Good morning ladies! I need some opinions. So I just got back from my baby’s 9 months checkup, and she weighed 16lbs 12.6oz. According to her records she’s lost weight but on her last 2 visits they weighed her with her clothes on and today they weighed her naked. The Dr told me she’s worried that my baby isn’t gaining weight because I’m nursing her and giving her formula but she will only drink 4oz of formula twice a day and the rest of the day she’ll nurse on demand. I feed her solids twice a day too. Now the Dr is telling me I need to cut out breastfeeding completely to get baby used to formula only so she’ll gain weight. She wants me to give her 6oz bottle every 3 hrs and solids for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Also even said when she turns 1 I need to stop nursing completely regardless. I think it’s totally not okay that’s she’s telling me I need to stop nursing, I’ve never had anybody tell me that before and I love it too. I don’t want to stop. Am I wrong? I’m moving to NJ in 3 weeks anyway so I’ll be having a new pedi soon but should I do what this Dr said? Or should I get a second opinion??
@nalexxandra, I’m a very big proponent of breastfeeding. And I usually encourage women to keep on breastfeeding (and I think you should, just after the formula). In this case, she is not gaining any weight in 3 months and is actually losing weight, that’s highly concerning. My son gained 3.5 lbs between his 6m and 9m appt. I agree with your doctor’s concern and advice.
@ek_, i agree that she needs to eat more too but the problem is she won’t take the formula at all and I don’t know why. I can’t force feed her. She’ll eat any solids I give her but I know at her age she need to have formula or breast milk primarily but she just won’t drink it.
If she lost weight since her last appt that is very concerning. I wouldn’t give up on it completely, but I’d certainly make formula her main source of nutrition and follow the doctor’s advice. Feed her the bottle first then put her on the boob. It seems as if your breast milk isn’t meeting her nutritional needs.
Sounds like you aren’t producing enough for her to gain. So the ped is concerned that she’s not getting enough to eat. That’s just my thought process since that’s what happened with my second two. Would nurse all day but weren’t gaining. As soon as I started supplementing, they gained.
I wouldn’t just quit breastfeeding because she told you to. I would definitely get a second opinion on all of it. I don’t trust your doctors judgement just based on the fact she told you to stop nursing completely after 1... obviously after 1, a child should be eating solids and such, but there is absolutely nothing wrong with extended nursing. In fact, if anything, there are added benefits. I have plenty of friends who continued nursing until their child was 2+. My daughters old pediatrician told me when she was 4 months that I needed to stop exclusively breastfeeding and it was best for my daughter to introduce a bottle. Never went back to the nut-job.
Also to add, the average weight for a 9 month old is 18 pounds. Your daughter is almost 17 pounds. Not a big difference. There are a lot of factors that play into growth and weight. 9 months I’d say she is prob more mobile than previous visits and she is burning more calories, not uncommon to remain the same weight when you’re active.
I think you need a new pedi. Foods before one are just for fun, all of her nutrition comes from your breast milk and formula if you use formula. She doesn’t need 3 meals a day plus 6 oz of formula every 3 hours. That’s a lot. As long as she hasn’t fallen off of her growth curve she is fine. At 9 months old she weighs a good amount.
I try giving her formula but lately she doesn’t want the bottle. But my concern is maybe they weighed her wrong too because the past times they weighed her with her whole outfit on and today they weighed her naked, maybe that’s why her weight’s off? Because she feels heavier to me but maybe I’m wrong. Idk I really just don’t want to stop nursing but I also want what is best for her 🥺
I personally enjoy breastfeeding my babies too so I understand not wanting to immediately give up. I’d look into ways to make your milk fattier and richer to help her gain weight and give that a try before throwing in the towel completely