Cruz Hates to Eat!!!-OT

[rdh1981]

Hi Everyone,

I know this is not about pregnancy but I can always count on my gals over here, so here we go!!!!

My son Cruz is already small to begin with. He is only about 17 pounds which puts him in the 20-25%. By the way he is 8 months old. His pediatrician suggested giving him 3 stage 2 jars a day in addition to about 24-28 oz of formula/breastmilk. Well because of this I stopped pumping to try to see if it was my breastmilk and he did start putting on weight after that appt about 4wks ago.

Here is the problem he HATES to eat! He takes about an hour to get him to eat a 6 oz bottle and two sitting to finish a jar. I feel like all I am doing his fighting with him to eat!!!! It is driving me nuts and I feel like a horrible mother!

Overall he is an extremely happy baby with full of energy, but man oh man this eating situation is driving me nuts!

I am tired of the fighting and I tired of all the "Oh he is tiny comments"!!!!! Aaaarrrrgggghhh! Thanks for listening!

Any suggestion are very welcomed and very appreciated!

[martikadragoon]

TJ has a feeding tube and we also feed him by mouth. he doesn't use bottles or paci's but will try to use a sippy. we're still working on that one.
he WILL eat 2 tubs of baby food as long as it's a fruit of some kind. he won't touch veggies or meat baby food. We give him tiny bites of meats and stuff like that.

[rdh1981]

Thanks ladies! Well knock on wood but these last two days his appetite has gotten much better! So hopefully it was just a phase, I sure hope he was not sick!

[martikadragoon]

I wanted to pop in and say my son TJ is 20 months old and JUST over 16 lbs.  he's tiny. he was born 5lb5oz. his brother by comparison is almost 16 lbs at 4 months old. he's a little chunkybutt

[SoCalTricia]

Rachel, I agree with the others...if he is healthy and happy, who cares what his weight is? Weight charts are meaningless, IMO. Body composition and health are what matters. And fat babies are really cute, but there's a whole other set of issues. My son has always been a BIG boy. Almost nine pounds at birth (and a month early), he just turned ten and he's 5'3", weighs 140 and wears a size 9 shoe. He didn't crawl until he was almost a year old, didn't walk until he was 14 months old, and had issues with his knee joints when he was about 18 months - orthopedist said his joints hadn't caught up with the rest of his body yet. He had trouble with the mechanics of writing because his hands were so big that his dexterity was off - this was the school psychologists explaination. He's doing well now, but it has been a struggle. While is large motor skills were always great - he could ride a bike at three or four - his small motor skills were slow to develop. So...I said all that to say this: If Cruz is happy and healthy and meeting milestones appropriately, throw the growth chart out the window!

Tricia

[rdh1981]

Thanks everyone! Right about now I have tired everything all textures, signing, dancing you name it to get him to eat.

The only thing he takes without a fight is cold appelsauce and oatmeal. So that is what he has been eating at least once a day.

Someday's he eats very well and others it is insane. I am less concerned with plumping him up as I am with keeping him healthy (nutritional wise)  

I guess I just need to continue trial and error and hopefully things will settle down soon. You all gave me great advise and I really appreciate it!!!!!

By the way I too believe great things come in small packages! I love the positive spin from everyone!

[mum2beagain]

My oldest son was tiny until he was about 5 years old. He hated eating too; I fretted about it all the time! I felt like I spent my whole life force feeding him and counting calories. His ped put him on pediasure when he was 2 1/2 as he was borderline failure to thrive; he didn't really do any better on that, he just drank that instead of eating. When he was about 3 1/2 I just stopped worrying about it. Offered him 3 meals a day with a small snack twice a day. He ate what he wanted, I cleared the rest away. He was always one of the smallest in his class but now at 6 he has a great appetite and is average weight and just a little under average for height.
Cruz will do just fine, he may not gain weight rapidly, he may even stay the same for a while. (James barely gained 3 lbs in his whole second year) but as the other have said, as long as he is happy, meeting his milestones and not losing weight don't worry.

[AnnieBrooke]

I would try to be sure to give him some exercise, enough so he is hungry at mealtime and not so much that he burns off everything you feed him.  lol  

I wouldn't put rice cereal in the bottle, too many scare stories about babies inhaling it into the lungs and getting pneumonia.  

Don't try to pump food into him every two hours, just set up a schedule of breakfast, lunch, snack, dinner, and snack (or something like that -- use the same schedule you will want him to have when he is a toddler).  Some babies don't eat much at a given meal because they are still half full from the previous feeding.  Let him get hungry between feedings.

Good luck!

[spade22]

When Jazmine was 9 months old she weighed 16.5 Ibs and now at almost 22 months old she is only about 23-24 Ibs; she was in the 5th percentile for weight at one of her appointments.  The doctor never brought this up as a concern but I did ask her about it and was told it would only be something to even think about worrying about if she doesnt gain weight from visit-to-visit.  I try to fatten her up w/ chocolate ;-)   when hubby isnt paying attention but it doesnt work!  Anyway, kids come in all shapes and sizes and   have different metabolic rates just like adults.  I know it can be hard but its really nothing to worry about unless you notice Cruz isnt meeting a lot of milestones.

[Helen72]

Obviously, you are not alone.  Anna is a bad eater as well although I mentioned she is especially difficult when she is teething.  

Have you tried reading a book to Cruz while feeding solids?  That helped me a lot feeding Anna especially around 8-12 months.  I have a special "feeding" book that is covered in food.  Also, try to find a few solid foods that he may like.  For example, Anna loved papaya so I was adding that to everything.  

Anna was also difficult to bottle feed.  I mentioned that when she took the bottle she would typically drink a few ounces but forcing her to actually take the bottle was taking forever.  So I came up with  "paci trick".  First, I gave Anna her paci which she always took.  Then after a minute or so I would quickly remove the paci and stick the bottle in.  That worked about 80% of the time.  On top of that I was addining some rice cereal or oatmeal to her bottle for extra iron and because she never eats cereals.

Have you tried giving Cruz yogurt yet?  Yo baby yogurt has many varieties including yogurt with fruit and veggies (like peach & squash, apple & sweet potatoes, etc.).  That stuff is tasty, most kids love it and you can kill two birds with one stone.

I hope some of this helps...
I really feel for you.  Having a bad eater is frustrating.  I had to give Anna Pediasure today since she refused to eat lunch and dinner  :(  She is always in 50th percentile for weight though.  I don't think eating has anything to do with size, I bet it's just genetic.

[adgal]

I can't give any advice as I am too new to all this, but Cruz is so darn cute, I have no doubt he is nice and healthy.  And you know I think great things come in small packages!!  Love ya girlfriend!!

[blueeyedtabbycat]

I just left you two notes. Dont know why I didnt say it here, lol!
Pettykitty- Dalton is the same way!! He is 19 months old and weighs 21-22lbs now, he is tiny! But he is fast and into EVERYTHING!! I really cant take my eyes off him for a minute. At the monent he is sitting on my lap:~)

[pertykitty]

addison hasnt gained weight in forever!  finally my ped says "thats addy!".   what is the worst is when you have a smaller kid and people feel like they need to touch them.  like they are a little doll.  ugh! keep your hands off unless you want a stump!  

within an hour i have about lost my mind.  addison found a screw she managed to try to put in a light socket *(uh ya she can remove the safety covers) then took her diaper off and pee on the coffee table before i found her sitting on the tv console. when i tried to clean the pee up she took her toy broom to rub it all over. i am so ready for bedtime! Lol i always say she is tiny but mighty!!  you know it sounds like i dont watch her but she is so fast!!! she isnt normally such a mess but she is exhausted and wont nap or stay in bed.  

[rdh1981]

Thank you! I love your response, I am going to use that!

He was not gaining weight before we went to three solids. He had only gained .9 oz in one month. : (  At his 6 months checkup he was 15.9 and now at 8 months he is 17.6 so he is doing better!!! I do not feel the need for a chunky baby I just want him to be average!!!!

I am going to take your advise and just feed him when he his hungry. This scheduled feeding his ruining me!

You gals are great!

[pertykitty]

oh btw i just noticed you said your ped wants you to increase his diet.  why?  does he feel he isnt gaining or growing at each visit?  they dont always have the same rate of growth.  thats all, im done lol.

[pertykitty]

you know if anyone knows about a tiny kid its me lol .  addison was born at 5lbs2oz and at 2.5 yrs she weighs 23-24lbs.  she doesnt have great height either lol.  however she is an incredible eater!!

let people say what they want but i think if he isnt wanting to eat dont push him.  its just teaching bad habits that can catch up in a bad way later on.  so what if he is in the 20th %.   doesnt mean he is unhealthy, he is just not in the 80th! lol  

ignore charts, comments, feelings of needing a chunky baby.   if the dr says he is healthy then go by that.  you just need to follow your intuition and go from there.  

its crazy on both ends of the spectrum. my son (from my ex dh) has always been over the 90th %.   he is 11yrs and is 5ft4 and weighs in at 160.  he wears almost a size 10 mens shoe and from the size of his head he will continue to grow haha.  so i can totally relate to hearing "oh so small" and "oh so big".  i just smile and say "no perfect!".   people will usually shut up or back peddle on that.  your baby boy is just perfect!!!

[rdh1981]

Thanks Tabby! You made me feel a lot better!! To answer your question I do believe that the girls and boys chart is different not sure why, I mean seriously how can they be "different" when they are babies!

I too worry about the whole obesity issue and wonder why he must weigh a certain amount!!!!

I am glad to know that I am not alone and all that matters is that my little man is Happy!!!!

I guess I just get extra stress out when I visit the August forum and here all about the chunky babies over there!

You are a good friend Tabby, I am glad I found you!

[blueeyedtabbycat]

Funny that you brought this up becuase I have been thinking the same thing about all my kids. And I keep asking my self, maybe I shouldnt be trying to "fatten" them up.....I mean with obesity in children on the rise............ Oh well, im still going to try and stuff my kids with all the healthy calories I can in one day:~)

[blueeyedtabbycat]

I have to admit, he sounds alot like my oldest Tristan. He was ALWAYS a tiny guy. Even now he is in the 10th% for his weight at almost 9 years old.He was acually not on the scale for ayear or so:~( I am still always trying to shove food into him. The peds has told me over and over that you can force them to eat and gain and that if they are hungry they will let you know. Your not a bad mom Rachel, just concerned. I still struggel with this. I have only had one chunky money and I loved it, but he too is on the thin side now that he is older:~(
I feel like thats all I am doing with Taylor also, feeding, nap, feeding, do some dishes, feeding, laundry, feeding, feeding, feeding, bedtime, lol.
Btw, all my kids are slow eaters, it was the same when they were a baby as it is now, so your not alone.
Are the boys and girls weight charts diffrent??? Because Taylor has always weighed about the same as Cruz but is in the 50% for weight..........IDK

It could have alot to do with genes too as far as him being small, try not to worry, he looks like he is growing fine.
And he is soooooooooooo cute!!!