Concern About Slow Weight Gain for 9 Month Old Daughter

Have you tried seeing if she'll eat three solids a day and some snacks. Avocado is good, higher in calories, easy for a 9 month old to eat. There are many other healthy snack ideas.

honestly, she seems normal.

Her stats are similar to my youngest. she was 17.5lbs at 10.5 months.. and 29" tall

Sounds kind of like my son. He was a real chunk, always near the top of the scale, until about the time he started crawling. Then he seemed to slim down. I always considered it was the extra activity that had him burning more calories. Now (at 6 years old) he's been (for a long time) consistently around the 25th percentile instead of the 90th like when he was an infant. But he eats pretty healthy and is active, so the pediatrician says not to worry. And honestly, I'm glad he's not in the 90th weight percentile any more, or he would be overweight and we'd have more to worry about.

Perhaps this is what's happening with your daughter if she has started crawling and cruising. If she eats well, and has regular diapers, then her body is probably just adjusting to the new level of activity. She will likely level out on the percentile scale after a while.

That seems very normal to me. My daughter has always been in the low percentile also, but she is very healthy. As your doc said, as long as she is eating well, pooping, energetic, sleeping well, she is fine! Try not to get too wrapped up with percentiles...so many babies are "overweight", I think percentiles are a bit out of wack anyway. Just my opinion, perhaps I have developed it to make myself stop obsessing over my own daughter's "low" weight? I think there are so many real issues to worry about, try not to worry about this and trust your doctor's opinion. I know some doctors won't even give percentages to their patients because it really doesn't matter, kids develop sooo differently from each other.
Good luck, relax, and have a great time with your baby! 9 months is such a fun age!

Don't worry - as long as the growth (although slower than you may like) does not stop or reverse itself, and she remains healthy, active, and alert, you are doing just fine!!!

I had the same issues - still do. My son is a month away from being 6 years old and only 30-31 pounds. He was probably the smallest/lightest kid in his Kindergarten class (2-3 others were small/short like him but most he came up to the chin to).

One thing we've had to change was to not allow him to eat snacks or anything in the hour or so before dinner. (Make sure there's a good snack about 3:30-4 pm tho then more of the dinner about 5-6pm gets eaten)
Even now, I notice that when I let him have a bowl of dry cereal in the family room as he plays through the morning, he'll eat it, sometimes asking for a 2nd bowl, but rarely eats a good lunch on the days he does. But if I have him sit down at the table and eat something like his cereal with milk or pancakes/waffles, then he's not grazing all morning and he actually eats lunch. Aim to feed 5 times a day - breakfast, mid morning snack, lunch, midafternoon snack (cheese stick, yogurt, quesadillas, toast, muffins, fruit/veggies, I try to make this a mini-meal for health & nutrition's sake) dinner, and my son insists on bedtime snack/dessert since he now finishes his dinner so he can have dessert :-)

We didnt do this until a year or two ago tho, I am not sure I could restrict a toddler's access to food when I *want* them to eat more - but really, if one eats appetizers all day long, a good meal is not going to get eaten and I think that is part of what was happening. The other part of it is that she is naturally active and burning off calories and genetics plays into that as well (my husband and I were barely 100 lbs in high school ourselves).

Try not to worry. Instead celebrate it when: you've got to pick her up and go somewhere when she is balking; when she is tired and wants you to carry her; when you think of all the problems that childhood obesity brings; when you dont have to buy a new size wardrobe as often; and so on! Your back thanks you for having a lighter baby, even if your head must find something to worry about.

And one more thing..

DIPS! Wow, kids will eat what they normally would be picky about if you offer them a dip of some kind. Ketchup, salad dressing, peanut butter, yogurt, sour cream, ANYTHING!

My 2 1/2 year old daughter has a playmate her same age (2 1/2 years old) that only weighs 17 pounds and is completely healthy, so not to worry. Nothing wrong with being petite! :) I would recommend feeding her solids first before nursing instead of nursing first, that way she will eat more / get more out of the solids instead of filling up on the breastmilk! I've always heard that's the way to do it.

I always stressed about the same thing with my daughter because she was always around the 5-10% mark on weight (sometimes lower) and 90-97% on height. It sounds like you are right on track. I breastfed my baby until she was just over 11 months old and started introdcing baby food around 4-6 monhts. Looking back I don't think she guzzled down a lot of milk, but she seemed to have gotten what she needed. As long as she is still feeding and eating and is active and happy I'd say try not to stress about it/focus on it too much. Just keep doing what you're doing and if your baby needs something more she'll let you know and keep going to your regular check-ups and you'll both be fine. My little one is now almost 22 months old and she has always been active and happy - regardless of her small appetite. Some days she eats more than others - seems to be a rollercoaster which drives me batty, but regardless of what I think is enough food she's healthy and happy and that's all that matters.

Hi L.,

First let me say I know what you're going through. My third daughter started below the charts and kept to about 5% until she was 2. She's still smaller than her peer group but with twice the energy.

You say your daughter is active and I think that's a good sign. If she wasn't getting enough nutrition, she'd be listless, tired or just want to sit and play quietly.

My doctor reminded me and I'll remind you: the chart is an average. That means there has to be children on either end. You don't say what her height is but factor that in too. (I also had a son that topped the chart--106%)

Make sure you're eating well. Your balanced diet is her balanced diet. If you see a change in her energy level or her bowel movements, then bring your concerns to your doctor again until then, enjoy her.

Hi L.,

I would not worry. As babies get older their weight gain is not as high as when they are newborns. My son is low on the charts as well, but when I asked my doctor about this he told me the same thing that your doctor did. He also pointed out the fact that I am somewhat small myself, so my son is taking after me. Since your daughter is having solids twice a day now she won't be taking as much milk. She is also more efficient at getting the milk that she needs. Once my son stopped suckling for long stretches he would nurse in about 10-15 minutes. I was so concerned that this wasn't long enough, but my doctor said that it is. It sounds like your daughter is developing well and reaching her milestones. I think that she is fine. Keep up the good work!!

A.

Hi there,
I am first time mom of a 12 month old girl who is in the average weight percentage. I exclusively breast fed till about 6-8 months and then when my mom was watching my daughter I had her give her formula b/c I was done with pumping but also b/c she was strong and I thought it would be good for her to get some of the other vitamins in the formula.

We started solids at about 5 months and at 9 months I was feeding her solids at each meal I had. I would recommend feeding solids first before breastfeeding so she can fill up on other nutrients first and probably feed her solids at each meal time.

I agree that if your baby is happy and energetic that is the best sign.

Take care!

Hello L., I am R., I am a mother of 5 year old twins. I do remember when I started my children on solids I would feed them and then top them off with breast milk. If your baby fills up with milk then she won't want to eat. So you might want to try it the other way. You might see a little more weight gain that way. I no it worked for me. Their doctor explained it this way, if I drank a glass or two of something before I ate I would eat less. So I think that is what is going on with you little girl. Hope this helps good luck..

You've gotten some great advice, I just wanted to share that my daughter was small (and still is at age 3) for her age. The weight loss tends to get more vigorous as they get more active but as long as she has an appetite and is functioning well I wouldn't worry. My daughter was born 20 inches and 8lbs 9oz but just didn't grow like other kids. We saw two doctors about it and they both said she was fine and that some children just grow at their own pace. According to the growth charts we'll be lucky if my daughter hits 5 feet tall despite the fact her dad is 6'3" and I'm 5'7" sometimes it just happens. Of course, her dad also grew 6 inches in one summer during high school so who knows! Think of it this way: in the meantime you're saving bundles on clothing costs (my daughter wore "12 month" clothes until she was almost 2 years old). :)

hi!
i had the same issue with my 2nd daughter..when we took her to her 9 month appt. she was also "only" 16lbs..my first daughter was always between the 85% & 95% in all categories..shes very tall for her age..but my 2nd has always been small..as of now, we just recently took her to her 18 month appoint. and shes still only in the 16%: 22lbs..my doctor was never really too worried, she ate pretty normally...i stopped breast feeding at about 3 months because i just stopped producing for some reason..so i thought that might have something to do with it, but she's healthy otherwise so, i wouldn't worry..we just call my daughter petite!!

My son is consistantly in the 5% for height/weight. As long as the height/weight is within a couple of percentage points, she's eating well, sleeping well, and is happy and active she's probably ok. It took my husband and I to admit that our son will always be small because we are both small. I'm only 5'2" and 115 pounds, my husband is 5'6" and 135 pounds. It stands to reason that our son is small also. If you and your husband are on the smaller side then it's normal. Also, look at your other family members - are there smaller people in your families? It sounds like your baby is doing well and your doctor isn't worried. By the way, I too breastfeed my son (he's 15 months now and still breastfeeding). Good luck and enjoy your daughter!

Hi L.,

Like others I have my own story of worry and concern over a boy who started at the 55th percentile and headed steadily for the 3rd percentile for weight. His length/height and head circumference were never an issue. He ate well and was very active. He was walking by 9 months. We had to wait well over 18 months to turn his car seat forward (20 lbs).

He followed the 3rd to 5th percentile curve for a while then eventually moved to about the 10th percentile. I think this mostly happened as he is developing muscle bulk (he dances and does gymnastics 1.5 to 2.5 hours 4-6 days a week).

Our pediatrician did organise some tests to check thyroid function and rule out cystic fibrosis and a few other potential major issues. She was never particularly concerned, just covering the bases.

It was difficult not to worry, even though I knew better. I do try to celebrate avoiding childhood obesity (not that I had anything to do with it). We also did some investigating and discovered that while none of us are even slim as adults, my husband, my mother, and I were all skinny kids. We don't put on the weight until our 20s.

As a lactation consultant I can tell you that I often see this issue. Many pediatricians are not mellow about "slow" weight gain (which really is a normal variation). There are growth charts available from WHO that are better as standards then the CDC guidelines. Unfortunately they have not been widely adopted in the USA. Often breastfed babies who look like they are falling of the curve on the "CDC chart" are actually doing fine on the "WHO chart" which is based on a broader ethnic range of healthy breastfed babies.

While it is natural to keep an eye on your daughter's weight progress, if she is growing and thriving well in all other ways it probably is just her thing. My suggestion: continue to watch the trend, maybe have her weight charted on the other growth charts to see what it looks like there, try not to over think and cause yourself worry but trust your gut if it starts screaming something isn't right.

K. H.

L.,

I had the same trouble with my first child and at first the doctor used to make me come in every month to check my son's progress. She said as long as he either grew in inches or gained weight he was fine. Which naturally he did. Then my daughter came along and the same thing happened with her. Although, they didn't make me go in every other month. My third child is exactly the same. He was actually born 8 lbs 9 ozs and now is in the 8th percentile. My other two are in the 5th percentile. All three of my children are really healthy. We have a new pediatrician since my first two and she truly believes that they are just following in line with their genetics. My husband and I both used to be extremely thin when we were young. My oldest is 10 years old and he is 56 lbs (which is light compared to most of his classmates), but he doesn't look unhealthy and actually has not health concerns. My 6 yr old hasn't hit 40lbs yet. I know that it is hard to not worry, but as one of the other moms said as long as she is growing and thriving in other ways she most likely is fine.

I wish you lots of luck and hopefully the responses on this site have calmed your nerves a bit.

I would try eliminating wheat products, some people have an issue with wheat and it causes malabsorption of nutrients. Ask your doctor about this possibility.

the same exact thing happened with my 1st baby. She was breastfeeding too, but starting to loose interest. the doc. said to give her formula or some type of dairy, which I hadn't been giving her. i had thought that giving her lots of meat and cereal was good. if i had known, i would have given her more dairy. I felt really bad, but how was I to know? As soon as we gave her the dairy her weight went up. She was still tiny, because that's just how she is.
my 2nd is tiny too. she loves those go-gurts, especially the ones with sponge-bob on them. (she's 2 now)

Hi L.,

Congratulations, sounds like you have a beautiful baby girl. I too have a little girl who's 2 1/2 now but also on the small side. A question to think about is are you a small woman? I find the growth charts to be so arbitrary and not worth spending much time thinking about. I'm only 5'2" and my daughter is also petit and always came up below 40% on the charts even though she was 7lb 7oz when born.

Another important thing to think of is that she's starting to crawl and walk so she's using more energy. She may not get more of an appetite but she will burn more calories so it is important to watch that. My daughter was also exclusively breast fed until 12 months. You've done a great job until now so there's no reason to think she's not still getting great nutrition.

I asked a doctor about weight gain with my little one and he said they don't really worry too much as long as they're still on the charts, once they drop below the chart range they get a little concerned. But again, it's important to look at the parent sizes as well, and your heritage. Did you know that the charts are different for different countries, so you if you or your husband are from other countries, you might look at there baby charts too.

Hope this helps!! Keep having fun with your wiggler.
A.

Hi L.,

It says you are only feeding her solids twice a day bump that up to three times a day. She should get solids like we do breakfast,lunch and dinner. I always breastfeed both my children at that age and then feed them solids. My first born only weighed 17lbs at his one yr visit to the doctor, but he did have surgery at six days old! Don't stress it will work itself out!

L. I am so totally in the same boat with you. My son is almost 9 months now and only weighs 16lbs 12 oz. Two doctors reassured me and said my son is totally healthy. He eats well, poops/pees well, is a very active child. At first, like you, I was worried that maybe I wasn't feeding him enough, but the doctors told me that he was just fine. I know you are worried and I am too but we try our best and that's all that counts. My son isn't breastfed anymore and so he's exclusively formula and eats at least 2 solids a day (rice cereal and something else for the week). Your daughter is totally healthy and as long as the doctors say the same thing, there's nothing to worry about. Unfortunately since he's a low in weight (last I remembered, in the 5% on the growth chart), we have to go in every month for a weight check. The doctors said that my son is just on his own growth curve and they will just monitor as he goes. Also they said as long as his head and length are in the upper 50%, then he's totally fine. I can't say don't worry because I do, it's natural for a first time mom (like me). Just hang in there and if you ever want to share or talk more, just let me know, I'm here.

L., Children grow at different rates and in different rhythms. Since she is active it doesn't sound like there is a problem (if she wasn't absorbing nutrients properly she would no doubt be lethargic).
You didn't mention how you dress her; if she is not dressed warmly enough she will expend her body's resources (ie burn more calories) in trying to maintain her body temperature at an optimum degree. My own daughter was 6.5 lbs at birth and I kept her in lightweight wool/silk long underwear day and night and she gained weight rapidly. Studies have shown that infants kept warm in woolen shirts and leggings gained weight at a more rapid rate than infants who were not dressed that way. With an older baby you still might be be able to try the wool/silk underwear but simply adding layers of any natural fabric clothing helps to preserve body temperature: i.e. undershirts, leggings, socks, hats. You might try adding those clothing items if you haven't already.
Good luck with school! Can you hire a high school student to come over to play with your daughter for a few hours a week while you study?
Enjoy these years with your daughter, they pass by too quickly!

Hi L.,
I can understand your concern. My daughter is 24 months old and only 18 lbs. She is not even on the standard growth chart. As long as your daughter is eating, sleeping and playing well, don't worry to much. As you increase her solids, you can add extra calories like butter, olive oil,etc. to her diet. If you are concerned, feel free to ask for a second opinion. It never hurts to have another pediatrician review her chart and examine her. Good luck.

Hi L.
I think it is really good of you to ask and be aware of how your child is growing, even if you are being told this or that. I know as a mother there are so many things to think about. You are doing a good job.

I know you already got great advice; feed her first ( before she nurses) and feed her 3 times ( or even more if she is interested) per day, watch out for wheat products etc.
I am guessing you are also eating well yourself ( a lot of protein and extra vitamins )?... so your milk ought to be nutritious.

I had a friend who comes to mind when I was reading your post, even if I think it is not the case with your child, however that friend had a child who was anemic. The signs she said she saw was that he wanted to eat less and less solids ( and constantly wanted to nurse only). She had started her boy pretty late with solids anyway, I think he was 8 months when she started, and he never wanted much. That particular friend had asked over and over if the pediatrician could see why he was not gaining much, and the pediatrician kept re-assuring her everything was fine when really it was not ( the boy ended up in hospital for a blood transfusion). He was also extremely fussy and slept badly, so I am guessing if you do not see any signs like that then it ought to be fine with your child, and it certainly seems so. It seems to be just like a lot of other kids that are active and small or at least growing a bit slower.

I hope the responses you got gave you some confidence, you are a good mama for being aware and questioning.
A.

My babies have started out big, too, then dropped percentiles later in their first year, after they become mobile. My fist son was 90% at two months, but 10% at 18 months. Crawling and walking burn off the baby fat, I guess! A nurse friend of mine says it's because they have high metabolism. But they are healthy, and average on the percentile charts now. Your daughter may gain some weight more quickly after you start her on whole milk later, but it sounds like you don't need to worry right now.

I really wouldn't be worried! My daughter is almost 15 mos and only weighs 18-19 lbs. She's in the 10 percentile for height and the third for weight. Your Dr is right. As long as she's eating, peeing/pooping regularly, has consistent weight gain and is hitting the milestones appropriately, no need to worry :)
A.

My daughter will be 9 months next week and is a little over 16 lbs, but she's always been small. She nurses at least 8 times a day. I don't think 5 nursings a day is adequate for a baby that age...

I would increase the number of nursings - at least offer every few hours and feed solids so that they don't interfere with or replace nursings. Breastmilk has more calories and fat than most solids and is much more balanced nutrition. The 5 feedings a day stuff is based on what's "normal" for formula fed babies, but breastmilk digests faster and they generally get less at a feeding than a formula fed infant.

i think your doc is right on - nothing to worry about! Try not to stress over numbers. There are some huge babies out there throwing those numbers off. My son is super tall for his age but my husband is over 6feet tall... My son doesn't even land on the height chart. Just as long as she doesn't show outward signs of something being wrong (low appetite, low energy) I think your doc is right on. I've had friends who told me nightmare stories of docs obsessed with the numbers who put their kids on special refried bean and milkshake diets to make them bulk up and nonsense like that. Just stick to her healthy balanced diet plan and keep on nursing - she will get plenty of nutrition from brestmilk being her primary milk. keep it up mamma!