Baby girl poor weight gain

[alicinha]

Hi All,

Just need a few words of advice/experience from you.

My 6 months old baby girl have been diagnosed with reflux at 3 weeks old, since then its been a constant fight to feed her. GP and Pediatrician seem to agree she has a slow weight gain, but the only thing they suggested so far is to thicken her milk. She still can?t take much and I?m starting to get very worried as I?ve started weaning a couple of weeks ago and it hasn?t gone down really well.

She is 6 months old and her weight is 13.7 pounds (6.2 Kg). Any of you had such a small baby? Any high calorie food advice?

Thank you!

[Tara]

Hi Yankita,

My little girl was very slow to gain weight and slipped down all the percentile charts to the extent that our HV told us she wasn't thriving and made us get her checked out at the hospital (they couldn't find anything to worry about). Needless to say this caused no amount of stress and worry and made the weaning process a whole lot harder than it should have been as I was constantly stressed that she wasn't eating enough!

I think my main piece of advice would be to not worry too much -easier said than done I know. My little girl is now 2 and although she is small she eats like a horse and has plenty of flesh covering her bones! I eventually stopped taking her to get weighed as it stressed me out too much and I felt that as long as she was happy and eating OK then there was nothing to worry about. It took her a while, but she now loves her food and has a positive attitude towards eating. I think they all get there eventually and you just have to try not to worry too much.

Good luck - and ignore those damn percentile charts!

[alicinha]

Dear Tara,

Thank you so much for your reply, it made me cry like a baby (I'm having one of those days!).

I've already stop going to HV to check her weight, as you said, it was making me very depressed.

Your story gives me hope! Thank you again x

[Ko]

hi, my baby had reflux but ate like a horse to make up for it! sometimes he would bring up a whole feed (bit by bit over the 3 hours between feeds).

we bottle fed and i think that helped as we knew how much he was getting and formula is quite sweet so he loved it. weaning is not as easy as HVs make out. i found it very slow going. so don't worry too much about weaning taking time. start with baby rice.

we found that none of the milk thickeners worked (sma staydown, thick and easy), but gaviscon did (but couldn't use too much as gave baby diarrhoea).

as long as your baby seems happy and looks healthy, don't worry too much about their numeric weight unless the doctors are worried. xxxxxx

[Keef]

Our daughter was slow to gain weight, and the HVs were telling my wife that she needed to stop breast feeding, and that our child was in danger. My wife was really upset, and thought the HVs were going to call social services on her or something. She went to our (very nice) GP, and he told her it was utter nonsense, and that our daughter was fine, just light.

I know there are some exceptions, but basiclly, I think a child will eat what s/he needs. Could you imagine how horrible it would be to have someone making you eat a load of food that you really didn't need or ant.

Our daughter is 18 months now, and is quite small weight wise, but healthy. Some days she'll eat like a horse, others, she won't eat so much. We just make sure the food is offered to her regularly (lots of snacks, as well as meals), ad she'll have what she wants.

[katgod]

baby dropped from 98th to below 25th and was told should take to GP, failure tp thrive etc. Checked with GP friend and the nurse when went to be vaccinated and was told not to taake any notice. On next visit to HV she had just crept over 25th line and was told how lovely she was. I must have looked a bit taken aback as HV said, 'mum you are not worried are you, she's very bonny'. I never was worried as she slept through, was smiley and happy and fine - but they worried me and by crossing a seemingly arbitary line suddenly everything is different.

Yoghurt my only high calorie tip - fromage frais type. Mine is nearly 7 months and not keen on solid food really but will wolf down Petit Filous.

[gwod]

Poor you. Ive always felt that "failure to thrive" was an emotive and unhelpful turn of phrase, especially when "small" would do the job just as well. I wanted to add that the first few weeks of weaning really can feel a bit like a pointless excersise - even for the hungriest of babies - they can take quite a long time to get the hang of it well enough to derive any nutrition, so dont lose hope. Also, I agree with Keef, Katgod etc that seeing that yor baby is bright and perky, and meeting reasonable developmental milestones is prob a better indication of health than lbs and oz alone. Hang in there.

[GinaG3]

My daughter was also slow weight gain and dropped down the weight charts. She wasn't 'by the book'. I was told all the time to stop breastfeeding as she was failing to thrive, I continued to feed regardless. She wasn't, fair enough she was gaining weight slowly but she was happy, paid loads of attention and generally did everything babies her age should. I saw no reason whatsoever for reason to believe she wasn't doing well.

Weaning we took very slowly, offering not even a teaspoon a day at 6 months. Over the months I generally doubled what she was eating every week or so and she was still gaining weight slowly but weaning extremely well, but HV of course couldn't see this. By around 11 months she was eating 3 meals a day, being a bit fussy with what but she was doign well. Still feeding also!!

Now she is 22 months old and a beaming beauty. She is healthy and happy. She is still on the small size but is at the same level as all other toddlers her age. No problem with weight, let just say I cannot carry her across the park anymore. Cor!

Listen to mothers instinct, it normally knows best.

Good luck.

[alicinha]

THANK YOU all for your messages. Really helps a very worried mum! I will try to relax a little and not feel constantly like I'm losing a battle with my gorgeous baby. x x x

[Pickle]

I can only echo what others have said. My son has always been small, was in newborn sized clothes for at least his first 6 months, and now wears size 2 aged nearly 4. He's just broken the milestone of the 2 stone mark (28lbs), and dropped off the red book charts by the time he was a few months old.

I got such ridiculous advice from healthcare "professionals" when it came to weaning that I lost all respect for them (health visitors) and trusted my instinct.

He's a happy, healthy boy - never going to be a rugby player though!

[sophiechristophy]

there's a really great book called baby-led weaning by gill rapley, really recommend it :) xxx

p.s. my baby's weight dropped from the 99percentile at birth to below the 50th, but she is strong and thriving so i trust that more than generalised percentile growth charts.

[EDmummy]

I mainly agree with the other posters but if your baby is still having problems with reflux (if also showing signs of irritability and difficulties with sleep) then I would push the GP for further investigations and/or medication that will ease the symptoms. God forbid should some other underlying condition be missed. There is always a possibility and I have seen it first hand!

Weight gain and eating, or the lack of, can become such a preoccupation with little ones but it is always reassuring that causes have been ruled out and you can get on and enjoy the wonderful little girl you have. I spent at least two years incredibly concerned about my very underweight child who is now an incredibly strapping, healthy, very tall 9 year old.

Don't be afraid to give your child healthy high fat foods. Babies need good fats (natural long chain fatty acids) in their diet as it aids brain development. It is also interesting to ask you parent's about your own early development and to include in your consideration whether you are of slight stature etc., as these are all factors that the 'wonderful' red books cannot take into consideration.

Most importantly, forget any long term attitudes you might have to certain foods (not implying that you have any but just a general note of caution) and let your daughter experience as many foods with a variety of textures as possible.

I wish you and your daughter well.

[minder]

I would agree with EDmummy and try to give lots of healthy high fat foods (including full fat milk and yoghurts).

Your baby will only eat what she needs but I would give it another month to see how she goes.

[minder]

Sorry just read again and realised your daughter at 6 months shouldn't be having cows milk yet anyway! Yoghurts and cheese are ok though.

[alicinha]

Thank you! Thank you! Thank You! :))

[Ko]

there's a medicine called ranitidine (google it for more info) that is often useful for infant reflux. my little one had it but i was never sure if it did much but the gp told me it is often used and i had read about it too. its something different to thickeners.

[Link]

Hello Yankita, I went through this same ordeal when my daughter was between 6months and 18months (now 4). I basically weigh her every week. She was below the average weight for a long time. I was sick worried. However, she was active and eating enough to get her through the day. And of course she did not sleep well because the stomach is always half empty! Now everything feels like a distant memory, she eats very well, right weight for her age and sleeps through the night in her own room.

This time will pass. As long as you are happy she is consuming enough for a given day.

All the best.

[Fuschia]

It sounds like the reflux is the issue and the drs haven't really managed to help you. The good news is that the problem may lessen as she gets properly into solids.

I'm told this is a very good site: http://www.cryingoverspiltmilk.co.nz/

[Fuschia]

Info re weaning: http://www.cryingoverspiltmilk.co.nz/Food/FoodandReflux.htm

[crystal7]

Our experience sounds similar to Link's. Daughter gained only 1 or 2 pounds from 6-15 months, at 15 months she was about 16lbs. I was incredibly worried, she seemed to eat very little (but was still having 3 breastfeeds a day). HV told me to give her formula twice a day (advice I ignored). Throughout she was a happy, healthy and active baby and I wish I hadn't worried so much! She is now 21 months and her eating slowly picked up from about 16 months. She is still quite fussy and smaller than most of her friends but her dad and I aren't exactly huge.

I'll echo what others have said, try not to worry so much about the centile charts (my daughter dropped off hers for ages) and weaning can be a very slow process. I'm sure E didn't eat a significant amount until she was about 10 months. I used to make cheese sauce with cream instead of milk, porridge with cream, butter with veg, HV suggested sponge and custard which funnily enough we never tried...