Baby keeps losing weight- Update

amother

Springgreen

Wed, Nov 13 2024, 7:15 pm

All my children slim down a lot at that age. They gain 1 or 2 pounds for the whole year. Could be they loose a bit, I wouldt know because I don’t go to the doctor often.

You should try to feed her high calorie but don’t panic, nothing is wrong. They become a lot more active and their diet changes from formula to getting used to regular food.

amother

↑ Quince

Wed, Nov 13 2024, 7:26 pm

oneofakind wrote:

I'm not concerned about a medical issue because she grew. Celiac kids don't grow - it's not just weight. It's a lack of calories to keep up with the growth

My son had a medical issue and he was also growing, head circumference was growing , height was growing but the body prioritizes what's important.
Weight is last on the list, if she's not gaining weight at this age, she's either not getting enough calories or something is up medically that she's using more calories that she needs to be.

Most of my kids are skinny skinny, they eat well and even though they are thin they gain weight at a healthy weight through childhood. If it's not happening AND the Dr is concerned, it should be addressed

scintilla ↓

Wed, Nov 13 2024, 7:43 pm

I'd definitely add in a lot more calories, ideally in the form of high calorie foods - at that age with my low weight kids I never did just oatmeal for example it was oatmeal with peanut butter, full fat yogurt and sour cream etc. It doesn't sound like she's getting enough calories overall. Is she active?

amother

↑ OP ↓

Wed, Nov 13 2024, 7:44 pm

She’s drinking 2 oz bottles because she usually doesn’t want more. The most she ever drank at once was 5 oz, even when I gave her 6 or 8.

I try to avoid dairy bc it messes up her system (extreme constipation).

ETA yes she’s super active but delayed with her physical milestones

↑ ra_mom ↓

Wed, Nov 13 2024, 7:46 pm

amother OP wrote:

2 oz isn't enough even with the food.
If she really isn't eating and drinking more, you need to do a full work through at a gastroenterologist to find out why and come up with a solution quickly. Baby's brain is relying of this food and formula/milk for development now at this age.

↑ scintilla ↓

Wed, Nov 13 2024, 7:46 pm

amother OP wrote:

I'd want to run some tests and see what's up in that case. It might very well be nothing but if I were you I'd want to make sure, see a gastroenterologist or something similar, rule out anything that will affect growth. Not wanting to eat a lot combined with delayed milestones is a red flag in my book - not a glaring one but definitely one.

amother

↑ OP ↓

Wed, Nov 13 2024, 7:48 pm

ra_mom wrote:

So I think what I’ll do is give her 4 oz bottles instead of 2 oz.

But if she doesn’t want it, how hard do I have to push her and at point do I give up?

She’s my first one so I have no experience and this is not the first scare she’s giving us Sad

amother

↑ OP ↓

Wed, Nov 13 2024, 7:49 pm

scintilla wrote:

Yes she gets pt. The doctor was very surprised that that’s the only therapy she gets.

↑ ra_mom ↓

Wed, Nov 13 2024, 7:50 pm

For lunch, the avocado is very good but you must feed her protein as well. How does she like soft poached chicken?

Drizzle a good quality olive oil over her oatmeal every morning.

Feed her fish or something with flax seeds for omega 3 every day. Her development relies on this.

Do you need a bran flax muffin recipe that we got from nutritionist when dd needed more as a toddler (just one of the things- obviously a muffin is not the answer by itself)?

Last edited by ra_mom on Wed, Nov 13 2024, 7:54 pm; edited 1 time in total

amother

↑ OP ↓

Wed, Nov 13 2024, 7:52 pm

ra_mom wrote:

Mash up avocado and feed it to her once a day. Season it lightly if she needs that. Drizzle a good quality olive oil over her oatmeal every day. Feed her fish or something with flax seeds for omega 3 every day. Her development relies on this.

She eats half an avocado every day. And she usually ends up eating some peanut butter too.

The olive oil is a good idea

↑ scintilla ↓

Wed, Nov 13 2024, 7:53 pm

amother OP wrote:

Yes she gets pt. The doctor was very surprised that that’s the only therapy she gets.

That's great but if her brain isn't getting the calories it needs the PT won't be able to help. Focus on calorie dense foods, if she only wants to eat a little make each bite full of fat - fat is sooo important for the brain at this age. Let us know if you want practical tips in that area.

I'd still strongly recommend some testing along the lines of a gastroenterologist.

amother

↑ OP ↓

Wed, Nov 13 2024, 7:55 pm

scintilla wrote:

Yes tips would be appreciated!

They want me to follow up in 2 weeks and then they’ll decide on if/which tests to run

↑ ra_mom ↓

Wed, Nov 13 2024, 7:55 pm

amother OP wrote:

She eats half an avocado every day. And she usually ends up eating some peanut butter too.

The olive oil is a good idea

For lunch, the avocado is very good but you must feed her protein as well. How does she like soft poached chicken? Would be a great addition to her lunch to round it out.

Drizzle a good quality olive oil over her oatmeal every morning.

Feed her fish or something with flax seeds for omega 3 every day. Her development relies on this.

Do you need a bran flax muffin recipe that we got from nutritionist when dd needed more as a toddler? (just one of the things- obviously a muffin is not the answer by itself)

amother

↑ Myrtle ↓

Wed, Nov 13 2024, 7:56 pm

amother OP wrote:

I would focus more on high fat foods than the bottles. Theres plenty of options without dairy. She really needs the fat though even for brain development at this age fat is so important. Think things like peanut butter, add olive oil to wherever u can. I reread her diet I really think that shes just not getting enough calories. Mix up what she eats dont give her the same food every day. For breakfast make eggs add oil. Avocado etc. give oatmeal with peanut butter, lunch mix it up a sandwich/ pasta again add fats, some protein. Dinner whatever you serve for the rest of the family. Think high fat like meatballs instead of chicken. Etc throw some snacks in like bamba, pretzels,

amother

↑ OP ↓

Wed, Nov 13 2024, 7:56 pm

ra_mom wrote:

The muffin recipe would be good to have, yes

amother

Crocus

Wed, Nov 13 2024, 7:58 pm

I babysit for many years. An average 14 month old daily meal looks like this.

Wakeup 4-6 oz bottle (either formula or full fat milk or a combination)

Breakfast a bowl of oatmeal with a full fat yogurt

Another 4-6 oz bottle before nap

Lunch. Your lunch of a slice of bread, and half an avocado is fairly good. Or pasta and salmon, bread, peanut butter.

Another 4 oz bottle

Snack- bamba, cheese, apples, bananas, crackers, melon.

Dinner- the equivalent of 2 meatballs and a small portion brown rice and steamed veggies

Another 4-6 oz bottle before bed.

Possibly some Cheerios or crackers randomly throughout the day.

↑ scintilla

Wed, Nov 13 2024, 7:59 pm

amother OP wrote:

Yes tips would be appreciated!

They want me to follow up in 2 weeks and then they’ll decide on if/which tests to run

That's great that the doc is on top of testing, at least it sounds like it! Already some great suggestions above. Basically just think about what healthy fats you can include at every meal - salmon is a great one if she'd eat it too! You can make muffins with ground nuts, smoothies with avocado, peanut butter or almond butter pancakes - Google was really helpful to me with my low weight kid.

amother

↑ OP ↓

Wed, Nov 13 2024, 8:01 pm

amother Crocus wrote:

Thank you, this is helpful