Healthy Way for My 11 Month Old to Gain Weight?

Updated on April 28, 2011
H.M. asks from Denver, CO
7 answers

Hey everyone -
I took my daughter into the dr today (double ear infection, poor thing) When we were there, they weigh her and discovered that she has lost about 2lbs from the last time she was in the office (about a month ago). A little background on her - she was an 8 lb baby at birth, doubled her birth weight at 6 months, and since then has slowed way down. At her 9 month appt she only had gained a few ounces, but since she was more active, and both her older sisters had done similar things around that age, we weren't too worried. However, now she weighs less then she did at 6 months. She isn't crawling or walking yet, so her activity level hasn't increased much since 6 months. Granted she was sick, but 2 lbs is a bit much for not eating well for 2-3 days.

She eats 3 solids a day - ceral, yogart, fruit, veggies, meat, chicken, tofu, etc. She love avacados. She also nurses 3-5 times a day. When I asked the dr today (not our regular dr) she suggested adding butter and such to her food to "fatten it up". I am not crazy about this idea, and avoided it with my other kids, but I am wondering if maybe I should do it for awhile. Was wondering if anyone has any suggestions of healthier way to try to help increase her weight. I have a call into her regular dr to call me back tomorrow, but I thought I might see if anyone had any suggestions! Thanks so much!

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So What Happened?

Thanks for the suggestions. As far as hitting the developmental milestones, she is good, except the crawling/creeping and pulling herself up. She sits fine on her own and has since 6.5 months. I do have a call into her dr today, so we will see what she has to say. I am not opposed to putting a little butter in some things, just not to the extent that the dr was suggesting yesterday. She appears to have a dairy allergy, which makes some of the things - like whole milk yogart - not possible. Thanks so much for the suggestions and support!

More Answers

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J.B.

answers from Boston on

Hmmmm...are you concerned about the lack of crawling? Is she hitting other milestones? My youngest was very small, I don't think he hit 20 lbs until he was 18 months old but he was hitting all of his milestones (not early - he didn't walk until 15 month) and was staying on his own growth curve. It sounds like she's falling off of her own curve, which I would discuss further with your pediatrician.

It sounds like your daughter is getting some fat already in addition to breastmilk from the avacados and yogurt, assuming that the yogurt is whole milk. Butter isn't a bad addition to a child's diet - it's a real food, has vitamins and babies need saturated fats. I would add some organic butter and/or good quality olive oil to her veggies so that she is taking in extra fat and calories and I would introduce more carbs if she's interested in them - whole grain crackers, bread, etc. I think my youngest was fully on table food at about a year (in addition to breastmilk). It sounds like you're on the right track - don't fear butter and other good fats, but do follow up with your regular doc, especially if she's behind track for milestones. Good luck!

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D.W.

answers from Gainesville on

Honestly, I wouldn't be too worried about it at this point. She wasn't feeling well, not eating well for 2-3 days will make a little one lose weight and because they don't weigh much to begin with it seems dramatic. And many docs go by growth charts that are based on formula fed babies. Very different from a breastfed baby. They bulk up in the first 6 months and then lean out.

You can add things like avocado, drizzle a bit of olive oil on her veggies. These are more heart healthy fats than adding butter to everything. You could add a little wheat germ to her yogurt or oatmeal. It has great fats and vitamins.

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D.B.

answers from Boston on

BUTTER??? Please have the nurse explain the nutritional value of that. Why not cookies and ice cream? There is no value in just FAT - you want weight gain in the right areas.

It sounds like you are giving your child a good variety of foods & textures - the problem a lot of people face is that the nutritional value of our foods is way down, even if they are fresh. Big changes from a generation ago, despite greater availability.

You could use a comprehensive supplement that's great for failure-to-thrive kids (not that yours is in that category) and is safe for infants, even those on feeding tubes. It has a high absorption rate so nothing is wasted. It's used world-wide to give compromised kids the nutrition they need and it's been around for years. The advantage is that you can get a lot of nutrition in her for not too much volume of food. The AMA recommends supplementation for everyone, and has for 10 years. So your doctor should be on board with this.

Let me know - happy to consult further if this would interest you.

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J.R.

answers from Sacramento on

how about pediasure? am unsure about the butter thing, it's not that healthy, but for a short term thing maybe would be alright on toast, mashed potatoes, don't put it on the veggies though, she will get to used to that, how about sugar free ice cream every now and then...carbs will do it too, oatmeal, cream of wheat, bagels with cream cheese, also cheese will add fat, good luck!

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E.M.

answers from Denver on

are you eating enough? Ok, I know you'd like to have all that baby weight gone! but seriously, if you're not eating enough calories, your milk will be lower in calories. Some of that is just natural (i had a friend whose milk never separated because it had so much fat in it - mine on the other hand had like an inch at the top at most after it sat a while) but when I didn't take in enough fat calories, it would be even less.
don't worry too much - one of mine dropped two pounds at 18 months after being sick for 3 days (and she was right at 20 pounds at that age). she's in school now and is just fine.

D.G.

answers from Lincoln on

My daughter sees a dietitian next week and is being referred to a feeding/growth clinic for failure to thrive, after testing for celiac, krohns cystic fibrosis among others came back normal. She is 19 months, 17 lbs 2 oz - however she is reaching all milestones on track. Her dr has also told us avocados (which she won't eat), butter to everything - in fact on Monday he actually said if it was possible he's tell me to use lard like the old days!!! - no water or juice only wholemilk/pediasure (we've been doing that since Dec but not enough growth as per the charts!), avoid cereals like cherrios and kix and do oatmeal instead, more cheese. I'm only following thru with the dietitian and clinic just so they can't ever say i didn't do what i should've done! If i get any good tips I'll pass them along!

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A.O.

answers from Sherman on

My youngest didn't hit 20 lbs until 2!! if she is hitting developmental milestones then I wouldn't worry too much about it.

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