Skinny baby.. Nervous

My 9 month old baby is 27 in and 15.11 lbs. I can't believe he weighs so little. My dr suggested giving pediasure, but I feel funny about it. I wish I didn't even know his weight because it is making me nervous. He is beautiful and healthy. What should I do? Anyone been in this boat? He is a very picky water. He only likes a few fruit purees and sweet potatos.

Re: Skinny baby.. Nervous

Has his weight always been on the same curve? If the doc is recommending Pediasure, I'd probably start giving it. He needs nutrients besides what is in the few fruits & sweet potatoes that he eats. Is he still on formula? That has plenty of nutrition, but maybe not enough for a 9 month old. Maybe you can increase the amount of formula he takes? Maybe add some cereal to that? If he has been dropping in percentile, there is a concern. If he has always been on that same curve, they worry less. DD almost needed a feeding tube when she was a baby because of her severe reflux. The GI doc said that even tho she wasn't losing weight, she was dropping in percentiles (falling to a lower growth curve), which meant she wasn't growing at the proper rate. He felt it was more important to be proactive than reactive. He said that without calories and nutrients, the brain (and the rest of the body) can't grow and learn. They measure and track that by weight and growth curve. We avoided the tube cause at each appointment, she gained just enough to satisfy the doc (and the curve).

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Oh wow. Yes, he is dropping percentiles. He was originally in the 50th. Now he is off the chart low I assume. Of course I blame myself, however what I see with him is that he is super active and can't be bothered to eat, let alone nurse.

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my daughter dropped from 90th percentile to 1st percentile. She is somewhere between 28-30 inches and she is only 18-19 lbs. My doctor didn't seem too worried.

Skinny baby.. Nervous

My dd was born 5lb 5oz. She's now 10m and at her last check up was 16lb 9oz. She was under the 5% for quite some time. Now she's in the 10th. Between her 8m and 10m she gained almost a pound. Dh and I were certain she'd weigh more. We were so upset, and ped wasnt. Maybe you have a really active baby. Ped wants me to continue what I'm doing and give her more table foods.

Skinny baby.. Nervous

It happens! I was a chunker as a baby and at some point dropped to below the 5th percentile and stayed there for years perfectly healthy. It may be where he's meant to be.

I would just focus on getting him to nurse well. Maybe try to catch him early in the morning when he's still sleepy and before or after a nap when he's sleepy as well. Make sure you're in a boring, quiet room with as few distractions as possible. Maybe try pumped milk in a bottle or sippy he can walk around with to get a little more in him. As far as food, just try to focus on things that are high in calories and fat. Whole milk yogurt, avocados, eggs, peanut butter (if you're ped is okay). I would probably avoid lower nutrition things like baby cereal and puffs.

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Skinny baby.. Nervous

I would give the pediasure if my peds suggests it. I know drs dont know everything but while we all want to try to offer advice we do not know yours or your ds medical hx. And nutrition is quite serious and important for their growing bodies and brains. Thats just my opinion.

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DD was 16 lbs. on her first birthday, and she had even lost weight between her 8 and 10 month visits. She hated to eat! She actually hated purees. I had a lot more success giving her soft finger foods. She never drank more than 5 oz. in a bottle.

She was born at 6-12, which I think is around the 30 percentile (I don't remember), but she dropped to the 0.7 by 10 months.

BUT she was growing lengthwise (also 27 in. At 9 mos., I just looked back!), and head circumference also. She was meeting milestones, albeit because of her size she is slightly on the slower side but still within expected times.

She is now almost 13 months and is encountering finally a growth spurt!

My advise is to monitor, do what the doctor says, but don't stress. Some babies are just small! If he starts to lag behind in abilities, then it may be time to worry. Try to get good fats in there like avocado. Mix what he likes with something new to introduce new flavors. And try new deliveries, like soft finger food! Dd loved loved chicken this way!

Skinny baby.. Nervous

This is exactly my son. Literally word for word. Started at 50 percentile, dropped to 3rd. He weighed 17 lbs at 1 year.

I did not supplement with pediasure- it's all chemicals. I added extra butter, olive oil, cream and coconut oil to his foods for extra calories. He loves full fat Greek yogurt ( I get it at trader joes) and it's super high in calories. Remember that formula or bm has many more calories than baby food, so give that first.

Also we started the baby food pouches around that time and he loved them. He could eat the entire thing in like 2 minutes. They were expensive. But at least I knew he was getting 70 calories instead of throwing food on the floor or getting it all over him. It was actually going in his mouth.

He's now almost 20 months. He's still skinny- 22 lbs now, but he's healthy, meeting all his milestones on or ahead of schedule.

Some kids area just naturally thin. Monitor his weight closely, but it's not your fault. And give him extra calories as needed. My son is also super active, and it's hard, they just burn through a lot of calories.

Message edited 1/11/2014 9:20:19 AM.

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Message edited 1/11/2014 6:42:31 PM.

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I would do it if my pediatrician recommended it.

My friend had this happen to her right before her DD turned one, she gave pediasure and I think it helped a little bit and she's back on her curve.

Re: Skinny baby.. Nervous

Ok, thanks for the feedback everyone. This is just such a weird thing. All you hear about now is kids are getting obese, etc. and you are told to not give kids sugar. Meanwhile my dr is prescribing it. I will do it. I am also going to increasingly give him bread and butter, and such.

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I've been through so much with my skinny baby since she was 5 months old. She's 9 months and 27" and 14.5lbs now. She has only gained about 2.5lbs since then but she kept growing in length, head and meeting milestones. And sleeping pretty well. She has particular tastes though, like hates formula so don't even try to sneak it in her cereal, and she really took to soft foods (mesh feeder and finger) before eating from spoon.

She was spitting up often at 5 months too and we put her on acid reflux meds which do help. I think she refused purées then because it hurt or tasted bad coming back up.

We amp up calories and make them count. Lots of avocado, yogurt every day, add butter or olive oil to veggies, and a little duo-cal too per the GI doc. He wants us to supplement with formula but she just won't have it. I give her vitamins every other day. No one suggested Pediasure and I'm not going there anyway because I don't feel fruity or sweet shakes are going to help me with her diet in the long run. Try mashing avocado with banana or mixing it into yogurt. Get a book of baby food recipes. Try adding veggies to the fruits (squash + pear for example) or even some savory combos. My DD chowed down on homemade chicken noodle soup that I puréed. She eats a little cheese now so well try homemade Mac and cheese from the baby book. You have to keep trying foods. They may refuse at first but their tastes change so much that they may like it later.

Keep in mind that everyone is built differently too. My MIL and my DH were very skinny little kids. DH had to wear suspenders to kindergarten to keep his pants up. MIL never had an appetite and I see the same with my DD a bit too so I make every food calorie be a good healthy one.

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I blend one avocado to a banana until it's smooth, now that dd is older sometimes I mash w a fork. Maybe try that for breakfast every day. The banana makes it sweet and avocados have lots of good fat

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My DS was born pretty decent sized at 8.5lbs. But right away he slimmed out. He always was in the low percentile a so the Dr was never too concerned. We never gave him pediasure. He will be 4 years old in March and is still barely 30lbs. He's just a small kid. He's actually a decent eater, he likes lots of different foods. His issue is that he eats very small portions. But he's perfectly healthy.

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My daughter was born within a normal percentile and started dropping off the charts during her first year. She is 5 and only 29lbs, and hasn't been on the chart since she was an infant. I did have her tested for celiac disease bc DH has it and being underweight is a common symptom in children. She does not have it , she is just small.

I would give the pediasure if the Dr is recommending.

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Skinny baby.. Nervous

My son is a peanut too. At his 15 month appt he was only 20 lbs 8 oz. He's a picky Eater and just too busy to sit down and eat. Every meal is a fight. The ped wasn't concerned but also suggested pediasure. But guess what? DS doesn't like that either!! He won't drink more than a few sips. I've been giving him the highest calorie bread I can find, I give him Greek yogurts (chobani or fage), I add oil to his veggies and cook his eggs in it. I also add heavy cream or whole milk to his eggs. He loves fruit and veggies but of course there aren't any calories in that!! I worry about him but he is very active and meeting all his milestones so I try to do what I can to get him to eeat and try not to stress!