Baby Needs to Gain Some Weight

I have found with my kiddo's that adding a multivitamin to their diet helped increase their appetites. Also offering food more often helped as well. I don't think my kids ever really ate a MEAL, they are grazers preferring to snack all the time. Bulk up the snacks and you may just get some more calories in her. You may also find that she is just little and that is just the way she is... Good luck.

I know what you are going through. My first only weighed 15lbs. at 12 months. My third was the same way, but I had a friend tell me to give her pedisure in the morning. This helped her gain weight pretty well. I have also given her Carnation Instant Breakfast and that really helped put some weight on. One of friends little boy was very sick and lost lots of weight and the doctors told her to give him Carnation Instant Breakfast for the nutrients.
I hope this helps, best of luck!
C.

Our son was this way because he had undiagnosed silent reflux. He started gaining weight as soon as he started medicine. We now do the Great Taste No Pain eating plan, and all our kids eat much better than they ever have before. There's more to it, but the basic rules are fruit on an empty stomach only, and no animal protein with carbohydrates. The recipes are delicious. Of all the ones we've tried, there's only one we wouldn't ever use again, and one that was okay, but not for the regular meal plan, just occasionally. I know it"s frustrating. I hope you figure something out.

talk to your doctor about adding zinc. My daughter was underweight with reflux, and it helped. But I agree, check with your dr to see if she is concerned. good luck.

I know you want him to eat more of a selection & I can understand that , but his weight is not that low for his age , he may just be a slim build. My daughter at 18 months was 20lbs , even now at 4 yrs old she is very tall and lean (not an ounce of fat on her). At 13 months he can be introduced to finger foods , give him a selection of different things that he can pick up and sit him in his high chair and let him get on with it , he may surprise you. Things such as pasta , soft fruits , crackers with c/cheese or hummus , rice dishes , small sandwiches or toast.

Just don't be too stressed. He will eat when he is hungry. I too have a child that when he was born was very underweight due to being born at 25 weeks gestation. He only weighed 18 pounds at his 2 year birthday. He also snored a lot, and had sleep apnea, so having him checked out by the pediatrician, we decided to have his tonsils and adnoids removed. The doctor doing the surgery noticed a lot of scar tissue on his tonsils. He had a lot of tonsilitis as an infant, but couldn't communicate with us to tell us he was hurting or ill. Anyway, he gained 6 pounds the next year. He is 16 now anad still very small for his age, but he is healthy.

Well first of all, 17 pounds at 13 months is not so underweight as to rasie red flags, so unless the doctor has said anything specifically about it being a big issue, I wouldn't worry too much. Sure, plenty of babies weight 25-30 lbs by a year, but there are many who don't. And, a more reliable indicator is growth charts - a baby who has been in the 5th percentile (for example) all along isn't nearly as much a concern as one who has been in the 50th and then suddenly drops to the 5th.

My neice was "underweight" from about 6 months on. Her parents just couldn't get her to eat. They tried loading her up with calories (feeding her icecream and putting lots of butter on bread and pasta, etc) but it didn't really make a difference. She just grew along her own pattern. She's now almost 8 and healthy, although quite petite.

I would hesitate to start adding in high-calorie low-nutrition foods like butter and ice cream. First, they can fill up a child who normally has a low appetite anyway and interfere with that child getting the vitamins, etc she needs. Second, while being small may be short-term, the food habits you develop now can stay with him all his life. It's better if he is in the habit of having lots of healthy, nutritionally dense foods that having high calorie foods.

If you and your doctor are concerned, ask for a referral to a child nutrition specialist. He can give you more advice on things specifically for your son' situation. But other than that, just have lots of choices available for him to eat. Do give him whole milk (that is recommended for all babies) and other foods that have fat as long as they also have other nutrients. Cheese, eggs, peanut butter, meats, etc are good for this. And always have lots of fruits available too. (Of course, go through all the steps to avoid allergies as you doctor has talked about). Don't force the issue, it only makes things harder with a picky eater. Kids won't starve themselves, just have a supply of the right foods and offer them whenever he acts hungry

Updated

Well first of all, 17 pounds at 13 months is not so underweight as to rasie red flags, so unless the doctor has said anything specifically about it being a big issue, I wouldn't worry too much. Sure, plenty of babies weight 25-30 lbs by a year, but there are many who don't. And, a more reliable indicator is growth charts - a baby who has been in the 5th percentile (for example) all along isn't nearly as much a concern as one who has been in the 50th and then suddenly drops to the 5th.

My neice was "underweight" from about 6 months on. Her parents just couldn't get her to eat. They tried loading her up with calories (feeding her icecream and putting lots of butter on bread and pasta, etc) but it didn't really make a difference. She just grew along her own pattern. She's now almost 8 and healthy, although quite petite.

I would hesitate to start adding in high-calorie low-nutrition foods like butter and ice cream. First, they can fill up a child who normally has a low appetite anyway and interfere with that child getting the vitamins, etc she needs. Second, while being small may be short-term, the food habits you develop now can stay with him all his life. It's better if he is in the habit of having lots of healthy, nutritionally dense foods that having high calorie foods.

If you and your doctor are concerned, ask for a referral to a child nutrition specialist. He can give you more advice on things specifically for your son' situation. But other than that, just have lots of choices available for him to eat. Do give him whole milk (that is recommended for all babies) and other foods that have fat as long as they also have other nutrients. Cheese, eggs, peanut butter, meats, etc are good for this. And always have lots of fruits available too. (Of course, go through all the steps to avoid allergies as you doctor has talked about). Don't force the issue, it only makes things harder with a picky eater. Kids won't starve themselves, just have a supply of the right foods and offer them whenever he acts hungry

He could just be small. I was concerned about my daughter who was a little smaller than your guy and the dr. said he was less concerned about her than most of the obese children and babies coming in to the office. Maybe we are just used to looking at larger kids and think we need to fatten up our kids but their eating ebbs and flows and they will usually be fine if we provide a good mix of food and nutrients for them. My sisters dr. pressured her to fatten up her baby girl so she really did and now the girl is 14 and very overwieght. Her siblings aren't but she doesn't have a sense for when she is full and continues to eat as her mom got her to do from 12 months to 4 yrs. After that and my newer dr. telling me not to be concerned, my baby gained a couple lbs. and is still in just the 10percentile but healthy. Who says our kids need to be in a high percentile???? If your boy is healthy-that is great!!! Look at genetics.

I am in this spot right now w/ my son, who was 17 lbs at his 12 mo appt. The ped. said he needed more fat for his little brain to develop. Whole milk of course (I just discovered that he will still drink it if I add a little real cream to it), and add butter, olive oil, cream cheese, cottage cheese, cheese (i.e. healthy fat) to whatever he does eat. The ped. said to just throw it right in there (no low fat diet for him!) and he eats it right up. You'll just have to try different things to see what your son will like. My son eats most anything so it's easy to throw the fat in there-rice, pancakes, noodles, peas, squash, oatmeal, mac n' cheese, potatoes, fish sticks, and on...It can still be healthy. Now, at 14 months, he is almost 19 lbs, so he's gained a little bit. He eats like a horse so I think he may just have a high metabolism. If I had as much fat as he does, I'd be very round. Let me know if you need some more suggestions.

I don't know if he is lactose intolerant or just not taking regular milk but whole milk is advised for 1 year olds. Also put extra butter on veggies things that we as moms want to stay away from aren't that bad for our kids...crackers, breads, mashed potatoes and gravy. He should be having finger foods and also 3 meals a day plus two snacks (one in the morning and one in the afternoon). Hope this helps.

I have been through this with my daughter. The first thing you need to do is not freak out about it too much. Believe me, I know that is a lot easier said than done, and there are times when I still have to remind myself to chill. Your son will pick up on your anxiety and that could actually make things worse. The first thing my dr suggested was to offer the foods that she would eat. There were times when she would have fettucini alfredo for dinner a week straight. He also suggested pediasure, but that is pretty expensive and Carnation Instant Breakfast is basically the same thing for cheaper.
We talked to a Nutritionist and some of the things she said are:
Add anything you can think of to make meals more fatty. Ex: Add cheese to scrambled eggs, extra butter on everything! Try to think of something he can dip his food in--ketchup, ranch, etc. I know it's messy, but my daughter loved dipping and would eat better.
After every meal give him a cup of Instant Breakfast (or Pediasure if you want) and when he's done with the cup he doesn't get anything else until the next time he sits down to eat.
The Nutritionist suggested my daughters meals look like this: Breakfast, CIB cup, snack, lunch, CIB cup, snack, Dinner, CIB cup, and right before bed one more CIB cup.
My daughter rarely drinks all of her cup, so when she's done drinking I will put it in the fridge for next time. We started this around her first birthday and she is eating a lot better for the most part. She still doesn't weigh very much, but that is genetic/high metabolism.
Good luck in whatever you decide to do! Remember to stay calm about it! :)

Has a pediatrician said that he needs to gain weight? There are charts that show the connection between weight and height. My grandson looks to be too thin but his doctor said he's at a healthy weight.

I also suggest that you want to find out why he's a picky eater. Nursing for only 5 minutes is very unusual. He may have a physical condition that can be corrected or treated.

I also suggest that you may need to prepare solids differently for him. Is he able to eat solids when they are pureed?

I strongly recommend that if your son has not had his one year check up that you make an appointment to get this done. Discuss his weight and food issues with the pediatrician and get his recommendation along with the ones that you receive here.

Bananas and avocados are full of the good for you fat, taste great, and babies like the smooth texture. You might add those to his diet, if you haven't already. Full fat yogurt is good for him now. I use plain and add fresh or frozen fruit and smashed bananas for sweetness. Full fat cheeses are good too. I would avoid using vitamin and mineral supplements, as they can cause constipation, and the body absorbs so little of the nutrients as well.

My niece couldn't take any kind of milk or formula, so she was put on baby food at a month or two old. With most flavors we had to add a little salt to get her to eat it. Baby food has little to no seasoning because babies have more taste buds than adults.

Creamed potatoes from your table will help him put on weight. Also make a runny oatmeal by adding more water than usual while cooking and season with butter and sugar. You can add his favorite fruit sauce or jelly to the oatmeal to make it more appealing.

My nephew was (IS) a picky eater and my SIL would give him Carnation Instant Breakfast - to heap on the calories, several times a day. He liked it because it was chocolate.

That said, my daughter is and has always been very small and it is not a big deal. It took until she was 6 before she would eat everything I gave her, but I just made sure the things she ate were healthy and didn't give her other options. The doctor suggested not giving her snacks 2-3 hours before a meal so she would be really hungry and more apt to try the food items I offered. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn't. Either way, she is a beautiful, smart healthy girl now although she is a little small it is not a big deal.

Updated

My nephew was (IS) a picky eater and my SIL would give him Carnation Instant Breakfast - to heap on the calories, several times a day. He liked it because it was chocolate.

That said, my daughter is and has always been very small and it is not a big deal. It took until she was 6 before she would eat everything I gave her, but I just made sure the things she ate were healthy and didn't give her other options. The doctor suggested not giving her snacks 2-3 hours before a meal so she would be really hungry and more apt to try the food items I offered. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn't. Either way, she is a beautiful, smart healthy girl now although she is a little small it is not a big deal.