9 Month Old Not Gaining Weight

My son is 9 months and was 20 pounds from 6-9 at birth. If you look at the label Gerber jars are only fruits and only like 20 or so calories a piece- thats not enough in my opinion. My boy eats Gerber and cereal at the babysitters while I work b/c its easier, along with Good Start/EBM. At home I nurse him and give 1 bottle a day. He loves to feed himself O's, Kix, Gerber puffs, shredded cheese, toast w/ low sugar jelly, Gerber baby cheetos, or anything dry. I try to make most of his food when he is at home so he eats mashed/blended veggies and fruits, whole milk yogurt, tortilla pieces, loves cottage cheese, rice, pasta, and just about anything else. I would try your son with all different things to see what he likes, and go for high fat, low salt/sugar if possible. I also like those Gerber graduate pasta meals because they have meat, pasta, and veggies all in one but he should be good at eating softer foods first probably. My son's Ped says he can have anything except shellfish and peanut products. Good luck- if you need more suggestions let me know- I am also an OB RN.

Maybe he's due for a spurt soon. My son was always tall and skinny - thought consistently gaining weight.

But my daughter, she would go through spurts where she'd gain no weight for a few months, and then seriously in one month just gain weight like crazy - then another couple of months no gain - and then gain the next month.

ABout the table food, we went to Babies R Us and got one of those food grinders (also sometimes just used a blender) and we would literally just cream anything we were eating for dinner or what not that she could eat easily (ie, avoided things that could be stringy or not totally blended) and then feed it to her. You could maybe try that.

Anything with a lot of fat is good. So, I'd push avacado and lots of yogurt, some cheeses too. A little formula mixed with cereal and more breastfeedings won't hurt. He's really tiny. Anything to bulk him up would be a good thing!

Good luck and hope that all is fine with your little guy.

All three of my kids were eating table food by 9 months - my youngest has been on all table food since 8 months. Cheese, yogurt, avocados are all good for you fatty foods. That will help him gain weight. Also, they burn calories fast, and my kids are all skinny - they seem to have fast metabolisms - so they eat often. Don't forget snacks. Just feed him whatever you are eating, just make sure it is soft or cut up small. Last night, my 9 month old had chicken, mashed potatoes, baked beans and cut up tomatoes, with a 10 cup of formula for dinner.

Our daughter is 12 mths now and has been eating most everything we eat since since she was about 9 mths old (b/c she would fuss if she didn't see it come off of our plate). She also eats plain whole milk yogurt (sometimes w/ cereal). I'm telling you this, b/c maybe it is time to have him eat what you are eating and not the baby food. Just make sure that it is soft and nurse on demand. My daughter also didn't gain any weight from 7-8 mths and than gained a lb when she hit 9 mths. She had been a steady gainer previously. Just don't stress too much and let him enjoy healthy high fat/calorie foods. I hope that things improve.

H.

I absolutely totally DO NOT want to scare you! and the fact that he is 9 mos old, if this was a case your doctor would have found out. When my son was born, he didn't put on weight very quickly - failure to thrive, its called. At 6 weeks, the doctor had called me in just to get a weight check on my son and she listened to his heart and heard a murmur. She called a cardiologist and we went to see him. He did an echo and confirmed what the pediatrician suspected. My son had a heart defect. Long story short - that was the reason my son wasn't putting on weight. But a murmur is clearly heard while the doctor is doing a regular check up and the fact that your son is 9 mos old, and the doctor hasn't heard anything means its probably not an issue. But i just wanted to let you know that was the case with me.

I'm sure your son will be fine.

Good luck.
Aarti.