So Jeremy got weighed. And hes not in danger or anything, but his weight dropped from 50th percentile to 5th percentile - which means that hes a little on the small side for the percentile he should have been in.

So I am trying to spend the next few weeks getting him to eat more high calorie foods. And am trying feeding him six times a day as per the reccomendation by the health nurse.

So I went shopping today and got him:
-boneless skinless chicken breasts
-whole milk cheese
-drinkable yogurts
-regular yoghurt
-baby cereal (combined with fruit)(he probably wont eat it but im going to try)
-oranges(gonna cut them up)
-kiwis
-whole grain bread
-real fruit jam
-regular ground beef
-bananas
-gravy for all the meat( I was told this can help add calories)
-nutella(hazelnut chocolate spread - high in calories and also good for you and he loves chocolate so it might help him eat more)
-potatoes(white)
-carrots

And thats about what I could see at the grocery store that looked healthy and tasty for him, as he is picky.

Can you guys think of anything else thats calorie-dense and also healthy and tasty?

[Rhapsody]

First let me ask..... is he growing and healthy other wise? - and do you think that he eats a balanced days meal by the time he goes to bed each night?

If you answered YES - then I would suggest that you continue on with how he has been eating and just gradually add a few extra items here and there, but I would not stress to much over this or loose any sleep as some kids are just born to be thin no matter what a doctor says.

Ex: - I was a very petite child and a very petite lady when I married... weighing only 105 pounds on my wedding day and believe me I ate well, I never missed a meal or turned down a snack.

[nightbird]

Is he getting enough water and have healthy bm's...
It's that we are able to absorb the nutrients that matter.

It's important that baby j is regular, and that if needed, he drink more water... if he could use it.

Anyway, just an extra thought I had as I am going thru something similar right now, but I'm no Baby, see... lol

xoxo

First let me ask..... is he growing and healthy other wise? - and do you think that he eats a balanced days meal by the time he goes to bed each night?

Some days yes, some days it seems like he exists on nothing at all...But to be frank, most of the time - no, i don't think he does.

his father and I are of average stature - but I am fat lol. And his dad was really chunky when he was a kid too, and his dads other little boy is a chunky monkey..So i definetly think its got something to do with the fact that he is not eating what he should be. As well, he is extremely active and even walking now, and i think hes just not getting the calories he needs to keep his weight up. He hasn't lost anything, but he has gained like 2oz since two months ago. Thats what is so concerning. Im not sure if he has gained in height or not as the doctor didn't measure him - but I can still fit him into clothes for 9-12 months.

The doctor basically said its not a reason to be overly worried yet, just that i should try to beef up his calories and offer more food more often.

The thing is I had a hard time with him introducing solids, i basically had to wait for almost everything until he was 8 and a half months old - he just was not ready, he would gag and choke on everything. So we were delayed in starting solids, which means we are not quite up to the amount and frequency we should be had we been doing it longer.

Is he getting enough water and have healthy bm's...
It's that we are able to absorb the nutrients that matter.

Absolutely. He has three 6oz sippy cups of formula per day, plus usally about 4oz of juice(he refuses water so i use watered down fruit juice) and now he is drinking about 3-4 of those drinkable yoghurt - they are only small though, a couple of ounces, at most 3 oz i would say, but it helps! His BMs are FINALLY where they should be - he was constipated for so long because of having to make the switch from BFing to formula because of my medication He is actually pooping 2-3 times a day now on average They are loose - not like diahrhea but usually somewhere from pasty to slightly more formed. Which is fabulous because we had to give him glycerin suppositories for months, it was even then still painful for him. A couple of times we even had to go to the doctor and have him break up the poop as he was slightly impacted, poor baby. But hes good on that front now.

I am really pleased with the results so far actually

Today alone he has had:
-two slices of whole grain bread with nutella spread
-half an orange
-1 motts fruitsations blueberry fruit snack cup
-several peices of grated cheese
- and hes about to have another one of those drinkable yoghurts

So so far offering more often seems to be working

[MINIME]

I had this issue with both my neices i adopted. The oldest one was a poor eater we did pedisure does he still gag if so find an ot they can help with that. I hate typing on my phone i could give u my phone numb in a pm i have alot of experience

[Rhapsody]

Yeah I would say that it does sound as though he may need a little beefing up..... Peanut Butter has never failed - Does he like that? or eggs once or twice a week.

[purplebutterfly]

try instant breakfast drinks or pedia sure thats what i used on my son to get him to gain weight

[shezbut]

I'm sorry to butt in here, but, how old is Jeremy? Both of my girls were very petite. Different ages eat different foods, which why I asked Jeremy's age. Is he a toddler?

Oatmeal is great for the digestive system, add a little brown sugar and a dash of cinnamon - most kids love it! As mine got older, I began adding raisins as well, which goes over well. Way better than instant, and only takes 8 minutes Whole wheat toast, and white milk make it a very filling meal. Also healthy

Get your son to begin eating greens, while he's still open-minded. Cook his broccoli a little longer than yours, to lose most of the crunch. Do the same for his carrots. The yogurt, peanut better crackers, whole milk, and whole grain bread are great choices !

I believe in staying away from the juice and soda as long as I can though. I tell my girls that they can't drink soda until they're 40. They're okay with that for now , LOL!

Shez

Originally Posted by MINIME

I had this issue with both my neices i adopted. The oldest one was a poor eater we did pedisure does he still gag if so find an ot they can help with that. I hate typing on my phone i could give u my phone numb in a pm i have alot of experience

Hi minime - no, hes good on the gagging front now thankfully. But its only been within the last month that hes really gotten past that.

I just may pm you, thank you for the offer!

Originally Posted by Rhapsody

Yeah I would say that it does sound as though he may need a little beefing up..... Peanut Butter has never failed - Does he like that? or eggs once or twice a week.

I just got the gall to give him peanut butter for the first time the other day.. I was TERRIFIED of an allergic reaction, even though no relatives have ever had that.. I literally kept the phone in my hand for an hour just in case anything happened and he reacted LOL.

He was FINE, and he loved it! So peanut butter is now on the list of good things to eat

We do eggs, several times a week now, usually scrambled. I may try boiled now that hes doing better with more solid things.

Thanks for the advice!

Originally Posted by purplebutterfly

try instant breakfast drinks or pedia sure thats what i used on my son to get him to gain weight

Actually, this is one thing we are thinking of trying. This, or something called Enfagrow, which is literally formula for toddlers. It has more calories and more iron and calcium than regular milk, about twice as much. So that is something we are considering.

Originally Posted by shezbut

I'm sorry to butt in here, but, how old is Jeremy? Both of my girls were very petite. Different ages eat different foods, which why I asked Jeremy's age. Is he a toddler?

Jeremy is now 13 months today So he is newly a toddler. Just started walking about a month ago.

Oatmeal is great for the digestive system, add a little brown sugar and a dash of cinnamon - most kids love it! As mine got older, I began adding raisins as well, which goes over well. Way better than instant, and only takes 8 minutes Whole wheat toast, and white milk make it a very filling meal. Also healthy

I am thinking of trying the oatmeal actually, that was a thought I had the other day. He won't eat baby cereal anymore, so this may be the next step to take. Although I think I would hold off on the raisins just yet, that is a good idea too. He does do whole wheat toast, and he won't drink white milk, but he is still on formula and we may be doing pediasure or enfagrow, depending on what the doctor says.

Get your son to begin eating greens, while he's still open-minded. Cook his broccoli a little longer than yours, to lose most of the crunch. Do the same for his carrots. The yogurt, peanut better crackers, whole milk, and whole grain bread are great choices !

And here we have the major struggle. He doesn't like his veggies! Though, I have not tried broccoli - that is a really good idea! He used to do mashed carrots and he does like mashed white or sweet potatoes, so I have been doing that. He loves his yoghurt, and also whole grain bread or whole wheat bread. The crackers I am unsure of - the hardness of them frightens me, do you think he would choke? Peanut butter we just introduced.

I believe in staying away from the juice and soda as long as I can though. I tell my girls that they can't drink soda until they're 40. They're okay with that for now , LOL!

Ha ha, thats funny! He really does not get much juice or soda. He gets a few sips of soda for a treat from moms glass, only when we are out at a restaurant, usally 2x a month or less. As for the juice, I give him v8 vegetable or fruit fusion, that way its at least giving him a source of F&V's. For the most part his water comes from formula or those drinkable yogurt. And, he JUST started being okay with water yesterday. He will now take a sippy of water, but it has to be ICE cold..literally, with ice cubes LOL. Hes a man that knows what he wants I guess.

Shez

Thanks for the advice!

[shezbut]

Originally Posted by Rainbowzz

Thanks for the advice!

Hi Rainbowzz,

13 months is too young for peanut butter crackers. I wasn't sure if he was 2 years old or what? That's why I made the suggestions I did . See what happens when you butt in? LOL . I'd certainly stay away from raisins for another year or so, to prevent choking, just to be safe.

If you can afford PediaSure or the other you mentioned, go for it, they're very healthy, just make sure that he gets plenty of fiber to absorb the dairy. Oh- one other tip: you may want to buy a jar of wheat germ. You put a spoonful into maybe his yogurt or anything and it helps to keep him regular and prevent constipation.

Best wishes to your family
Shez

[CJR520]

My son's children are small and healthy. Their doctor says the same thing. Using that damned scale! Our family is all small framed, and no one is overweight. We all eat good food, and that is just how we are all built. He will be fine as long as he is eating good food. Some are thin, some are medium, and some are heavy. If you worry too much about his eating, you may start a battle with him later on. He will be fine. You sound very caring.

Well everyone I did some research. Look what I found:

Nutritionally complete, balanced formulas especially designed for oral feeding of children 1-10 years of age. May be used as the sole source of nutrition or as a supplement. PediaSure meets or exceeds 100% of the NAS/NRC RDAs for children 1-6 years of age in 1000 mL (approx. 34 fl oz) and for children 7-10 years of age in 1300 mL (approx. 44 fl oz). PediaSure is ideal for children whose nutrient needs are increased or who may be undernourished due to illness or poor appetite. PediaSure is formulated to support catch-up growth in children with failure to thrive and is well tolerated. "Kid Approved" vanilla, chocolate, strawberry, banana cream, and orange cream flavors encourage compliance (retail and institutional PediaSure). Vanilla is also available with fiber.

i am DEFINETLY going to be swapping out his formula to Pediasure. Not as a single amount of calories, but as a supplement to what he is eating now!

I checked and his formula has only 100 cal per 5oz, whereas this has 237 per 8.. thats a signifigant difference and would help until his eating is more established.

[Rhapsody]

Good for You.... I have heard good things about Pediasure.

Everyone, I have GREAT news. We had a doctors appointment today with jeremys doctor.

He has gained HALF A POUND in the last week!!!! He is gaining again!!! and we hadn't even fully done the pediasure yet - the doctor said he is up to 10th percentile for weight - thats a full five points higher than he was before when weighed last week( and it could actually be more of a gain, as last week he had his coat and sneakers on this week he did not.)

We talked about his eating, and it is infact getting better - he has eaten way more this week. Still not perfect but making progress. The doctor said he can come off of the formula - as it has actually a few less calories than whole milk does. So he is officially on the whole milk now! and, im actually really pleased because he is drinking WAY more whole milk than he was formula - he seems to like it better. He is drinking about 8oz when he was only getting between 4-6 oz of formula. The doc said there is no real need to do pediasure - unless i want to for worry's sake, he said whole milk is just fine. He also said that if I am ok with it, I can also give him a 5oz glass of chocolate milk each day, as it has about 100 calories more, and he likes it so it will provide some good stuff too. The doc said do not worry if he doesn't seem to want to eat some days - just measure it over a period of one week. He said if he has a bout of a few days where he won't eat, I could do the pediasure but it is probably fine. The important thing I guess is to keep offering him foods that are healthy and varied, and also offer them different ways(pureed one day, peices the next, chunks the next, slices the next ect)

And, amazingly, if you read my other thread about him not talking - he said SOMETHING today, i didn't quite make it out, but we think it might have been a word! it was at playgroup. And also amazingly, he WAVED for the first time today, high fived for the first time today, and played with other kids simultaneously today! It was REALLY cute. He would toddle-walk over and play with blocks and different toys, look back at me, grin and run over toddling along and hug me, then turn and toddle back into the group.

And then, my normally introverted baby was running around the doctors office waiting room trying to get up in peoples laps LOL. Normally he sticks right to me when we are out, and just sort of looks around shyly - not today! he tried to show a magazine to one guy, went over to another and did the "up" motion several times. He also, i think, pretended to read me a magazine(he would turn the pages and babble) He also had "snacks" while we were at playgroup for the first time Cheese, crackers, thin slices of apple and a whole fig newton. I was impressed!

Also, the doctor said that YES things like ma-ma-ma-ma-ma and na-na-na-na-na-na DO infact qualify as first words! so by that standard, he has two words, which is very reassuring. the doctor said that it is quite normal for boys to start this way, whereas girls tend to say one solid word to start.

The doctor and I made a plan to check his weight once a week for the next month, and providing that his weight is continuing to gain, we will then check once a month for three months, and then every 3 months from then on just to make sure. By that time, his eating will have vastly improved and I should be able to stop worrying so much!

I am gosh darn HAPPY this turned around when it did! It was just getting to the point where I and the doctors and his family were STARTING to get concerned - but he has officially started gaining again!

And, this is about me but - I LOST 11 POUNDS!!! Hooray!

What an awesome day.