6 Month-Old Not Eating Enough

Babies need fat.... adults dont.
Babies use the fat for brain development (have you ever seen a kid steal a stick of butter and just eat it? they are craving fat for their brain development). Fruit has sugar in it which is very yummy but doesnt help her much with growth & develpment.
Hang in there.
T.

My son was below the charts so neg. on the percentile range my doc said as long as he was growing and reaching his milestones then don't worry about it I have 4 kids and he was and is the smallest but keeps up with the rest of them just fine

Don't worry! My son is the same way, he was always, and still is, so skinny! You can feed her all the fatty stuff you want, but she is probl. just thin. It's ok, my doc told me the same stuff, he needs to eat fatty stuff, put butter in the veggies, blah, blah,....but it really didn't make that big of a diff. I was always worried about it too because he was so thin, but it's just his body build. Everyone is different, so don't fret if you're baby isn't chubby like the other babies you see, she's her own person and her body is gonna do what it's gonna do. As long as she's eating healthy and close to what she should be eating as far as amount, then don't worry! Seriously, my son never had a cold until he was 2 in a half years old...and he was really thin, but super healthy. So, don't worry about the weight, it's the health that matters, and bigger isn't always better! Hope this helps!

I would not follow that Drs advice...next time he shows concern ask him if he has ever taken a course in Child Nutrition (he will either say no or one four hour adult nutrition course). I would not worry about the %ile, many babies now a day are over weight, probably because of the formula advice. There is a book out "Gordito Does Not Mean Healthy". Breaastfeeding is what is best for baby!! You may want to boost your diet with whole foods and adding flaxseed to it. My favorite supplement is Essential Woman by Barleans you can google it. It is very good stuff. Stick to the avocados and bananas. I am also big into organics, cost a little more but you and baby will get more nutrition from them (the soil is not depleted, no pesticides or chemicals). I think eggs (salmonella problems) and dairy (www.notdairy.com) are not a great idea for fattening baby up, unless you want problems later on. Dairy has plenty of cow hormones plus added hormones, steroids and antibiotics. Are you taking a Multi-vitamin? If so, make sure it has no gelatin, no synthetics, no dl-tocopherol (vitamin E should be just the "d" -No "dl"), no d&c food colors). I hope this helps. I can be contacted at www.mybiopro.com/claudia13 if you have any questions. I have a B.S. in Holistic Nutrition and enjoy sharing what I have learned.

I would listen to your Dr. 13 pounds at 6 months is small and she needs the fatty foods for brain development. Anything whole milk is good and anything fatty....you want those neurons in her brain to connect. Now is not the time to skimp on lighter versions such as lowfat butter, milk, etc. as your baby needs it until 3.

My son has been inthe 5th percentile for weight his entire life. around 15 months we put him on straight Pediasure in place of milk. You might check the label and see what age is has on there. You wouldn't have to do it all the time, maybe 1-2 times per day to help. The Pediasure gives them all the needed vitamins and minerals. It is kind of expensive, but worth it when your child puts on weight.

As the other moms have said...give her fatty, good for you foods, not just foods that she will like and you will have problems developing a diet from later.

Good Luck!

My daughter (now 4) wasn't quite that small when she was 6 months old, but by the time she was 9 months or so she was down to about the 10th percentile, and then she was completely off the charts at 2 (only weighed 21 pounds, having gained only 1 pound from 15 months; now she's back up to the 10th percentile). Though she had gained weight at each check-up, she steadily decreased in percentiles. Our pediatrician was never overly concerned and never told me to supplement breastmilk with formula, and she also said that breastfed babies tend to be smaller on the charts than formula-fed babies. Also, I'm quite petite, and she said that it is likely that my daughter is just going to be small like I am. She was (and still is) a good eater, and then even when she was off the charts, all our pediatrician suggested was to keep giving her whole milk and give her other fatty stuff (like the strawberries & creme frappucino we were sharing that day in the doctor's office!)
So...as long as your daughter is gaining some amount of weight, I would not supplement with formula, but I would start giving her some solids, both fruits and vegetables, as well as yogurt and cereals. I would also suggest that you not feed her the solids at the expense of letting her nurse. At 6 months, each of my babies had just started solid foods, and they only ate 1-2 jars/day for awhile, as they still got most of their nutrition from breastmilk. Good luck, and try not to worry too much. I'm thankful that our pediatrician didn't cause me to worry needlessly when my petite daughter is otherwise happy and healthy, just like your daughter, so I hope you can relax, too!

Her taste buds will be developed by what you give her, and the basic building blocks of nutrition of protein and essential fats will be the most beneficial for her at this time. Feeding her sweet, non-nutritive foods, like fruits, will have her crave them on her palate and reject those that will do her the most good; mashed avocado, high fat yogurt, milk (soy or other, as long as the protein and fat content is adequate to build her bones, muscle, other tissue, brain, etc). Get informed about infant nutrition for a thriving baby.

You want to give her more high fat, high protein foods instead of sweet foods like fruit (which nutritionally is more of a simple sugar and water). Besides, if you just give her fruit now, you'll be banging your head against the wall in 3-5 months when that is all she is willing to eat.. So no is the time to gear her taste buds to accept non-sweet foods also.

When my daughter was 6-10 months old, I gave her microwaved egg yolk with shredded cheese (assuming of course you don't have any egg allergies in your family history; if you have food allergies, then you should avoid giving her eggs until after 1 yr old): Separate out the yolk from the egg white (because the egg white is the portion of the egg that tends to cause allergic reactions in small children); mix the yolk with a splash of formula; microwave for 10-15 seconds, mix it up (does it look cooked?); add a little shredded cheese, mix... you can spoon feed it to her once it is cool. (When my daughter was a bit older, I would roll little balls of the "cheesy yolks". She thought the balls were fun finger food.

Yo Baby yogurt is good. Available at most grocery stores. I have several good friends whose kids love mushed avocado (I could never get my daughter to eat it).

By the way, I mixed breast milk and formula in my daughter's bottles, in additional to straight nursing... To me, that was a good way for her to get both my antibodies and the formula's necessary fat & calories (my diet just wasn't that good/complete when I was breastfeeding; it takes time and effort to eat right...). Some babies don't like the grittiness of powdered formula, especially if they are used to only breast feeding. I mixed breast milk with the pre-made formula. However pre-made is darn expensive... So, you start on the cheap powdered formula (get a small size) and if she doesn't like it, you might have to switch to the pre-made kind.

Just look for signs of a milk allergy (congestion or eczema, mucus diapers, etc.) You might have to rethink her diet if you see any signs of milk problems.

NO FORMULA! Breast milk is still best. Other than that, healthy foods should do it for you. Yogurt is good, bananas also, and avocado if she likes it. Avoid sugars. If she's otherwise healthy, don't be too concerned about weight. I would much rather have a slender baby than one who has too much fat, which comes back to haunt you later.

One important thing to consider with breastfed babies is their rate of growth. Has she always been on the same percentile...or has she experienced a sudden drop. Nothing is necessarily wrong if she has always been on the xx percentile. Also, as you said, she is hitting all her milestones.

A six month old still has a strong thrust response and may not take in enough solids to make a difference. However, the fattier foods are definitely better choices than fruits for continued weight gain and development. There is also a whole school of thought on limiting the sweet flavors early on.

If you feel as though your milk production is sufficient, I disagree with formula supplementation. It can interfere with the iron naturally occurring in your breastmilk--as can too much dairy due to calcium content.

Nurse her more often and make sure she is nursing long enough on each side to get as much hindmilk as possible. If you pump, pump first and then let her nurse. There is plenty left and ensures she is getting a nice, fatty meal.

I am one of "those" breastfeeders who weaned at 18 months. My daughter is also a little on the light side, but my pediatrician isn't the least bit concerned. I make sure she has a balanced diet and she has also hit all of her milestones.

Hi L., My son was about the same size and breastfeed only until 9months old. He was always lanky and still is at the age of 3. His daddy and I are very tall. He was never a big eater and would snack throughout the day-breastfeeding. I was never worried about him being underweight because every baby is different and I knew he was getting everything he needed from my breastmilk, which is the best thing for them. Most breastfed babies are smaller than formula fed. If you do give her formula please make sure that the can is not lined with plastic BPA which is found in most brands you can google this to find out which are the best. Good Luck!

hi and congrats on your first little one. If I wanted educated advice about the best diet for my baby, I'd consult with a nutritionist, NOT a doctor. A pediatrician once admitted to me that Dr.s are required to take virtually no nutrition classes for their program and that the class I had to take to become a teacher was much more than doctors knew about nutrition. Your doctor knows the percentile of your child and that's it. Babies do need more fat in their diets up until they're about 2 so it makes sense that's he's wanting to add fatty foods but what you're saying also makes sense....IF her eating less has to do with her taste buds and not her feelings of fullness. If she has NO other noticeable affects from being a "lightweight", perhaps that's all there's is to it.....she's just built that way and she's thriving fine that way. Like you, I'd tend to look at the whole picture and see that, barring any other "symptoms" or "affects" from her low weight, I wouldn't necessarily treat it like a "disorder" or something that needed to be fixed. Does daintiness run in her family genes? I would watch her carefully for signs of "normal" self....see that she gets a multivitamin or iron supplement if the doctor recommends it and keep doing what makes sense to you as the one who knows her better than anyone. Be careful to avoid foods she may not be equipt to deal with yet, such as citrus and meats (she needs all of her molars to really deal with meat). Good luck and let me know if I can help.
L.

I just wanted to tell you that my daughter LOVES avocado! She will eat a whole one by her self. She also is a big fan of Yo baby yogurt. When she was little I used to take the egg yolks and just throw them in a pan. They made these adorable little "buttons" She would just eat them up. My point is that the foods that your doctor recommended might be foods she'll love. You cant assume that your child will or won't like something. Let them try lots and lots of things and you will raise an adventurous eater!

Most children like the yogurt. Some does have fruit in it. I would do what the doctor suggests as long as it is reasonable. Higher fat diet is reasonable.

The only thing with fruit is that it is filled with sugar. My daughter only gets fruit for breakfast and sometimes a snack. Healthy fatty foods are important for your child's development.

When I say healthy fatty foods, I am referring to the same foods your dr. is and not processed foods.

As for avocados, my daughter will not eat them plain. She will only eat guacamole.

I would follow your dr.'s advice.

She sounds like my little angel - 19 pounds at 16 months old, but long and super healthy and happy. i used to stress out about her weight, but finally accepted that she is mean to be that way. I would not worry too much - just keep nursing her and feeding her what she loves. My little one loves avocado - I just let her mush it up in her hands and feed herself. You can mix in olive oil or yogurt, pureed fruit or really anything. Try bananas, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes with margarine, yogurt smoothies. Those are all foods with more calories and a good "yum" factor. Good luck!

First of all I would be worried if my child only weighed 13 lbs. at 6 months. The Dr. is right to be worried and you should be also. Do what he says and help her gain some weight. This is going to effect her bone and body development for the rest of her life do it now better yesterday.

My daughter is 7 1/2 months, and 14lbs even. Are you or your husband small? If so, she probably comes by it naturally. My other 2 children are very small also (4 in feb and 29 lbs and 2 1/2 and 23 lbs) They are in the 10-15% for height and weight, but are ahead of schedule with their developmental milestones so I don't worry. As long as she is meeting her milestones then you have nothing to worry about.

My children were on the low end of the percentile charts. My husband and I are not big people. I also breast fed. I would not supplement with formula, nor would I start giving my 6 month old dairy products. This could start allergies. Dairy is very hard for them to digest. Six months is just when you need to start offering food in addition to the breastmilk. I fed bananas, avocadoes and everything we ate just chopped small and put on their tray. Just be mindful to offer your child foods fairly often and try to make them as fresh and nutritous as possible. Also let them nurse whenever they want and keep your nutrition up and keep well hydrated so that your milk supply can expand to meet the need. If you begin supplementing, then your supply will decrease and it will ruin your breastfeeding relationship.
Relax and enjoy your baby and begin offering healthy foods. Good luck.

When my son was 1 year old, he was still very underweight, and had been since he was born. The pediatrician was worried- for the wrong reason. Instead of looking for a medical cause, he blamed us, and threatened to report us to CPS if our son didn't gain weight! The pediatrician had always been trying to talk me out of breastfeeding. He thought I was crazy for letting my son eat broccoli. He sent us to a nutritionist who told us to add things to the food like powdered milk, mayonaise, and peanut butter which my son wouldn't eat. We already fed him plenty of avocado, cheese, eggs, etc. This whole experience left me paranoid to the point where I would take a photo of every meal. Then we switched to a new pediatrician, who said don't worry, he's following along the curve fine, and it's OK to feed him vegetables in addition to the high-fat foods.
After that, I didn't worry so much. At age 7, my son eats a wonderful variety of foods but seems to have an aversion to mashed potatoes and other mushy foods.
However, and I am sure this is not the case with you, we found out when he was 4 that he had a hole in his heart. He may have spent so much extra energy just for circulation that there was none left for gaining weight.

Breastmilk has better calories and fat, is better digested, and is perfect for your baby. I can't understand why formula would be better. But if you are going to up her solid food intake, I would do so with protein not sugar (which fruit essentially is). My kids LOVED avocado - as breastfed infants, it was their first food, and they have always adored it.

I was just looking at my daughter's baby book and she was always very tiny. She was only 12 lbs. 10 oz. at her 6 month checkup. She was not as long as your daughter, but I really wouldn't worry too much about it. My son just had his 6 month checkup and dropped from the 50th percentile in weight to the 20th and his doctor is not concerned. He said it was normal for breastfed babies at this age to fall a little behind in the charts and to catch up later. My daughter was always very small, but she will be 3 in a few days and is now in almost the 50th percentile for weight, but is still short (I am petite also). Honestly, unless she isn't meeting milestones because she is too tiny, I really wouldn't worry. Breastfed kids, especially, will grow a little slower until they get established with solid foods. My daughter ate a TON of baby food for about 3 months and then wanted only table food. Just start her on solids if you haven't already and let her set the pace. If she's hungry, nurse her or feed her some cereal, fruit, veggies, etc. and let it go at that. You can try the avocado for something different if she's game for it, but I wouldn't push it. I think she's probably fine....just tiny and there isn't anything wrong with that!

I would consider getting another pediatrician. I understand that pediatricians may not be schooled in a lot of child nutrition information, but all pediatricians should know that whole milk should not be given before age 1.

As long as she is healthy and steadily growing and gaining weight I wouldn't worry too much. You may want to add breastmilk to baby cereal or baby oatmeal. Maybe add some baby veggies and fruits, but take your queues from her, only feed her when she is hungry. I would definitely not add milk, yogurt, eggs or avocado until her system is more mature and can process and digest those foods properly.

I'm sure she is just fine! My son was the opposite, he was in the 90% + until last year at age 7 now he's average. He was never fat and never had any other development issues, he was just a big boy!

Trust you mommy instincts, I'm sure she will catch up in time!

Sure- you can feed her things she likes. You can also look at your own diet and see what healthy fats might need to be added, such as ground Flax seed.

Given that dairy and egg products are not generally recommended at that age due to the possibility of developing allergies, I can't imagine it would be suddenly ok for an 'underweight' infant. Some say not prior to 6 months, though, so that's really up to you. You should research it and decide for yourself wither you want to try this.

The fat in formula comes from oil. You could get a 'first cold press' olive oil and add it to the baby food. Ground flax seed or oil is also good as a food additive- a healthy source of Omega 3s. You can melt butter and put it on her food. If you do use yoghurt you can get plain (unsweetened) whole milk yoghurt from Whole Foods and add fruit juice to flavour/sweeten it. The regular grocer carries baby yoghurt which also is made from whole milk.

Formula and breast milk have approximately the same amount of fat and calories, so substituting formula for breast milk would not help unless you use the high cal formula or mix regular formula doubling the scoops. If you begin formula feeding as a supplement it is very possible your baby may stop breastfeeding.

I wish you the best, I know you want only good things for your baby and that's why you're asking here.
S., mom to 5, 4 of them born premature and 1 always on the 0% weight, even though she is 6!

Hi L.,
All 3 of my children were in the 90-95% for height and 5-10% for weight. They were all healthy, happy, babies. Your doctor has cause for concern though. When a baby isn't gaining it raises a red flag. The doc probably wants you to supplement and feed higher fat foods to see if your baby will gain. If she's not gaining even with supplements then your doctor may want to do further testing to see if there is a problem. I would heed your doctors advice. Even though my children were always low on the scale for weight, they were always gaining, not losing or staying at the same weight, that's what your doctor wants to see. My two oldest (10 and 6) are both 50% for height and weight. My 2 year old is 95% for height and 25% for weight. All 3 were breast fed. They just started out very long. :)

Hi L., just wanted to add one thing. My Baby had similar issues but at 3-4 mos. Between 2-4 months he grew 2 inches and lost 1/2 pound. The Ped. suggested suplementing with formula, 2 bottles a day. After about 5 weeks of that he was up to a more normal weight for my children sizes (I also have 2 other children that were very big (fat) babies, now tall and thin). Saddly he stopped wanting to nurse and is now 8 mos and no longer nursing. It was/is very hard as my other 2 children were breastfed for a full 12 mos. If you want to contunue to nurse your baby I would suggest feeding the fatty foods first!
Best of Luck

I feel like I wrote this! Only my son is 2 now, he was small, a preemie & our 2nd pedi (1st one moved) seemed to only be concerned w/ the not being in the middle of the growth charts. I am thin & from a thin family...our son is slender. We switched pedi's (both in the same office) & we LOVE this one. He's only concerned that the weight goes up, not on the actual #. At 2 yrs. 2 mos. he weighs 24 lbs, but is healthy, bright & reaching all milestones. I nursed for 13 months but also started supplementing w/ formula at 6 mos, but he only got 1 or 2 bottles a day & I pumped at work. At 6 months, I agree, just start on avacado & rice cereal and go from there. Appreciate the pedi's advice, but know that mommy's instincts are worth as much as a medical degree sometimes! Some babies are just slender & not plump. I would encourage you to keep her on healthy fattening foods. One thing our 2nd pedi said was when we're on a diet, what do we eat?? Fruits & veggies. So, keep fruits to a minimum b/c of sugar intake & maybe include a dropper of Polyvisol (infant vitamins-purple box in vitamin section at HEB) once a day to make sure she's getting all nutrients. I'm w/ many other moms - breastmilk is the BEST! You know what she eats, but I'd certainly keep solids to a minimum until her system is adjusted & developed. Hope this helps. God Bless!

those foods are fatty I would do what the doctor said. I would also try to feed her often as much as she wants when she wants. if she is a little fussy feed her. also a book that helped me alot was Super Baby Foods. my nephew is like this. he is a year older than my son but our son is much bigger than him. he was hungery and the breast milk didnt have enough nutrience in it to do much good. also he wasnt eating often enough either. please listen to the doctor and not the mommas saying she might be small the doc is consirned listen to him. Best of luck.

Maybe add a breastfeeding. If she is otherwise healthy, then I wouldn't worry too much about it, rather just monitor it and offer food frequently. Make sure she is getting snacks. If she is hungry, she will let you know. Some babies are just smaller than others. I wouldn't let the weight be the only factor in the matter. I was told the same with my little boy at his last checkup - he's 3. But, he's healthy! He just doesn't eat a whole lot and is growing fine and is very intelligent and energetic. I do make a mental note of what he's eating and how much. I just don't worry about it or force it.

L.,

Sounds as if the doctor is recommending "healthy" high-fat foods so that your daughter gets plenty of the right kind of fats (polyunsaturated and monounsaturated) for her development - these are where much of the touted GLA's including Omega 3 and 6 complexes come from, especially if you're not eating fish or flaxseed derivatives - which no 6 mos. old would be. Fresh fruit is 'natural' and healthy but even too much of natural sugar is not a good thing. So try to offer a variety of fruits including avocado, etc, and stick with fresh (not canned) - it will expand your daughter interest in different food tastes and help her weight gain/ diet.

Good luck!