Baby keeps losing weight- Update

amother

↑ Forsythia ↓

Wed, Nov 13 2024, 9:32 pm

amother OP wrote:

Ok this is kind of unrelated but I'm really overwhelmed by this.

This baby has had so many problems and she's only my first!

At 6 weeks, she was hospitalized with a bad case of RSV. She was in the ICU, not allowed to eat or drink at all, for a couple days.

Also at 6 weeks, they thought her skull was blocking her brain growth and they were talking about a 6 hour surgery involving reshaping her skull. BH after consulting with 5 Drs across the US they decided that she's one of the super rare cases with this condition that doesn't require surgery. I still always worry about her brain growth though.

Then she didn't reach her physical milestones. From the 5 months she was behind for her age.

Then she never responded to noise. Ever. Not even when I banged doors to try and get her attention. Bh that turned out to just be an attitude lol

And now to top it all off, I have to now deal with this. So not cool Sad

Oy that's a lot for you to deal with. Adjusting to motherhood is hard enough without all that, I feel so bad that you've been through so much already with your little princess. May this just be one more scare that turns out to be nothing.

You don't have to answer, but is this craniosynostosis? My dd10 had a metopic ridge, still has an interesting shape head because of it, mostly hidden because of her hair. I did meet 2 other mothers of kids with craniosynostosis, one bilateral and one unilateral.

amother

Mintgreen

Wed, Nov 13 2024, 9:42 pm

ra_mom wrote:

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)?

Is the bolded really necessary? I'm sure there are plenty of kids out there (mine included-they are all adults now) who certainly never had this and their brain development is fine.

mathbrain

Wed, Nov 13 2024, 9:53 pm

Bamba is a great snack.

My daughter is similar age, she drinks 6-8 oz bottles (nap time, bed time, and middle of the night). The rest of the time, she drinks milk/water from a cup (mealtime, snack time etc).
When she comes home from Morah, she usually heads straight to the pantry and pulls out a snack 🙈. I keep the healthier options on the bottom shelf, which is usually what my
Little ones see first. Bamba, pretzel, Corn Pops, rice cakes. Mealtimes, she eats whatever everyone else is eating, just smaller portions.

And whole wheat bread has way more nutritional benefits.

amother

↑ OP ↓

Wed, Nov 13 2024, 9:54 pm

amother Forsythia wrote:

Yes it was craniosynostosis. Did your daughter have surgery?

amother

↑ Forsythia

Wed, Nov 13 2024, 10:03 pm

amother OP wrote:

Yes it was craniosynostosis. Did your daughter have surgery?

No bh. She had a bunch of other medical issues when she was little so she worried me plenty too. And I was worried about how her skull growth would effect her brain. Bh she sees and hears perfectly and she's extremely bright in my biased opinion. She is on the petite side but that could easily be attributed to genetics and/or her other health issues.

I'm just wondering now, could your baby be tongue tied? I wonder if that's effecting her feeding...

cupcake123

Wed, Nov 13 2024, 10:10 pm

I hope this is not controversial but op her daily food doesn't seem that bad to me.
My baby is same age and eats similar. They don't need any bottle at that age. They can have milk as a drink not as a bottle or meal. My daughter usually eats
Eggs and or yogurt for breakfast
Peanut butter or grilled cheese lunch
Supper whatever we're eating meatballs, rice chicken, potatoes
Snack is usually applesauce and random foods throughout the day bamba, cookies..
Throughout the day I offer her sippy cup with milk or water

amother

↑ Apricot ↓

Wed, Nov 13 2024, 10:18 pm

cupcake123 wrote:

I kind of agree with this. My 14 month old eats a whole lot less than that. I don't know if she's gaining weight because I don't take her for well visits very often.
Also keep in mind OP that toddlers don't do well with pressure to eat. It can backfire.
I don't think it can hurt to focus on healthy fats.
But I'm not sure I'd be panicking just yet. Especially if she gained weight fine until now.

amother

Nasturtium

Thu, Nov 14 2024, 12:34 am

And here I was thinking, woah! These baby menus are intense. My baby is 16 months old and nurses a lot (so that would be instead of the bottles). Hes a pretty picky eater and doesn't like the typical baby foods like oatmeal, sweet potato, avocado, banana, soups and any kind of eggs. He eats bread, pretzels, dates, kasha, oatmeal cookies but not all on one day. I would be thrilled if he eats as much as OP's baby does.

amother

Fuchsia

Thu, Nov 14 2024, 12:34 am

My 12 month old eats less than that but still nurses A LOT so I don’t know what the equivalent would be.
That said, I did have a kid who had a hard time gaining weight as a baby and GI had us add more formula powder to water ratio to bring the calorie amount up to 28 per ounce. Then we switched from an infant formula to Kate farms supplement and dc now drinks that in a higher calorie version (1.2 kcal).
We also added coconut oil to fatten up any food we gave. We did a lot of avocado with coconut oil.

If she doesn’t want to eat more food or drink more formula, perhaps ask the doc about bulking up the bottles.

Hatzlacha!

amother

NeonBlue

Thu, Nov 14 2024, 1:32 am

You could also try feeding her more often. She doesn't seem to like big amounts at a time and that's fine. So offer an extra snack or two between meals.
My kids at this age were off milk completely, eating only solids. One of them used to eat 8 small meals a day.
Are you giving iron supplements? That could also make a big difference.
Overall, with a kid who keeps giving you scares like this, you really need a specialized pediatrician with a lot of experience who will look at the whole picture instead of zoning in on each thing individually.

amother

Starflower

Thu, Nov 14 2024, 2:55 am

You sound like a great mother. Everyone is giving you great advice.
My dd was low weight and I was told to add calories which I did. She also was a late crawler and walker. B"h she is now 3.5. She is actually very advanced and has a huge appetite. My doctor even told me to watch her weight.
I hope this gives you encouragement that everything will work out.

amother

Holly

Thu, Nov 14 2024, 6:50 am

amother OP wrote:

At how many weeks was she born?

Unfortunately some kids are medically complicated. Nine kilo at 14 months is already small, she should not be losing weight at this point. Please press your doctor for blood tests, and every single other test under the sun, until you have answers. Demand answers. Do not give up. Demand answers for why your baby isn't gaining.

Also find a support group of moms with medically complex kids. You need support. You're not the only one dealing with this. Heart

amother

↑ Apricot ↓

Thu, Nov 14 2024, 7:22 am

amother Holly wrote:

Actually the average weight for a 14 month old girl is 20.7 pounds so OP's baby is perfectly average.

OP you didn't explain if you mean she actually lost weight every month for the past 6 months, or hasn't gained in 6 months, or is just dropping percentiles and lost a tiny bit from your last visit until now. I think it makes a difference.

Before you introduced solids, was your baby a good bottle taker? Did she gain nicely? Did she seem to have a good appetite?

As a mother of more than one medically complex child and kids with a variety of feeding issues I'm surprised at everyone freaking out here.

My 14month old was sick with back to back viruses from RH until now. You can be sure her appetite was basically non existent. I'd be surprised if she gained any weight and not shocked if she even lost a little.

Giving her more formula will in all likelihood make her take less solids. Babies are excellent at gauging their caloric and nutritional needs and it doesn't seem like the issue is you not offering enough.

It doesn't hurt to bulk up her foods to make every bite count but don't be surprised if she just ends up eating less volume that way.

amother

Tuberose

Thu, Nov 14 2024, 8:12 am

Op, does she look syndromic in any way? I’m looking at the bundle of issues and often this can point to a genetic abnormality. Not necessarily pathological, but something to know about.
I have a child who had most of your list of issues, including craniosynastosis, and we did find a genetic disorder through testing.
Maybe discuss that possibility with your pediatrician.

amother

Peachpuff

Thu, Nov 14 2024, 9:07 am

amother OP wrote:

Ok, I tried to put together a feeding schedule/menu. Please give me feedback on it.

4 oz bottle at wakeup

Breakfast
1. Oatmeal with peanut butter and a banana or
2. Eggs with olive oil and bread

4 oz bottle before/after nap

Lunch:
1. Bread and avocado or
2. Please post an idea if you have one

Snack: Bamba, cheese..?

Dinner:
1. chicken and vegetable or
2. Please post an idea if you have one

4 oz bottle at bedtime

Any suggestions welcome.

Eggs with lunch. Kids that age usually like them hard boiled and it’s easy to make a bunch every few days or an omelet with butter/ oil/ cheese if y ou have the time.

Olives are great snack- I buy the pitted ones in the single serve pouches and cut in half/ smush with my hands.

Cheese sticks they can bite or cheese papers.

small bean ↓

Thu, Nov 14 2024, 9:08 am

There may be something she's eating which is causing her not to gain.

I had this experience with my baby. He did not gain but was eating. I have a thread about it somewhere.

He now is on good and is not gaining again and it's because he eats things that he shouldn't. Working on it with a GI but it's largely trial and error.

amother

↑ OP ↓

Thu, Nov 14 2024, 9:17 am

amother Apricot wrote:

I do personally think that bulking up her foods will just cause her to eat less, but it’s worth a try.

Let’s see how today goes.

amother

↑ OP ↓

Thu, Nov 14 2024, 9:22 am

amother Tuberose wrote:

I’m not sure what “look syndromic” means.

I work with special needs kids with all sorts of syndromes and she looks nothing like them.

On the contrary, she’s actually an exceptionally beautiful child with an adorable personality. I’m not saying that just bc I’m her mom, I hear it from people a lot.

She’s super friendly, happy go lucky, smiling all the time. She doesn’t complain a lot and she’s very easy.