Im like opposite of you when James got out of the hospital he weighed 5 lbs and gained great every months it was like wow howd he get so big but now he just turned a year (9 months adj)and is 17 lbs and he just decided he didnt like formula its like pulling tooth and nail to get him to eat I wish it would end but a sippy cup is a good idea but james loses interest in the sippy real quick he will drink about an ounce and stop. Ive tried every bottle known to man kind lol and every formula! My doctor suggested a little mash potatoes in his bottle but I would ask your doctor because she is kind of young. But the mash potatoes did help him gain weight fast until he stopped eating the bottles! I dont know if its going to end but I sure do hope it does! I just keep saying 3 more months and were done with formula! YAY Good Luck

i send you love. my son is the opposite. being a preemie hasnt slowed him down at all. at 7 monthes adjusted hes 21 lbs and 29 inches. hes huge however you cut it. me however- i was a preemie for a different reason than my son. i was barely a 30 weeker 22 years ago. and i was always really small for my age. they held me back in kindegarted because they felt i was too small. (the other children used to carry me around and call me their dolly)

Thank you so much everyone! Hearing others' stories really helps. One thing I've learned from this site is that Olivia is very similiar to other babies and that is very reassuring. My mom told me today that her neighbor's baby who was born full term in June (so he's the same age as Olivia's adjusted age) weighing 6 lbs somethings and only weighs 13 lbs now (which how much Olivia weighs). Stories like that as well as the stories and posts from this site have really calmed my worries over the last week or so. I don't worry about nearly as much anymore.

Thanks for your support everyone! And keep the stories coming :)

Beth Hesseling

My girls were like this too...they were 12 lbs 8 oz and 12 lbs 4 oz at their 9 month appointment - and they weren't that small at birth, either - 3.11 and 3.1 . In our case, they were good eaters, although hindered by bad reflux, but even after that got under control they only grew about a pound a month no matter what we did.

In my case I think the weight worries were a little extreme becasue I was breastfeeding and so would blame myself for them not gaining faster. I still occasionally did counts of their wet and dirty diapers at like, 11 months old!

Enfacare lipil should have all the fat and everything she needs in it...I'll bet when Nancy was talking about adding fat to babyfood she was talking about say, stirring a little formula into the babyfood. I've heard of that. I know some pediatricians recommend adding stuff like butter and cream to babyfood for older babies, although ours never suggested it.

I'm over most of my weight worries now...they've been healthy and are on target developmentally, and they eat like a couple of truckers, so what else is there to do? The only time I get nervous now is when they are sick. They seem to lose very quickly over minor illnesses.

It sounds like Olivia is doing great and is just going to be long and slender. (which is not always a bad thing once you reach a certain age :)!)





Alex, mama to:
Parker - born 4/15/2001
Vivian & Lily - born 7/14/2003 at 32 weeks

I'm sorry to hear that you are struggling with feeding. It is a very common preemie issue althoogh the fact that she's on the chart is great. Many preemies have such growth issues they are under the chart. My ds in fact got as high as 25% for awhile as a baby buit leveld into the 5% (height and weight) by toddlerhood and that's where he seems to have settled. His doctor is not concerned as he is growing - just says that he's not going to be a big kid.

As for the age question - after awhile the adjsuted vs actual age does not matter as much. By pre-school age kids don't develop so week by week or month by month. Ds was 6 weeks early and for quite awhile it made a difference when looking at development vs his peers. Now he has friends that range in age form a few months older than him to a few months younger (or more) and the exact difference in age does not matter as much now.

SueAnn
dh Kwame
ds Ezekiel 1/2/02 (34wks due to pre-e)
dd Naomi 6/25/04 (38 1/2 wks PIH)

ohh it won't stop at 18 just ask my mom LOL
Erin

Moderator - Parents of Preemies
Missouri State Coordinator
Mommy to Alex (4)and Mason (1 1/2)
Law Student - 1 year done, 2 to go

On one hand, hearing that someone else has had this same experience really helps and on the other, hearing that it really never ends is kind of depressing. Like I said, Olivia is doing great! She is in the 25th percentile for her height (she is really long, which makes her look even skinnier), in the 10th for her head circumference and in the 5th for her weight. The drs. say the same thing to me, "As long as she's not losing weight and is thriving, don't worry." But it's so hard not too. I've spent the last 9 months worrying about her and I'm positive it's not gonna end 'til she's like 18 :)

I have tried sippy cups. She likes to play with it more than anything.

Her formula is EnfaCare Lipil, which is intended for preemies. It is what she came home on. I have no idea if it has any extra fat. All I know is we make it so that it's 30 cal/oz.

When people refer to their child's age here, do most use adjusted or actual birthdate? I tend to always use adjusted b/c that's really where she is.

By the way, Bethanie has my name - I am also a Bethany Ann :)

Beth Hesseling

I am sorry this is so frustrating! I know you have become a feeding and supplimenting guru. Are you adding any fat or protein to the baby food? Baby food has less calories and fat than formula. Fat is baby's most important nutrient because their brains are developing. For us adding fat to baby food was a double edged sword because the child ate less. It is so frustrating when they have growing issues and I am sorry you are going through it. As tiny as my kids that struggled were they never earned 'failure to thrive'-thank goodness. But, to give you an idea-1 of my babies was bearly 11lbs at 6m and 1 child was only 15lbs at a yr (he was a mear 24.5 inches long). I wish you the best, Beth. Hang in there. I hope it gets better. Let us know how Olivia is doing, eh?

Nancy Eastwood
Moderator

To answer you question, "I was just curious to hear if other parents' of preemies had ever experienced the same thing and if so, does it ever end?" For us NO!!! My daughter, Bethanie, was born 3 months early weighing 1 pound 12 ounces. In the NICU, once she started taking the bottle she did very well with it, however she only took what she was required to and gained weight slowly. She came home 2 days before her due date at only 4 pounds. It took her another 2 months to gain another pound. After that she would only gain 1 pound a month. At a year old she weighed a whopping 13 pounds! I constantly worried about it (but did'nt stress myself out over it) even though the doctors said as long as she doesn't stop growing and she is reaching her milestones around her adjusted age then she would be fine. She now is a very smart, very healthy, happy, energetic 4 year old that only weighs 31 pounds and is 40 inches tall. Getting her to eat is still sometimes a battle. Here lately she sometimes acts hungery all day but others a couple bites at each meal is plenty. It can be a real challenge to find clothes for her because anyting that actually fits her around the waist is WAY to short for her so I do alot of "taking in" on her pants.

I don't have any advise, we tried everything and nothing worked either, but do know that you are not alone, we have a very petite little girl as well.

Mom to Bethanie Ann born 9/3/00 at 27 weeks due to PE and HELLP syndrome.
Expecting #2 due Feb 25, 2005. Praying really hard for a healthy, long pregnancy!

Okay..quick quesation...DId your doc say anything about trying a sippy cup? I don't know if maybe she is too young, but my son started a sippy at about 6 months and did pretty well...I don't know if that would work, but you never know..Goodluck!!!

Mada Harpster-moderator for pregnant again

Sam 6-29-00 36weeks P.E.
Ben 11-03-01 No P.E.