Underweight Infants & Toddlers: Healthy Supplements For Weight Gain

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Re: Underweight Infants & Toddlers: Healthy Supplements For Weight Gain
« Reply #120 on: March 20, 2008, 04:41:32 PM » by grocerygetter

Quote from: jaemom on March 20, 2008, 12:52:39 PM

Another thought: my son was diagnosed FTT at 9 1/2 months. He was 8,5 when he was born and about 12, 9 @ 9 months. He was on target with all his milestones, babbling, crawling, etc. While small, he was otherwise healthy. I allowed them to run a few tests for celiac disease, acid reflux, and cystic fibrosis, just to rule them out, but they all came back negative. His weight would fluctuate back and forth every week. It seemed he gained a few ounces, then lost one, or would gain one, lose two. I limited my diet so much because he was br*stfed, and it seemed everything in the world would give him horrible gas and pain to digest. I did cut out all dairy, and start the enzyme like I said. After about 4 months I finally saw him start to gain weight. (I started looking for answers before he ever saw the dr.) I think it took that long for the dairy to get out of our systems. I never did do formula. He's now almost 1, and weighs over 16 pounds. He's eating regular food because he hated baby food. I guess my point is this, do you feel your baby is ok? Does your dh think he's ok? Is he making the milestones? Because in my experience, a diagnosis of FTT doesn't necessarily mean something is seriously wrong and warrants giving them formula. This was my third experience with FTT babies. I gave my second and third formula. I think the formula messed up my third more than if I had continued the nursing. Undecided

HTH

I'm going to try to answer your questions real quick!

I'm not currently nursing. I weaned a couple weeks ago. I'm trying to get my milk supply back though. When I nursed and now I took a More Milk Plus tincture plus brewers yeast.

He hasn't been tested for celiac disease. I've read about it but didn't think he met the symptoms really.

He does get a digestive enzyme.

I've been GF/CF since at least December. We've been just CF longer than that. It did take a long time for the dairy to get out of our systems!!

I, hubby, and doc feel like he is meeting his milestones. However, all three of us agree his nutrition is not ok. Our first child was slow to gain weight but honestly we were never that concerned with her. Something doesn't sit right w/ hubby and me about our son though.

Hope that helps clarify the situation. Thanks for helping!!

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Re: Underweight Infants & Toddlers: Healthy Supplements For Weight Gain
« Reply #121 on: March 20, 2008, 05:03:34 PM » by just jane

Has anyone on here fattened their child with goats milk??
All of my children who drank goat milk were so chunky and chubby??
Just a thought. Also, they did better on that than breastmilk as they digested it so well and were healthy.

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Re: Underweight Infants & Toddlers: Healthy Supplements For Weight Gain
« Reply #122 on: March 20, 2008, 05:49:08 PM » by cecac

Had the same experience with raw cow milk formula, nice chubby baby.

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Re: Underweight Infants & Toddlers: Healthy Supplements For Weight Gain
« Reply #123 on: March 21, 2008, 05:33:13 AM » by grocerygetter

I've tried raw cow and raw goat milk. He breaks out it hives from both. Embarrassed

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Re: Underweight Infants & Toddlers: Healthy Supplements For Weight Gain
« Reply #124 on: March 21, 2008, 08:07:51 AM » by his.silly.wife

A friend of mine had a child with FTT, and I believe she made a formula using lamb. I'll try to contact her to see if she has the recipe still.

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Re: Underweight Infants & Toddlers: Healthy Supplements For Weight Gain
« Reply #125 on: March 23, 2008, 12:28:07 AM » by his.silly.wife

Quote from: his.silly.wife on March 21, 2008, 08:07:51 AM

A friend of mine had a child with FTT, and I believe she made a formula using lamb. I'll try to contact her to see if she has the recipe still.

I just heard back from her. She can't find the recipe. Undecided

Her child is in his 20s now, so I can see how it isn't in her commonly pile of recipes. She said if she finds it she'll pass it on. Sorry I couldn't be more help.

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Re: Underweight Infants & Toddlers: Healthy Supplements For Weight Gain
« Reply #126 on: April 15, 2008, 10:09:50 AM » by mommyoftwins

My 3yo twins are still so tiny. I just bought them 12mo. capris to be like bermuda shorts for them this summer. The one is super skinny & will not fatten up at all. They have been drinking raw cow & goat's milk for over a year. I've been giving them cod liver oil, lots of butter & coconut oil. But nothing is changing with them! They are growing up just fine.

My 7mo dd is a chunky bf only baby & so much different from the twins. She is going to catch up with them in a few months! I wonder if I should pump some milk for them!

Also, I considered the idea about fats & grains. Farmers don't feed their cows & pigs fat to fatten them up; they give them grain. So, is the whole idea of giving them lots of fat really helping in this aspect? Should I be trying to use more grains, too? Just a thought.

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Re: Underweight Infants & Toddlers: Healthy Supplements For Weight Gain
« Reply #127 on: April 15, 2008, 10:59:07 AM » by lotsaboys

Mommyoftwins, I'm wondering if its not more a matter of their bodies utilizing the food they eat rather than what foods will "fatten them up". Like, does food go through them without digesting thoroughly? Do they have loose bowels with chunky, undigested food? Just asking because that was the case with our 2 yo until we started giving him enzyme supplements and he's finally gaining and growing. It may be something else for your girls, just sharing our experience.

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Re: Underweight Infants & Toddlers: Healthy Supplements For Weight Gain
« Reply #128 on: April 15, 2008, 11:27:27 AM » by andiki

mommyoftwins, I don't know if your twins were always so tiny. Some babies, specially twins are tiny, but not for always, specially if they weren't prematures. Anyway, somehow I know how're you feeling. I have a dd, almost 2y and she was a chubby baby till 10 months. From then on, she didn't gain wieht as much as she was. But, even when she's small she is very healthy and very smart and that's what encourages me. Maybe she is destinated to be thinly. She gain a few punds lately, and is a little chubier again. I know that God is in control . Sometimes I feel a little sad when she's around other kids because she is tiny, but like a said, she is very healthy, so active, and very smart kid.

I'll be praying for those who have tiny kids. I know sometimes is something we struggle with.

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Re: Underweight Infants & Toddlers: Healthy Supplements For Weight Gain
« Reply #129 on: April 15, 2008, 11:34:17 AM » by Pennie

You know my sister has a 4 yr old and she is the same size as her three yr old. And I THINK my two yr old weighs more than she does. Not sure about height b/c we don't live near them but she is petite all over. Out of nine grandkids she is the only one that is petite like that. All the rest also look more like mine and my sisters family while LB looks just like her dad. Actually I have one boy that would be considered more petite too. Just not tiny but he looks like his dad too.......hm, what does that say about us mamas? Shocked

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Re: Underweight Infants & Toddlers: Healthy Supplements For Weight Gain
« Reply #130 on: April 15, 2008, 12:39:45 PM » by mommyoftwins

They were preemies, & have always been little. However, they have really gotten very skinny in the past year, only gaining a couple of pounds while growing several inches.

Lotsaboys, I have wondered about this. Their stools are not chunky or loose, but are very large! Everyone is shocked at how huge they are! Shocked

What kinds of enzymes do you get?

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Re: Underweight Infants & Toddlers: Healthy Supplements For Weight Gain
« Reply #131 on: April 15, 2008, 12:47:24 PM » by lotsaboys

Quote from: mommyoftwins on April 15, 2008, 12:39:45 PM

What kinds of enzymes do you get?

Not real knowledgeable about the why's of "very large stools" Wink

but maybe it has something to do with food not being utilized. Undecided

For little ones who can't swallow pills we use the chewable Now brand Papaya Enzymes. Good price here: http://www.iherb.com/ProductDetails.aspx?c=1&pid=721
Beeyoutiful.com also has some non-chewable called Enzyme Digestive.

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Re: Underweight Infants & Toddlers: Healthy Supplements For Weight Gain
« Reply #132 on: April 15, 2008, 12:52:23 PM » by SarahK

Piping in - we use the ones LotsaBoys recommended and they are very palatable. Minty flavor. I crushed them & mixed with a bit of food for my little one w/o molars.

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Re: Underweight Infants & Toddlers: Healthy Supplements For Weight Gain
« Reply #133 on: April 15, 2008, 12:56:19 PM » by lotsaboys

Quote from: SarahK on April 15, 2008, 12:52:23 PM

Piping in - we use the ones LotsaBoys recommended and they are very palatable. Minty flavor. I crushed them & mixed with a bit of food for my little one w/o molars.

Thanks, Sarah. I forgot to mention mine eat them like candy. Actually better. Grin

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Re: Underweight Infants & Toddlers: Healthy Supplements For Weight Gain
« Reply #134 on: February 18, 2009, 10:41:32 AM » by Meagan Visser

HELP! My 9mo. old had a well baby visit yesterday and he only weighed 14.2 The doc (which is a Christian and doesn't criticize (sp) my decisions like no vaccines) said that he was less that 5%. She wants me to bring him back to be weighed in 6 wks. If he's not gained any weight she wants to do blood tests, to test his thyroid, etc.

First off, I take Kelp pills almost daily and that regulates your thyroid so he shouldn't be having a problem with that. I don't have a thyroid prob either...I take the kelp it's nutritional benefits.

He eats a lot in my opinion. I nurse him always 4 times a day, if not most of the time 5. Plus he eats food that I make for him everytime after he nurses unless we're out of town, and I usually feed him until he's satisfied. He gets juice and cheerios sometimes, but his juice is like 1 oz. juice and 4 oz. water - so he's drinking mostly water. I feed him nutritional foods! He's not had any meat yet. He doesn't have any teeth so I'm not for sure how to feed him the meat. I guess I could pulverize it in the VitaMix and add broth to it. I do give him avocados - not everday, but at least once a week. He also drinks goats milk periodically.

I need to fatten this kid up a bit, not just because the doc said so, but because he needs the fat nutritionally. His dad was always tall and skinny growing up so maybe he's taking after him. I'm not sure if it's my breastmilk either. He eats quickly in my opinion - usually 4-5 min. each side. I'm not sure how to make him eat longer either because after he's eaten from both sides he starts acting like there's none left and keeps switching from side to side hoping to get a little more.

I've got no clue. I knew he was little, but he's healthy and he's developmentally on schedule. He almost doubled his birth weight by 6 mo. He was born 2 weeks LATE and weighed 7.4 so he was a little small for a postdate baby, but still totally healthy. He had no problems. I'm just trying to figure out what I should do to help him gain some more pounds. Any advice would be MUCH appreciated!

« Last Edit: February 18, 2009, 10:43:39 AM by Meagan Visser »
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Re: Underweight Infants & Toddlers: Healthy Supplements For Weight Gain
« Reply #135 on: February 18, 2009, 12:20:07 PM » by RunAmokFarm

Hi Meagan,

Our Experience
Yep, he is a little guy - at least right now. Our first was a little fellow too... only now, in his early teens, he is towers over me, and is taller than his daddy too! If I remember correctly, the doctors told us he was well-below the 20th percentile - I would have to check our records to be sure, but I believe he was closer to the 10th percentile... They told us repeatedly that nearly all his peers would be MUCH taller than him. Wink

Interesting, this same son did not have ANY teeth until he was 11 months old. Now, the following things we did because we did not have much in the way of "nutritional" knowledge... We fed him regular baby foods - which he would readily eat, I nursed him (but also supplemented with formula), and he drank juice, ate baby cereals, etc.

Now that I am older, I have learned more with our other children. With our second, my midwife told me that until children develop teeth, they really are not ready for much/any solid foods. For some babies, that is earlier, some later. All our children developed teeth fairly late, so I almost exclusively nursed until they had teeth come in, then slowly started the solid foods, while continuing to breast feed as well. The last one nursed until almost 3 years.

Ok, these are just my ideas, so give them a try (or not) at your own discretion...

NURSING
I believe your son may not be nursing long enough on each side to get the fat part of your milk; in other words, he is only getting the quick let-down, then going to the other side - showing that he is, obviously, not satisfied with the amount overall. This can be a sign of a hungry fellow - and, I am betting this is why you have been adding to his diet.

In my opinion, this may be what we would term a "catch 22"; As I am sure you already know, nursing is "supply and demand", so with the pattern of nursing he has assumed, nursing him 4-5 times per day may not be enough. To satisfy his nutritional needs, you may have to set a timer and start nursing him 6+ times per day, including once right before bed. *You would need to cut out the juice, so he is forced to work through his nursing issue. (See the other note about juice below)

This would increase your milk supply, while retraining him a bit in the process. I will warn you ahead of time, if you do this, it WILL be frustrating for about 1 week as your body kicks in, and he settles into the new routine. Wink

Once he is nursing longer, and more frequently, he will be getting more fat from the "PERFECT" source...

JUICE
I, personally, would not be giving him watered down juice - I know that a lot of folks do (we did with our first one!!), but, in my opinion, that kind of tricks his body into thinking he is getting nutrition, but the juice is so watered down, he is actually pretty much only drinking water - but the taste/sweetness triggers his body to feel "full" because of the sugars.

WATER
*Except in hot climates or during summer, I wouldn't even be giving much water at this stage -- breastmilk contains an ample supply of water, so they can get most of what they need from that, IF they are nursing enough. Most of the water we gave was more for the experience of holding a sippy cup and playing "drinking" - they did drink some, but again, if they are getting enough breastmilk (which supplies the water they need), I don't think they need to fill up on empty fluids.

SOLID FOODS
We went completely "natural" for our last children. We waited, except for a couple little tastes of food, until they had at least one tooth breakthrough their gums, then...

As to meats or other "difficult" table foods... We "pre-chewed" the foods we were eating, just like a lot of native peoples did/do. Shocked

Sounds gross, but the enzymes in our saliva helps to breakdown foods better, and the food is just the right temp when we transfer it from our mouths to theirs. Helps them not be so picky either, as they are not eating some jar of baby food while everyone is eating from the dinner table. Good stuff! Cheesy

Anyway, these are just my thoughts; some may be useful, or not at all, depending upon your situation. Hope it helps, or at least gives you some ideas ~
J

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Re: Underweight Infants & Toddlers: Healthy Supplements For Weight Gain
« Reply #136 on: February 18, 2009, 10:29:14 PM » by refreshed

This is my experience. I too have had small children. All of mine have been under the 5th % in growth, height and weight. It really concerned me for the first three, but because my husband was small for his age until he hit puberty and all of my children have been this way, I have determined that genetics have more to do with it than anything else. My oldest does have food allergies, but the others are fine, although they don't tolerate cow's milk well. They are all active kids and have huge appetites for their size. They are small, but I have decided that as long as they are growing and gaining weight, even though it may not be in a doctor's timeframe, they are healthy. If you research what the growth charts from the 50's showed, you will find very different rates than today's charts. My kids are within the normal range on the charts from the 50's, although they don't even register on today's charts. I think this is due to the increased weight of the average child today. This is just my two cents' worth, but just because they weigh more doesn't mean they are more healthy. There are a lot of obese kids out there who live off fast food who would be higher on the charts than your baby. By the way, I have a 11 month old who weighs only slightly more than your baby.

I did feed my children meat before they were a year old because only one of my children got teeth before their first birthday. I found as long as I cut it up fine enough, they were fine. That's my story. Hope it helps.

Check out this link for more info on today's growth charts:

http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/extract/330/7505/1399

« Last Edit: February 18, 2009, 10:40:52 PM by refreshed »
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Re: Underweight Infants & Toddlers: Healthy Supplements For Weight Gain
« Reply #137 on: February 19, 2009, 01:15:05 AM » by AndysJess

My almost 13 mo DD weighs less than 17 lbs. There are times that I worry about it, but she is very healthy. Just tiny. The nurse practitioner I take my kiddos to said she is on the very small side of average, but otherwise, she is fine.
Personally, I would like to see a little more chubbiness...lol. I nursed her 6-8 times a day til she was almost a year, then DH wanted me to wean her. She didn't start solids until she was 10 months old...her choice. Believe me, I tried.
She won't eat avocados...tried that too. I'm allergic, so I don't want to force the issue. She won't drink any kind of milk, so I feed her lots of yogurt..she loves it.
I'm thinking she is just going to be very petite. Her size2 shoes are just now at the point where they don't fall off her.
Ok, Jessica...quit second-guessing yourself!!!

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Re: Underweight Infants & Toddlers: Healthy Supplements For Weight Gain
« Reply #138 on: February 20, 2009, 09:26:46 AM » by Meagan Visser

Thanks for all the advice and encouragement! I'm starting with decreasing the amount of solids I'm feeding him because this is probably causing him to not be as hungry when it's time to nurse so therefore he's not eating as long as he should be. I'm also trying to make him nurse longer. There's a bit of crying, but we're slowly getting there. One thing I have noticed is sometimes (different with each time he eats) after 10 or 15 min. he's totally done. He doesn't want anymore, he won't even latch on. So we stop and then next time we keep trying for more time. I guess my goal is just for him to eat at least 20 min. and not acting like he's still hungry...plus some weight gain. I feel terrible because I feel like it's my fault he's not fat enough (a healthy fat of course). I didn't know he wasn't getting the hind milk because he always acts fine, and I assumed as he was getting older he needed more solids to get used to. Oh well, we live and learn I guess. I'm sure my next baby will be totally different...maybe. Anyways, that's my plan for now. Along with feeding him some healthy grains and fats, although not as often as before, hopefully we'll see some improvement! I'll let everyone know how it's going.

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Re: Underweight Infants & Toddlers: Healthy Supplements For Weight Gain
« Reply #139 on: February 20, 2009, 09:45:40 AM » by Maria/NHM

If you are concerned that he's not getting enough hind milk you could try nursing him on only one side each time he nurses. I have to do this since I tend to produce a lot of the first milk before getting to the hind milk. Once my babies get about 5 months I do start nursing on both sides but I keep them on the first side for as long as they will nurse before switching.

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Re: Underweight Infants & Toddlers: Healthy Supplements For Weight Gain
« Reply #140 on: February 20, 2009, 03:23:08 PM » by Meagan Visser

Quote from: Ella on February 20, 2009, 09:45:40 AM

I did this until he was about 4 or 5 months old. He'd eat around 10 min. on one side, and then the next time he'd eat it would be from the other side only. The only problem I had was that he was hungry every 2 hours and it was taking all the water from my body because I started getting constipated. I tried making myself drink more water, but that didn't help. The only thing that helped was feeding him from both sides which caused him to go longer before needing more food. Also, when I first started feeding him from both sides he would eat for 10 min. on each side. I guess he's just gotten used to eating quickly and not waiting for the hind milk to come.

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Re: Underweight Infants & Toddlers: Healthy Supplements For Weight Gain
« Reply #141 on: February 20, 2009, 09:33:07 PM » by Auddy

I guess he's just gotten used to eating quickly and not waiting for the hind milk to come.
[/quote]

I've noticed my little one nurses the longest as she is falling asleep at nap or bed time. I just let her fall asleep while nursing her on one side and she will usually nurse for quite a long time after she has fallen asleep. You could also try nursing in a sling while you're up walking around. My first baby went on a nursing strike and tried to wean herself at ten months. Sometimes she would only nurse in the sling. I think babies sometimes don't like to sit still too long at one time when they get to be a certain age. My daughter liked to be up moving around and could still kinda see what I was doing outside the sling while she nursed.

My baby is small too. She is 7 months and 13.2lbs. and very petite. It's hard because my other two babies were pretty big and chunky. She was late and 7.13lbs at birth. I was hoping she would have doubled her birth weight by now. My husband is big and tall and everyone on my side of the family is small and petite so I'm thinking she takes after them. It's hard not to worry though.

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Re: Underweight Infants & Toddlers: Healthy Supplements For Weight Gain
« Reply #142 on: February 20, 2009, 11:29:07 PM » by RB

Quote from: Meagan Visser on February 20, 2009, 03:23:08 PM

Quote from: Ella on February 20, 2009, 09:45:40 AM

It may take a newborn a much longer time to empty the breast, but your baby is older and most likely has gotten very efficient at emptying ( including the hind milk ) the breast. My babies at that age were done nursing in a short time and I would think if he wasn't done he would let you know. I have a friend that is tandem nursing a newborn and a toddler and she says it takes her baby much longer to empty her breast and her toddler can empty it in about 5 min.

Just to encourage you....
I have a friend that was advised by her Dr. to give her baby formula, as he didn't think her baby weighed enough. So, she quick nursing and gave him formula and he still stayed small.

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Re: Underweight Infants & Toddlers: Healthy Supplements For Weight Gain
« Reply #143 on: February 21, 2009, 07:32:17 AM » by Meagan Visser

Quote from: RB on February 20, 2009, 11:29:07 PM

Well, that is what I've been thinking for a while...that he's older and just eating faster, but I think because he's not gaining as much weight as he should be and because he's still hungry after he's "done" that he's not getting the hindmilk. I guess he's just gotten used to the quick letdown so when the hindmilk comes it's more difficult and slower so he may think all the milk is gone and it's time to stop. I guess I won't be able to tell for a few weeks whether or not making him nurse longer is helping. He usually stops nursing on his own, but cries because he's still hungry so I put him back on and he eats a little, then comes off and cries, and the cycle continues. But...we're going for 15 min. total this week, and next week I'll up it. I have noticed so far that he's hungry more often since I'm not giving him any solids after every nursing period. I'm also trying to nurse him whenever he's hungry (demand) instead of when it's time (schedule). Not that he gets food everytime he cries. It's sortof a combination of the two.

To Auddy - I have noticed that he does nurse longer when he's sleepy. He'll nurse for over 20 min. then, but I'm guessing it's because when they're falling asleep they're nursing pretty slowly. I do try not to nurse him to sleep a lot because I've read that it can become a sleep prop for them, but if he's hungry and it's near naptime I'm certainly not going to deny him food.

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Re: Underweight Infants & Toddlers: Healthy Supplements For Weight Gain
« Reply #144 on: March 03, 2009, 09:21:13 AM » by Meagan Visser

Well, it's been two weeks since I've been trying to fatten Judah up! I've decreased the amount of solids he's eating, increased healthy fats, and tried to get him to nurse longer. He eats around 5 times a day, and he eats the longest in the morning and at night. I guess we average around 15 min. total. I still want to increase that. I think my milk production is increasing too...not totally sure though. Anyways, I weighed him on my scale this morning - weighed myself first then both of us and subtracted the two - and he weighed 15 lbs. Now my scale doesn't do ounces so he could be anywhere between 14.5 and 15 lbs. but that's an improvement from 14.2 two weeks ago at the Dr. office. I was thinking yesterday about my weight when I was a baby, and my mom said that she nursed me for 5 months then put me on formula because she thought I wasn't getting enough milk - because I was small and didn't weight a lot. I'm guessing that ment I wasn't a fat baby. I've always stayed pretty small, and my dh has always been tall and lean. Maybe it just runs in the family. Oh well, we'll see what's new in 2 more weeks!

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Re: Underweight Infants & Toddlers: Healthy Supplements For Weight Gain
« Reply #145 on: March 04, 2009, 03:08:17 PM » by mommyoftwins

Don't know if this will help anybody or not. My twins have always been super small. They were 10 weeks early, but had no health problems. At their 1st bday, one was 15 lbs, the other was about 13 lbs. Their development has been excellent, walking at 11 & 12 months, talking very clearly. They are 4 now, & still only 26 & 30 lbs. They are pretty much taller than the girls their age & a little shorter than the boys their age, who are pretty big anyway. They were bf'd for 17 months & ate so fast. They have had a very healthy diet, with lots of veggies, good fats, whole grains, good whole milk, and very few sweets. They are very active & super smart.

I spent so much time worrying about their size. When we went to the Doc, one was always below the entire curve. Not even in the percentile range! The other was between 10 & 25th. The doc never worried because he saw they were healthy & developing fine, & he knew what they were eating. So, after their 2 year checkup, we didn't see a need to continue going as long as they were healthy.

We have stopped worrying about it & just know that they are going to be skinny girls. Their daddy was very skinny when he was little. The doc even told his mom that he would never be a very big person. Well, he's 6'1 & lean. At 40, he is very strong & active. I am short & pretty thin, and have been smaller than everyone else my whole life. It's just the way their body is made. I don't think we need to compare them to the thousands of other babies in this quite unhealthy, overweight population. I have a friend whose 1 yo is a chunky, sturdy girl who bf's several times through the day. But she's only in the 33rd percentile! I couldn't believe it!

So, I think babies are just going to be different from each other. Some could be super healthy & eat great foods all their lives, and just their makeup keeps them lean or even chunky as a little one. You just can't compare you child to anyone else's. Just keep them eating well, get them good fresh air, make sure they play lots, see if they're interested in learning things. If they've got good color & aren't fussy, they seem to be thriving in other ways--besides just in weight--it seems that they are doing well. I gave up on all that worrying. It just took away so much from my experience with them growing & learning new things.

I know there are sometimes when concern is necessary, but it seems like nowadays, there is too much worry put on mamas about their babies' weight. This is all jmo. I just wish I hadn't put so much thought into all that for so long. I now have 3 healthy girls, the youngest was 9-10 when she was born, and now at 18 months, is only about 23 lbs. She got a better start, but has slimmed down & is active & looks like she will be thin, but maybe not as thin as her sisters. She likes to eat more than they do. Wink

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Re: Underweight Infants & Toddlers: Healthy Supplements For Weight Gain
« Reply #146 on: April 28, 2009, 08:39:31 AM » by LindaWalms

Hi. I found this link while searching. Any help would be appreciated. My son is very underweight (below the growth chart since 15 mo. old). I cannot find clothing that fits him, specifically pants and shorts. They fall down constantly. He'll be 3 in a month and only weights 24 lbs. All of his pants are too short b/c his waist needs a size 18 mon. but then they are way too short b/c he is almost 3 years old. I know I can buy him a belt, but I am looking for someone who makes clothing w/ small waists. Old Navy makes "slims" for children but they start w/ size 5 for boys - not toddlers/preschoolers. PLEASE HELP!!!!
Thanks,
Linda:)

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Re: Underweight Infants & Toddlers: Healthy Supplements For Weight Gain
« Reply #147 on: April 28, 2009, 02:26:57 PM » by Meagan Visser

Well it's been a long time since I posted here last. I was supposed to keep everyone updated, but I've been slow at it. Anyway, I was wrong when I said that Judah weighed 15 pounds when I weighed him. Either that or he lost weight because when I took him for his weight check after the 6 week trial period he had only gained 5 oz. He started at 14.2 then 6 wks. later he was 14.7. The doc wasn't concerned at all this time. She said he was fine, and that it was okay becasue he was gaining about an ounce a week. She said he's just small and it's probably genetics, that he'll definitly catch up...probably during puberty. So thanks to everyone for the suggestions, advice, and encouragement that nothing was wrong with him!

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Re: Underweight Infants & Toddlers: Healthy Supplements For Weight Gain
« Reply #148 on: April 28, 2009, 04:49:11 PM » by geraldine

I just discovered this topic and wanted to give you one tip, for those of you with babies with FTT. I had always just taken it for granted that my kids would grow, and they all did, (although none of them were chubby babies,) until my 6th and 7th babies showed up. My son did fine, but my daughter had severe failure to thrive and looked terrible compared to her twin brother. I always tried to wake her up at night to try feed her, but she was always too sleepy to feed, and refused the bottle. When Emily was around 6 months old, I finally got smart enough to feed her while she was still asleep, and that worked very well. I would just put the bottle in her mouth and she would automatically start sucking in her sleep and finish the whole bottle. She never threw it up like she did so often during the day, and it really helped her start gaining weight.
I now have an 11-month-old baby, Grant, who is recovering from whooping cough. He lost a LOT of weight (although his cough wasn't that bad for whooping cough, any time he coughed with anything in his stomach, all his food would come out again) While he is not throwing up anymore, he still doesn't have much of an appetite, so I resorted back to the same trick that I used with Emily, and he now drinks more milk when he is sleeping than he does awake.
Hope this helps somebody. I know very well what it feels like to struggle with getting some weight on your baby, and I just feel sick whenever I think back to those first 6 months with Emily. I talked to a NICU nurse once and was telling her about my daughter with FTT, and she said, "Ugghh, I hate that diagnosis so badly. I would rather deal with almost anything else, than FTT. It just makes you sick when day after day you, and month after month, your whole day is focused on getting some food down that baby, and they just refuse, or throw it all back up again."

Geraldine,

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Re: Underweight Infants & Toddlers: Healthy Supplements For Weight Gain
« Reply #149 on: June 01, 2009, 08:15:39 AM » by Meagan Visser

Well, I thought it was about time for another update on Judah's weight. It's been a while! I took him to his 12mo. checkup and he's still too small. He weighted 16 lbs. and 27 in. Like I said before, he was born 2 weeks LATE and he weighed 7.4lbs so he's supposed to be around 22 lbs. at a year old. I know it's nothing to stress over. He eats healthy, and is on schedule developmentally. I just can't help but be concerned when I see other babies who are a year old and they're so big. We went ahead and moved him to a forward facing car seat. He fits in it perfectly, but I'm considering moving him back to the rear facing one because someone told me that until a child is 20 lbs. they can't support their neck if you get in a head-on car accident. Not that I'm planning on that happening, but I don't want to be unsafe with him. I don't know...he's so happy looking at us and playing in the car now. Anyway, the nutritionist at the local health dept. said that we could give him Pediasure to drink to boost his calorie intake. I'm not really sure what's in that, but it doesn't sound like anything I want to give him. I'm still giving him avacados to eat, but maybe he needs some other high calorie foods. I'm also thinking of weening him because DH and I want to have another baby soon, and it's not happening yet. I'm thinking it's because I'm still nursing him...I don't think I'm ovulating. Anyhow, I just thought I'd update my continuing concern for his weight. I'm glad to know I'm not the only one here with a skinny kid!!!

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Meagan - Check out my blog @ http://pieceofmeagan.blogspot.com
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