Skinny Toddler...so worried :( - Page 2

[ShyDaisi]

Micah was just shy of 23 lb. at 22 months...Now at just under 2 months shy of 3, he is just shy of 30 lb. He grew very slowly the first 2 years and then some. Lately it has been speeding up a bit.

[Juvysen]

At my Ds's 2 yr appointment, he was in the 10th percentile for weight and 75th for height. We actually had a med student come and work him up first, and she started asking what I knew to be failure to thrive kinds of questions. Then she left the room and I could hear the doctor's booming voice as she was talking to him about Ds's size/shape. I heard my ped say "well, did you ask what his father's weight and height are like?" (the ped has met my husband). The med student came back in and asked me and I told her Dh is 130-ish lbs and 6' tall. She goes back out and I hear the ped's booming voice saying "ok, welllllll let's just chart Dad out on the adult size charts..." and then I hear him laughing because Dh is in EXACTLY the same weight/height percentiles as Ds, and I hear him tell her something along the lines of "well, see? you just have to look a little deeper sometimes instead of jumping straight to tests..."

I love that about our ped The vaccine issue is another story, though, but I'm sort of scared to leave him because he's so sensible on the FTT kinds of issues and both my kids are small (Dd was only 26 lbs at 3 1/2, but she's also only in the 5th percentile for height...)

[triana1326]

DD is 18 months old, 32 inches, and hovering between 20 and 22 lbs. She's always been tall and skinny, just like her dad (THANK the gods!!!). I left our last ped. because he was going to label her FTT. i switched to a ND, who had me do a food journal for DD. She confirmed that DD was getting enough to eat, getting good fats/calories, and that it's normal for an EB baby to be skinnier than their peers. Not only that, DD is a bundle of energy! I've lost 60 lbs since she was born just trying to keep up with her!

To the OP, don't fret too much. Take the advice of the PPosters if you are still concerned, but every child grows differently, and it sounds like you're following your mama instincts. HTH...

[shanniesue2]

OP, stop and breath for just a second.

I completely relate to the worry. My DS stopped gaining weight at about 5 months old. He was eating normally, meeting his milestones, peeing and pooping the way he should, everything. I was worried about it, but everyone kept telling me to stop worrying and that he was fine. Our family doc told me that some babes are just small and that I could give him pediasure if I wanted to (that was at our 12 month visit). Well, this past summer he was wearing 6-9 month sized clothing, and sometimes even that was falling off of him. But energy was fine and everything else seemed normal. So I kept telling myself not to worry. We switched ped's this summer (due to vaccine issues) and the new ped heard a heart murmur. We went for a cardio check up and it turned up that he had a really large congenital heart defect that was causing his heart to enlarge to the point that his body wasn't able to put on any weight. Got it fixed and 6 months later, he has gained 6 pounds and is now in the 10th percentile (just b4 the surgery, he was in the .67th percentile).

Anyway, my point is not to make you worry or to say that something is definitely wrong, but to say that if you feel like there is something going on, then follow that instinct. Try not to freak out... just breath through everything... but follow up on your concerns if you honestly feel like something isn't right. And you know, it's been almost a year since the blood work up you guys had done... you might go ahead and ask for another one at his two year WBV. If that comes out normal, then just try to relax about it as much as you can.

[redvlagrl]

Wow - there is some great advice in this thread, and I really don't have too much to add except that you might want to consider nixing the puffs. They aren't very caloric. Could you substitute something else in their place? Even crackers would be an improvement, calorie wise. We like the Kashi ones. You could spread them with goat's cheese.

DD isn't skinny at all, but she did fall of her curve at one point and the Dr was worried (gained less than a lb in 4 mths or so). Could you have food available at all times so he can just swipe a bite here and there?

Also I highly recommend "My Child won't Eat" published by LLL. It's a wonderful book and gives great advice on not making food a battleground. It advocates very stongly to *not* coax eating at all so it doesn't become a power play.

HTH.

[doulatara]

Add my daughter to the list of other kiddos that are/were very skinny as a toddler. I think she was 18 months before she hit the twenty lb. mark, and weighed about twentytwo lbs. at two. She was always incredibly healthy (first and only round of antibiotics of her life was when she was three years old, she is ten now.) She never lost weight and gained slowly, on her own curve and pooped regularly...my doctor was never concerned. She also breastfed until she was two and a half.

She is still pretty skinny as a ten year old and always has been, but she is very healthy, not anemic and very active.

[MrsBone]

Originally Posted by Marnica

isabchi - He is still nursing, but not much at all. He does upon waking up and when he goes to sleep at night and it is just for a minute or 2. I don't produce much milk anymore.

KatWrangler - He usually has oatmeal and some kind of fruit (berries or a bannana) at breakfast. He snacks on these puff things he loves, hummus, carrots, crackers, whatever. Lunch could be different things. Sometimes it's some sort of stew, sometimes a cashew or almond butter and jelly sandwich, today I sent turkey meatloaf, veggies and mashed potatoes to daycare. Dinner is more of the same type of stuff, he loves turket or chicken hotdogs, fish nuggets, chicken nuggets. more fruit. 98% of what he eats is organic. He seems to eat more at daycare then at home?? yes I think he poops alot too. sometimes only once, but more often than not it's 3-4 times. Pretty much after he eats.

Mosaic - I don't think the doc is worried, but he hasn't been seen since his 18 mo appt. I honestly don't know what his length is or where he falls on that scale, but he is def NOT tall! I have to look at how tall he was at his 18 mo visit. he was 22 lbs 4 oz on that visit and has barely gained a pound since then. He started out in the 70th %. then was in the 50th for a long time. He was a chubby chubby baby and it seems like since about 14 mon, he has leaned out and the % has dropped from 50th to about 5%, so no I don't think he has stayed on his growth curve at all!!

Welsh - He has a cow milk intolerance, He drinks some goat milk, but isn;t crazy about it, so not a whole lot of it at all.

Betsy j- I wonder if he is absorbing his food too....we really don't go to the pedi except for well baby visits. Most of the time we see an ND. I'm not a big fan of allopathic medicine. DS has allergies/food intolerances and we are curently dealing with those with the ND. I have mentioned the poop thing to him and he says it's not uncommon for kids with allergies to poop alot. I will mention it again at the next appt. Maybe there is some kind of stool test that we can do to see if he is absorbing nutrients???

you already said he has food intolerances and cows milk intolerance..Usually that's one of the first signs of gluten intolerance. I know, because I went through ten years of various "food intolerances" before being diagnosed with gluten intolerance. Now I can eat anything but gluten. I would definitely get a blood test for gluten intolerance. Sounds like he isn't absorbing nutrients. You can also do stool test at enterolab.com that will help determine what's going on in his bowels. 2-4 times daily sounds like a lot. Does he have foul gas? complain of tummy upset?

[Eligracey]

My toddler poops 2-4 times a day, too, and also usually after meals. He's tall and skinny, too, but perfectly healthy. 25% for weight, 75% for height. I don't think frequent pooping in and of itself a problem. This is probably TMI, but my DH poops exactly 3 times a day, so I figure it must be genetic.

[Tizzy]

I have similar concerns with my toddler, he's pretty low in the height and weight percentiles. He poops 2-4x/day, but then again - so does DH and he has a super fast metabolism (read: skinny and can eat like a cow but not gain an ounce. It's annoying.) So I'm torn - is there something wrong with my toddler *and* DH or is it a variation of "normal".

[alfabetsoup]

I also have a super skinny toddler. She's not a picky eater, but she's not that interested in food and only has a few bites of anything. I try to make sure what she does get is full of calories and good stuff and she eats every 2 hrs or so. I don't really let her snack as she seems to fill up on crackers etc and then not eat a full meal!

Here's what I give her (not all at once! might have any one or two of the following):
Breakfast-cereal with whole milk (weetabix, raisin bran or oatmeal), egg, toast, juice

Mid-morning snack-full-fat yogurt, toast with peanut butter or nutella, banana

Lunch-pasta, ham sandwich, pita and hummus, pb & j, yogurt, fruit, water or milk

Mid-afternoon snack-raisins, cheese, that sort of thing

Dinner-what we're having plus dessert

plus 8oz whole milk before bed (not breastfeeding anymore)

It's hard when you can't use milk or soy--how far-reaching is his milk intolerance? Can he do cheese or yogurt? Hummus is good, avocado very filling and lots of good fat, if he doesn't have allergies nut butters are great--nutella really isn't that bad for you and frankly, children will always eat it.

[bethanymama]

My DS just had his 2 year well-check the day he turned 24 months old. He only weighed 24 pounds, and that jumped him up to the 10th percentile for weight. (Before that he was always 5th percentile.) And his height is 20th percentile, I think. So he's little. He's the oldest in his class at daycare, and the littlest. Since he's following his growth curve the ped has no worries at all. Personally, if you feel he's healthy, I would see what happens in 3 months at his 2 year well check, and go from there. It's awesome he eats such a variety of foods. The only thing I can think of to do is offer him a lot of variety for a meal - if he only eats 3-4 bites of one thing maybe he'll eat 3-4 bites of something else after that. And stick with dense foods - I would also skip the puffs. If he's only eating a little everything he puts in his mouth should be valuable.

I don't know about the 2-4 times a day pooping either, but unless it looks strange I tend to think it's good to poop frequently.

[mama.rye]

my apologies if this is redundant - i have not been able to read through what look like alot of thoughtful replies.

you said he is intolerant to dairy - that could mean there are other intolerances and reasons he is not absorbing nutrients. have you been over to the allergy board to talk about leaky gut and how to heal from it? My son is in the same boat as yours, 20 pounds at 17 months and very skinny. We had a bloodtest done to know exactly what IgG intolerances he has... turns out there were nine. We only knew of three! Soy, corn, and gluten are big ones for a lot of sensitive kids. Have you tried an elimination diet yet? Our NP had the test done for us, perhaps you could ask yours to do the same? Since cutting out offending foods, we have been sleeping, pooping and enjoying life more. Now we are gut healing with the goal of reintroducing these foods eventually.

You might also want to look into digestive enzymes and probiotics.

HUGS!

[treehugginhippie]

I second the digestive enzymes and probiotics. DD1 started taking Houston Enzymes and after 1 yr of not gaining anything, she gained 1.5lbs in a couple weeks...and she pooped less (finally!).

[witchygrrl]

I just had an appt with a new ped (we moved). She was 31.75 inches long and 20 lbs at 18 mos. He does want to see her in 3 mos, but he knows that daddy was a string bean as a kid. It's more of a precaution, but he seemed satisfied with what she eats.

[Friday13th]

I have another wee toddler. We haven't been for his 2 yr. WBV but I'd guess he's maybe 24lbs at this point. He was tiny at birth, got really chubby really fast and then once he started moving thinned WAY out and his weight gain slowed way down.

I'm not worried, I was a very small baby and kid, didn't hit 100lbs until college and I'm only 5 ft. tall. DH is only 5'6 and my father is practically elfin and needs to eat every 2 hours just to maintain his ridiculous metabolism.

At our previous visits the pedi seemed totally satisfied that DS was gaining weight and height (although fairly minimal amounts) and was meeting all his milestones. He eats A TON and a pretty wide variety. I'm pretty sure he's just going to be little.

If you're worried about intolerances or him not properly absorbing nutrients you could talk about doing some tests with your pedi but I don't think a small toddler is in and of itself worrisome.

[Sharlla]

DS2 is almost 5 and he weighs 36 lbs. it's nice because he can still RF in his carseat (I have one that RF to 40 lbs)

here he is when he was 6 months

2 years

3.5 years this pic is not at my house LOL I'm not that messy :P

[stephienoodle]

I've got a skinny toddler as well. DS is 22 months and about 22 lbs. He was average at birth, big as a young baby, thinned out a little after he started crawling, and hasn't gained much of anything since his 1st birthday. He's also dropped on the charts in height, but he has grown about 3 inches in the last 10 months.

We're also dealing with food allergies/intolerances. DS would rather nurse than eat solids most of the time, but we think some of that is due to feeling bad when he does eat solids. We haven't done bloodwork yet, but our ped wants to. I'm just hesitant to do a blood draw on my kiddo... I think he's the type who will flip out. We have done a hair test though, and supplemented a few minerals that he was low in.

Anyhow, I hate the FTT label. Please, ped. Come supervise my child at the playground for a couple of hours. It is hard to see how any child with the energy level and developmentally advanced/appropriate skills is "failing to thrive" just because he's so skinny that he can't keep his pants up.

Oh, and the previous poster who suggested "My Child Won't Eat!" LLL book is right on. It was very helpful and reassuring for me to read.

[Marnica]

Thank you all for the replies.

DS has had an allergy panel done (blood tests last November...not a a year ago) anyway. This said the only thing we was sensitive to was soy. It said dairy and wheat/gluten was fine. I KNOW my son has a dairy intolerance, so I know this also means these types of tests (blood tests) are notoriously inaccurate for identifying food allergies. I really want to get the tests from enterolab done but GOD they are expensive!!. When he was younger we were off gluten for 8 months...I honestly don't think I saw a huge difference, but it's so hard to tell now as it was a while ago and the reason he was off of it was skin issues. At that time he was much chubbier.

Trying to figure all this stuff out is exhausting. I work full -time and find that trying to decode what is going on with DS is a second full-time job. We are going to the ND tomorrow and I am going to ask about the tests from enterolabs. I don't really go to the pedi for much of anything except WBV's. I will mention all of this at his 2 yr appt, but don't want to make a special trip.

FWIW DH is fairly tall (almost 6 ft) and pretty skinny( in the high 150's I think), although he has put on a few lately