Poor Weight Gain

I had problems with my second child not gaining weight the first month or two...I was breastfeeding. He was always hungry. I finally tried the fomula and he started gaining weight almost instantly. He started sleeping through the night. And just being in general, a happier baby. Sometimes, moms just aren't enough.
Hope that helps.

Does she spit up alot? I had that problem with my son. He didn't gain any weight until he was older. Looking back now he probably had reflux. Also now at the ripe age of 15 he's still very skinny and small for his age. He could just take after his tall skinny father. Look at the size of the two of you that has alot to do with it.

Breastfed babies don't chub-up like formula babies, and you need to consider the size of each babies parents too. I'm 5'2" and hubby is 5'9", so our girls are pretty tiny. I breastfed both my girls, and had the same worries...but you can't compare babies, especialy formula babies and breast babies...it's apples and oranges.
At her age she should be well into eating solids, and those will start putting weight on her. If she's happy and hitting milestones I wouldn't worry. Her Doctor would know if there were any issues, like anemia that needed attention. Please don't make the mistake of making her fat just for the sake of those stupid charts.
My girls are happy , healthy smart 8 and 3 year olds now, they eat well and aren't picky and still they both ride the bottom of the weight charts. No one is worried, they are just tiny kids.

Ok above all remember all kids are different. If the doctor isn't worried about her weight really you should try to relax about it. As long as you have mentioned your concerns to the doctor. If you are still not satified talk to the doctor and ask them what formula you can supplement feedings with. I wouldn't stop breast feeding but I would supplement with formula. I did that with my youngest when she wasn't gaining weight and she started to gain slowly. She's now 10 and stands 5'3 and weighs 100 lbs but she still looks very thin. But she's the tallest in her 4th grade class.

Keep in mind your stress will directly effect her nursing, and your milk supply and production. I would definately introduce formula, she needs to get the nutrition, and she is not able to get it from just the nursing. It happens a lot, and feeling guilty or sad about it will only make it worse.

Hello D.,
My boy is now only 8mos, and is still under weight, at his 6mos check up he was only 12lbs, so they checked his heart, thyroids, etc. He is perfectly healthy, and eats ALL the time, I nurse all the time. He refuses a bottle, or just plays with it. Anyway, the doctor told me to start him on cereals(baby oatmeal,baby rice, or mixed), and it helped! Mix it with formula, breast milk, or even juice. He loves it, just make sure you nurse him before and after, the cereal makes them thirsty, it's like if you were eating oatmeal, without something to drink. My son, eats lots of cereal then I give him some water, and he eats more. Then I nurse him when he's full, and he's out! Sleeps better, gained weight, and my little boy, is starting to stand at 8mos! I think they just have a high metabolism. Good luck. If you need more... email me personally at ____@____.com care,
D.

As much as it will hurt, please put her on formula. OR do both. As a yound lady, my aunt gave birth to a wonderful son, she also BF, however, he was not gaining weight either. She had to put him on formula or he was going to start getting sick.
Try both for a while and see what that does.
What does your doctor say?

If the doctor isn't worried, I wouldn't worry too much. If she's hitting her milestones on time, and active, this shouldn't be too much of a cause for concern. At 6 mos, she should be old enough to start eating food. Baby food, baby cereal, teething biscuits, mashed up grown-up food with no added salt or too much fat, things like that. Breastmilk just doesn't have everything they need at this point, especially iron. I breastfed my eldest until he was 18 mos, and by 6 mos he was eating everything I mentioned, plus he insisted on eating what I was eating. He grew like a weed. I don't know what fenugreek is, but I would run it past the pediatrician before taking any more. I agree with the earlier posts about waiting on the formula and making sure YOU are eating enough healthy food to supply quality milk. The earlier posters hit the nail on the head about stress, too. The more you worry about it and make yourself crazy, the less milk you will have for her. I went nuts trying to get mine to nurse his first 2 days. He sensed that I was stressed, so he got stressed, and it went downill from there. Metabolism can be a issue too. Your angel may just have small genes. See what your doctor says, and if they're not worried, accept that you're doing a good job and go from there. Good luck!

You have to decide what you are comfortable with, but I stopped when nursing when my daughter's pediatrician told me my daughter was not gaining enough weight at 8 months. She was on cereal and baby food at the time, but was still small. Changing to formula didn't change a thing with her weight, and she turned one year old and weighed 16 pounds. She walked late, (17 months) and crawled late (15 months) so I worried something was wrong with me, but looking back, I would not have quit nursing. She's almost four now, and still in the bottom 5% for her weight - but this time, our new doctor is not worried about her at all. My husband is 6'1" and 140 lbs, and this doctor understands that. If you try formula, keep pumping and/or nursing! By the time we knew that the formula was not changing things, nursing was out.

honey honestly if you are going to her well baby visit soon then i suggest you ask a doctor for a copy of her grwth chart so you can see exactly how she has been progressing and have the doctor tell you thier opinion on how she's progressing if you think she's not gaining weight fast enough you should expressyour concerns with the doctor they will be able to give you the best options if they agree or just say thatb she's doing fine and don'tworry anymore about her weight. If you want to help her gain weight now i can say you may try pumping and giving her cereal in her bottles of breast milk thats what they told me to do when my son was underweight (didn;t help because he's just really thin like his daddy but it may help you)

Is her doctor concerned about her weight? I would think that if she is progressing in other areas (scootching, etc ) that you shouldn't worry. I breastfed my daughter exclusively until she was 6 mo. then began to add cereal and some fruits. At that point, she began to put on a little more weight, but no one would ever have called her chubby. Perhaps when your daughter begins solids, it will help? I wouldn't switch to formula, not at this late date, just to make her gain weight. My Becca was always on the lean side - I don't remember the weights (16 years ago) but she was in the 25%-ile or lower. She walked at 9mo. It would shock people because she was so small. At a year, she was only 18# - still sitting backwards in an infant seat! Now, as I said, she is almost 16 - she's 5'5" and beautiful.

as a breastfeeding mother myself - keep up the breastfeeding! Supplmenting with formula will signal to your body to produce LESS milk - so it would be counter productive to the breastfeeding relationship. You also need to know that growth charts were developed off the weight/heights of FORMULA fed babies - so exclusively breastfeed babies will differ GREATLY. Also - it takes time for a baby to recover from being ill, it's a lot of varibles to consider, plus every baby is different, plus whatever genes she got from you and dad (big, small, tall, short, etc).

For me - i would examine my own diet to make sure that my breast milk is the best i can provide. Making sure to get enough calcium, protiens, carbs, etc... plently of fluids (non-caffine - water is the best) and rest. If you've been stress about anything - from baby being ill, to anything - it can effect your milk. Also - besides fenugeek - oatmeal is suppose to help increase milk supply (if you are having supply issues - you did mention the fenugeek) as well as mother's milk tea (you can find this in most major grocery stores in the tea or health food section)

Also as others mentioned - now that she will be 6 months - you can introduce some "solids". Personally i wouldn't start with cereal... but fruits. If you go the cereal route - rice or oatmeal, if fruits - apples, bananas, pears, etc. I HIGHLY suggest the book "Super Baby Food".

Good luck!

nothing. in time she will gain but if she is hitting her milestones she is fine.
I breast feed my son but had the same thing happen, he would eat all the time but never seemed to put weight on. Now he 19 months old and only weights 21.5 lbs. (my sisters baby is 9 months old and she weights 26lbs.) each baby is different. your dr should tell you the same thing. try to relax and enjoy you wonderful baby.