Slow Weight Gain

Here I am again. I took m in for his 9 month appointment today.  At his last appointment the doctor mentioned that his weight gain was slowing but she wasn't too concerned.  She said we would address it at his 9 month appointment if we needed to. In my heart I knew he hasn't been growing. I mentioned it to my parents and they said it's hard to notice when you see the kids all day everyday.

I was right though.  They measured him first.  It took a couple of tries because he was fighting it a lot. The first try was actually shorter than he was 3 months ago.  She tried again and got  a better result.  Then they weighted him.  I remembered at his last appointment he was almost 16lbs.  Today he was 16lbs, 12oz.  In 3 months he hadn't even gained a pound.  :(

When the doctor came in she showed me that m is in the 2nd percentile for weight.  It felt like deja vu.  Madelynn was in the 1st percentile for a while when she was a baby. Then she showed me his height.  He hadn't even grown an inch. :(  That was something I wasn't used to because even when Madelynn was not gaining weight, she was at least still growing.

The only part of Mason that continues to grow well is his head circumference. The doctor explained that the fact that his length is poor is of more concern that if it were just his weight.  She said the body protects the head. The body will make sure the brain gets the nutrients at the expense of first the weight, then the height.

 He also had his iron checked and while it's within the normal range, it's just barely normal. She said while he's clearly not malnourished and he's meeting all his milestones, she still suggested supplementing with formula once a day. She said let him have as much as he wants (whether it's 4oz or 8oz, doesn't matter). We will have to return in 6 weeks for a weight check.

I have mixed feelings about it.  It's only 3 more months until he's a year.  I hate the idea of having to supplement now.  But, I certainly want him to be healthy. So, I tried to give him a little formula today. No luck.  He HATED it! I did manage to get an ounce into him at least.

So now for what to do.  The doctor said it's not too uncommon for this to happen at his age because sometimes breastmilk can start to lose nutrients after a long time of breastfeeding (she does want me to continue though). However, everything I have read says otherwise. What I've read is that breastmilk becomes more nutrient rich because babies begin to take less and less of it after solids are introduced.  Also, what I have read says that if a baby is not gaining weight well after solids are introduced you should back off the solids and offer more breastmilk.

My challenge is that m loves solids.  I feed him solids AFTER I nurse him and he still takes a lot of solids.  I don't know if that means my milk isn't actually nutrient rich or if he's not eating enough breastmilk and he's just waiting for the solids.

So now I've got to figure out what to do. Offer formula (if he will even take it) or less solids and more breastmilk? Guess I've got a lot to think about.