Noah's 9-month appointment

Noah turned 9-months-old back on January 7th, but our appointment was yesterday. At Noah's 6- month appointment, I was told that Noah needed to gain more weight and I had to bring him in a little more frequently to check things out. So we monitored all his food/drink intakes and made a chart to give to the doctor. After a few weeks, things evened out and the doctor was satisfied.

So yesterday I was really thinking he'd gained a ton. He's been eating like a little pig but he's super active so who knows what he's actually storing. Well, he's a whole whopping 17lbs, 13 oz. That's the 5%-tile. So in came the doctor to ask how things are going and I'll told him I'm frustrated out of my mind that I'm constantly feeding him (last week he ate 5 jars of baby food in one feeding!!) but he's not gaining well! It's not like the boy is starving. He sleeps almost 12 hours a night plus takes 2 naps during the day. And he's a super happy boy (most of the time).

The doctor did his exam and said Noah's actually advanced for his age. He's in a state of constant motion. He's crawling like a speed-demon and he's even standing up and cruising around the furniture. That's better than a lot of babies his age. In fact, the doctor said many 9-month-olds aren't even crawling yet so Noah's ahead of the game. That made me feel a little better.

So basically, the doctor told me to start feeding him some higher calorie foods in the hopes that he'll bulk up. Tonight for dinner, I fed him mashed potatoes with heavy cream and butter. Yep, super fattening and high in calories. He liked it a little. He ate a few bites before wanting to play with it instead of eat it. He'd rather eat fruit. My goal for this week is to give him potatoes at every feeding and work on giving him more finger foods. I have to bring him back in 4 weeks for another weight check. The doctor said he's not worried about it. After seeing how much Noah was moving during the exam, he's just a calorie-burner. Why is that those who need to gain weight can't, but those to need to lose weight can only seem to gain??