Do i need to give my ds formula?

[funnyonion]

My ds is almost 11 months and weighs 9 kilos. The doctor told me that if he doesn't start to put on weight i will have to start to give him formula. I am still breast feeding my ds three times a day,granted he doesn't seem to feed for particularly long each time but he is also eating three meals a day.Is he really under weight? My ds is a real happy chappy apart from at the mo' as his teeth are coming through,surely if he was under weight i would see signs of this in his behaviour. What do you think?

I don't think you need to give him formula. Has he been losing weight or is he just a lighter baby in general? How often do you have him weighed - by the time DS was that age I was only doing every month or so - you could always stop having him weighed.

When my DS was 11 months old I think he weighed about 9kg - he weighs less than quite a lot of his friends but that is how he is meant to be.

How tall is he? Personally don't think there is much point in starting formula at this point if he is still having 3 breastfeeds. If I was going to supplement with anything it would be full fat cow's milk in a cup. But TBH he's on the small side but not that little I think. Even though DD is 10.5 months I am a bit vague on weights because she hasn't been to the clinic since mid Feb. Hope you get some better help.

9kg is well within normal limits so I can't see why you should worry. Remember bf babies are more likely to be at the lower end of the scale. I never took my ds to be weighed (2nd child, fed up with the way I was harrassed over dd being under the average line) and have been happier for it!

Message withdrawn

I have no idea what weight dd(14mnths) is. Last time she was weighed was at her 8 mnth check and I cant remember what she weighed then cept that it was around the 25th centile (I think). If your ds is happy and doing well then I cant see a problem. Tbh Id stop going to get him weighed if it upsetting you and your doc is coming out with such crap advice. Move him onto cows milk/formula when you are ready to and not cos the doc says so.

Thanks for all of your comments. To be honest i almost feel like i'm looking for trouble when i go to these doc' appointments. From past experience i always find myself feeling really annoyed afterwards .Dh also said that we should look at ds overall development and behaviour, instead of concentrating on what the doc says when he sees ds for all of 5 min'.
I was planning on introducing cows milk when ds is 12months, although at the same time i'm quite happy to continue bf. We'll see what happens over the next month or so.

Would stick with your plans then funnyonion. Out of interest why did you have to go to see the doctor? Was it a developmental check or was he poorly?

Don't give formula, how can it be better? Some GPs are just anti-bf!

Bozza, it was a developmental check-up, although ds weight was about the only thing the doc checked...
Chipmonkey, i have to say i was thinking the same as you i was sure i detected a change in the doc's voice when i said i was still bf...oohh don't get me started on that.....

Its just that DD had developmental check with health visitor at 7/8 months and is not scheduled to see doctor until (I think) 12/13 months. Still your last post has answered your own question really.

Hi Funnyonion
I agree with the majority here. My DS1 is three and he is quite small for his age. But that IS just him, He was breast fed, then mixed fed. I think it's fantastic that you are still breast feeding, and as far as i am aware, (sorry if i am wrong) at 11months old most of his nutrients and calories come from his meals now. As far as i see it you have succeeded to breast feed your child, anything you do from here is a bonus, why would you switch at such a late stage? I really can't see what difference it would make. You know your child, and i say well done!

Thanks PocketTasha.

funnyonion - may I refer you to an excellent BF website which is based on scientific research ? www.kellymom.com (sorry, if you know it already).

Does your (moron) GP realise that breastfed babies do not all follow the NHS charts given to mums in the "red book" ? That is because the NHS charts are not based on exclusively breastfed babies who tend to weigh less than formula-fed ones. I think it's outrageous to tell you to give him formula at 11 months when he has done fantastically well for such a long time on BF.

May I ask what he weighed at birth ? BF babies should double their birth weight be 5 - 6 months old. By 1 year old they should be 2 + 1/2 times birth weight. If he is within that range, I would NOT give him formula.

My DS is now nearly 9 months. At around 5.5 months he dropped down from the 25th centile on the NHS chart. If I look at his weight now (7.8 kilos) he has fallen way down the NHS chart. So I looked at the World Health Organisation (WHO) chart on the website mentioned above which is a chart for breastfed babies. Guess what, my DS is and has been on or around the 25th centile on the WHO chart since birth, i.e he is spot on as far as I am concerned.

So print off the WHO chart, give it to your GP and tell him to put that in his pipe and smoke it !

I told my HV that I refused to go by the NHS chart as it's based on a mixture of formula-fed and BF babies, i.e it's not suitable for babies who are exclusively BF for the first 6 months like my DS. She said, "no way", despite the fact that I showed her the WHO chart which looks completely different to the one in the red book I could have punched the woman in the face ! These people are just in total and utter BF facts denial !!

My ds was this weight at 11 months and the HV said "If he's not 12kg" at his 2 year check they would do something, but I can't remember what.

I weighed him the week before his 2 year check and he was 12kg, so I went, otherwise I wouldn't have bothered. Still bfed so she was talking completely out of her bum.

Remember the charts are currently being rewritten by WHO because an obesity task force reckon they expect too much weight too soon.

It's none of your doctor's business how you feed your baby BTW. If he was massively worried (which at 9kg he shouldn't be) he should be finding a reason for the "poor weight gain" (not that is is) and not just recommending formula.

I didn't bother telling HV or paed that Bob was still breastfed at his 2 year check, so they probably think he put on weight because I stopped bfing him.

KoolKool, Thanks for refering me to the bf website,i'd not heard of it before and it definatly has some interesting facts.
My DS was 3.500kg at birth.

funnyonion - your DS was 3.5 kilos at birth. If you multiply that by 2.5, then according to BF experts (referred to in the same website) by 12 months he should be at least 8.75 kilos.

You said your DS is 9 kilos at 11 months ? Well then, he has already exceeded his expected weight

I am not a doctor and knew absolutely zero about BF before my DS was born. Were it not for the website I have referred you to and other info. which I have found in books or on the web, I may have been tempted to fatten up my DS with formula, thankfully I have never even got to that point !

The advantages of BF far outweigh any benefit which may be gained from a short-term weight gain. I wish more GP's, HV's and midwives would use this simple logic before saying "give him formula".

I intend to BF my DS until HE decides it's time to give up and as long as he looks healthy, is active and happy (which he is - a bit too active in fact !!) and within the acceptable range of weight and height for a BF baby, than I am a happy and proud BF mum !

I hope that all goes well for you and you DS.

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! Don't give him formula. DS weighed the same when he was the same age as your DS (he's about two months older and I am having him weighed next week before his first birthday because I'm nosey but don't bother usually).

Sounds like your GP is one of those who doesn't believe it's good unless it comes in a bottle

Ds2 is only just 9kg (got the new car seat last week, lol) and he is 10.5 months - he's heavier than ds1 was at his age too!!! Ds2 isn't that light - 25 percentile or something (I forget now) - your ds sounds a perfect chappie to me, funnyonion