always seemed well fed and satisfied, happy and active. She's an efficient nurser and I've been feeding her, basically on demand since birth.

Our pedi thought that she may gain a bit when I start back to work and she'll be mostly on BM bottles. I wondered the same thing. It will also be easier for me/us to see exactly how much she's getting. I know that pumping isn't a good indication of what she's getting but when I pump I'm able to get enough to feed her so supply doesn't seem to be an issue.

Our pedi wasn't very concerned, which is good, but I want to be sure she's got enough to grow.

Our doc didn't want us to supplement with formula yet. She suggested that I try to up the fats in my diet (but from what I've read online @ kellymom and other sources that won't make much difference) and... that we add butter to her pumped bottles. (?!?!?!)

This last piece of advice is odd to me and I can't find anything online suggesting something similar. I'm also concerned about adding a different kind of animal fat (as opposed to a plant based fat like coconut or olive oil). Without thread jacking I'm wondering if anyone has been given similar advice. I think I may contact a lactation consultant and try to do some weighed feedings before we try that.

I sort of wonder if she just has a smaller appetite.

Online advice and in life it seems she's doing just fine but her growth chart says differently.

Sorry for the novel but just wanted to say, I know that feel, bro.

boogerbearoriginal · May 2014

BzeetyD said:

Our doc didn't want us to supplement with formula yet. She suggested that I try to up the fats in my diet (but from what I've read online @ kellymom and other sources that won't make much difference) and... that we add butter to her pumped bottles. (?!?!?!)

This last piece of advice is odd to me and I can't find anything online suggesting something similar. I'm also concerned about adding a different kind of animal fat (as opposed to a plant based fat like coconut or olive oil). Without thread jacking I'm wondering if anyone has been given similar advice. I think I may contact a lactation consultant and try to do some weighed feedings before we try that.

Ummmm, what??? No. Please don't add butter to your baby's bottle. Besides that anything added to bottles to thicken them is a serious chocking hazard, and butter is solid at room temp, so yea, I just cannot imagine that is healthy. There is a reason that most babies aren't given anything beside breastmilk/formula prior to 4m, their bodies aren't designed to process it yet. TBH that advice alone would cause me to seek out a new Pedi.

Just like there is a range of normal/healthy looking adults (tall/short, large/small) the same is true for babies. Some are long/lean, and while falling percentiles is concerning if LO is still gaining and growing well overall I would personally err on the side of wait/see.

BzeetyD · May 2014

TyrannosaurusLex said:

Butter?! BUTTER?! In a bottle? I'm going to hop on the new pedi for you train and suggest you never look back.

Yeah, I know. That's what I was wondering/thinking.

BzeetyD · May 2014

Booger+Bear said:

BzeetyD said:

Our doc didn't want us to supplement with formula yet. She suggested that I try to up the fats in my diet (but from what I've read online @ kellymom and other sources that won't make much difference) and... that we add butter to her pumped bottles. (?!?!?!)

This last piece of advice is odd to me and I can't find anything online suggesting something similar. I'm also concerned about adding a different kind of animal fat (as opposed to a plant based fat like coconut or olive oil). Without thread jacking I'm wondering if anyone has been given similar advice. I think I may contact a lactation consultant and try to do some weighed feedings before we try that.

Ummmm, what??? No. Please don't add butter to your baby's bottle. Besides that anything added to bottles to thicken them is a serious chocking hazard, and butter is solid at room temp, so yea, I just cannot imagine that is healthy. There is a reason that most babies aren't given anything beside breastmilk/formula prior to 4m, their bodies aren't designed to process it yet. TBH that advice alone would cause me to seek out a new Pedi.

Just like there is a range of normal/healthy looking adults (tall/short, large/small) the same is true for babies. Some are long/lean, and while falling percentiles is concerning if LO is still gaining and growing well overall I would personally err on the side of wait/see.

Both pieces of advice seemed not right. esp the butter thing - for a variety of reasons, like you listed.

We'll look for a new pediatrician's group I think. Our original doc of choice, who we adored, retired right after T was born but we stayed in the same doc group who came highly recommended from a variety of sources. Ah poo.

Want a personalized experience?

Anyone else's LO struggling to gain weight?

Re: Anyone else's LO struggling to gain weight?

Choose Another Board

Search Boards

Want a personalized experience?

Anyone else's LO struggling to gain weight?

Re: Anyone else&#039;s LO struggling to gain weight?

Choose Another Board

Search Boards

Re: Anyone else's LO struggling to gain weight?