Is my 6+ month old gaining enough weight?

[tlsmum2b]

Hi All,

I am a bit concerned that Jessica is not gaining enough weight lately. All the bubs that i see around her age seem to be getting so much bigger than her.
She is almost 7 months old and by my scales is 7.5kg, not sure of her hight (she is alseep right now). She is still in 00 (two piece) and 0 one peice suits.

She seems to love her solids, and as i am breast feeding most times i am not sure how much she is getting with milk.
When i try to put her to the breast sometimes all she wants is 'food' not milk.
She drinks at 4am, 8am, 12pm, 4pm, 7.30pm and then top up of Formula at 10.30pm (usually drinks 120ml)
Has Breakfast at 9am Lunch at 1pm and dinner at 6pm

How much does your baby weigh?

What can i do to get her to gain more weight?
Should i be worried?


Any tips

[Alisonp]

Hi tracey (here I am answering one of your posts again) :D

Breastfed babies slow down a lot with their weightgain after 6mo. Henry is also a great eater and has slowed down a lot recently too (currently about 8.3kg)...the calories in breastmilk are higher than in most solids so sometimes that happens but more often than not it is just because they are interested in the world around them and don't want to lay down b/f all day long. A quick couple of sucks is enough and they want to get down and play. There isn't actually a lot you can do about it.

7.5 kg is still a very good weight for a baby girl so I wouldn't worry. You are a slight build so Jessica will probably be the same (lucky her!);) By not being too big at this age it makes it less likely she will be obese when she is older also.

A lot of the time the way a baby "looks" ie slim or cuddly is more determined by how tall they are more than what they weigh. Short babies usually are chubbier while tall babies look more slim even though they can be the same weight. If Jessica is in 00 two piece suits but 0 all in ones it is probably just because she is tall with a smaller waist.

I hope that makes you feel better :wave:

[MountainGirl]

I wouldnt worry,.... babies are just like us,...all different sizes!

I have a big fella (12kg @ 7months),.... but aas long as your little one is bright, alert and happy, then I wouldnt worry!

[tlsmum2b]

Thanks for your reassurance girls, the babies i have been comparing Jessica to are FF babies not sure if that makes a difference, but they all seem to have huge hands and feet compared to Jessica!

Al, i do look forward to you replying to my questions (and if you dont i will probably pm you anyway!!!) Reading your post did make me feel a bit better, i went past my MCHN to ease my mind too, and she said that her growth has 'eased' for the time being, and she said the same as you about the distraction with B/F all they want to do is play not drink. And with me being a 'slender figure' Jessica will not be a cuddly baby. (not that i see myself as slender i am no model figure!) Oh and she was 65cm in length. Just seems like she has been in the same size clothes for months now, the first 6 months she was having so many growth spurts.

SJR - Wow, that is a big boy you have! She does seem to be a very happy and talk-a-tive baby, so i am not concerned about her health, just thought i might be doing something wrong to stunt her growth or something. Thanks for your support.

[JabberJaw]

My bub is 11 months today and just about to hit the 8kg mark, she is on the littler side but still fine! She is breastfeed and eats well, just fitting into a size 0 now. Her feet though are teeny tiny, she wears newborn-3 months size in socks/shoes!

Each and every bub is different, as long as she is feeding well (breast and food) and having enough wet nappies i am sure she is fine.

My DD is due for a growth spurt soon so hopefully we make it over the 8kg mark!

[poppie]

Don't worry. As long as they healthy and alert it is all good. My girls were breastfed (lots) and ate heaps of solids from 6 months and they grew so differently. DD1 was almost 12kg when she turned one and DD2 almost made it to 8kg. There was only 700g between their birth weights too.
Both girls are extremely healthy and developing beautifully!

[Alisonp]

Tracey - Glad you are feeling a lot better :) I was also going to suggest that because Jessica is a good sleeper at night she wouldn't be getting as many night feeds as some other b/f babies the same age (remember some are feeding all night long! all those extra calories add up to A LOT).

I have definitely noticed that since Hen has been mostly sleeping all night for the last month my breasts no longer feel as full as they once did so I'm sure my supply has gone down. Most nights now I pump before I go to bed to give them some extra stimulation and also pump every morning for his breaky EBM.

Hen is also going through the old breast refusal some days (luckily only one breast and not both like DD did at the same age) so one of my boobs is doing most of the work and the other one is sure to have dropped off heaps....so I don't have much luck trying to make him take both breasts.

To be honest it isn't really worrying me much at the moment because I know from DD that they do go through these phases. The only thing that does annoy me is that we are going to QLD to visit our families soon and MIL is sure to make comments about Henry being too skinny :banghead::hair:

[bada]

Sounds fine to me too.
My DD gained a kilo or so a month for the first 4 months, reaching 8.5kg by 4 months and now is 8 months old and about 9.5kg. So she only gained about 250g a month since 4 months. Seems like such a drop, but she is still a porker!

[dantaz]

hey there i wouldnt be too concerned
my daughter is nearly 6 months now and weighs a tiny 5.5kg
she was 3.5kg born and the drs dont seem too concerned and i have tried everything
im sure u r doing fine:)

[cassvanm]

I also have a light-weight bub.
Piper was 4.2kg (9lb2oz) born, at at almost 5.5mths, only weighs 6.4kg - a gain of only 2.2kilos.
She's also breastfed, but is as bright as a button, meeting all her milestones and is sleeping well.
Some bubs just gain slower.

[Mummabeartotwo]

Old post, but thought i would add that my little one is a slow gainer too.
birth 3.7 kilos
at 2 months 5.9
At about 4 months he was 7.2 kilos.
6 months 7.6
8 months about 8.5
fully breast fed started finger food at about 7 months.

Just adding, they tried to tell me my boy was failing to thrive even though ALL milestones are being reached.
So many factors play into those STUPID growth charts.

The ones in the health books we are given are based on a combination of formula fed/breast fed/early solids babies. My health log book's growth charts studies were conducted in 1988 LOL so i dont even use them

If your babe is fully breast fed have a look at the WHO growth charts.