High Calorie Baby Formula, help please?

[Macx]

Hi there.

Breastfeeding . .. I know. That is difficult for us and we're doing it with the help of a breastfeeding consultant and all that.

Children from my line tend to be born small and gain weight slow and spurty. On reaching childhood / transcending infant stage, we take off and GROW. Usually outpacing the height chart but struggling HARD to get into the 10th percentile of weight. I am 6'3" and 200-215 lbs ranging with no need to diet (I mean I can eat pure junk and never break 215, dropping down to 200 if I actually eat healthy rather than donuts, chips and cookies all the time vs. once or twice a day). My children seem to really struggle getting onto the growth chart for weight. My daughter is out of the woods, but we are struggling with my son. We are doing about 40% breastmilk and 60% formula and we are always trying to get him to eat. He eats well enough (my wife has OCD of the listmaker variety. . . literally & writes down every portion of every meal our children take in, it is more than enough according to the age/weight charts) but his weight gain is slow.

I have heard that there is a higher calorie formula for babies with low birth weight / premies and such. I am not seeing it on the shelves at the store. How do I get it, what am I looking for, and has anybody else been through this/ what did you do to get your skinny infant fat?

I feel like I'd be the happiest father in the world if I could get my son on the 25th percentile for weight. He has a good suck & we've started to use an SNS to try and get him more breastmilk than just the pumping. My wife is pumping all the time, her production just isn't huge (we are older parents I don't know if that matters) and it isn't for lack of trying. What can I do to get more calories per volume into my son?

 

[jgonz]

Just for the record~ Age has nothing to do with the quality of breastmilk. The chances that your wife's breastmilk is not good enough is statistically Very Very low. Doctors often blame the mother's milk when they don't know what's going on or they feel like they need to blame something for a baby's slow growth.

The SNS is a great little device~ and I'm Really glad that you're working with a Lactation Consultant. But you know.... Sometimes babies are just smaller than the growth curve and still healthy. Doctors tend to put WAY too much emphasis on those dumb growth charts (which are based on Formula fed babies, Not breastfed babies). Sometimes it's genetics and it's normal for some babies to be smaller~ someone's baby has to be on the low side of the growth charts or there would be no average.... However, if the baby's health is at risk, or missing developmental milestones, then there Is something to worry about.

Here is the breastfed baby weight gain chart at Kellymom.com: kellymom.com :: Average Weight Gain for Breastfed Babies This way you'll at least get an idea of what's "normal" growth for a breastfed baby.

My DD (now 7 yrs old) was still in 0-3 mos size clothes at 6 months old... that's how small she was. All my breastfed babies stayed small for a long time, but she was really Too small, and she was starting to miss developmental milestones. One thing that helped me get my DD to gain weight when she was an infant was for me to take Virgin Coconut Oil. The good fats in VCO are passed through breastmilk and will help the baby's weight gain. You can cook with it, use it instead of butter, or just take it by spoon (like I did). Here is more info on VCO: Coconutoil.com - Research on Coconut Oil's Benefits and I get mine from: Welcome to Tropical Traditions

I started taking the VCO at the recommendation of a naturopathic doctor (I was deficient in good fats~ I had had lots of babies and nursed all but my first 2 without knowing enough about my own health). Within 2 months after starting the VCO my baby girl had gained 3 Pounds! and started hitting her milestones. I saw a huge increase in her mental development. In the next 2 months she gained 2 more pounds, and was on the growth curve again. I saw huge differences in her and knew she was finally doing really well.

If your baby doesn't _need_ the good fats then it won't force your baby to get fat or anything... it's just incredibly healthy stuff. A naturopath once told me that he felt every single pregnant and nursing mother should be taking/using VCO for not only their own health, but the health of their baby. I thought that was very interesting...

We just don't get these good fats in our diets. VCO has medium chain fatty acids, while cod liver oil (and other fish oils) have the omega 3's and 6's. Taking Both would cover everything (and that's what I've done for several years now).

My youngest baby (now 21 months old) couldn't nurse because he was tongue-tied, and then still couldn't nurse properly after we had it clipped, so I pumped for him for a year. I wasn't able to pump enough milk for him, so I supplemented with formula. I used Baby's Only Organic formula because I wasn't comfortable with the typical commercial formulas. I remember hearing about a high calorie formula for premies, but don't remember the name of it, so I'm no help there... However, breastmilk typically has Far more calories and fats than formula does though (unless the mother's diet isn't up to par like mine wasn't with my now 7 yr old), so my semi-professional recommendation (as a La Leche League leader) is to pump and supplement with breastmilk instead of formula. Only your LC would be in a position to know exactly what you all need to do/use though.

I hope this helps!....

 

[b.hopeful]

Jan has great advice. I was going to mention that "the charts" are based on formula fed babies so if you are breastfeeding..don't sweat them. My first was formula fed and my next two were exclusively breastfed for @15 months...and didn't wean until 2yo. My bf kids were always at the bottom of the charts...but they are just smaller kids in general. They have smaller frames. I'm not even 5 ft and I didn't break 100 lbs until I was in high school...my mom weighed 75lbs when she got married...we are small people. I'm fortunate to have a great pediatrician and he never worried and it was never an issue.

 

[Macx]

The problem with the charts is . . . well, a long story. We don't have the luxury of not worrying about the charts.

I got the Virgin Coconut Oil & he seems to like it mixed in the milk & formula.

I also found a measurement for increasing the calorie count in the same formula we've been using. 3 scoops to 5oz rather than 2 scoops to four.

Thank you so much. Just feeling like I am doing something reduces my anxiety a LOT!

 

[Garry37]

Don't worry, my baby was born less than expected, but we supported him by right feeding. I really like the baby formulas that are presented on this site Japanese Diapers & European Formula: The Best for your Baby - The Best From Europe and Japan . This baby food is made from organic milk and contains a lot of vitamins. We fed our baby with this particular milk, and he grew up big and healthy.