[Remmy]

Hi!

I am hoping that I can get some ideas on things that might help our little ones gain weight.

(We are working with the pediatrician too, but I thought that someone out here might have some ideas too)

We adopted a 12 month old boy, Noah and an 18 month old girl, Anastasia. We have been home since December 4th and they have not gained that much weight. Partly (or mostly) because they had Giardia, but now they have just come off the medicene for that in the last week, and I just do not feel like he is goinging weight.

We bought the fancy scale at babies r us, and are weighing them almost every day. It looks like she has gained a little, but he is about the same. He is 16 pounds 9 ounces, and she is 20 pounds 4 ounces.She has actually gained weight since we arrived home - almost 2 pounds, and he has lost 5 ounces. They both seem good developmentally, but I feel like maybe we are doing something wrong.

These are our first children, so we do not have alot of experience. He eats really well, and actually will cry (or scream) if you wait to long to feed him once he is in the high chair.

When we first got home, he wouldn't even touch a solid food, but now from watching his siter, he is eating cheerios, those banana puffs, and those little wagon wheel looking things. He is eating baby oatmeal and rice, fruits, vegetables, baby food - some 3rd foods with the pieces. He will eat mashed potatoes if we are having them. I am sure there is more, but I can't think of what else he gets right now. Oh, and the Pediatrician has them both on formula for now instead of milk so they can get the iron and whatever else is in there.

So, pretty much I am worried more about him gaining weight. Anyone have any ideas on how to help him gain some much needed weight?

Feel free to reply or PM me with info.
Thanks so much!
Renae

[Vicki H]

I wouldn't be concerned about it at this point. I would say it took Alex a good month to really show any signs of weight gain.
He wasn't really underweight and he didn't have Giardia, but I think as much as he ate, he body was just taking in all the vitamins and iron that he didn't get in the orphanage.
Since he had Giardia, his body probably needs to catch up on all the vitamins, then he will start gaining.
Sounds like he is eating well, just keep doing what you are doing. In a few weeks if he still isn't gaining , maybe they should check him to make sure the Giardia is gone.

Hope this helps a little,
Vicki

[Kasey]

We worked with a nutritionist with our IA doc, our son was 5 1/2months old when he came home, but what they recommended in addition to the baby food was pureeing or mashing table food and adding to the baby food, it has more calories, fat and nutrients then baby food alone--it sounds like they are both off to a good start with what you are doing--I would also say eggs too with your peds permission, texture is a biggy as well, our son who is now 10 months old, loves to feed himself and loves more texture, a great finger food is eggy toast (egg yolk-french toast) (use wheat bread, he also love grilled cheese pieces (wheat bread with melted swiss cheese), small pieces of bananas, I bake a potato and give him the pieces, also he is up to very small pieces of chicken and turkey (had ground turkey last night mixed in with his sweet potatoes and loved it. Gerber also makes those stage 3 TV dinner looking thing, Alek loves them, they have great texture. The nutritionist told us to try and at least get 120 cal in a sitting with the baby food.
it is good to hear they are both on formula, our son was and still is on additional vitamins for iron and flouride. Another tip is to try not to drown out their appetite--not so much juice or formula close to meal times.
But bottom line dont stress about the weight gain. Our son came home at 14 pounds and almost six months later is at 20 pounds, but he has been consistent on the growth chart, but he has gained significantly in height is now 30 inches. Your doc will look at the overall pic--they just feel our son will be long and lean--but they like that his leg have some meat on them now and his belly, his skin is a healthy color and he is developing appropriately.
Always remember too, to introduce one food at a time to make sure no food allergies occur.
But keep up what you are doing, they will catch up!!
Best wishes and congrats on your kiddos!

[JCH13]

I AM NOT A DOCTOR, SO FOLLOW YOU DOCTOR'S ADVICE.

That said, you don't have to worry too much if everyone is eating, peeing and pooping. The weight will start to get packed on soon enough if you just feed healthy foods. However, if you continue to worry, your doctor should address your concerns with more information until everyone agrees that you are on the right plan of action.

JCH13

[dlhall]

When my daughter came home at 12 months she weighed about 16 pounds, 7 ounces. She too had giardia. She did not gain weight right away either, but my pediatrician put it in perspective for me. She said first they expect to see gains in head circumference, then gains in weight, and then finally gains in height. And that's exactly what happened. Now, Natalya, is still small for her age. She's 3 1/2 and not even 30 pounds, but she is totally healthy and developmentally on track, so we just figure she'll be small. A couple food suggestions, our pediatrician had us give Natalya baby jar food for the first couple months to help her get used to eating solids. She absolutely loves fruit and vegetables.

Liz

[bratgirl]

Helena was 11 months and 14 lbs when she came home. She ate about 5 times a day - a large bowl of cereal with three scoops of formula, mixed with organic whole milk. Sometimes, I would add a banana to the cereal also. I would try and get as much formula into the baby as possible. In addition to drinking it - try adding it to what the baby is eating.

Helena had never eaten food from a spoon when we got her. All they fed her in the orphanage was formula and very loose cereal through a bottle. She has since added table food and eats 4 meals a day (2-3 regular food and 1-2 cereal). At 14 months - she now weighs 17.5 lbs and is 2 1/2 inches taller and her hair has grown considerably (she was basically bald when we got her and now it's past her collar).

The important thing to remember is that all long as the child is in proportion - the weight is not that big of a deal. Have your doctor run some bloodwork to make sure there isn't any other cause for the low weight. Also, make sure that the Giardia is really gone. There have been other parents on this board that have had a lot of trouble with it no going away.

[Animalcrackers]

We had this problem, too. In fact, our son has only gained 2 lbs. since we brought him home 6 months ago. I was very concerned about this, but our dr. is not, because he is growing, he eats all the time, pees, poops, and is overall very healthy. We were told that between the ages of 12 mo.-24 mo. children usually only gain about 5 lbs. Hearing this made me feel much better, because even though he is still small his is growing according to his personal curve.

[grannymac]

I think as long as the children are both eating well, and the "bug" is gone, they'll be fine. A little advice-stop weighing them daily and try once a week. You'll feel better when you put them on the scale and see that they gained an oz or two during the week. I agree 100 % with Laura - if they continue to eat well and don't put on any weight, suggest lab work.

[papedge]

we used pedisure and my son started to gain weight

[Bcelli]

Sounds like you're doing all the right things.

I highly recommend Carnation Good Start, though. I had a great-nephew who was diagnosed with failure to thrive. He looked almost skeletal at 6 months. His parents followed all the doctor's directives - which were tempered by the knowledge they were on Medicaid and WIC. Well, the longer it went on, the more my sister (the grandmother) got fed-up. She bought him the Good Start (not covered by WIC) and he started putting on weight immediately and is now a happy, healthy 7-year-old. Of course - that was THEIR case and every child is different. I did however use Good Start with both my boys and they rarely had an upset stomach, gas or other intestinal problems.

I also recommend bananas. They're good for them and do help put on weight.

BUT bottom line is pretty much what everyone said: As long as they are pooping, peeing and sleeping well and the doctor isn't too concerned, they're probably fine.

You're being a good mom.

[keithww]

My three bio daughters did not grow at a steady pace. they would put on weight, then grow taller, then just stay at that height and weight, the start to put on weight and do it all over again. I want to say they did that till they were about 7 or 8. After that they are big enough that it is harder to notice the growth spurts. Your children may just be in resting phase.

[Kasey]

Another thing that was recommended to us, was to add a teaspoon full extra of powdered formula to their regular amount of formula--that also helped get him going.

[kryslm]

Renae,

I can't add much to what has already been said... Others in this thread have given you some excellent advice and input.

It was curious to see that your son will scream if you don't feed him fast enough. Our 18-month-old son who has been with us for three weeks now is exactly the same way. We were able to feed him in the orphanage and got some insight into how they feed the kids there. They use a BIG spoon (I mean a big mixing spoon!!) and absolutely shovel it into the kids about as quickly as they can. We noticed that "a meal" took about 5 minutes--or less. That is what our son was accustomed to. Now, if we don't keep the food coming, he gets really fussy--almost hysterical. We have managed to slow him down a little, but it has not been easy. This is my point: The psychological/emotional aspects of eating/feeding are probably affecting your son, too. It's almost like eating has been a kind of "traumatic" or nerve-wracking experience for some of these kids... That has to affect how they eat, and how much they eat, too. Just a thought.

As others have noted, giardia does have quite an effect on weight-gain. Once that has cleared up completely, they should gain weight. If they don't, you and your pediatrician need to investigate further.

Good luck,
Mike

[stephw3boys]

A good way to get calories in is whole milk yogurt. YOu can mix some with cheerios and let him self feed (messy, but fun).
Do not worry about fat content right now, but I would avoid using sugar (especially processed white sugar) to get him to eat more. bacon? cottage cheese. Dried fruit and nuts - but obviously these are chokable, so I am not sure if there is a way to get nuts in. THe dried fruit would work though.

[lakimnafite]

Yes, we definitely noticed that our daughter was UPSET when I didn't feed her fast. I did the normal, little bite, talking, choo-choo, little bite.... It was the ONLY time in our entire two day visit that she cried - and she was mad! And that spoon was huge and cracked me up. I do want to start teaching healthier eating habits and I'm afraid that it will be hard due to the 'traumatic' feeding practices in the orphanage..