Please answer! I know there are more parents out there with kids!?

Question

I am looking for a comparison of how much other 5 month olds eat and how much they weigh at 5 months. Whether your child is that age now or you remember that info. I hate it when people ask the same question over and over, but I've only gotten a few responses so far on the first question, and I am really concerned about my little girl. She has acid reflux, which we believe is causing her slow weight gain, but why is she eating so much? Even after you take away the amount she spits up, she is taking in more than what I am hearing other babies this age eat. She should be growing. She's 11 pounds. What is causing her to eat more and gain less? Before you answer you can look at my original quesiton, "At 5 months old, how much does your baby weigh, and how much is he/she eating?" to see the responses I have given to those that have been willing to help so far. Please be kind and please help!

Look, I love my babies, and of course the pediatrician is the answer. He has seen her every 2 weeks since her birth because of the reflux and now because of her weight. The reason I am asking for a lot of responses is to get a wide range of variety. I am not stupid and I do know every baby is different. But at this age 18 lb compared to 11 lbs is a wide range, and I am looking for other small babies that are healthy (not babies that were premies). I love her doctor and we are working together on this, but I know that one single person doesn't always have all the answers. I am her mom, I am going to use every resourse I have to help her and if you think that is a crime, then whatever! I am not skipping the dctr. and coming here I am researching on line in medical books, talking with her pediatrician, and I thought I would try and get some advice from some real parents that are holding their little ones along with all the medical advice I have.

Thank you SO much for the recent responses, you were kind and helpful! My daughter is breastfed we have tried a few formulas which seem to make no difference. She eats 8 ounces every 2 hrs. She was born at 8 pounds and earlier in the week (at 5 mths) weighed 11 pounds. We got a weight check today and she has lost 6 ounces, so we are making future appts. to get to the root of this. She is now below the 3rd percentile for her weight. I am beyond concerned at this point, but we are obviously watching it. Thanks again for your help!

Answer 1

My son is 5 months also...he was 8lbs 2oz at birth, and is now 17 lbs. He is breastfed and I am starting him on rice cereal once a day. Good luck!

Answer 2

My babies are 6 months old. At 5 months, one weighed around 15 lbs and the other weighed around 13 lbs. That was above average at the time, since my babies are in the 90th and 75th percentile. They were born at 37 weeks and started out below the 3rd percentile, but they hit a growth spurt around 3 months and caught up. They were also eating 24 ozs of formula a day, sometimes a little more, plus solids twice a day - oatmeal cereal and fruit or veggie.

There is a large range of normal weights for babies, but as a mom, I can understand your concern. My babies had reflux in the beginning (not so much anymore) and I was determined to do everything I could to "solve" it for them. I was also very worried about their weights and I would cry when we went to the doctor. (There were probably some hormones working in there too).

I think it's great that your daughter wants to eat so much! My babies were small too, but they were always GREAT eaters. They love food and finish every bottle. They've consistently wanted to increase their amount of formula. They have a schedule, but if they are hungry early, I feed them. They know best how much food they need and when they need it. I would just respond to her signals and give her what she wants. She may be catching up in growth and need the extra food.

This may also be a good time to start solids. I am not sure if you've started them yet, but you may see a difference in growth and reflux when you do. I started cereal at 4 months and then fruit and veggies at 5 months. They seemed to always want to eat, even when I increased their formula from 6 ozs to 8 ozs. The solids were the answer to that, and they really enjoy it. I make my own baby food and I follow wholesomebabyfood.com.

Just remember that there's a big variation among babies. My babies eat the same amount, but one is now 3 lbs heavier than the other. It's just the way they're made up. I don't think my little one will ever catch up but that is ok because that is just her.

Best of luck!

Answer 3

There is a huge, huge, range of what babies should weigh at any age, and it depends on how big they were when they started out, as well as how much they've grown each month, etc.

This question you have about your daughter is something you really need to talk to her doctor about. Her doctor has a chart, so he/she knows whether or not you have reason to be worried.

If your baby is throwing up what she eats that's why she isn't gaining weight. If she has acid reflux bad enough that's what is making her vomit, and it has nothing to do with eating too much. (I'm not sure I understand your point about "taking away the amount", but I'm assuming you're wondering why she still vomits if she takes in less?)

The baby who had a birthweight of 8 lbs and who weighs 11 lbs at five months would be more cause for concern than the baby who was 5 lbs at birth and weighs 11 lbs at five months.

Again, you really need to just go over all your concerns with your doctor.

(If she is throwing up what she eats she will be hungry and want more. I think that could explain why she keeps wanting more food.)

Answer 4

Hello, my son also has acid reflux...so I totally understand your concern, pain, and frustration. Hunter is now 6 months and 17 pounds...so maybe 15 pounds at 5 months? He eats cereal in the morning and at night...fruit with the morning cereal and a veggie in the afternoon. He is drinking about 32 oz formula a day and has been for a few months. When he was younger he wanted to eat ALL the time also. Some reflux babies refuse to eat because they know that they will reflux and it will hurt (feeding aversion) but some babies eat in response to the reflux because the formula feels good and soothes as it goes down. I hate it but my son is on Zantac. Is your daughter on anything? At first he was just on Zantac, then our doctor added Prevacid which did the trick...but he's finally outgrowing it so we're back to just Zantac. Also, my doctor said not to give any baby gripe water (because you never know what's in it) but especially not to give it to a refluxer, because it burns as it comes back up as well. Also, one more thing that might help...what kind of formula is she on? My son was breastfed, then we went to formula, then to soy, and now he's on Alimentum (the Enfamil brand is Nutramigen) which made a WORLD of difference. A lot of reflux babies seem to do better on the ready to feed formula instead of the powder that you mix with water. Good luck...I hope this helps and I also hope that things improve with your daughter. Check this site out...when my son was really bad all I did was hold him and rock him and cry while looking at this site...it could be worse. Infantreflux.org/forum

Answer 5

Compared to my daughter, she is very small. My daughter was born 9lb 10oz. and at 5 months she was about 15.5 lb.
I don't think her weight should be such a deciding factor on her growth. Check out this website

http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nhanes/growthcharts/set1/chart02.pdf
for the CDC growth chart. Mark on the chart what your daughter weighed at each age. if you see a drop in her PERCENTILE, than that is more reason for concern. For example, if she was born in the 50th percentile and is now in the 3rd percentile, that def. needs to be followed by your doctor. If she is still in the 50th (or even 25th -19th) that is still ok.

My daughter was eating about 15-20 ounces of formula, 1 container baby food, and 1 serving of cereal at that age.

I am sure that you and your doctor will figure this all out. Best of luck!

Answer 6

Wish I could be moe helpful, but if you think she has a problem your doctor will check her out. My niece had a similar problem, she was always being sick, even at 4 1/2 years she still vomits at the slightest thing, as a result she is tiny for her age, she is the size of a 2 year old, but there is nothing wrong physically with her, she is full of energy she sticks up for herself. Don't let people worry you, all kids develope differently at different sizes, they all eat different amounts, don't compare her with others. Good luck.

Answer 7

truthfully, as a parent of 3, any time you're concerned about your child's health, you should feel totally comfortable with addressing it with your pediatrician, especially in the first 6-19 months.

I wish give you an answer to give you confidence and piece of mind, I cannot. But a doctor can, a good pediatrician will be a partner with the child's parents and help you understand this, and everything else you have ahead of you.

Answer 8

all kids are diffrent you have to remmber that she is growing i say just let them eat untel they a fool just as long as it is not candy my son he was 20 25 lbs but my doughter was 15 20 lbs so its up to the baby if they eat to much just moniter it and they might just stop or get a tumm ac and then you will know hope i helped

Answer 9

Have you researched dairy allergy? or wheat? is baby breastfed? its possible you need to change your diet around....is baby bottle fed? is it a dairy based formula? its possible there is some issue with absorbtion of nutrients.....i would look into food allergies....also, what was her birthweight? if it was 5 - 6 lbs at birth ...she is right on track you know!

Answer 10

"At 5 months old, how much does your baby weigh, and how much is he/she eating?" That depens on the baby...