Help!! My baby needs to fatten up...

[Anonymous]

My 7mo DS went from 5-10% in weight to <5% at his 6 month check up. The pedi was not concerned because my son appears healthy, and we are just doing a 6 week weight check. I made it my mission for him to have just one delicious thigh roll or booty dimple by his weight check, and we were moving in the right direction (he had a fever and when they weighed him at the dr office he had gained almost 1 1/2 lbs in 5 weeks!) But then, last week, my DS was in the hospital for a few days with a whooper of a pneumonia and subsequently lost half a pound (yes, there were tears over weight loss...I NEVER thought I'd cry over a smaller number on the scale! ha!) ...our weight check is next week and I am hoping ya'll have some helpful hints on fattening him up!


He is breastfed (we do supplement with formula when needed...however, he bascially refuses a bottle all day at daycare (he takes maybe 6 ounces from 7a-3p) and instead wakes up to nurse several times at night. Its awesome. We tried to wean him in July and beside the refusing-the-bottle-all-the-time issue, he also lost weight. So, I drag my pump everywhere to keep my supply up and he gets expressed milk ) and he takes babyfood 3 times a day. I add breastmilk to his rice cereal and make all the babyfood myself. I am pretty much willing to try anything and would love to hear how you and yours added alittle weight to your baby! Thanks.

[Anonymous]

Rice cereal is pretty nutritionally thin. I would explore adding more calorie-dense foods, especially with high fat content - avocado, whole-milk yogurt. I stir a little olive oil into all my veggie purees to get the fat content up. Skip the more watery fruits and veggies for now since you don't him to feel full before he's gotten enough calories.
Has your son suddenly gotten more mobile? Even with giant bottles of breastmilk at daycare and nursing all night, my son's weight has been so slow since he started crawling.

[Anonymous]

Avocado's are a great fatty food to give him, plus it's easy for him to eat, and has a ton of nutrients.

[Anonymous]

Supplement baby food with rice cereal and formula or breastmilk as well.

Also introduce snacks in between meals as well as finger foods (banana, avocado, mum-mum crackers, etc).

Careful about adding too much olive oil (too much can make them sick). But you can do very small amounts here and there.

If there's no concern with dairy allergies, plain yogurt and cottage cheese are good for adding calories as well.

[Anonymous]

I second the avocado recommendations. Avocadoes single handedly kept my DS weight from getting too low. He too was in the lower percentiles. Mashed bananas are also great.

[Anonymous]

This is a great thread. DC is 22 months and only 22 lbs. Her sister, who is only 5 months already weighs 15 lbs. I'm also worried but pediatrician not worried at all because she's in day care and only gets sick 3-4 times per year so she's obviously a healthy child.

[Anonymous]

AVOCADO. I have a 9mos old who is 25lbs (granted he was born big). However, my first had medical problems and during outbreaks would drop weight fast. I could add a pound in a week when he was an infant on avocado alone.

Also try greek yougurt, that is loaded with fat.

Go to the healthfood section and get FRESH flax seed oil (must be refrigerated) and add it to baby food, it has DHA or AHA (one of those things they put in formula).

Also, do be afraid to incorporate some salmon into his diet. My little guy loves sardines, though I hate his breath afterwards, but sardines are one of the best sources of healthy fats for growing brains.

[Anonymous]

PP, Did you puree the sardines and the salmon? Are sardines cooked or do you have to cook them?

[Anonymous]

Avacados and bananas. BT and sending good wishes. Also if you can block nurse he will get more of the fattening hind milk.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:PP, Did you puree the sardines and the salmon? Are sardines cooked or do you have to cook them?

I use canned in water or olive oil they pratically fall apart I have never seen fresh sardines in this country. I sometimes purée the salmon and add it to plain yogurt (unsweetened). The salmon is so flaky my 9 mos old eats it as finger food too. I feed my Kids all kinds of weird stuff, you'd be suprised what they will eat if you just give it a try.

[Anonymous]

Also keep in mind that if you feed him right before you go for the weight check those ounces will count to a bigger number on the scale if that would make you feel better!

[Anonymous]

I am not worried about my 11.5lb 5 month old gaining weight. He eats when he wants, he grows taller and puts on weight each month, and he's healthy.

Charts means very little to me because every baby is different just like every adult is different. I am sure that neither I nor my husband fit what the charts say. I am probably over in weight and he is probably under. So what.

[Anonymous]

My child has an eating disorder. One thing we did was to add heavy cream to all his food. Add butter to veggies. I made my own mashed potatoes and added butter, cream, salt, cheese, whole mile, dry milk powder, pureed veggies. He was fed this several times a week. When you add the cream, also add a little rice cereal to get to the proper thickness. So you can add as much cream as you need, as long as you add the rice cereal (dry) to thicken it.

If your child gets to a bottle, you can add Carnation Instant Breakfast to the whole milk. My child, now 3 still gets 2 bottles with Carnation Instant Breakfast (sugerfree) adds 60 cal per 8 oz.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am not worried about my 11.5lb 5 month old gaining weight. He eats when he wants, he grows taller and puts on weight each month, and he's healthy.

Charts means very little to me because every baby is different just like every adult is different. I am sure that neither I nor my husband fit what the charts say. I am probably over in weight and he is probably under. So what.

Really? What does your opinion about your child have to do with OP's dilemma? She is asking for help not your flippant criticism of something that is obviously important to her.

[Anonymous]

We're in the same boat. My little guy just turned 1, and he's a peanut, falling on the weight chart at every appointment. We've tried (and are still giving him) avocado, banana, flax oil, but to no avail. He's happy and active, so I guess that's great, but a few fat rolls would thrill me to no end. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for you.