7.5 month old not gaining weight -- should I stop BF?

[cosmicdancer89]

Hi all,

I'm s bit concerned about my DS lack of weight gain. He has just recovered from an episode of the tummy flu so it could be attributed to that, but it has slowed down since he turned 6 months anyway..

He likes solids but only sweet-ish purees like carrot, banana etc. I have tried meat and veg and he just doesn't seem to like it much. His BFing has been erratic recently and he only seems to take full feeds at night and in the early hours... The joy. He pulls and tugs at the breast a lot during the day, seems like he only takes 80-100ml (expressed and gave in bottle a few times.) I'm getting really worried now. GP says he's fine. Can someone advise before I spend crazy money on a private paediatrician ? Thank you!

Why don't you have a chat with your health visitor ? You don't need a private paediatrician.

Not teething as far as I can tell, otherwise acting fine. Likes porridge, banana, and toast and that's about it. Mostly worried about the milk though, as that's where the bulk of their calories come from.. Maybe my supply has dropped ??

My HV is sadly terrible :( they are impossible to get ahold of and missed his newborn jaundice when I was in too much of a haze to realise he was slightly yellow.. Have been useless unfortunately

Don't take what you expressed as what he is getting. Babies are way more effective at getting milk. Have you ever looked at the kellymom website? Loads of good info on there. Also could go to a local breastfeeding clinic or call La Leche League? I had loads of trouble getting DD to gain weight on breast milk to start but all those resources helped me!

My DS did not put weigh on between 5,5 months and 9 months. He was eating a bit (blw) and having between 6 and 8 feeds a day. He dropped percentiles but stayed within the acceptable range. I had to buy new clothes as he completely missed one season in my projected 6-9 months sized clothes. I tried to chill out but I was starting to get very worried. Everything else was normal, hitting milestones, being happy. Then suddenly, almost overnight, he had a growth spurt and caught up. Paediatrician said completely normal, bf babies plateau when they start to eat / crawl all at the same time. Your boobs don't fell the same though at that stage, less "full", regardless of supply, it's normal.

Try to keep going with bfing and try not to worry. Has he started moving more, rolling over? Crawling yet? My DD breastfed to one and she didn't gain weight at the expected rate, she always stopped gaining when she was having a bit of a developmental leap. So when she started sitting up, crawling, standing and now walking she hasn't put weight on. She has caught up in between though. If baby is happy and is feeding well that's all you want. Weight is a good indicator but can be misleading. It takes a while for them to put weight on from solids too, they have to get used to it. My HV told me a 6month old can drain a breast in minutes and they were right. Babies are feeding machines!!

Thanks for all of your replies. It's difficult not to worry, although he seems quite happy and developmentally is doing well. He's just learnt to crawl so maybe he's burning more calories hence why the weight gain has slowed? I just don't know how to get more calorie dense foods in him, and how to break the night feeding cycle and encourage proper breastfeeds in the day.
It's been a while since I read KellyMom but I'll give it another go.

I would think you only need to worry if he is losing weight. If he's just not gaining as much then I am sure he's getting just enough calories. You probably already do this but try to offer full fat yogurts, butter, cheese and milk on cereal, in mashed potato if he can have dairy. Also mine loved avocado, which is full of good fat. We didn't do many purees but she loved to gum all fruit and veg. Meat still isn't a major part of her diet, I guess it's still hard to chew at two years old if you don't have all your teeth! She definitely went through fussy periods of breastfeeding but then the next month it would completely different. It might be the crawling.

I agree with the PPs, but just wanted to add if he likes toast, have you tried topping it with peanut/almond/cashew butter? My 18mo eats more than me like a horse and although she has a massive belly and is 60th-odd percentile for height, she has spindly little limbs and is 25th for weight. I used to stress about it a lot, but developmentally she's fine and an energetic little gremlin. I don't think she could fit any more food in if she tried, so I've tried to maximise her calorie intake with nuts and avocados as well as full fat dairy. The nut butters she loves so much, she'll scrape it off the toast first before eating the rest. I think she'd eat it spooned straight from the tub if I let her... Might be worth a try to get a bit more in him? The cashew is the sweetest so might be worth trying first as he's got a sweet tooth. Or full fat cream cheese on toast (mmmm) [detects new pregnancy craving in the making]

Milk is still their main nutrition before 12mo. Too soon to give up BF imo.

Milk should be their main nutrition source til a year really, i would say off the boob more and boost your supply.

Breastmilk is more calorific than apple or fruit, so by giving fruit you are reducing calorie intake.

Have a look at baby led weaning by gill rapley, it looks at weaning from a different angle to traditional weaning.

Make sure theres nithing in your diet that might be causing baby to fuss, with ds1 i found eating cabbage, brussels, chilli or curry made him fuss and gave him a gripy tummy.

Stick with it mama, you got this!