7 month old losing weight

[FeelToBeFree]

Hi - in the last month my 7 month old has failed to put on any weight, in fact he has lost 15g.

He is bf and we are doing BLW but he absolutely inhales food.

The paedtrician wants me to switch to formula, but DS refuses all bottles (we have been trying for the last month). They suggested stopping all BF and starving him into submission on the bottles. That doesn't sound OK to me.

I am trying to work out what is going on though as until now his weight gain has been great. However in the last four to six weeks -

1. He had a very bad reaction to autoimmune reaction to vaccines, and came out in terrible blisters which obviously left him very uncomfortable and unable to sleep
   
2. I had an IUD inserted
   

Doctors said that 1 shouldn't have affected his weight gain, and gynaecologist promised that 2 wouldn't affect my milk supply.

How worried should I be a or lack of weight gain? Do I really have to force him onto a bottle? (I would love him to take one but hate the idea of starving him into it)

[Micah]

I think the question you need to ask paeds is how will formula make a difference? Even if you do switch, he'll only take what he needs, you can't force him to drink it.

When i went through similar i was told that if you do switch to formula, and it artificially increases weight gain, it can mask a real problem. A healthy baby that eats and drinks well should remain healthy on breast milk.

Have they done any bloods or tests? The first thing i had done was basic metabolic blood tests- liver, kidney, thyroid etc.

Are you in the uk? Are you under a hospital paeds team?

Weaning can halt weight gain as food is less calorie dense than milk, so they fill up on less calories.

How often to you weigh? 15 g is a good poo, or difference between two different scales, or an un calibrated scale. Are you happy he's healthy? Or do you have concerns other than his weight?

[tiktok]

15g difference in weight is too small for accuracy - it's half an ounce. Are you in the UK? It would be unusual for mothers to be made worried about this apparent loss in a month with a baby of this age....it's not at all uncommon for babies' weight to plateau round about the start of solid foods, because solid foods are less calorie-dense than breastmilk/formula, and yet may fill babies up so they take less milk. It's not normally thought of as being anything to worry about, if the baby is otherwise in good health and developing well.

However, I note you are seeing a paediatrician, which in the UK would only be done if there were concerns about your baby's health - OTOH if you are not in the UK, it could just be you see a paed because that's what people do :)

If it's thought your baby needs more calories, then the obvious thing to do would be to breastfeed him more often...I don't understand why the doc would say use formula, and it makes no sense whatsoever to restrict/eliminate his breastfeeding in order to give formula (did they give an explanation? It sounds like the most distressing option to me, and of course risks getting fewer calories into your baby.....).

Can you breastfeed him more often?

[FeelToBeFree]

Thank you.

We are in the UK but have a private paedtrician because of American expat insurance.

We have had all the basic bloods done because of the autoimmune condition I mentioned. They all came back normal.

My feeling is that he has spent the last month feeling ill and miserable, and at the same time weaning is displacing some of his milk feeds.

I can definitely breastfeed more at night (he wakes a lot, I have been trying not to feed to sleep, but can start doing that again!)

The paedtrician thinks that my supply is insufficient, which is why he wants formula. He also thought his muscle tone was low, although the DS has started sitting quite happily.

I don't think I do have a supply issue because at the end of the feed he is satisfied (turns away, milk running down chin, won't take more). However I have read that IUDs can effect supply so I will get it taken out.

[tiktok]

Will your insurance stretch to seeing another paed?