Comments on untanglingknots.com: Little Body, Big Heart

I have the EXACT same problem that you do. My son...

2007-09-28T21:22:00.000-04:00

I have the EXACT same problem that you do. My son is 16 months old and weighs 19.12 pounds. He's 32 inches long. As far as height goes, he's growing just fine, but at his 15 month check up, he was 8 ounces lighter than he was at 1 year. My doctor does not seem concerned because Jordan looks very healthy, but he is NOT a good eater. There are only 5 or 6 things that I know he'll eat, but even if I offer those to him, he'll only eat a fistful or so. My doctor told me that because Jordan's active and happy, then I should worry too much about his growth rate..he's just going to be a small baby.

Well, I think if Nate was hungry, you would know i...

2007-09-28T15:53:00.000-04:00

Well, I think if Nate was hungry, you would know it :) I am not sure how accurate those charts are these days, and I certainly wouldn't worry too much about it.

I think Nate eats more than my little guy and he is 8 months old and 21 pounds. I nursed until he weaned himself at 6 months, now he eats about 4 formula bottles a day and 2-3 tubs of stage 2 baby food and/or cereal and/or yogurt. We've just now started giving him some solids, like puffs, crackers, soft noodles, etc.

His pediatrician did tell me that if I noticed him getting hungry sooner, to introduce some protein into his diet, such as meats or cottage cheese. So, I definitely think the meat will help, if you are worried about it, but honestly, I don't think you need to be :)

Cole is almost eight months now and he has three m...

2007-09-27T19:02:00.000-04:00

Cole is almost eight months now and he has three meals a day as well as 2 breast feeds ( morning and night) and two bottle feeds during the day. I have just started giving him afternoon tea (half a rice cake and a piece of fruit) and giving him his dinner a bit later as he started waking during the night again. Since he started crawling he is definitley eating more. Some days he eats more than others but on those days he makes up for it by having a longer breastfeed at night -I just go by the fact that Cole will eat as much as he needs and he is still getting sustenance from my breast milk. I make all my own food and freeze it in ice cube trays and usually he will have 2-3 'ice cubes' and a some peas or chopped up spinach for his dinner. We have just started introducing meat and also things like hummus and eggplant dip which he just loves. Do what feels right and you can't go wrong - its obvious that Nate is doing well.

This is exactly why I could not live without the i...

2007-09-27T16:04:00.000-04:00

This is exactly why I could not live without the internet.

As always, your comments and feedback has been most helpful.

Thank you! Thank you! Thank YOU!

I'm in the giant baby category for Aiden. At his ...

2007-09-27T14:57:00.000-04:00

I'm in the giant baby category for Aiden. At his 6 month check-up last week he weighed in at 19 pounds (I forgot to ask length!!!) but the doctor acted like all was good. I worry about him being so big because every one comments but he's weird big. He fits in all his clothes in the right size categories but definitely not the right weight ones. He still fits in some of his 3-6 months clothes (which normally run 12.5-16.5 pounds) and most of his 6-9 months are still nice and loose on him.

Aiden gets breastmilk from me at home and approx 12-16 oz of breastmilk during the day in the bottle (that's over a 10 hour day). We started cereal two weeks ago but he just gets about 2 tablespoons of that a day and we started green beans on Monday, which he's just not sure about.

I think the charts are so, so outdated and just a means to make us judge ourselves unnecessarily.

Oh and I LOVE the look Aiden gets when he's done nursing. We call him a "drunk baby" or say that he's in his "milk haze". It's way too precious.

Well, my baby is off the charts in the other direc...

2007-09-27T14:19:00.000-04:00

Well, my baby is off the charts in the other direction... and like you I tend to worry, but the doc insists she is fine. She turned 10 months old today and she weighs in at just under 25 pounds. Oh, did I mention she is 30+ inches tall? Her father and I are both ginormous (I'm 6' and he's 6' 4") so I guess it's perfectly normal for her.

She eats four 7oz. bottles a day (6a, 10a, 2p & 6p). Along with that she eats 1/4 cup of cereal with 1 serving of fruit for breakfast, a serving of veggies for lunch, and then usually some of whatever we have on our plates for supper. You can see her pics at myspace.com/amygomoljak

My son is turning one tomorrow (!) so he is only a...

2007-09-27T14:00:00.000-04:00

My son is turning one tomorrow (!) so he is only a few months older than Nate. Our boy is about 18 lbs now and I'm pretty sure that at 9 months he wasn't much more than where Nate is now. He eats 3-4 of the #2 size jars of baby food a day, no cereal (he haaaates it!), a couple 6 oz. bottles of formula (my milk supply bit the dust at 9 months) and nurses in the morning and before bed.

I'm pretty sure my son has been in the 5th percentile or lower for weight since birth. I don't know for sure only because our doctor never tells us the number. I think he just doesn't think they are important and frankly, neither do I. I think what you learned from the WHO chart is very telling. The charts used in North America are definitely outdated. I think it sounds like Nate is doing great!

http://www.runlucyrun.com

We're weird, but I'll tell you what we did anyway....

2007-09-27T13:34:00.000-04:00

We're weird, but I'll tell you what we did anyway. Andrew was still entirely breastfed at that age. We tried to introduce food and he had problems swallowing. It made him gag and puke. He breastfed a lot. I never counted, but I would probably say around 15 times per day. Yes, it got old, lol. He was HUGE. According to my charts he was 28 pounds at 9 months.

Alison also breastfed a lot. I was more relaxed about giving her food. She started eating in earnest around 9 months, but she never had baby food. I think she was eating whole peas and plain oatmeal and other easy to eat adult foods. I think she was nursing around 8 times a day, when when I count a day I include the night. She was also 15 pounds at 9 months like Nate.

I think it sounds like you have a good pediatrician. I'm a big person. I think Andrew got that from me. Richard is probably a little smaller when it comes to bone structure than the average man. I think that's where Alison got her size.

Alison's grown to be tall and slender. Andrew has grown to be tall, solid as a bull, and he unfortunately has a little pudge around the belly. Being smaller has certain advantages. People expect Andrew to act older because he looks it. Boys have a thing about challenging the big guy. My brother was a big kid. I remember other boys who were older than him with him just because of his size. I think it made them feel tough. It's also hard for a bigger kid to be physically coordinated. The best benefit of all to being smaller: they can wear those cute baby clothes for a long time!

Nate is a cute little bugger! My son Lochlan was ...

2007-09-27T13:00:00.000-04:00

Nate is a cute little bugger! My son Lochlan was breastfed exclusively for 10 months before he even had his first taste of solid food, a banana, which he promptly choked on. I delayed the solids for one more month but he had no interest in eating solids. Until I made guacamole and he wanted a taste. That taste had him begging for more! Even though he has always eaten well and still does, his weight is on the very bottom of the curve. It's in the genes: my brother was super-skinny as well as my mom, who still is.

Every baby is different ...no need to worry about Nate's weight. Wait until the real challenge begins: getting toddlers to eat! They will refuse food after food but they will end up okay if their parents don't give in to their specific demands. ;)

this year at brandons 2 year check up was the firs...

2007-09-27T10:08:00.000-04:00

this year at brandons 2 year check up was the first time that he has registered above 3rd percentile. i totally agree that they need to have a seperate growth chart to monitor breast fed babies. luckily my doctor reassured me that my baby was fine and not to place to much worry on the chart for formula fed babies. at 9 monhts brandon would nurse about 5-6 times a day and also have some baby yogurt and some oatmeal or rice cereal. at one i started adding in whole cows milk and let him nurse on demand. we kind of weaned together.

My two year old eats pretty much whatever we put i...

2007-09-27T10:03:00.000-04:00

My two year old eats pretty much whatever we put in front of her. She just started cereal with milk by herself - which is entirely cuter than I thought would be possible.

Anyway.

My six month old just started solids a few weeks ago. She's at 16# and 26 1/2". So, obviously, I breed tankish children.

She's taking about 32 oz of formula a day, plus two teaspoons of cereal in each bottle so that's 8 tsp of cereal. Plus whatever amount I add to her baby food to thicken it, depending on what it is. Add to that the formula and cereal combo and then the two jars of baby food. Sometimes three, depending on her mood.

(Holy moly, that girl EATS, doesn't she? Wow.)

Also, she was entirely formula fed, so that probably contributes too.

I would have to agree though that as long as Nate's meeting the milestones to not worry too much. You know him much better than a doctor that sees him periodically. Also, it looks like you have a small frame, so maybe it is genetic. I would think so, anyway.

Hope that was helpful in some way!

It's so hard not to worry. I always felt better wh...

2007-09-27T09:12:00.000-04:00

It's so hard not to worry. I always felt better when Boston was breastfeeding because I felt like at least he is getting that and that is the best food he can get. Now that he is strictly on big boy food at 14 months it is a constant concern. I take him in for his 15 month wellness check-up and at birth he was in the 50th percentile and now he is in the 10th. He won't sit in his high chair for any length of time but it takes him a long time to eat so I find myself chasing him around the house with food all day. He is always nibbling and I know it may be a bad habit but it puts my mind at piece if I keep offering him food and drink. He is so picky too. I keep trying but he really only eats his baby cereal, plain bread, quartered grapes, bananas,applesauce, yougurt, cold cereal, some pasta, peas and corn. I agree with the others. As long as he is happy, active and not getting sick all the time he is fine I'm sure. I always bring a snack and a sippy along with us when we are out and about so if you want to offer snacks more often you could do that. It's easier as they get older and eat more grown-up food. I also give Boston a gummy multi-vitamin my pediatrician suggested after age 1. Also, I think it is so wonderful that you are so dedicated to nursing. I nursed Boston until 13 months even though I had nerve damage in my nipples and in hurt so bad unless I applied heat. It was so worth it to see how it affected his health and the bond that it creates it so wonderful. I love to see moms dedicated to that.

I think it is mostly about genetics really. Nate ...

2007-09-27T01:39:00.000-04:00

I think it is mostly about genetics really. Nate looks healthy, happy and even a bit chubby (in the cute baby sense) to me. I hate those charts.

My boys (x3) all cleared 8 pounds at birth and by 6 months were over 23 pounds. They were completely off the charts in the opposite sense to Nate. BUT, I was a big baby and so was my husband. His family are all HUGELY tall, my dh being the tallest at 6'8". Genetically, they definately got their father's side and they are all going to be super huge tall. Take a hard look at your genetics. To me, Nate looks a lot like you (from the limited pics I have seen) and also a good bit like your husband (ditto on the pics). You also look like a very petite woman, your husband isn't hugely huge either. You've got to take all that into account. Look at your parents, your husbands parents and so on. Then tell the doc to screw the chart. JMHO. Hehe.

K.

Nate sounds just like my son was at nine months an...

2007-09-26T22:33:00.000-04:00

Nate sounds just like my son was at nine months and still is now at just over a year. He was 15,12 oz at his nine month and at his one year check up he tipped the scales at 17,10oz. He fell off the chart at 3 months and has never made his way back on. At first he had the doctor worried, but now we all realize that he is just a small fry and likely always will be.

At nine months Charlie was breastfeeding 4 times a day and having solids twice a day, breakfast and dinner. Usually consisting of some form of grain and a 4 oz. jar of baby fruit or vegetable.

It is so hard to not get worked up over these things, but as long as he is happy and healthy otherwise, there is no reason to worry.

I forgot to add I breastfed all 3 also #1 until sh...

2007-09-26T21:26:00.000-04:00

I forgot to add I breastfed all 3 also #1 until she was just over a year, #2 weaned himself at 10 months and #3 weaned herself at 11 months.

I have 3 kids 17, 14, and 2 years in age. What I ...

2007-09-26T21:23:00.000-04:00

I have 3 kids 17, 14, and 2 years in age. What I have always went by is are they "happy" and "content", it's obvious Nate is, plus he's adorable:)
Seriously, don't worry yourself, I promise, one day you'll look back on this and think why was I worried.
I watched his gigglin video can I say HILARIOUS...I cracked up!!!!!
tooo cute.

My daughter was completely breast fed until we tri...

2007-09-26T21:18:00.000-04:00

My daughter was completely breast fed until we tried giving her cereal at 6 months, she showed no interest and as I'm of the school of thought that your pediatrician is I didn't see any need at all to rush it so we stuck with the boob until 8 months when she started to eat solids. Then she continued to nurse just as much (5-7x/day) and added cereal with 3 oz of breast milk and slowly other table foods. We didn't do much with baby food jars as I preferred to just feed her what we were eating either blended or steamed super soft so it is hard to say how much she actually ate but it wasn't a ton. She remained 30% for height and never has made the chart for weight (she is now almost 20 months and only 18 llbs) I'm not very worried about it as she is very healthy, active and smart. I will say since introducing raw milk at the suggestion of this web site http://www.westonaprice.org I have seen her seem to thrive and maybe even put a bit of weight on, it has only been a few weeks so we'll have to wait and see but I highly recommend adding raw milk when milk is added to his diet.
I'm sure he is just a lean little man and I would stick to your Mama's intuition as to if there seems to be a problem. From what you say he eats I can't see any problem, just a fast metabolism!
Love your blog and read every day, thank you for your honest insightful posts.

I think he looks rotund, happy, and healthy! My s...

2007-09-26T17:59:00.000-04:00

I think he looks rotund, happy, and healthy! My six-month old daughter is currently weighing in at 20 pounds. She is breastfed/bottle fed breastmilk when I'm not around. She takes between 6 ounces and 12 ounces at daycare (8am to 4pm), nurses as soon as I walk in the door from work, and eats rice cereal once a day - about 2.5 tablespoons rice stuff with 4.0 tablespoons breastmilk. We just started trying to get her to eat pears - not a happy situation! I think we need to increase the cereal intake as her sleeping has taken a turn for the worse. There has been talk of supplying drs. with two different growth charts: one for breastfed babies and one for formula fed babies; personally, I think that this is a fantastic idea and would put you more at rest, I think! I know this is rambling, but I think that my daughter eats more during the day when I'm at home with her than she does when she's at daycare. Of course, then it's straight from the source, so it's hard for me to tell. What I know is that she's happy and I love when she pops off for a minute to look up at me and give me a big, gummy smile with a bit of milk spilling out the sides of her mouth...

I'm pretty sure Nate eats more than Cole does each...

2007-09-26T17:43:00.000-04:00

I'm pretty sure Nate eats more than Cole does each day, and better.

Cole has four bottles (8 oz.) a day, some cereal (the real deal) or a pop-tart (about 1/4) in the morning w/a banana (about half of one, b/c he LOVES bananas!), and then about two Cole-sized handfuls of whatever we eat throughout the day, including snacks (if he can, that is). He's 11 months now, and probably only about 20 lbs. (don't forget, we're big people...he's the little one!). He started eating real food early (as did Taryn) b/c he wanted to be like his big brother and sister. TJ stuck to the baby food longer, until he was about one, or maybe longer.

We never let Cole go hungry (except when I forget to get him a bottle, and I can't figure out why he's crying so much all of a sudden!). He's an eater, and eats much more than TJ or Taryn did, and yet is still smaller. Nate sounds fine to me, and he surely eats enough from the sounds of it. Be happy, b/c soon enough he is going to start chowing down, and that's when it gets fun...and MESSY! (we won't even talk about what Taryn did w/her yogurt while I was happily napping this afternoon!)

Wow. What timing. I just took my baby for his 6 ...

2007-09-26T16:23:00.000-04:00

Wow. What timing. I just took my baby for his 6 month exam today. Doctor also said he looks healthy and fine, but when I got home and saw the chart I noticed that his weight is at the bottom of that normal range and started furrowing my brow in concern.
He eats about 5 times a day. Breast feeds every meal and then also gets formula and eats veggies once a day right now.
I agree with someone else who commented. The charts are dumb. If the baby seems healthy and happy, all the charts seem to accomplish is making us mothers neurotic.
Nate is a little doll face, by the way.

Yes, I was also going to state that you yourself a...

2007-09-26T15:02:00.000-04:00

Yes, I was also going to state that you yourself are very thin, and so it would not be anything uncommon for your son to share that trait.

Doctors and mommies know when babies are not thriving, and it seems everything is inidcating that Nate is thriving just fine.

Mr. P has always been a good eater, and I remember him really liking to eat a lot as a baby, sometimes I felt he was eating too much, although he has never been heavy. Quite the contrary, he is a lean mean five year old machine.

I have a Nathan too; he will be 1 next week. He w...

2007-09-26T14:58:00.000-04:00

I have a Nathan too; he will be 1 next week. He was born at the 50% for weight and went down to the 25% for the first few months (he was breastfed). At about 4 months his weight gain started slowing until he was completely off the charts. I was sent to pediatricians (we do it different here in England - we only see the doctor if there is a problem; otherwise we see nurses) with the statement 'Failure to Thrive' on the referring letter. Thankfully, the pediatrician reassured us that breastfed babies gain differently than formula fed babies and she though that he would gain as he started eating more solids (he was 6 months at that point). She confirmed that I had not starved Nathan by breastfeeding him!

I can happily report that as of today (he is 51 weeks old) he is exactly on the 50% for weight. I can't exactly remember how much Nathan was eating at 9 months (he also weaned at 9 months) but now he probably has about 18-20oz of food per day.

I wish I could have worried less - I think it is just the job of a parent and you can only not worry once the situation has passed (and everything is fine). Go with your gut though - I knew my Nathan wasn't starving...he too had the 'drunken sailor' look after every breastfeed!

Anyhow, good luck! I will go back to quietly reading your blog. You are a great writer!

You're thin yourself, and you eat very healthy, no...

2007-09-26T14:55:00.000-04:00

You're thin yourself, and you eat very healthy, no doubt passing along healthy foods to Nate, so I honestly wouldn't worry much about it. Marce said it very well, that one size doesn't fit everyone. I have 2 different girlfriends with daughters who are far below the curve in weight for their ages of 7 and 9, and they are perfectly healthy. When my 9 year daughter was a baby, she ate like there was no tomorrow. She went through times of being the chubby baby, and then she'd have a spurt and thin out for a while. She's now very tall for her age and also slender, yet solid, and athletic. Max (who's 6.5 months now) is fed both by breast 3-4 times a day, and supplemented with formula (a thicker formula to curb his reflux)because I can't keep up with his demand through breastmilk alone. It's heredity in my case. My milk shut off at 6 months with my daughter and it's doing the same now. My mother couldn't even breastfeed me at all - she had what the dr's called "no calorie" milk. If I could breastfeed exclusively, I would. But because Max weighed only 4 lbs and some change at birth, the dr's were adamant that we give him formula to give him extra calories. We just started him on rice cereal and several of the normal fruits and veggies you give for first foods. He eats solids about twice a day, about 2 TBS of prepared cereal with a couple of tsps of fruits and veggies each. He now weighs about 18/19 lbs - you'd hardly guess he was premature. I don't force food on him ever. Don't worry about Nate's weight. Is he happy and active and thriving? Is he learning new things and is curious? From your blogs and your pictures I would say that the answer is yes to all of those things. He'll be fine. Boys don't hit their stride with their physique until they are closer to their teens, anyway. Hugs to you.

Julian's almost 17 months. He has gone off the ch...

2007-09-26T14:44:00.000-04:00

Julian's almost 17 months. He has gone off the chart several times throughout his first year for height and weight. He eats basically a little bit of cereal in the morning, along with fruit after his first nap, then a yogurt for lunch, with dinner being either a jar of 12-month old food or whatever we are eating. We don't know why he registers so high because he doesn't eat that much, in my opinion, and we don't give him junk. He's just BIG.

Sounds like he's eating just fine. ;) Babies are...

2007-09-26T14:29:00.000-04:00

Sounds like he's eating just fine. ;) Babies are smarter than us about knowing how much to eat.

Mine is almost one, and he just recently expanded his range of foods that are acceptable. Up until last weekend, he was nursing/taking a bottle about ten times day (5 or 6 ounces, can you imagine??) and eating three stage 2 jars. Only things with sweet potatoes or squash were okay. Lumpy stage 3's are, apparently, gross.

Finally, last week, he will now also eat crackers (any kind), bread, grapes, and water. But not much else. ;) And he's finally cut out a couple of more nursing sessions. Although the milk bar is still on demand...he's nice enough to sign 'milk' instead of just screaming his 11-month-old head off.