Getting your former preemie to gain weight

komurphy · May 2014

Hi all,

My youngest, a former 31 weeker, turned 1 on April 29th. He has always had a problem gaining weight- he's bounced back and forth between the 0 and 5th percentile at every Dr appt. His doctors have thrown around the failure to thrive term a bit when he was a baby. I had thought he was gaining but at his 1 year NICU follow-up his Neos were still concerned with his weight and he had dropped down a percentile. Everyone is hoping that the dip is from his recent activity level since he finally figured out the crawling thing in the past month.

We are lucky that our little guy loves to eat (unlike his older sister, a former 27 weeker). We've been giving him loads of good fats (avocados, etc) and higher calorie finger foods (sweet potatos, ground bison, etc) and staying away from the empty calories (puffs, etc). Our Neo advised us to start mixing in Canola Oil into his food.

So my question: other then fortified breastmilk w/ formula how are you all getting your little ones to gain weight. Are their better options then Canola Oil? I suggested organic olive oil or coconut oil but the Neo insisted that canola was highest in calories.

KTZ17 · May 2014

Huh, that's weird about the canola oil. My DD was also a 31 weeker, born at 3 lbs 11oz and she'll be 1 next week (wahh!!). She just hit the 5th percentile finally at her 9 month visit, but we haven't had her 12 month yet so I can't say definitively if what we've been doing has gotten her to bulk up. I do think she has been gaining well, though, cause she feels heftier and her legs are chubbier. So I give her oatmeal mixed with enfacare for breakfast in addition to her half to a whole banana and Cheerios, for lunch she has fruit and whole milk plain yogurt, and for dinner she usually has a scrambled egg and veggies. The last couple days I've mixed whole milk into her oatmeal instead of the enfacare to start transitioning her. She still breastfeeds 4x a day. From what I've read, push the whole milk dairy like cheeses and yogurt, cook with butter, and eggs and avocados are good. My dd won't eat avocados anymore so that doesn't work for us. FWIW, my dd just hit the 5th percentile and my pedi has never said failure to thrive. Good luck!

MinaE01 · May 2014

My 32 weeker battled severe reflux (spit up 3/4 of his feedings). He was a very slow grower. It drove us crazy with worry. It took him months to get on the growth chart. He's 18 months now and still small. He's in the 17th percentile for weight. The doctor was never concerned because he followed his own growth curve. He was on Enfacare until about 9 months old. Other than that, we didn't try any other weight-gaining techniques.

I know how frustrating it is! Hang in there. As long as he is eating well, perhaps he is just small! If he seems happy and healthy, then I wouldn't worry too terribly much. Good luck!

komurphy · May 2014

ChickenOnSunday, We just started really tracking his calories. I am going to download that app right now. Previsouly, we were just tracking his ounces for fortified breastmilk and ounces of solid food/ puree intake.

We are having the toughest time getting him to gain. He's consistantly below the 5th percentile for both height and weight at his adjusted age. He spent the first 6th months below the 2nd percentile for his adjusted age. He's my third preemie so I shouldn't be so frustrated.

punky917 · May 2014

We were also told about the oil from very early on. We were seeing a GI specialist and were actually adding it to his formula. We added butter to everything I could possibly think of feeding him when he started eating solids. DS is now almost 6 and he is still smaller for his age. Pedi never really worried about it since he continued to grow. Not sure about his height, but he is only 35 pounds. I agree with pp that as long as he's following his own growth curve that he is fine. I know it is much easier said than done to not worry since I still worry about Noah's weight-just not as much as when he was a baby.

It's great to hear from ya! How are Max and Lilly liking their baby brother?