by Mama Hippo
So at D's 7 month check-up our pediatrician voiced some concern over D's weight. D has been following the 50th percentile curve for weight since birth, up to about 5 months or so. At his 6 month appointment his weight had slowed some, but no one seemed very concerned. However now instead of 50th % he's closer to 25th %. There's a few things that come to mind that could be factors:
1. He started "army crawling" a couple weeks ago. He's gotta be burning so many more calories than before. He hasn't seemed hungrier at all (though that's hard to tell since he's breastfed, thus I can't tell how much he takes at any once feeding).
2. We also started him on solids this month, though he's been having 1 meal a day of maybe 1-2oz, and he's only really been having that for about 2 weeks out of the month thanks to me freaking out about pimples on his belly being a potential food allergy reaction (they weren't).
3. He's too distracted to eat well enough during the day, something I've noticed somewhat both when breastfeeding and when trying to give him solids.
4. My supply may be dipping, or at least not increasing at the rate he needs for his continued growth and activity.
Our pediatrician suggested supplementing with a bit of formula a few times a day, after his normal feedings. I'm actually feeling ok about that, as we've had 7 great months of breastfeeding and while I would certainly prefer to keep that up and not need any formula, I also know that formula is not evil and won't harm him. However, that assumes that he actually takes the formula to begin with. He hasn't taken a bottle since he was 2 months old, and when we tried a couple of nights ago he just played around with the nipple. He also seemed completely disinterested in drinking it from his sippy cup, or from a glass. Yesterday we tried giving him cereal mixed with formula, and he had about 3 bites and that's it.
He's already been feeding about every 2 hours during the day, so I'll just try to be more vigilant about keeping that "schedule." The past 3 nights he's been sleeping through till 5 or 6am which has been AWESOME but part of me is wondering if he still needs that midnight feeding and if I should be waking him up for it (I normally am not a dreamfeed person or a wake-a-sleeping-baby person, but if he's not getting enough calories...).
I also may need to start pumping, which I so don't want to do because I consider it such a hassle, but again if he's not getting enough calories and I can get him to drink some more breatsmilk that way...
All this on top of everything else going on-- the movers packed all our stuff on Thursday (while we were at the doctor's... all our bottles are packed and we even tried to find them, opened up 5 boxes, no luck, so we bought a couple new ones-- good thing I decided to keep the pump out after all, even though I haven't used it in months) and then they loaded up and took all our stuff away yesterday.
Did any of your children go through a drop in weight gain when they started moving, and did they "even out" on their own? Should I be concerned about how much he's eating?
Comments (17)
My daughter was formula fed (cuz I dried up at four months) and she did the dip too. The doctor wasn't too concerned. She went from 30% to 20% to 5% angd the doc said if she didn't get back up by the next visit (follow up 2 weeks lalter) then we would need to start seeing WHY! But she jusmped back up to 10%.
I would say not to worry about it unless it goes another month decreasing!
As far as supplimenting, I had to cuz I had trouble from the beginning with getting enough supply, after a really bad case of double mastitis. And what we did was start of giving her original enriched rice milk, and slowly started mixing in the formula. She wouldn't take the formula, andhubby and I were allergic to soy and milk base formulas so we started her out on the rice milk first to give her nutrition but to slowly introduce formula in case she had an intolerance. She didn't!
But my sister in law was trying to dry up and her daughter wouldn't take formula, amnd so I suggested she try what we did, and sure enough, it worked like a charm!
Just some thoughts!
Of course a pediatrician would tell you to supplement with formula *rolls eyes* IMO too many pediatricians will push formula when it's defnintely not necessary because of their ignorance of how breastfeeding works. When babies learn a new skill (like this army crawling you speak of) they tend to get less hungry for a short period. I don't know why this is but I read about it somewhere and when my son started crawling he started losing weight too. My son is also in a very low weight range but that's because he was breastfed and breastmilk is so much lower in fat than the cow's milk to make formula. While breastfed babies increase the amount of NUTRIENTS in the milk as they get older, formula fed babies can only increase the amount of formula, thus making them gain a lot more weight than bf babies. If you are really concerned about your supply, I say pump when he's "too busy to eat" or eating solids. That will keep your supply up. Sorry if this seems like a lecture, but it really pushes my buttons when dr.s push formula. I nursed my son exclusively until 9 months old then he started solids. He nursed to 18 months before he self weaned and he's still a skinny kid but the child will eat and eat and eat. His metabolism is just fast, I don't like to rely on charts. He's 26 lbs at 2 yrs old. Anyway, I hope you will do some research and see if you REALLY think you need to give him formula. My fav site for info is www.kellymom.com Of course if you just WANT to stop nursing as much then that's entirely up to you and I don't look down on you for that decision. I just don't want you to think you're SUPPPOSED to if you really don't have to. What do you think they did before formula came about?
My son was formula fed, and he was my fat baby until he started crawling and walking, he lost alot of the weight he gained, and no one seemed concerned at all. All babies lose weight when they start moving, its nothing concerning at all.
I know it's difficult to do, but I really wouldn't be concerned. My son dipped a bit, too, when he started being more active, and he's always been a small baby. He was even on formula because I had a lot of BF problems. As long as he is healthy and happy and content, that's what matters. Go with your gut - your the mommy. If you feel in your heart that everything is fine, than I would just keep doing what you're doing. If you have a nagging feeling that something may not be right, than by all means, do something to fix it! My son's never been a big eater, and he's almost 3, but he is really active and healthy, and I think that's what matters. @PropertyOfMark@xanga - My son will be 3 in two months, and he's still only 26 lbs!!! he's just a little, active guy with a high metabolism!
My daughter's weight gain did slow considerably when she started crawling, even though she still eats like crazy. I thought for a while my supply might be dwindling but I guess not. She still nurses a ton and eats two-three meals of solids along with a snack or two and she is growing, just a lot slower.
I wouldn't wake your baby up to eat at night if he's sleeping soundly. I try to always let sleeping babies lie!
For all of my babies my milk lost the nutritional value it needed for them at around 6 months and I had to put them on a bottle. They started losing weight but once I put them on the bottle they were just fine. I'm not saying thats your problem, just something to consider.
Don't be concerned at all! His weight gain curve is completely normal! Right around 6 months is where the weight gain of breastfed babies comes to sort of a plateau...they will continue to grow slowly from there. But yes, it does have to do mostly with them becoming more active and burning more calories. But as long as he is still nursing every 2-3 hours during the day, you have nothing to worry about. Giving him more solids now during the day might help, but don't bother with formula if he won't take a bottle anymore. You could try pumping every so often and giving him breastmilk in a sippie cup, but don't worry about it if he won't take it. I find myself pumping almost once a day, but that is my preference because I like to mix my daughter's cereal with breastmilk. If it's easier to mix it with formula, then by all means, keep that up. At least that'll give him a little extra nutrients and fat. And don't bother with a nighttime feed if he doesn't wake up!! I only feed my daughter at night still because she still wakes up about once a night and I nurse her back to sleep. But keep up the great work though mama! You're doing a great job.
I agree with the other moms that said that it is normal for breastfeeding babies' (and probably all babies') weights to come to a plateau around the time they start moving. My formula fed nephew's weight began to taper off before he started moving. I wouldn't worry about it and I wouldn't supplement with formula. i would try to be more vigilent about feeding solids. Instead of using formula to mix cereal, use breastmilk. I didn't follow the rules about feeding solids so I skipped the baby cereal. My son hated it. I did grind regular oatmeal (and other cereals served warm) in a coffee grinder before cooking them for my son when he was little. He liked it better than the baby stuff. Once I added cinnamon (may upset some babies' stomachs) and fruit he loved it.
I wouldn't wake him up to feed him. He will wake up if he is hungry.
Oi! Your pedi should know better! All breastfed babies plateau at that age. So of course their percentile on the weight curve goes down. It is perfectly normal for this to happen. Many ff babies don't have as drastic a plateau and may even grow faster than bf babies at this time. There is absolutely no reason to supplement. There is nothing wrong with your supply. However, pumping would be great. Baby is at a great age to sneak away with hubby for the evening and or the afternoon. Having them used to or at least a little willing to drink from a bottle would be great.
These two sites may give you a bit of insight. You may also share this with your pedi. The med school my husband is now a resident at and was a student at really put an emphasis on breastfeeding and how it effects a baby. Though this isn't something all schools do.
http://www.kellymom.com/babyconcerns/growth/growthcharts.html
http://www.askdrsears.com/html/2/t023600.asp
My daughter slowed down her eating for a couple of weeks and dipped a bit too around that age. But then she picked right back up again! They go through times of lots and lots of growth and eat non-stop and times of not eating as much. Other things are more interesting... crawling, teething, learning.... I wouldnt' stress about it. And I certainly wouldn't supplement with formula! Sorry ... but that's my opinion. You've been giving your son the best nutrition there is ... and now you're going to supplement with something some scientist made up. Besides... if you supplement, your supply WILL decrease unless you pump like a mad woman to maintain that supply. But pumping can not replace the stimulation of baby.
Also, once you start supplementing .. it's bottles and nipples, and formula and and and. BFing is SOOO much easier!
But, it's your body and your son. Just know, babies will eat when they are hungry. Period. Unless there is some medical condition preventing a baby from eating when he/she is hungry ... a baby will eat when they are hungry. Babies are very instinctual that way.
I have to ask, why do you feel that "formula is not evil and won't harm him"? Formula is an artificial, man made food that contains chemicals.
If you are breastfeeding and starting solids but are concerned about his weight gain, my question is: does he act healthy?
I understand that you are concerned that he not at the same percentile as he was before but you should remember that those charts were modeled after formula fed babies only and do not take in to account the slightly slower growth rate of breastfed babies.
So I guess my advice would be to watch him and if he starts acting like he can not get enough food and acts like he doesn't have any energy, then start to worry. Because otherwise he sounds like a healthy child who is getting what he needs no matter how little it may seem to you.
I agree with many of the posters here ....your child sounds normal as far as the growth curve goes. (by the way - those charts are based on formula fed babies, NOT breastfed babies - so as such is not even accurate for your baby!) My oldest baby started out in the 80th percentile and by the time she was a year old - weighed 18lbs and was in the 10th percentile or something like that. But she was reaching all the milestones AHEAD of most of her peers. She was crawling early and walking by 10 months. She was talking by 12 months and no longer ababy! (that's why I got pregnant the month she turned 1!) I don't think you have anything to be too concerend about. As long as your baby is still feeding when hungry, not losing weight, and reaching milestones and is happy and healthy - its fine. No need to supplement with formula! (and don't wake him up at night .....no need - he'll get enough during the day to meet his needs)
For the most part I echo everyone else here and would say not to worry too much, and DEFINITELY not to wake him at night. Actually, my first thought was that you are nursing too much - you should have at least 3-4 hrs. between nursings by now. And what I was told is that nursing that closely together doesn't give them the richest milk, it is actually thinner, and that your body needs more "rest" to produce the creamier milk. That said, you also mentioned your house being packed up, so if you are moving, I would be surprised if your stress level hasn't altered the amount/make-up of your milk. I know that my milk supply was not the same for my 4 kids and I definitely felt that the 4th needed some supplementation - I was too busy and stressed out. She was my skinniest baby, but she's a skinny kid.
Which brings me to: you know whether your family tends toward thin or fat. Every time I go to the ped. I get told my kids are underweight for their height. However they have 2 very tall, fairly slender parents so I refuse to get worried about something that is inherited.
@Blue_Dragon_Designs@xanga - Formula may not be as good as breastmilk, but I can't say that it's "evil." Many many people were and are fed on formula and are perfectly healthy. Also, the growth charts I've been using are made by the WHO and based on breastfed babies.
@amyjane66@xanga - @nicolevw@xanga - @wolfpack -
@Erika_Steele@xanga - @MommyGEM_RN@xanga - @XbabyK@xanga -
@PropertyOfMark@xanga - Thanks for all the advice (and sorry for the late reply). We're going in today to see our new pediatrician and we'll see how his growth is going, and what new advice we get. BTW I'm going by the growth charts made by the WHO which are based on breastfed babies. Oh, and of course now that we moved and D's been getting used to the time difference he's been getting up at all hours of the night.... now I'm almost wondering if I'm feeding him too much at night! But that'll be yet another question for the pedi today...
@mamahippo - where did you move to? I'm sure he'll get adjusted to the time eventually. Time changes are rough for babies because they don't understand it yet. He'll adjust eventually!
@MommyGEM_RN@xanga - I believe that formula is evil in the same way that processed and fast foods are evil. They are not good for you at all, and the fact that formula fed children are "healthy" is partial luck and the possibly that the effects of the chemicals have not been seen yet. Of course not eveyone shares my opinions.