[lunaschild]

Joshua Samuel is 11 months old and we went to the Ped. yesterday and he weighs 16 and a little lbs. and is 26 inches long. The Doctor said he should be weighing more and we have to feed him evey 4 hours and give him liquid vitamins.

What do you all think?

We are feeding him stage 2 food for lunch and dinner, giving him his formula three to four times a day in the morning with cereal in it he drinks juice and snacks (fruit and puffs) -

We just dont want him to choke so we keep the mushy stuff - He is our first so we need suggestions

THANKS

[clazarc1]

He sounds like he is eating well. I am not a doctor but as a mother as long as my child is eating I wouldn't worry about it. Just keep giving him his vitamins. Sounds like he is a little peanut and there is nothing wrong with that Best of luck.

Christine

[Maggie Beth]

Our daughter is 12 months today and about the same size as your son. She eats a ton, however, and loves "big girl" food. She had french toast and yogurt for breakfast, a ham and cheese sandwich and a banana for lunch today. Everything is cut into bite-size pieces and she seems to eat a lot more when she can feed herself with finger foods. She will also eat most stage 3 baby foods. I encourage you to start introducing other foods one at a time and to supervise him closely so he does not choke. Good luck!

[avoel]

16 lbs is small but it is more important to look at the trend. If he was 12 lbs when he came home and 16 lbs now he's doing great. If not, then yes, he may need more. My baby girl is a few weeks younger born 12/20. She is eating totally table foods since she decided a few weeks ago that baby foods were a no go. She loves chicken or ground turkey, any kind of soft or cooked fruit or veggie, beans, noodles, applesauce, breads etc. She is dairy allergic but if not she would also be getting whole milk yogurt (Yobaby is great) and cheese. For now put butter on his veggies, cook pasta in olive oil, put mashed avocado on bits of toast...all will increase calories. Oh, and the Nutragrain cereal bars make a great higher calorie snack as well. If he can pick bits of food up with his fingers he is ready for table foods. Just make sure things are in manageable sized bites and only put a bite or two on the tray at a time to keep him from stuffing his mouth and let him have at it.
Our general schedule is bottle at 7am, play then breakfast around 830. Small am snack around 1030, lunch and bottle at noon. After nap snack, then dinner at 530 and bottle at 7 before bed.
Hope that helps

[hbrown24]

My daughter is 13 months old and only weighs 17 lbs. She is 28 in. long. Her pediatrician is not worried about her weight at all, just says she is petite. As long as he is eating I really wouldn't worry. I used to get really frustrated when Emmi wouldn't eat or would eat very little but finally I just cut everything up into bite size pieces and quit trying to force it on her and let her self -feed. She responded well to that and eats a lot now. Another thing our pediatrician said was not to make 5 different things until she would eat something. The dr. said just fix a well balanced meal and if she chooses to eat it great, if not don't make anything else and she'll learn to eat what's in front of her. It's worked like a dream! What I do is feed her breakfast, snack, lunch, snack, dinner, snack. That way she is getting a lot of calories and she still eats at every meal.

Good luck!

[KellyMigoya]

My daughter is 18 months and weighs 16 pounds, 10 ounces. She has gained 3 pounds since we brought her hoe when she was 3 1/2 months old and gained 10 ounces in the last 6 months. Originally her pediatrician said the same as yours. However at her checkup a few weeks ago he said he had done a little research into the Mayan culture and understands she is just small culturally and is fine with her proportions now. She looks healthy, acts healthy etc.

[brookeinmn]

mY son is probably the opposite end of the spectrum, he is a big boy. But, he doesn't eat any baby food, solely "big people" food. Most things can be altered to feed to babies. His favorites are , tator tots in the microwave instead of stove, because then they are mushy. He also loves any kind of sandwich, egg, ham, jelly, cheese. I just cut it up into tiny finger size bites. I second what was said already, if they can feed themselves they do tend to eat more. Most breakfast cereals dissolve in the mouth, macaroni and Cheese is another good one, and yogurt. You can also buy skinless hotdogs, and those are always a hit. If he is eating good, then there is nothing else you can do, some kids are just smaller, and have high metabolisms. I wouldn't worry too much if your pediatrician isn't too worried. Good Luck!

[MMC66]

I agree with the poster who said you have to look at the trend. If he is dropping in percentiles, then there is always a concern.

Addy was tiny and had lots of nutritional "issues" I tried to give her more "calorie intense" foods. If you read labels - Gerber has tons more water than Beech Nut so you get more calories/nutrients per ounce. Also mix formula with cereal instead of just water. Read labels and don't fill up on stuff with minimal calories. Fat is good too so not too many fruits and veggies - lots of formula and yogurt made with whole milk. Little bits of soft cheese is good too.

I also found that decreasing the amount of other stimulation at eating time usually led to more food being consumed, just because she was less distracted.

Good Luck. Hope this Helps

Martha

[tam_nojm]

Does the doctor have experience with hispanic children adopted internationally? It's not important how much they weigh, it's important that they are maintaining their growth curve. Your son may be in the 5th percentile (as is mine), but as long as he is gaining weight and growing and staying along his curve, then he is okay.

It is unfair to compare our children to the average American child. I would bring this up with the child. If you are really concerned, then have him seen by a international adoption pediatrician who is more familiar with weights and lengths of those born abroad (who tend to be smaller anyway).

[wannahave3]

My bio daughter was always very small. At almost 4 she is 27 pounds!

Our pediatrician had us visit a pediatric GI doctor just to make sure that there wasn't a problem with absorption. We had to have her stools tested (that's a fun one driving to the doctor's with that next to you in the car! Luckily we weren't pulled over!) for various parasites and absorption issues.

Everyone determined that she is just tiny We use something called duocal (should only be used under a doctor's supervision). It is an odorless, flavorless supplement that can be added to anything soluble. It does not change the flavor, the consistency or the texture of the food. It might be worth asking your doctor about it

All the best,
S

[lunaschild]

Thank you everyone for the wonderful responses
I was getting worried....

[cr653]

luna,
i just read your post and responses you were given.
great ones imho.
i also saw he has only been home just 4 months.

how much did he weigh at birth and then how many pounds did he gain each month at first? then, how much has he gained since being home?

i think the 'contined growth' is the key.

mira came home at 4.5 months weighing like 13.5 pounds and now is 16.5 pounds. she was and still is tiny tiny at almost 8 months 'comparatively". but for her, she is doing great!

poor mira cant even stand baby food, and if you checked my 'tr2's thread on applesauce' you can see letting her feed herself didnt really do the trick...not even with 'real food'.
thank goodness she loves a nice yummy warm 'milky'! (what she doesnt know is i add ceareal and babyfruit to that night time bottle! )

let us know how he's doing and all!

love,
cris

[csw]

Our pediatrician said she would not worry unless the baby is below the 5%tile line..also..does he have good subcutaneous fat? Ana was very tall at 8.5 months old when I went to foster and she only weighed 15.5 lbs (she was almost 9 lbs at birth).once I started fostering, put her back on formula (she was on regular powdered milk) and gave her solids she gained 1 lb per week for 2 weeks..she was thriving in the 80%tile range..then after last years vaccine reaction her growth stopped for both height and weight for 6 months....she is finally starting to gain again..she is 28 months and 27 lbs.

I know this is controversial but we add rice cereal to her nighttime bottle, as well as alternating flax seed oil with olive oil to try to get her to gain..since we have done that she has gained 1.5 lbs..she cannot be on reg.milk or formula she has to be on rice or almond milk which are very low fat..so we have to add some fat to her diet..