Public Health Nurse concerned about - Claudia Weight!

Kirstenmumof3 wrote: The Public Health Nurse called this afternoon, she was over yesterday and weighed Claudia. She is only 16lbs 7.5oz. She only gained 4oz in a month! She is quite concerned and spoke to the Lactation Consultant. They both agreed that they should refer us to a dietition and so a referal has been made! What am I doing wrong

Here is our routine Claudia wakes up around 7, nurses has a snack and then breakfast usually around 9. Breakfast is 1/3 cup of pablum and 3-4 tbsp of yougurt or apple sauce, she has a morning snack (either fruit, cheese, crackers, baby cookies or cheerios), nurses and then has her nap! For Lunch she has 2 icecube ploops of carrots and rice (I make my own babyfood), plus either yogurt or applesauce, a snack then she nurses and has a nap! She still nurses very frequently in between these times. For supper depending on what we are having she usually has what we are having or if it is something she can't have then we give her either pablum or carrots and rice, then she nurses, has a snack, nurses again and then is off to bed between 8 and 9!

But lately Claudia has been spending a lot of time at my MIL's house and she will only take 3-5oz of formula from a bottle and today she was over there from 9:30-3:00 and only had 1 bottle! I too was concerend about what was going on at my MIL's house, but you have to know my MIL she got into a hissy fit when we asked for half of the can of formula to keep at our house (we paid for it)! Anyway after talking with the Public Health Nurse yesterday I decided to send Claudia's lunch over there (I wasn't sure how much they were feeding her). At home Claudia nurses every 2 hours has about an hour nap in the morning, lunch and then another nap for about 2-2 1/2 hours in the afternoon! So I found out from my MIL that Claudia didn't eat all of her lunch and had 2 3 hour naps! This is not the first time this has happened and when I try to say something she just makes excuses!

I'm at my wits end! I'm hoping that the Dietition will be able to suggest things that will help Claudia put on some weight! I just feel so lost, like I don't know what I am doing!

Sorry for my rambling I'm still trying to process all of this myself!

MommyToAshley replied: It sounds like she is eating well with you. How often is she at your MIL's? It might be a good idea to not have her go there as often (if that is possible) until she is older and has put on more weight. Maybe your MIL just doesn't have enough patience to feed Claudia enough. I know Ashley can take up to 45 minutes to eat her dinner sometimes (I let her feed herself).

I hope the dietician can figure things out. <<HUGS>>

mckayleesmom replied: It might also be that she is really active and is burning it off. I noticed since Mckaylee is more active she eats like a horse,,but looks like her growing has slowed a bit...I use to be able to tell everyday that she was getting bigger.

Schnoogly replied: Yes I agree about the activity and the MIL's impatience. Iain had his 8 month checkup today and he went from 50% for weight down below 25%, so the doc is a little concerned but said it is probably because he just started crawling and is burning extra calories. But I've only been feeding him solids 2x a day, and sometimes he won't eat at all (he's picky).

Do you pump your milk when she's at MIL? Maybe trying to do that, plus pumping after she nurses in the morning while she's taking a nap--this might help you build enough so that she gets a full bottle of ebm while she's at grandma's plus the formula? 3-5oz in 6 hours is not a lot. Iain normally only takes 2-4 but he eats every 2-2.5 hrs (plus nursing).

What is pablum??

jcc64 replied: Corey is also on the small side. She dropped from the 50% to barely the 25%. She rarely takes a bottle, and nurses only 3 times a day. She's clearly more interested in gross motor achievements right now, and no amount of cajoling or distracting will increase her intake. Somebody has to be on the low end of the weight spectrum, and the more anxious we as parents become around feeding issues, the more likely that mealtime will become a battle. It sounds like you're offering her plenty of food, and no healthy baby would starve herself. As difficult as it is, I would try to take what the nurse says with a grain of salt. I'm sure Claudia is just fine, just little.

Kaitlin'smom replied:
kinda my thought and if we stress about it and make them eat to much that might start a whole over weight issue in the future. Also agree that MIL might not be as patient to sit with her and eat, so maybe if she could go there a little less if possible that might be good so she can put on a bit of weight. Over all sound like she is just petite.

MommyToAshley replied:
This is true and a good point, Ashley went from 90th percentile to 75th percentile around 8/9 months and dropped a size in clothing. It was all due to the fact that she was soooo active.

Kirstenmumof3 replied: Just wanted to say Thanks! It's been a pretty hectic week and I just got caught up in it all! I know she is just a little tiny, but I always worry that because of my depression and my hospitalizations that I'm doing everything wrong! I really appreciate all of your support! Thank You!

catou_98 replied: My camille is just about that wieght! she doesn't weigh much more than claudia, she's in the 5 th percentile for both weigh and height! everytime I mention to my doctor that she's too small, I'm concerned she's not growing well or whatever he always anwser me "she's healthy isn't she? she's growing but just slowly!" hugs to you hon, your not the only one worried about your baby's weight!

ediep replied: my doc told me that its more important that they grow along the curve...meaning that if they start out in the 20% then they should remain (pretty much) along that %. Jason is 25% for weight and 50% for height, but that it what he has been all along, so its fine.

It sounds like she is eating healthy food. Maybe, just remind your mil that she eats slowly and it may take a while to get her to finish her lunch

amynicole21 replied: I agree that as long as she's following the curve, there shouldn't be anything to worry about. Also, they stop gaining so much when they get closer to the one year mark. My ped wasn't at all concerned when Sophia dropped from 50% to 25% at her 9mo check-up, even though I was Just think, they have almost tripled their weight and grown around 10 inches in ONE YEAR!!! Imagine having to do that!! They really start eating less in the second year, too. Don't be hard on yourself. I hope you can get your MIL to understand that it's important that she follow the same schedule as you do at home. They are so hard to train sometimes

Guest_jem0622 replied: Definitely activity can affect this and so can teething (they eat less when they teethe). Also...you talk a lot about her eating solids first. They should always get BM/Formula/EBM first, then solids. Not the other way around. Very important in the first year.

HUGS
Julie