So what do I do?

[stace]

My 10 month old has been exclusively breastfed and never taken a bottle. At his appt. last week, the dr. was a bit concerned because he hasn't gained weight and is still under 17 lbs. He's not even on the charts. The dr. would like me to nurse him more often so he can gain a bit of weight, which is fine, but the problem is he is becoming way more distracted these days and it's all I can do to keep him on the breast at all. I nurse him in a quiet room every time. He nurses 4x a day and always seems happy and satisfied, but his afternoon feeding is the most difficult. He'll abruptly pop off then go crawl away in search of something fun to do. For the other feedings, he'll nurse one side, burp, then finish on the other side, so I'm not sure why he's not gaining. He also eats three solid meals a day. I've started to add formula to his cereal and oatmeal for more calories.

To further complicate matters, he's now stopped drinking out of his sippy cup. He used to take sips of juice or water, but now he is completely uninterested. I've tried all kinds of sippy cups and have put milk, water, juice, yogurt juice, formula and breastmilk in there and he just won't take it.

Why is he doing this? How do I even go about weaning him - which I wanted to do at one year - if he won't take any other form of liquid and he's not having good weight gain?? I'm so stressed about his next weight check.

[gracesmommy]

hi-
not sure about the weight gain thing- someone will come along to help- how about trying a straw or even a regular cup. Some kids who will not take sippy cups do well with straws and regular cups. He most likely is developmentally ready for both and might be interested in the novelty of it. If you are really concerned about liquid intake try offering it off a spoon-

good luck- someone wiill hopefully offer advice about the other issues.

[PeacefulMom]

Try a nursing necklace to get him to stay latched on longer during distracting sessions.

As for taking liquids from a cup, all i know is the only liquid he needs right now is breast milk but water is OK in small amounts so he doesn't fill up. I guess if you've tried every cup and he isn't taking it just keep trying. If he's 10 months and you want to wean at a year you have 2 more months and babies change quickly. This may just be a phase.

As for weight try hi calorie foods when you give solids and not things like cereal. Avocados are good and if he doesn't like the taste can be mixed with banana. I also think adding a bit of olive oil to steamed smashed veggies is a good idea for a bit more fat intake.

That's all I've got.

[FirstTimeMommy]

Your baby sounds just like mine!!! Don't worry.

My little girl is 10 months and 1 week, she only weighs 17.4 lbs and is 28.5 inches tall. Her doc has no problem with it. She thinks my little girl is just small, she did recommend I give her more solids that are higher in fat. Like avocados, all types of beans, and dairy like cottage cheese and sour cream. The doc also told me to add butter to some food, like sweet potatoes and regular potatoes with carrots. My little one also doesn't take a bottle, she has moments where she doesn't take a cup either but I think that these are just phases. Have you thought about letting him self wean? That might make it easier, then you are not on the time schedule with getting him to drink from the cup.

My little girl is distracted too, she acts like she is too busy to nurse. I think someone else suggested a nursing necklace, that might help me too. Maybe you should offer to bf more? Do you know if he emptys the breast whenever he nurses? If not maybe you could pump a little before he is ready to eat so that he will get the hindmilk since that is higher in fat content. Here is a link to tell you more about hindmilk.

http://www.kellymom.com/bf/supply/foremilk-hindmilk.html

I hope that helps, I know exactly what you are going through. Don't stress yourself out with worrying. ;)

[ima062002]

Don't feed him cereal or oatmeal. Even formula doesn't have all that much calories. For his solids I would feed him only calorie ladden foods - avocado, Greek yoghurt if you do milk products (they have added cream and it's fun for them to eat because it has the consistency of sour cream, very thick) and adding healthy oils to any veggies and fruits.

Don't give him water at all. He gets enough to drink from yoru breastmilk which is 88% water. And please don't worry about what he'll do at a year. He will be a different baby. I started my last dd with cups very early. Don't even use plastic, just a silver cup or and ds' stainless steel one. He might take to straw cups. Or suck on ice/forzen juice/fruit smootie cubes. You'll find something that works :).

Oh and fwiw, my dd weighs barely 20 lbs and she is 20 mo old. She was born 7 lbs. 6 oz and she started to slow in her curve around 9 mo when she got super active and not so interested in nursing. She's picked up a bit lately so her pedi is not concerned.

[hotlama]

Cereal and Oatmeal are low in calories and the cereal really doesn't have a ton of nutrients. Try Avocado, Squash, Veggies, Fruit.

Check out this website http://www.wholesomebabyfood.com/. It helped me get started.

Breast milk is better than cows milk even after your baby is 12 months old. If you want to wean, consider pumping and giving it to him in a sippy cup. This will ensure that he is still getting the immunities and live cells that cows milk can't provide.