small 7 month old who is breastfed

[jennc123]

well this has been bothering me for quite some time. My daughter is 7 months today and weighs around 15 pounds, which seems small to me.  when she was born she was 5 lbs 14 oz. and is breastfed, i occasionally give her one bottle per day of formula, she takes between 4- 6 ounces depending. It really bugs me that i don't know how much she is getting when she is on the breast, and lately she dosen't nurse very long, sometimes its anywhere between 5-20 minutes.  The ped isn't worried about her weight but wants me to emphasize solids, she eats those 3 times per day now.  I am wondering if this is his way of nicelt telling me my daughter is too small ...I have met so many other 7 month old babies and they are alot bigger and people are always surprised that my baby is 7 months, I feel like I am not feeding her enough, thing is she is difficult to feed, she gets so distracted and I figure she will eat when she is hungry, she is very active!...I am wondering if i should start weaning her from the breast because she would gain more weight with the bottle etc..... :?

[Erin (redstarfalling)]

First of all: She's BEAUTIFUL!  Your daughter looks very healthy to me.  I know it's easy to worry about things like weight gain, but from what you described, I honestly don't think you have cause for concern.

OK.  She was small at birth.  The average breastfed baby doubles her birthweight in the first 5 - 6 months.  She did that.  She's eating for shorter periods of time - also really normal. At 7 months, my dd would OFTEN eat for about 5 min.  When sleepy, she'd eat a bit longer (I tried to feed her right when she woke, in the dark roo, while still partly groggy - it really helps with the distraction!).  Finally, not to disagree with your ped (well, actually YES I'm disagreeing!  :oops: ), but milk is still the most important source of nutrition for the first year.  So make sure you offer milk FIRST!  If she doesn't want much in the way of solids, don't stress it.  My dd didn't really eat solids consistently until after 10 months! She'll get more calories from the milk than solids anyway. 

As long as she's not losing and is active and alert and otherwise healthy, then you're doing fine.  I'd keep breastfeeding too - it's healthier for her and gives her everything she needs for now, plus the solids for practice. Watch the formula supplementing as this can decrease your milk supply, and try not to worry!  Some babies are smaller than others (are you and/or your husband petite?) - SOMEONE has to be at the lower and the higher ends of the curve, right? :wink:

[jennc123]

thanks for the compliment, she is awlfully cute ...well my hubby and I are medium framed people, about average, and we are both pretty tall, 5'8 and 5'11...i don't supplement much with formula, mostly if she has a bad nursing day, i forgot to mention that she is teething, has her two bottome teeth now, they just pushed through, and I always nurse her before I offer solids, i am not totally listening to my ped on that subject! but she loves her solids!! and I usually offer those an hour after nursing, she is on a 4 hour schedule.  thanks for the input, I have been really down about it, i just feel she is slower in other departments because she is a little baby, she is not sitting up completely by herself yet but is trying to crawl, she is so interested in moving around she loses interest in feeding, and I have been very consistent in nursing her in her room with no distractions. I will just keeo doing what I am doing, maybe today is just one of those days :?

[Erin (redstarfalling)]

Teething definitely can have an effect!  Don't worry about the developmental stuff either.  The range I've seen with the babies I know is just NUTS!  My dd sat at 4 months, rolled at about 8 or 9 months only :roll: , and just started crawling at about 11 months.  My friend's baby sat closer to 7 months, but was rolling from about 3, and is now almost walking at a year.  She'll grow at her own rate and develop as she's ready.

[annamum]

I agree with what Erin said. She doubled her weight, she looks normal, and healthy. The pediatrician would definitely tell you if something was wrong with her weight gain.

Older babies just don't need to spend so much time on breast, they are more efficient so she could be taking 4-8 oz at one feeding even within a couple of minutes. I would also recommend to keep nursing, she will get much more out of it than from formula.

My dd started learning to sit at 6 months but was good at it only when she was 7. She wouldn't roll before 6.5 months but was quite proficient at walking on her 1st birthday. Every child is different!

From what you wrote it sounds like you are doing a great job, keep that way!

[~Kellie~]

Hi,

What a cutie you have!

My dd was 6 weeks early and weighed 4lbs12oz, now she's 9 months (tomorrow!) and weighs 16lbs4oz......she too is breastfed and eating 3 solid meals a day.

I understand the worry but you have no need (don't want to repeat all the excellent advice you have already been given!)

 

[alligirl]

Hi there....you've already gotten great advice, I just want to give some support and "been there, done that".

Both my boys were small babies.  Stephen was 5.5 pounds when he was born (a week and a half early).  He stayed pretty small until he hit 9 months or so and then almost overnight he went from wearing 3-6 month clothes to wearing 9-12 month clothes (he was not quite 13 pounds at 6 months and was 17.5 pounds at 9 months)!  Now he's right above average as a toddler/preschooler.  Our then pedi told me to supplement and that I needed to increase my supply ( :roll: uh, whatever...one of the reasons he's no longer our pediatrician).  But I knew in my heart that my child was perfect and healthy.  I knew that he would nurse when he was hungry and he slept well and developed normally.

Zachary was 7 pounds 2 ounces at birth.  For the first few months, he was bigger than Stephen was at that age.  But he's grown a lot more steadily.  He hasn't hit a huge growth spurt like Stephen did and is now smaller than Stephen was at this age.  He's a skinny baby, but he packs away the food! :shock:   He didn't sleep as well for the first several months, and is still a little slow in physical development.  But you know what?  I still think he is perfect and healthy!  I just KNOW!  Mother's instict, I guess.  I just know that as long as he's healthy he will be the size he will be and he will develop at exactly the right rate for him.  BTW-he's 11 months and he was 17 pounds (if I remember correctly) at 9 months....so I think he's around 18-19 pounds now. 

Just wanted to add our experience....doctors are smart and all that, but YOU are the expert about your baby.  If you feel everything is fine, go with that.  If you feel something may be wrong somewhere, follow that instinct!   IMO, she looks happy and healthy....forget what everyone else says.  Not all babies fall in to the "chubby" category.  Plus, you get a lot more use out of your baby clothes! :lol:  :wink:

{{{{HUGS}}}}

[jennc123]

thanks for all the advice, i feel better about it now