My Baby (11 Months) Is Small and Has Slow Growth.

My daughter, too, was small to grow, but ate a lot. She was breast fed 9 months and started some solids at 5 months, at a lot of veggies at 9 months but was still tiny at 11 months. Especially compared to the fact that she was 10 lbs at birth, but 13 lbs at 6 months. But she ate and ate, and was very, very, active. She, now as an adult is 5'6" and thin, but small and very, very active and strong. A vegetarian!

I trusted her growth and my pediatrician to know what was right with her. As long as my daughter was active she was fine. She was only inactive when she was ill.

As a mom of a girl who ranged in the 10-25% percentile for weight the entire time (60% for height), I totally understand your concerns.
However all children develop on their own pace and please remember that the charts that they use are quite old and were made for bottlefed, caucasian infants.
Unless you have a medical grade scale at home, home scales are unreliable for children this small and your measurement may just be off. She is due for her next well child visit soon anyways, so go ahead and schedule that appointment and talk to your doctor again about your concerns.

My doctor always emphasized that as long as she grows at her own pace and doesn't suddenly drop off the curves, as long as she eats fine and her other development is on target she is not concerned about slight fluctuations or slow weight gain. She also let me know to expect that growth slows as babies reach their first birthday.

Just bring up the issue with them again and let them explain to you what to look for and when they would be concerned... that may give you a better perspective.

Good luck!

My daughter weighed 18 lbs at one year. Happy, heathy.... My doctor was never concerned.

I wouldn't stress. Home scales are notoriously inaccurate for weighing small children. See how much she has grown when the 12 month check rolls around, and if you are still concerned at that time then ask the doctor. My oldest, has always been long, lean, and big headed! LOL! The important part was/is that his growth is pretty much proportional. Everything is getting bigger at about the same rate... It sounds like your little one is just fine. But if you are worried, then ask your doctor.

I had this same issue with my first boy, and just discovered this helpful article: http://www.sleepywrap.com/Breastfeeding/25pdf.pdf.

My personal experience is that trying to introduce the bottle this late is a waste of time. My 8.5 month daughter takes a straw sippy cup great and she won't take a bottle -- so try to spend more time with the straw (it is also better for proper jaw & palate development anyway).

When you try to breastfeed, go to a quiet room. If she pulls off, wait to see if she comes back to the breast on her own in the next 2-3 minutes. Relax and take your time.

I like these suggestions from kellymom.com:

Make sure that baby is nursing efficiently. This is the "remove more milk" part of increasing milk production. If milk is not effectively removed from the breast, then mom's milk supply decreases. If positioning and latch are "off" then baby is probably not transferring milk efficiently. A sleepy baby, use of nipple shields or various health or anatomical problems in baby can also interfere with baby's ability to transfer milk. For a baby who is not nursing efficiently, trying to adequately empty milk from the breast is like trying to empty a swimming pool through a drinking straw - it can take forever. Inefficient milk transfer can lead to baby not getting enough milk or needing to nurse almost constantly to get enough milk. If baby is not transferring milk well, then it is important for mom to express milk after and/or between nursings to maintain milk supply while the breastfeeding problems are being addressed.

Nurse frequently, and for as long as your baby is actively nursing. Remember - you want to remove more milk from the breasts and do this frequently. If baby is having weight gain problems, aim to nurse at least every 1.5-2 hours during the day and at least every 3 hours at night.

Take a nursing vacation. Take baby to bed with you for 2-3 days, and do nothing but nurse (frequently!) and rest (well, you can eat too!).

Offer both sides at each feeding. Let baby finish the first side, then offer the second side.

Switch nurse. Switch sides 3 or more times during each feeding, every time that baby falls asleep, switches to "comfort" sucking, or loses interest. Use each side at least twice per feeding. Use breast compression to keep baby feeding longer. For good instructions on how to do this, see Dr. Jack Newman's Protocol to increase intake of breastmilk by the baby. This can be particularly helpful for sleepy or distractible babies.

Avoid pacifiers and bottles. All of baby's sucking needs should be met at the breast (see above). If a temporary supplement is medically required, it can be given with a nursing supplementer or by spoon, cup or dropper (see Alternative Feeding Methods).

Give baby only breastmilk. Avoid all solids, water, and formula if baby is younger than six months, and consider decreasing solids if baby is older. If you are using more than a few ounces of formula per day, wean from the supplements gradually to "challenge" your breasts to produce more milk.

Take care of mom. Rest. Sleep when baby sleeps. Relax. Drink liquids to thirst (don't force liquids - drinking extra water does not increase supply), and eat a reasonably well-balanced diet.

Consider pumping. Adding pumping sessions after or between nursing sessions can be very helpful - pumping is very important when baby is not nursing efficiently or frequently enough, and can speed things up in all situations. Your aim in pumping is to remove more milk from the breasts and/or to increase frequency of breast emptying. When pumping to increase milk supply, to ensure that the pump removes an optimum amount of milk from the breast, keep pumping for 2-5 minutes after the last drops of milk. However, adding even a short pumping session (increasing frequency but perhaps not removing milk thoroughly) is helpful.

Consider a galactagogue. A substance (herb, prescription medication, etc.) that increases milk supply is called a galactagogue. See What is a galactagogue? Do I need one? for more information.

And this kellymom link contains an article "How might I increase baby's weight gain?" http://www.kellymom.com/babyconcerns/growth/weight-gain_i...

Home scales are not usually very reliable for such small weights. Did she recently begin crawling and or walking?

My DD lost weight when she started crawling. Once she started moving, she burned off all her baby fat.

At 11 months my daughter weighed the same as your daughter does now--and less at 9 months. Sounds like she's eating well. Is she reaching mile stones still? Advancing at whatever her pace has been? If so, I wouldn't worry. Schedule her 12 month check-up, and if her pedi isn't concerned, then don't be either. I spent lots of time worrying about it. Now I have a healthy, active, slender almost 3-year-old who can say 8 word sentences in perfect grammar! She's tall for her age, though still very slender. I struggle to get her to eat, but she's only had one cold so far this year (I think that was 1 total last winter), so I'm content. My son is six months and already over 16 pounds. He's such a chunk and it gets really hard to drag him around sometimes. It's more comforting to have a chunkier child (if they get sick, they have more reserves), but if they're happy and healthy, they'll be fine. :)

Hi T.,
I would do what the other moms have a recommended and give your ped. office a call to see if a weigh-in is suggested. (A lactation clinic will also have scales if you can't get in to see ped.) Babies will have their spurts at different times and if your baby is eating and developing in all other areas then she is proably just fine.
My daughter was around 15th ppercentile up until her 12 month appt where she dropped to <5% at a whopping 17 lbs a few ounces. I was freaking out, but they reassured me she was fine - eating, developing etc etc. They had her come back in at 15 months, she just did her growth from 15-24months and is going strong now! good luck to you

if indeed the doctor's scale tells the same story, ask the doctor (if they don't think of it themselves, which they should) to test for vitamin b-6 deficiency

my #1 had this (never explained by medical science, I had my blood (therefore my breastmilk) tested and I had fine levels) ... she literally stopped growing ... eek!

the tricky thing is, though, that b-6 deficiency is very very dangerous and after 6(? I think) weeks can cause irreparable neurological damage ... so if you really think she's not able to gain weight (it sounds like you are feeding her plenty!!! but the other mom is right about movement or even, in my kids' case at least, new mental growth taking up allllll the spare calories for a while when they hit a new phase) ... anyhow, if you sense there is a problem, make the appointment NOW.

Maybe just stop by the doctor's office and ask if you can use one of their scales (without a full-blown appointment), and then if she hasn't gained weight, you can ask for an appointment and they can probably fit you in that day on an emergency basis, or refer you to a blood lab ... and if she's growing but your scale couldn't see it, woo hoo! Have her wave to all the doctor people on the one visit she hasn't gotten a shot ;)!

My oldest daughter was also little. At a year old she was barely over 17 lbs. I remember that she, too, had a period around nine months when she seemed to stop growing. We took her into the doctor and there was nothing wrong. She was just little. I just continued to feed her as much as she'd take and eventually she started to gain more weight. Now she's going to be five in October and is a happy, healthy little girl at 30 lbs. I think baby's have growth spurts just like kids do and, especially as they approach one year, the continuous growth seems to stop and they just go through periods of growth. Still, it doesn't hurt to check in with the doctor if your concerned.

Make an appt with your pediatrician, don't wait until 12 months. Maybe she's fine, but if there's a problem, better to find out now so you can treat it.

My daughter is 8 months and she is only about 15 pounds. She is on the small size but I just make sure that I offer her solids and breastmilk when ever she wants. She gets distracted when she eats so I still breastfeed at night, even thought she should be sleeping through the night! I would keep offering her the solids and letting her breast feed at least 5 times a day. I depend on diapers more than weight. After saying all of this I would go in for a weight check to ease your mind. Just try to remember that each child is differnt. My daughter is about to get passed up in weight by her 5 week old cousin, he is already 14 pounds!! Ok so I have to let you know that pumping does not give an accurate idea of output. Babies are much better at getting out milk than a pump. I would do what is called a nursing vacation.. this is where you stay with your baby and nurse every hour for an entire 2 days. you nurse one side and pump then other then the next hour you nurse the other side and pump the other. I woudl also go and talk to a lactation consultant. Kellymom is a website that can help... I had concern abotu my supply as my daughter also just nurses for amybe 10 mins total but i just listen to her swallow. I do pump while I am at work and she takes a bottle but she is normally right with what I pump (it took awhile for my body to get used to pumping). You are a great mom and I am so glad you went to the doctors but don't give up on nursing just yet... I am sorry I do not have any tips on getting an older baby to take a bottle but maybe you could try using a regular baby cup as she is almost ready for that.

My best friend has a child just like yours. He didn't gain any weight from 7-14 months. He isn't even on the charts (-3%) at this point. He refused to eat solid food until he was 14 months old, then one day it just clicked on.. There was absolutely NOTHING wrong with him, except that he's small. She worried and worried and it did her no good. He's just a small kid and a slow grower. He's 16 months now and maybe weighs 19lbs and just barely fits into 12 month clothes. There wasn't anything that she could do, he simply wasn't ready to eat yet..

Your daughter is able to suck more milk out than you're able to pump. Pumping isn't efficient, sucking is. If your daughter seems healthy, happy and content, please, stop worrying about this. Pediatricians follow a chart, babies don't! Every child grows at his/her own rate. She'll be eating tons soon and growing. Good luck!

My son is 11 months and only weighs 16 pounds. He is in the 3% for weight and head and 50% for height. I also breast feed primarily and he gets homemade baby food. I took him in at 10 months for an illness and he only gained 2.5 oz but he did grow an inch. I was a little concerned but the dr. wasn't. She said that babies slow down in their growth around this time which made me feel better. The best advice I have received on the growth charts was from from my friends husband, whose daughter isn't even on the chart. He told me "someone has to be in the 3%". Relax, you are doing fine. Your daughter sounds very healthy.

One of my daughters weighed 16 lbs at a year. She wound up being 5 feet 4 1/2 inches which is the right sized woman for our family.
Feed her organic food and she will become a healthy woman. I fed my children organic food. They were rarely ill, seldom needed to see a doctor for anything and grew to be healthy adults.
What goes into your body before age 18 is the foundation for your health your entire life.
Love her and do not worry too much. She will catch up with her age mates. Also children who walk early do not put on that much weight compared to their slower brothers and sisters.

Hi,

Obviously I am not a doctor, but my child is really small too. I don't know what you are like, but I am a pretty petite person and just assume she is going to be the same. My daughter is 22 months old and only ways 20 lbs (the same as she did on her 18 month checkup). We finally just turned around her car seat. She also, was in the 3% for weight, 15% for height and 50% for head at her last appt and the doc wasn't worried because it's just how she is built.

I think that as long as your daughter is eating healthy, I wouldn't worry about it. My daughter has a healthy appetite, I just think she will be petite and have a good metabolism.

Hopefully your doc will tell you the same next month at the 12 month check up. Good luck!

Hi T.. My first daughter was small too. At a year she weighed 16.5 lbs! She always had a consistant growth during her checkups. I just had to bring her in more frequently for weight checks. My ped also had me keep her on whole milk for a long time, put butter on her food and give her the high fat peanut butter. Lots of fatty foods! Babies brain development and kidney development need the fats. Breast milk is very fatty;) My daughter is now 7 and very healthy at 44.5 lbs. She is entering her first year of competitive gymnastics.

T.