moms of tiny babies

[karinothing]

I am not expert, but are they starting to crawl? I know that kids tend to gain less weight when they start moving around.

How are they on their other developmental milestones? And their length gain?

[mrshandy]

Do they have a separate curve for twins?

I'm sure you know that twins tend to be smaller. I am an identical twin and my Mom said that we were always tiny babies growing up and our weight gain was really slow.

Of course, the fact that my Mom smoked when she was pregnant with us probably didn't help either.

[partiallysunny]

LO was 19lbs 2oz at 1 year and he had dropped off the charts. The doctor attributed it to him starting to walk and burning more calories while being weaned. We have had to take him to extra appointments just for weigh-ins in the past. He has always been a small baby. He is proportional, so the doctors say aren't too worried.

Hopefully it's nothing, and you just have small children. But it never hurts to be safe.

[northernwolf]

DD was small when she was born and didn't regain her birth weight back as soon as typical, so we went for extra visits (weight checks). I would rather be safe than sorry...if there is an issue, the earlier the intervention the better.

[Deleted]

My LO was IUGR and born at 4lbs. He just had is 1 yr visit and is 17 lbs 3 oz. At 10 months he was 30oz per day of EBM.

When he was born we had to add Neosure to BM to bump up to 22 cal. At about 3 months his pedi said we could take him off. The can of formula said it was safe to use until 9 months. (Of course I know the formula company wants you to keep buying their stuff). But LO was still under the 10th percentile so I kept him on the forumal BM combo (every bottle) until 9 mothns. The pedi said it was not necessary but did not disagree with my choice.

Looking back I think that was the best thing I did for my son as now both his BM intake and weight gain has slowed significantly now he is eating more solids and has increased activity. I think my son would have been a lot smaller if I did not keep him on the higher cal forula.

So I say all that to say to you maybe you should think about the 22 cal formual for ALL the bottles instead of just some.

[ijack]

I think it's a bit odd that they are starting testing before they see if making an effort toward more calories work. Usually they do that first and if that doesn't work then you do testing.
How are they doing with solids? I would start adding extra fats to their food - coconut oil or evoo in their purées, Cheerios baked in butter, avocados mixed into everything, maybe even some duocal or formula powder in their yogurt. I might even consider adding more 24 cal bottles.
I think I have some ideas that would work for you on my blog www.chunkymonkeymenus.blogspot.com
I feel your pain. My 4yo weighs 29lbs and my Q was 15lbs at 9m and slowly falling off the charts. The thread about healthy fast food made me laugh because we don't do low cal here
I also think there may be a correlation between IUGR babies and weight gain. Let me see if I can find it.

[onomatopoeia]

DS was born small and has stayed small (18 pounds at 1 year, he's now 35 pounds at almost 6). It always stressed me out, but his pedi kept an eye on it and was never too concerned. He grew proportionally and was/is also a very light eater. I remember hearing advice from others to add oil and butter to his food, but my pedi felt it wasn't necessary to add fat just for the sake of adding fat. DS was physically healthy otherwise. We are just extra careful to make sure he gets his vitamins every day.

Are they growing taller? Do they react poorly to any foods, behaviorally or physically? I think a GI specialist is a great idea to rule out any issues, might as well get all the info you can. I wouldn't stress about it too much though. Good luck!

[ijack]

Chances are she's just small - it doesn't sound abnormal, it's hard with twins because there is always someone to compare them to.

[OscarQ]

Hi. My son was a preemie and has failure to thrive so I live the tiny baby thing. The referral to GI is good, get a referral to nutrition as well (can't hurt). The falling off the curve is the worrisome part - not that they are small. I'd cut all milk and stick to the formula if possible. I'd also ask to go up on the calories in the formula. We switched my son from 26 calorie formula to 30 calorie Pediasure at 12 months adjusted. He's still *just* hanging on to his curve with occasional dips off of it. Good luck!