Infant 5 Month Old Daughter Has Slow Weight Gain

I am a mother of 5 of which 3 were preemies! My youngest Nathan was on infant food by the time he was 6 weeks and some table foods before he was 4 months. He started gaining good solid weight and even started sleeping through the night soon after. Try some table foods that you can grind or make easily to swallow such as stage 2 and even 3s. My son is now 17 months and looks great. I have a very old fashion pediatrician dr for my kids and even she says that sometimes you have to feed them more or differently. Its not over feeding as long as you watch it! Feel free to contact me if I can help in any way!!! Good luck!

Don't worry about the drop in percentile. Dr's become concerned when the child continues to drop lower on the chart or falls off all together.

My son was always little (still is). But our doctor always said as long as he is healthy and active not to worry about adding weight. He also always said that fat babys used to be cute, but now they are realizing that fat babys can become overweight adults and that is happening more and more. I would just say to make sure she is getting good nutrition and not worry too much about the baby fat. She will start to eat more and more soon as she starts getting mobile and bruning calories. But just a warning they tend to slow thier growth at that point oo because they are so active!

Have fun with her!!

This was my exact situation 40 years ago. Daughter was under 6 pounds, always in lowest percentile. Drs. told me not to worry. They were right. Now a size 5-6 after 2 babies, no problems losing weight after childbirth. Everybody should have her problem.

Be thankful what you have.
(For the record, son was overweight then and now and has just developed diabetes 2.)

My little guy was a "preemie" by 1 week and was small for his weight. So the best advice the doctor could give was to breastfeed. Well we ended up pumping (he was working too hard to suck and the NICU nurses could keep count of intake) and me taking lots of little bottles to the hospital. The nurses were trying to feed every 4 hours and his blood sugar would drop too far. Needless to say Dad & I had a long talk with the staff trying to get them to feed every 2 to 3 hours just like I was there to breastfeed I could only make the trip twice a day. He finally started putting on weight and we took him home after 9 days.
1)My pedi said not to try anything until he was finishing 32 ounces a day.
2) I would try smaller amounts of formula but maybe every 2 to 3 hours like when I breastfed.
I hope this helps. Good Luck!

Listen to the doctor. Breastmilk or formula should be the primary nutrition right now. Cut out the cereal and bulk up on the formula. it's the best source of fat and calories for her anyway. they don't eat enough to truly get a lot of nutrients from solids at that age, but they do eat enough to fill their bellies and keep them from eating more breastmilk or formula which is what they really need.

some babies are just small. if your doctor is not worried, good chance you don't need to be worried either.

My daughter had weight gain trouble, although for her the big drop in percentile didn't happen until she was around 12 months. Turns out she has an allergy to cows milk protein... meaning her body doesn't digest it well and its presence in her intestinal tract interferes with the absorption of other food. So, the possibility of a milk allergy is something for you to consider and/or talk with your pedi about... There are non-milk based formulas that you can buy (although keep in mind that there is also a correlation between being both allergic to cows milk and soy... So you might need to try the non-soy, non-milk formula. Can't remember the name, sorry.)

Once my daughter got cows milk/diary totally out of her diet, she was able to gain and maintain a normal weight (currently in 35% percentile for weight, 45% for height).

A cows milk protein allergy is a common infant and toddler allergy which most children outgrow by the age of 3-6 years. Its not the same as being lactose intolerant (which is a life-long allergy).

Good luck!

Our bodies are magnificent machines. They are designed for survival. So, regardless of what is eye appealing to our society or culture. I have found it is best to offer the most healthy nutritional meal you can and let the child regulate the amount. I have two children ages 3 & 4. They were both smaller at birth. My oldest is adopted and thus no genetic component involved. I give them well balanced meals and they eat. I don't force it or make them eat any certain amount of thing, but what I do not do is feed them in between meals or increase their snack sizes. They get breakfast at 7:00am, snack @ 9:00am, lunch @11:30am, snack @2:30am, supper @7:00pm. Their snacks are about 10 grapes, basically a palm full. (ie...20 goldfish crackers) From this they learn to eat what they are given and that if they do not like something, then they decide to grin & bear it and eat it, or not and be hungry. They are both very healthy and fit. Both my kids are what people would call thin or small for their ages, but I was that way as well and with the obesity problem we are having with children these days, I am working hard to establish smart eating habits while they are young rather than fit them into a chart. As infants both ate differently. Daughter ate every 4 hours and took four ounces from about 2 months till she was 12 months. She ate like clock work 6am,10am,2pm,6pm,10pm,2am this is 24 ounces. She dropped the 2 am feeding around 6 mths so took in only 20 ounces, but we added little amounts of table. Once we changed to cow's milk, she stopped the bottle and so I lost track of her intake amounts, but just made sure to keep healthy foods handy. My son ate basically 2 ounces every 2-3 hours till he was 4 months old!!!! Then he started to take in more, but he was taking in about 24-32 ounces a day & Dr. told me 32 was too much. But in the end they are both healthy and now daughter eats hardly no breakfast, a medium lunch and a huge supper while son eats a huge breakfast and a medium lunch and hardly no supper. Just remember that infants and small children still listen to their bodies signals when to stop unlike us adults where we were taaught to finish what you get and tend to eat to taste rather than survival. I hope this helps you not to worry to much about the "fat" layer your little one has. Just let her be her and enjoy. My son will be 4 in May and he weighs 24 lbs and is 36" tall. My daughter will be 5 in Feb. and she weighs 36 lbs and is 39" tall. They are both in prek half days and are doing fine. They rarely are sick and seem to be thriving. They just are what they are.

You can add a touch of cereal into her milk with each bottle. Just make sure the nipple is at the next larger size so she doesn't have to suck so hard.

Hi D.:

From my own experience, mother of 5 and grandmother now of 3 - to fatten your little one - try giving her some cereal - 1 teaspoon per 6-8 oz of formula - mixed with her formula (rice cereal) at each feeding (to really get her chubby) or you can start off slowly at her bedtime feeding right before you put her to sleep. It will keep her full and she'll sleep throughout the night longer! They do sell the rice cereal with banana. Also you may want to ask your pediatrician if you can give her some infant vitamin drops in her morning formula bottle - that will help her build up a bigger appetite throughout the day as well.

Hope this advice helps a little girl - enjoy your baby while they are little cause they grow up just way too fast!

Have a blessed day!

Vicky

My twins were preemies and weighed less 4 and 3 pounds. I had them on a higher calorie formula for up to 6 months. Similac neosure (not cheap though). I am not sure if a store brand has a similar formula but you might ask your pedi about it and get samples from him. I did not start solids until after 6 months on recommendation from pedi. They started gaining weight on the neosure and are still in the 25% but that can be expected with preemies. I think smaller, more frequent feedings may help her if she has a small stomach and feeling full so fast. I would not worry so much about her gaining if your pedi is not concerned. As long as she is getting her nutrition. And then when she gets more mobile, she will still be burning off all that formula and food so weight gain may be even slower.

My 2nd child was 7 lbs, 6 oz. when she was born, but she steadily dropped percentiles from about her 4 month check-up on. My daughter was breastfed, started small amounts of cereal at about 5 months, and other solids at about 6 months (though only a small jar a day for awhile). She has always been a good eater, but when she was two, she wasn't even on the charts anymore (she weighed only 21 pounds), but our doctor never seemed especially concerned. She (the doctor) said that babies can drop (or gain) percentiles as their bodies go to where they're genetically predisposed to go, and as long as she was eating not to worry much about it. Even when she dropped off the chart, the doctor only recommended that I not take her off whole milk yet. I know it's hard not to worry about such things, but my suggestion (for what it's worth) is for you just to relax and not worry too much about her weight; let your daughter be the guide about how much she wants to eat.

All she needs right now is formula. Feed her when she gives you cues that she is hungry. Also, how are you mixing the formula? Do not add extra water, formula or cereal to her bottles.

The current AAP guidelines for solids is to wait until baby is at least 6 months and shows signs that they are ready for solids: able to sit up without support and has the absence of the protrusion reflex (tongue no longer sticks out when you put spoon in mouth)

Some babies are slow gainers and this is OK as long as she does not continually drop percentiles.

Many blessings to you and your family.

The key thing here to worry about is that brain development requires fat. If there is no fat then that interferes with healthy brain development.

A 5 month old does not need veggies, formula only. The veggies have little to no fat content so no reason to fill her up with those.

My kids are both off the charts for tall and off the charts for underweight. They are perfectly the way God intended for them to be. They are thriving, healthy beings who eat more food than you can imagine.

Is your baby healthy? Is she developing normally? If so, give up the quest for baby fat and allow her to be the perfect being she is. Not all babies look alike. Her body knows exactly what it needs to be, even if it isn't the way you want it to look. What matters is that she is healthy.

If she doesn't have the baby fat by 5 months, it is unlikely that she will have it in a healthy way. It just isn't in her DNA.

If she seems lethargic, developmentally delayed then see a pediatric nutritionist.

my son is also 5 months with the same problem. do immediately stop the cereal or any kind of solid, it has only 15 calories per oz versus 20 calories per serving of milk. are you using a 3-6 month nipple, medium flow? if its slow flow they get impatient and will get bored with eatying.

My daughter was the same way..she is still at 8 very small for her age (20th percentile) but sice she has always been this way we are not worried. Some children never get the baby fat that other babies do and that's okay. As long as she is happy healthy and gaining a little weight than she's fine! My daughter was so small that when she started walking at 10 months strangers thought she was a walking 6 month old...I thought it was so cute to watch this small baby walk around with ease. Focus on her other baby cuteness!

My son is almost 3 (Feb. 7th) and is STILL only 23 pounds. He has always been in the 5-10% for height, weight, and head size. We have always kept a close eye on his development and made sure he is still doing okay there.

He is a VERY active little boy, talking away, and eating when he wants. He goes in spurts with food when he wants it and we don't force it on him. I do make him eat "2 more bites" here or "3 more bites" there at lunch and dinner if I feel he just wants to get down.

Fortunately my pediatrician is not overly concerned which makes for a less stressful time.

Just make sure she is getting the proper nutrition and hitting milestones. Otherwise sit back and enjoy her.

I'm another one with a small child. My dd is 3.5 and she is just petite. Even when I was pregnant with her they kept asking me to do ultrasounds because she was measuring small. Her Dr. is not concerned at all because she is on track developmentally and is just petite. Don't worry about it. I did/do try to make sure she gets superb nutrition including lots of good fats. She nursed until she was 19 months and soley through 6 months and she is fine.

There is absolutely no reason for you to actually try and put baby fat on your daughter. I also had a very petite baby and overfeeding her is not the answer. She'll consume what she can handle and the 15 percentile is perfectly fine. The doctor is right; she will catch up when her body is ready, if you try to "fatten" her up, you may just be promoting obesity later in life. Just let her grow on her own good time. Just my opinion...