Dear all: Having not read the original post --- and being too tired tonight to read back through--- I'm just going to post general comments --- not specific to the case in question. In terms of calorie intake --- yes, usually a caloric intake that is too low will result in less activity. However, that does not mean that you don't look at a "slow gainer" which I prefer to use rather than "failure to thrive" baby to rule out potential problems. I've never liked the term "failure to thrive' as a description for a "slow gainer" because many are thriving but still may have health problems and manage to compensate through adaptive mechanisms. Among things to look into and rule out are whether there is sufficient zinc intake, sunlight deficiency (often called vitamin D deficiency which I consider and inappropriate label) and anatomical issues which may inhibit intake. My son is a prime example of one of these situations. He was born big and became a slow gainer. I obsessed about this because I had a fibroadenoma removed and was not told by the surgeon that she would make a periaerolar incision. In retrospect, I think he was actually gaining slowly because he had silent reflux and limited his intake because he would never take more than 2 oz from anyone and he was a frequent feeder. I never counted and fed him African style. Plus, my husband is 5 feet 4 inches and I am 45 feet tall. Neverthless, my husband noticed an enlargement in my son's neck when he was about six months old. That and his slow gain were our only clue to his swollen adenoids and tonsils which ultimately caused sleep apnea. He was very bright, active, never slept. By the time we were paying attention to this more fully he was four years old and having severe sleep apnea. Within 3 months of removing his tonsils and adenoids, our extremely active bright son gained 10 pounds. So, while I have seen many slow gainers who are just slow gainers --- I always look closely to see if there is something going on that may be an early signal of a problem that needs attention. Usually these slow gaining situations have NOTHING to do with breastfeeding and often to do with something else that takes a long time to figure out. I don't like alarming mothers, but I don't like false reassurance either. I do like looking into situations deeper to make sure nothing is being missed. There is nothing more annoying to mothers than that feeling of "if I had only found someone who noticed this earlier." Best, Susan Burger *********************************************** Archives: http://community.lsoft.com/archives/LACTNET.html To reach list owners: [log in to unmask] Mail all list management commands to: [log in to unmask] COMMANDS: 1. To temporarily stop your subscription write in the body of an email: set lactnet nomail 2. To start it again: set lactnet mail 3. To unsubscribe: unsubscribe lactnet 4. To get a comprehensive list of rules and directions: get lactnet welcome