Feeding help needed for 6 month DD

My DD will be 7 months on the 5th and only weighs 13lbs, 4oz.  She was 6lbs, 8oz at birth so she was of average size.  Her pediatrician is starting to show some concern as she has had gastroenteritis for the past week and a half and that has also aided in bringing her weight down to 13.4lbs.  The pediatrician is setting a one month goal to see a turn around in her weight.  She will not drink more than 4oz in a sitting and barely wants to finish half a jar of baby food.  What are some tips you can provide as I am desparate to get my baby to eat.  Please help!

[jd1419]

Maybe leave out some snacky food for her to eat--I know that gerber has those puffs and ther is also a walmart brand--they are healthy and may help her keep some food coming in. Also try and feed her more often that may help and change it up for her--at one sitting let her eat cherrios and feed her a fruit on the side...or maybe at breakfast just her cereal and then maybe an hour or two later af ruit and then an hour or two later her veggies.  And in between give her a bottle or a sippy cup of formula.

[mum2beagain]

I would just concentrate on getting her to have her formula; she should be having 24 - 30 oz of formula a day  if she only takes 4oz at a time she needs 6 or 7 bottles a day with just a taste of solids 2 or 3 times a day. My son is 8 months next week, he has milk on demand and before every meal, 6 teaspoons of cereal with milk at breakfast, 2 or 3 of tablespoons of food at lunch and the same at dinner, usually whatever we are having he is not too keen on jarred food, if he wants more I give him a small amount of yogurt, fruit or small bites of finger foods such as wholemeal bread, cherrio's and such afterwards, I usually just go by him, sometimes he doesn't even finish his 2 or 3 table spoons of food so we just leave it at that.

[AnnieBrooke]

At 7 months she may be too young for cheerios and other puffs and snacky food; she also won't get much food value from them as her digestion is not ready to get all there is to get from such foods.  I would concentrate on just the breast milk, or if you are no longer breast feeding, then formula.  Give it any time she will take it.  Give her the 4 ounces you mentioned, but just more often.   I think the amounts of 4 ounces in a sitting and half a jar of baby food are normal for one sitting.  Just try more sittings.  :)

[tmv]

I agree, the breastmilk or formula is the best the first year. You may need to switch nipples to one that runs faster. Some are marked in stages 1,2,3 etc. Others are with age. The higher the age, the faster the flow. Offer it to her more often, every 2 hours. Hope she's getting over the gastro soon!

[DollChina]

We are in the same boat.  My DS was born at 5lb 10oz and he is now almost 10 months and his weight is not even in the 5th percentile.  Although, he is growing and thriving but I still worry.  Try to give your baby formula or breat milk before any solid and give her high fat food likr avacado, add cheese and olive oil to her food.  My son won't eat jarred food so I make my own.  It's easier to control what goes into the baby's tummy.
Good luck.

[blessed_mommy]

Thank you.  Your comments have been very helpful.  I will definitely begin to feed her more often. She is taking a liking to more variety of baby foods and some foods that DH and I eat.  I'm optimistic her weight will pick up.