Is she 25% for weight or is she 25% for bmi? That makes a difference. If her height is 75% or so, you have more of a problem if her weight is just 25%. If she is 25% bmi, than if I were you, I would just be happy with that for now. Then try not to stress about any of her feeding problems since it tends to make the child feel out of control and they eat less.
My daughter had tons of weight issues her first year. She didn't gain well as an infant and vomited a lot. She had an undiagnosed milk allergy that we figured out at 8 months of age. But she was on a feeding tube for 3 months starting at 4 months of age.
I learned a lot about working with the dieticians during that time. I thought they had all of the answers, but they don't. If your daughter's weight is in fact 25% bmi, than your dietician needs to calm down and leave your daughter alone for a while. She is only 5 months of age. You have plenty of time to work towards the 50% bmi goal. I don't think that most people who are between 25-50% bmi get feeding tubes to get to 50% bmi yet.
My daughter's dietician kept telling me things like she needs this amount of formula, stop breastfeeding, only feeding her this and that and how often. Well the dietician wasn't a mom and didn't realize that you can't force feed a baby and if you try it will only make things worse. As it did for my daughter. I suggest feeding on demand. Trying to feed a baby when they aren't hungry doesn't work. Your baby knows when she is hungry. Sometimes a mother's instincts are best.
The best thing for you to do is allow your daughter to enjoy eating. The next six months are important in establishing a good relationship with food for her. She should enjoy feeding herself in a few months without pressure. I learned a lot about how to properly feed my second child who also has cf from a book called Child of Mine by Ellyn Satter. You can get it on Amazon and I highly recommend you read it soon.
Also, get an appt with a good pediatric GI dr who works with cf kids. They are very helpful in addressing a lot of the issues of how many calories your daughter needs, how is her weight, etc.
I also woke up at 2am or so for my daughter's first year and gave her a bottle in her sleep. It was the only time she would drink a whole bottle. You might also want to spread out the enzymes throughout her meal instead of all at the beginning or end.
Sharon, mom of Sophia, 6 (got her g-tube a year ago and has done really well on it) and Jack, 4 (always been a good eater!) both with cf
