Help! My 6-Month-old Baby Lost Weight

Babies will eat as much as they need if the milk/food is provided. Also 2 oz. is not aimportant. His weight will fluctuate depending on the time of day, whether or not he just ate, peed or pooped. All babies and children's and adult's weight varies.

My advice is to relax and not pay attention to the way he is eating for now. Also, I recommend that you feed him out "in the open." Looking away to see someone/something is natural. We all do that. Let him look and he'll come back to the breast. Biting is not OK. I've not erxperienced that and so will leave advice on that to other mothers.

I suggest that he will do better if you approach the nursing in a sort of ho hum way. He'll eat when he's hungry. Perhaps because the 2 of you are in a routine that is not working, a change in routine may make it worse at first. He will nurse better once he gets used to the new routine.

If the mother is tense/anxious the baby will be too. That could cause him to pull away from the breast. Because he's sociable now
being taken out of the way into a quiet room may also be affecting how much he nurses. Perhaps he wants to get back to where the action is. I'd start by going into a quiet area away from the action but still have some noise; perhaps from a TV, radio or disc/tape player. If the other kids want to come in let them. Tell them they have to be quiet. They can talk or rub baby's head. My granddaughter would sing to her little brother.

I think 5 months is too early to start on any other solid food than rice cereal. At this age a couple of teaspoons is normal.
The reason we hold off on feeding solids is to reduce the chance of getting food allergies. As you said, milk is still the primary source of nutrition.

Try making how much he eats or drinks unimportant for a couple of weeks and see what happens. And lighten up on what is going on around him.

Try not to stress a few ounces here and there. It could be that you just fed him the last doctors visit and not right before this one. I was very worried about all that when my daughter was an infant and would weigh her every week at the new moms support group meeting. What I realized after a year of stressing and comparing is that she will grow at her own rate and sometimes she would slow down, usually that would happen in conjunction with a growth spurt. If she is still following her own curve for growth and the doctors are not worried, dont be. There will always be more things to worrry about!

D.

You really need to keep in mind that if you weigh him after eating, and then again right before the next meal, he'll weigh 6-8 ounces less because he's digested all his food.

Feeding him will make him weight about 6 ounces more, him going to the bathroom will make him lose an ounce or so. I am sure your son did not really lose any weight between the two visits, but was caught at different times in his feeding schedule.

As far as his lack of interest in food, that is totally normal. He is just beginning to understand and get interested in his world, and he just doesn't have the time or patience for eating right now. He will not starve himself, but you will likely notice him slimming down in the next 6 months as he becomes more active. The easier a meal is, the more likely he will be to eat it. Pumping and giving him a bottle or sippy cup on the run may work, or cluster feeding him at night. Bodies are made to self regulate, and that is exactly what your son is doing. You will probably notice that he will go through phases from now on where he seems to eat nothing for months, and then can't stop eating for a few weeks and then right back to eating nothing. Try not to worry.

He might be teething.. sometimes they lose weight a bit when their teeth hurt.

Claire,

I full agree with Marda. I also wanted to add what worked for me when both my kids would try to bite me while nursing. If they bit me I would take them off the breast and quickly flick them no the mouth/cheek and with a scowl say "No! Bite!" My son only bit me 3-5 times, my daughter 5-7 times. They get the idea fairly quickly. And, if they cried, I'd offer the breast again to nurse. It worked well for us. :)

Hope this helps,
Melissa

BTW, i never left a mark, was just strong enough to get their attention.

I agree with your doctor it is only a few oz. and we all go up and down with our weight. As far as him not wanting to nurse this is normal. I would call the le leche league on some help with that. Good luck!

Good for you for sticking with breastfeeding while it's difficult! My daughter lost weight between 6 and 9 months and is now nearly 2 and healthy and happy. A little loss doesn't necessarily mean a big problem. Losing 3 ounces might just be the difference in having a full tummy and full bowel to having both of those empty. Or even either of those empty! He may well be teething so it might be uncomfortable for him to breastfeed. Try giving him a cold teether or frozen damp washcloth to gum for a few minutes before you offer him your breast. If his gums hurt, that should help aleviate his discomfort enough to get your milk to let down and then he *might* be interested enough in the rapid flow to keep going even if his mouth is uncomfortable. Check out a le leche league meeting and see if the leaders can offer more help!

I think the most important thing is for you to try to relax!
A few ounces of weight off could even be a measuring mistake! When we went at that time she was always so wiggly, the nurse always eyeballed the weight - more of an educated guess than a precise measurement.

The distraction while nursing is pretty common at that age, see if maybe a nursing necklace will help, or clip a small toy to your clothes.

My daughter was never big on rice cereal, she preferred foods with taste - there is no reason not to slowly introduce fruits and veggies, unless you have reason for allergy concerns. Also try making your own in a food processor or food mill - tastes even better fresh!

Bottom line - if your doc doesn't see any reason to worry, you probably don't have to either.

Your baby is a healthy 6 month old!!! He's becoming more aware of his surroundings, so the looking around and being interested in noises and sights is completely normal. He's paying attention. Your breast milk is an important component of his diet his first year, but solid foods at 6 months are very appropriate and the demand for your milk will taper off as he eats a variety of things. Sit him up in his high chair to feed him. You've started with rice cereal, introduce a strained fruit every 7 days, to make sure that he has no food allergies. He'll find things he really enjoys. After he eats the solids, then nurse him. He won't nurse every 2-3 hours, but when he does he should nurse longer. Solids at meal times, like breakfast time, lunch and dinner. And it will be small amounts in the beginning.

And as he gets more active, his weight gains won't be as dramatic, they'll be smaller as he's burning up the calories with all his movement. As the weather gets warmer, you might want to give him water in a sippy cup so he doesn't get dehydrated. Talk to your pediatrician about a healthy amount of water. You can over do it.

Happy summer days!!!