My baby is only 6 months. He's 27" and weights 15 pounds. When he was born he was wieght 7.4 and measured 19". Today I took him for his check up and the doc. told me he is under weight is he really?? How can I make him gain weight??
2007-04-12 07:37:29 · 20 answers · asked by Anonymous in Pregnancy & Parenting ➔ Newborn & Baby
The doctor should have suggested things you can do but as long as your baby is healthy, that is what is important. MY fiance when he was a baby he was underweight, and he is still underweight. He is healthy tho and never has any health problems and is barely ever sick. As long as your baby is healthy he will be fine. Not all babies are going to be "normal" size or big. Everyone tells us that our daughter is so tiny, she is 1 yo, 23lbs and 28in. but the new average for babys has gotten a lot bigger than it used to be.
2007-04-12 07:42:15 · answer #1 · answered by The Mrs. 3 · 3⤊ 1⤋
I think your baby sounds fine, and am surprised that your doctor would make you worry like that!! My son is almost 11 months and weighs 19 lbs. It's taken a long time to get that weight on, too, what with his acid reflux and such. My advice is to stop worrying, it's done me absolutely no good! If your baby seems content, has wet and soiled diapers every day, and is active, he's fine. Just feed him as much milk as he will take. Others on here have correctly stated that there are not as many calories in baby food and cereal, although he should be starting those. If he's progressively gained, and is happy and healthy, I really see nothing to worry about. My boss was born in the 40s and weighed 15 lbs. at a year old, which was the norm then. Babies are more obese these days, accounting for a higher average weight. Good luck!
P.S. Don't let some of these women on here convince you that you are doing something wrong. You cannot force feed a baby more than he wants to eat! It's a struggle sometimes, and if you are taking good care of him, don't worry about it. Talk to your doctor about ways to increase his weight so he will see you're not being a negligent parent.
2007-04-12 07:47:45 · answer #2 · answered by Stephene 3 · 3⤊ 1⤋
It just sounds like he is a skinny boy -- 27" puts him above average for length, but 15 pounds puts him below average for weight. I guess the doctor calls that underweight since you son isn't "consistent", but frankly that isn't a dangerous condition. You should worry if he stops gaining weight between appointments, but otherwise I'd say he's fine.
You can try increasing how much milk or formula you feed him; also, at six months, you can introduce solids into his diet if you haven't already.
EDIT: Just saw some of the earlier answers -- you are NOT a negligent mother and you should NOT be reported to social services. What a horrible, ignorant accusation! There are plenty of kids below average weight and they're not neglected and they don't have bad mothers.
2007-04-12 07:54:06 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 1⤋
Usually babies who are growing normally double their weight at around 6 months, which your baby has done. Has he started crawling? If he has, his rate of growth may have slowed which is normal because he is burning more calories by crawling.
The other thing is that weight is a relative thing. My baby has always been in the 90% for weight and for height. If he was suddenly in the 50%, it wouldn't be normal for him, even though it would be a normal size for a baby his age. Did your son drop in the % since his last checkup?
As far as gaining weight, babies at this age gain weight more quickly from breastmilk or formula than from solids. If he started solids and decreased the amt. of breastmilk or formula he was getting, he would lose weight b/c breastmilk/formula has more calories than solid foods. If you are worried about him gaining weight push the breastmilk/formula and treat solids as a learing/playing experience rather than as a source of nutrition.
2007-04-12 08:07:10 · answer #4 · answered by erin b 3 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Your baby is about the 75th percentile for height and the 10th percentile for weight. This means that he is tall for his weight. He isn't necessarily underweight. At this point you just need to make sure he is eating healthy and eating plenty of food. If he is active and eating ok then I wouldn't worry too much. The doctor will continue to watch his height and weight. As long as he stays in the 10th percentile for weight then it is nothing to worry about. Some people are tall and skinny. The next time you go in if he is at a lower percentile then the doctor will probably do some tests to make sure that all is ok. A child should pretty much stay in the same percentile, but they won't all be average.
2007-04-12 07:51:36 · answer #5 · answered by kat 7 · 2⤊ 1⤋
The only way to make him gain weight would be baby food. But my little girl is 11 1/2 months and she weighs only 17lbs 6oz and they say she is underweight. She wont hardly eat baby food and I have tried everything to get her to gain weight. I think it is just how they are made and if your baby is eating good and still not gaining weight then I just think he is going to be small.
2007-04-12 17:17:06 · answer #6 · answered by Hope08 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Well, though I wouldn't want to be the one to contradict a doctor, seeing as how they do have all the training... If the doctor says that your child is underweight then he probably is...
HOWEVER, if the doctor was seriously concerned that your child was vastly underweight he would have offered some suggestions for you to help your child gain weight. Most doctors will give you advice or tell you what to do when something is wrong and needs to be corrected... (Meaning a doctor won't just tell you you're going to die and not give you any suggestions about how to prevent it).
So I would say... Follow the doctors advice if he gave you any, and if he didn't, I wouldn't stress over it. Babies develop on their own schedules and no two babies are alike.
2007-04-12 07:45:32 · answer #7 · answered by Kristain 3 · 3⤊ 1⤋
He is not under weight, but he is on the low side. The real concern would be if he dropped below the 3rd percentile, that's when a diagnosis of failure to thrive is given. His doctor will monitor him closely, I'm sure he's just fine. Just keep his milkformula intake up, when children start solids they will stop gaining weight as quickly as they did before because there are less calories and fat as there is in milk.
2007-04-12 07:41:51 · answer #8 · answered by Melissa 7 · 3⤊ 1⤋
I don't think so. Your son is 5-10%. My son is 12 months old and he's 20 lb 28 1/2 inches. The doctor isn't concerned at all with his size. As long as he's healthy and growing he should be fine. Some babies are just naturally smaller then others.
2007-04-12 07:46:07 · answer #9 · answered by Miriam Z 5 · 3⤊ 1⤋
I'm wondering what kind of doc you have that would tell you your baby is underweight, but not tell you how to help him gain?! I've found that putting rice cereal in the bottles can plump em up. Give him some yummy babyfood, like puddings, fruits, and he's sure to like that. But watch the mix of babyfood and formula. Sometimes if a baby eats too much babyfood, they won't take in as much formula in a day. The formula is most important at his age, and is more fattening and nutritious for him than any babyfood. If he's already taking plenty of both, try adding the cereal in his bottles.
2007-04-12 07:57:41 · answer #10 · answered by Jenintn 5 · 0⤊ 3⤋