I recently took my baby to the ped for her 9-month checkup and she only gained about a lb from her 6-month appointment so it puts her at not yet 17 lbs. The first question the ped asked was "are you still nursing?" I like my ped in a lot of ways but this is one way I don't see totally eye to eye (like I learned not to say about the babies that I am nursing "on demand" and just say every couple of hours and leave it at that). I did start solids after 6 months but when she started teething, we fell off the bandwagon a bit and she never made it up to 3 meals a day. I dont have an issue with increasing her solid intake and giving more calorie-dense food at all but was really surprised when he said I should be cutting back on the nursing and making food and whole milk her main food. Nursing is not interfering with her appetite - she is happy to eat more on top of nursing if I offer it and I don't think I have issues with milk supply either since I feel myself "refilling" if I go more than 2-3 hours without nursing so I was shocked at his advice. She is also very, very active and doesn't nap for too long so I do think that's also part of her not gaining too much. I felt in a very bad mood from the doctor and while I do plan on working her up to 3 solid meals a day with healthy calories, I don't plan to cut back/cut out nursing. What do you all think?

i say add food, continue nursing, and don't tell the dr. (fyi - maybe you should move here, when i once had a dr's appt like that i was a grouch and told the (male) dr that i should just stop nursing and he read me the riot act and made me promise to never stop nursing cuz it's the best, etc and dh was there and agreed.)

This is why I don't do "well baby" check ups. I have no time for doctors who spend more time looking at a chart than they do the individual.

I had something similar with my first, as he slimmed down when he started crawling. His whole body shape changed almost over night (and stayed that way). The nurse gave me such a hassle because 6 months old = solids. She ignnored the part where he had an active tongue thrust reflex and wasn't ready or even interested.

Quite frankly, you've got a pediatrician whose information is out of date. If your baby is hitting milestones and active, the problem belongs to him, not to you or your baby.

your baby is growing, learning, active. she's just not gining much weight right now. many people here (and elsewhere) will tell you thats a normal pattern at this age. many babies eat almost no solids before they are 12m.
there is no reason to cut down on nursing unless it suits you or your baby. she might be small but as long as she is active and happy she is getting all the nutrients she needs from your milk.
if she is hungry, feed her. and if she is not gaining enough on a standard diet, look at giving her a high calory diet.
3 meals a day is the aim. but thats a long term aim, not something to worry about with a baby. mine eats when its convenient for me, at 7m there are occasional days of no solids, others of actual meals, others where she grazes.
so sorry you had a bad time at the doctor. might not be someone to go back to again? you should be supported, congratulated on having a happy, active child, and instead you are left feeling as though you are doing wrong. you aren't :)

I agree with what everyone else has already said. Breastmilk is a nutritionally complete food and solids are not. Continue breastfeeding her as much as you are comfortable with and feed her solids at meal times since by now she should be able to eat most of what you feed your family (mashed or cut up small).

Hello My dd is the same age and is 22 lbs. I was told that she was too fat. That she needs to eat more solids and cut down on the "boobie juice" as I call it.

I looked at the Dr and said okay. Went home and did not change a thing. She just started eating solids now. Until now when she saw the spoon she would clamp her mouth closed no matter what it was. I figured she was not ready. And I was right, no she is starting to enjoy fruits. My Ds her twin has always loved food, and hates the baby mush. He prefers to eat what mommy is eating. My point is that every baby is different. My ds weights less than my dd and at times it switches. Each child will go at there own rate that does not add up to what is on the chart, even when they are twins.

Lately ppl are asking me if I am still nursing? After all they have teeth. I am happy to say yes they love it so why should I stop. I even had someone say to me well you did it long enough like I needed permission. I am not sure why people push you to stop after your child is 6 months old. Nursing is not just about food we all know that.

My new saying is my boobies my business.

My kids look at me like I am the good humor truck why should I deprive them of that.

remember not everyone gets it but you do. Keep nursing and find a new Dr.

LTF

Actually, I always thought my boobies was the babies' business.

If they're Jewish, you can also tell them that the Torah says to nurse for 2 years, or hire someone, and being that you're not going to hire someone ... :shades

If she isn't eating much solids, she needs bm even more!
Keep following your mommy instincts on this.
I'm wondering if I'm going to have the same discussion with the ped?

:haha

Do we use the same one?

I've never had any issues with him over the years and think he is a good ped other than this. BTW, even with nursing around the clock, dd has been very happy to eat - we've been giving her eggs, yogurt, cheese on top of fruits and veggies. Genetically, she doesn't have much hope to be the tallest or fattest in her class either way!

pming you!

I just LOVE (not) how the same advice is given for every situation, no matter what!!!!

Baby is to fat according to dr......no problem, stop nursing and give more solids!

Baby is not gaining enough according to dr......no problem, stop nursing and give more solids!!

:haha

It seems to be that the only problem in their eyes is ...the nursing :headscratch

I also don't think it is a good idea to take babies for weigh ins/check ups too often if all is going well, unfortunately most of the dr.'s and nurses have outdated info, or info that was never really accurate, etc; and sometimes are so stuck to their charts they don't even really look at the whole child/whole picture etc; Sometimes one or both parents are small/short, petite etc;t and their baby might just be like them...... or the opposite, some parents are bigger and taller and they probably won't have short petite kids....kinda makes sense.
I have been learning this all over again with my baby who has ds. Many babies with down syndrome have difficulty gaining weight in the begining and then after a period of gaining nicely they suddenly stop ....and then by the time they are 2/3 years old they have a tendency to be overweight... soooo, instead of viewing this as their metabolism rate, growth rate/stages etc; parents are pressured into pushing the calories ( and not healthy ones conducive to healthy growth mind you) like drinks like ensure and one of the formula companies also make a calorie enhancer loaded with corn syrup etc; giving solids especialy the cereals /grains(which are so bad and hard to digest for our babes) really early etc; and then at age 2 all these moms are told their kid is overweight and they then need low fat everything.......... there are many forums in the ds community dedicated to keeping getting the weight off our kids etc; it is just so sad.

17 lbs at 9 mos is small??? I'm lucky if my kids hit that at a year! And they all started out in very average size ranges. My kids usually gain weight in their 2nd year. I don't think you have ANYTHING to worry about!

My baby was 18 lbs at a year, 6 months later, a specialist told me he was short for his weight. He was a very solid toddler, but not fat at all. Sometimes there is no pleasing doctors!

i forgot to say one of mine was 18 lbs at a year, and barely 30 at 4. aren't you glad i got a safeseat for her? baruch hashem she is too tall for it, but i'm getting my money's worth out of her forward facing one. she loves it for trips - she likes being so high up and it supports her well when she falls asleep in the car.

I have exactly the same problem. Both my kids were born small (6-6.5 lbs) then they gained tons, and stay at a steady 75th percentile till they're about 8 months old, when I introduce solids. Then they start falling lower on the chart. Not off the chart. They're still in the 15-25th percentile. Just not the robust 75 that the Tipat Chalav nurses like to see. And of course this is because I'm still nursing. :rolleyes Never mind the fact that my first is so orally sensitive he'd puke up anything mushy.

When I go these appointments and they get these worried looks and speak to me as if my child's life is hanging in a delicate balance, naturally, I feel like the world's worst mother, that I'm starving my child, etc. But then we go home and just keep doing what we've always done, and my kids are thriving, and they are growing and developing, and they are not emaciated, and they are not midgets. So who really gives a flying rat's tuchis how tall or heavy Tipat Chalav's chart thinks my child should be?

We had a real hassle with dd because until she was about 1 she refused solids and only wanted nursing. She was on top iron deficient and the ped also told me to cut down on nursing and force her to have solids. It didnt work, you cant force a person to eat and at some point I realised that the best is to offer her iron rich food and still nurse her so at least she gets nutrition because the ped's way she wouldnt have had any nutrition because she didnt eat. When she was ready she started eating (and continued nursing). When we went back to the nursing we skirted around the issue of whether or not I still nursed and when health professionals ask I have no problem lying if I know all I'll get is them saying I should stop nursing.
I agree my boobies my business, dd would disagree as she calls them her breasts (actually "my bweasts, they my bweasts!").

well, we had her 1-year checkup today and she is up to 19.5 lbs and is still nursing happily often throughout the day. I gave her healthy fattier foods like bananas, avocados, yogurt, cheeses. Neither he nor I said anything about nursing at this point. I'll wait til 2 y.o. checkup to freak him out lol ;)

Yay! Keep it up!

Great to hear!