[aclee]

Originally Posted by Amber76

Our son will be 9 months next week, and he is barely weighing in at 16 pounds when we weigh him at home. (He weighed 14.2 at doctor's office when he was 7 months.) It seems like he is constantly eating, but according to the growth charts I've been looking at, he will have fallen all the way to 1% or less. I'm wondering if I'm not feeding him enough or something! Here's what his typical day looks like:
Wakes at 9 AM, eats a jar of stage 2 fruit mixed with 2-3 tbsp. of oatmeal baby cereal and has an 8 ounce bottle of formula.
12:30ish, eats another 8 oz. bottle and a jar of veggies
4:00ish eats an 8 oz bottle
7:00ish eats a jar of meat and veggies(stage 2) and a 6 oz. bottle
9:00ish eats an 8 oz. bottle and goes to bed for the night.
So, he's eating about 38 ounces of formula, 3 jars of stage 2 foods, and 3 tablespoons of oatmeal every day. Does this seem like enough to you? He NEVER cries to be fed, I just feed him on this schedule. The few times I have waited for him to tell me he's hungry, he went almost 5 hours between feedings. He's active, happy, standing, rolling, sitting, laughing, etc and developmental right on target in every way. Should I be concerned?

It seems like a long time between meals to me. How does he sleep. Ty was never a big complainer to say he was hungry either, he just took long naps and once I started giving him snacks mid morning and mid afternoon, he was up more, and I believe it was the low blood sugar that made him sleepy. I might cut out some of the formula and add in more grains. Are you feeding him things like Avocado? It's high in healthy fats and really good for them. I would also roast veggies in a little olive oil.

Ty was born at 50% for weight, and we fell all the way to 8. The Dr told me that if they weren't putting on a minimum of 1 pound a month, or fell more than a certain % points in any one month (I can't remember what it is now, it was a while ago) that they would put them on a watch, and he went in for several weight checks. They did say that one of the main things they watched for though was how he was doing, and if you baby is meeting milestones and well adjusted, they might not be too worried. To me though, if he's falling way off his curve, it's better to start keeping an eye on it sooner rather than letting it get to the point where it IS effecting him you know?

What is he taking for protein? I went into our 9 month appointment and was basically yelled at because Ty only had non meat sources of protein up till then..so at 9 months, he should be going on the protein and table foods too.

Good Luck...it's so hard when everyone thinks your baby is small. SOME of us have to make up the other end of the chart though right???