Is 19 lbs. at 18 months too small? - Updated: Yes, it is!

[CrunchyChristianMama]

I told myself I would never be one of those moms to worry about my child's weight. But here I am. My DD is soooo tiny. She's right on track for height (around 50th percentile), but is so skinny. She can still wear 9-12 month clothes. Her ribs show. Her little belly protrudes, but everything else is tiny.

This wouldn't worry me if she was a big eater, but she's not. She's a little bird with food most of the time. She's still nursing, but I have hardly any milk left.

We haven't been to a WBV in a year, but I'm debating taking her in this month. Would you be concerned?

UPDATE: She has celiac disease.  We took gluten out of her diet and ever since then she has gained at least a pound a month.  She's much more filled out and her ribs don't stick out so much anymore.   At 27 months old she weighs about 26 lbs.

Edited by CrunchyChristianMama - 12/30/10 at 2:48pm

[just_lily]

How big was she when she was born? At a year? Has she always been small for her age, or has she been falling behind?

19lbs at 18 months is below the 5th percentile according to this chart here. If she has always been small I wouldn't worry so much, but if she started at a higher percentile and has been falling off I would go and get it looked into.

My DD is on the smaller side, 23lbs at 20 months. But she was only 6lb 8oz at birth and has always been between the 10th and 25th percentile. I don't worry because she continues to grow at a steady rate.

[sundaya]

The WHO charts always make me feel better. I have a little peanut also. They're based on only bf babies. It's in kg, so divide the weight in pounds by 2.2.
http://www.who.int/childgrowth/stand...irls_p_6_2.pdf
If you have any doubt, though, it doesn't hurt to get her checked, just to make sure there's nothing going on like celiac or food sensitivities, among other things. The only thing you said that would concern me is the ribs protruding, but some kids get skinny as they grow, so if she just grew a lot in height, she might not have caught up in weight yet, kwim?
Hope that helps.

[CrunchyChristianMama]

She was 7 lbs. at birth
12 lbs. at 2 months
14 lbs. at 4 months
15 lbs. 10 ounces at 6 months
18 lbs. at a year
19 lbs. at 18 months

[just_lily]

If she has only gained 1lb in six months, yes I would take her to get checked out. Like the PP mentioned, maybe it is just a food sensitivity that could be easily remedied.

[jpaigeadams]

My daughter was 7 lbs even at birth, and was on the 50th % curve (US CDC chart) until 12 months. She's now dropped down to 2% (15% on WHO chart) at 15 months - she weighs 18 lbs 9 oz - she'd gained 9 oz in 6 months. She just had her 15 mo check up and my ped wasn't worried. She encouraged me to offer her lots of full-fat dairy, cheese, and olive oil or flaxseed oil on her veggies. Yes, she has fallen down the chart, but my husband and I were both very skinny as kids, her height as stayed at 40-50%, and she's still BF often - around 8x/24 hrs (she just transitioned to 1 nap, but she's now nursing at her old nap times AND her new nap time). She's healthy and happy and very active - gotta keep up with older brother! - and I know she's fine. She also is not the interested in food, which makes it important to feed her often and make every calorie count. Get her checked out, and then just trust your instincts.

[Katie T]

I agree that she is probably on her own growth pattern. My DC have all been really small. DS is 3 1/2 and weighs 34lbs and DD2 is 20 months and weighs 21lbs. I think you will feel better if you get her checked out, but it is pretty normal for children to eat almost nothing at times. Mine will go a week or so eating almost nothing (seriously bits for a whole day) and then they get out of it and eat like normal (or sometimes like they have been starved for a week lol)

Good luck

[Peacemamalove]

Originally Posted by just_lily

If she has only gained 1lb in six months, yes I would take her to get checked out. Like the PP mentioned, maybe it is just a food sensitivity that could be easily remedied.

I agree !

[starlein26]

Here's how she plots on a growth chart:

2 months= 75%
4 months= between 50% and 75%
6 months= slightly below 50%
12 months= slightly above 10%
18 months= well below 5%



ETA: Is she active? How's she developing?

[CrunchyChristianMama]

Thanks everyone. I went ahead and made an 18 month appt. for her, but can't get in until mid-April. On top of it all she and I got the stomach flu, so the tiny amount she was eating is now down to nothing and she's vomiting.

[peaceful_mama]

I'm not saying don't take her in....I would do it if it does nothing other than make you feel better.

But...this might help you worry a little less, I hope it does. My friend has 3 girls, one currently a nursing over-2, the others nursed beyond toddlerhood. *All 3* were not big into starting solids and *all* of them were considered "underweight" in the 18 months-ish range.

The older 2 are now school-age and are in the range of 'normal sized'. The little one is still little but so were her sisters.

So....it *could* be she's going to be like that. Which is what I would think if she is typical in other areas of development, active, all that kind of stuff.

Not that I wouldn't take her in anyway. But I also wouldn't panic till April.

you're pregnant and nursing.....what have you tried/does she take as a milk subsitute? My 16 mo old *loves* smoothies ("blender juice" in our house) and there are tons of ways to add in calories there. Ours are just berries, banana, milk, and flaxseeds because i have a ton and they're good and probiotic powder. A berry-flavored yogurt would taste better than a plain, I've tried plain, they'll drink it but it's more sour, definently tastes like plain yogurt. I've heard people on here sneak in a *little* avocado or spinach...lots of options. Oh we made one once too that had PB not bad either.

[kgrace]

I've been going to all our well visits since I started out with a big baby (but I"m small and she was a real "post dates baby"), then she didn't gain a lot. she's always been a grazer!I copied her weights into your DD charts for you to compare:

She was 9 lbs. at birth
11 lbs. at 2 months
13 lbs. at 4 months
14 lbs. 12 ounces at 6 months
17 lbs. at a year
20 lbs. at 18 months

My pedi is pretty mainstream and by the book and she has never been concerned! Only asking if DD eats a variety of foods and sleeps ok. She eats fruits, cheese,yogurt, sweet potatoes,carrots,red pepper, whole wheat bread/bagels with butter, almonds, almond or rice milk smoothies. Occasionally she'll eat bites of meat or green veggies.She just has always insisted on her portion sizes and when she's done there is no forcing her.
Hope all goes well for you, and I love her name!!

[matey]

My son was born at 36.5 weeks and weighed 5 pounds 12 ounces. He is currently 27 months and weighs, drumroll please, 21.6 pounds.

He doesnt gain very fast, and his ped and I were thrilled when he finally crossed that 20 pound mark. I have had concerns myself, as well as from others. My dh is small, 5'6 and about 140-145.

My dr. has always been easy going about it, but has had us cover bases anyway, which has ended up making me feel better. DS has had some food intolerances/allergies, which we have known all along, and we work with an allergist. We have also been to a nutritionist to evaluate what we ate, she thought we were doing a great job. We also went to a heart dr., to check into my son's heart murmur, and it checked out fine.

When I do get comments, which I do (even from my sisters ex-boyfriend who she still sleeps with but whom I have never met, and he has only seen pictures of my son), I simply inform the person that my pediatrician is not concerned at this time and that we have looked into areas of possible concern to ensure he is healthy.

The benefit is that clothes last a lot longer around here. I am interested to see what my #2 ends of like. I figure if she is tiny too, then my dh and I must make small babies.

[sbrinton]

I have two kids who have been on the very small side. Our 3 year old, Micah, weighed barely 20 pounds at 18 months...and that was an accomplishment! From 12 to 18 months, we were trying hard to get him to gain weight. He was a preemie born weighing 5 1/2 pounds at 35 weeks and gained weight well at first, but then he slowed down a lot around a year. Between 18 months and 3 years, however, his weight gain has returned to normal for him, still small but not worrisome.

Our youngest son is 16 months now and is not quite 18 pounds. This puts him well below the 3rd percentile. Our pediatrician has had us get some testing done. We haven't found anything serious, although I still suspect some food intolerances.

With both boys, we've found some things help:

1. Giving them healthy snacks frequently, as in every 1-2 hours, in addition to meals with the family - make sure these snacks have some protein and fat
2. Add healthy fats to everything (olive oil, avocado, nuts, etc)
3. Don't worry about having some saturated fat, for example coconut milk or butter, whole milk, butter, cream, real cheese, eggs, etc.
4. Do whatever you can to increase your milk supply. Our pediatrician's advice was different - she suggested adding formula to everything or supplimenting with something like pediasure - but breastmilk is BETTER. Our little one was down to nursing 2 times a day, but I've been trying to increase my milk supply and have him nurse 4-5 times a day again. I also wake him up once at night before I go to bed to get more calories in.

[CrunchyChristianMama]

Originally Posted by sbrinton

3. Don't worry about having some saturated fat, for example coconut milk or butter, whole milk, butter, cream, real cheese, eggs, etc.
4. Do whatever you can to increase your milk supply. Our pediatrician's advice was different - she suggested adding formula to everything or supplimenting with something like pediasure - but breastmilk is BETTER. Our little one was down to nursing 2 times a day, but I've been trying to increase my milk supply and have him nurse 4-5 times a day again. I also wake him up once at night before I go to bed to get more calories in.

Saturated fats don't scare me...we're TF. She actually likes to eat plain raw butter sometimes.

I think the milk supply is part of the problem because I'm down to almost nothing. I'm hoping the colostrum will come in soon so that can help supplement. I'm trying to get her to drink raw goat milk, but she's just not a big fan of any kind of milk besides mamas. She would much rather drink water or kombucha.

[Curlyfry7]

I'm kind of in the same boat....my DS is just shy of 3 1/2 and weighs 30lbs, but he was formula fed so it was never a concern for the docs because they knew how much he was eating.

DD is just now 18lbs and will be 15 months in 9 days. She was in the 50% until 6 months then started falling. Our ped WAS concerned but DD maintained a % between 10-11 months so we figured she took after my MIL who is tiny. We haven't been back since then due to too much going on. I go back and forth between being concerned and not. I am not hugely concerned, but we DO have some known food intolerances (dairy and soy) so I sometimes worry she has something else we are not aware of. But she seems to be outgrowing the soy at least so ???? She sometimes eats solids well, sometimes not, but still nurses about 10 times/24hours (although according to the ped, my milk doesn't have anough protein )

I do like the fact we can use clothes for so long though!! She is also still wearing 9-12 month stuff, and can even wear some of the stuff labeled 6-12 months.

[Just1More]

Mine grow really fast in the beginning, and then hardly gain at all in their second year. From 10mo to just past 2, dd1 was especially tiny. Around 3, certainly by 4, she was growing at a tremendous rate. She's been off the high end of the charts since around 4. Ds is following the same pattern.

Though if you feel like she should be checked, then have her checked, for sure.

In the meantime, though, I think the AAP recommends that a toddler get 40 calories per inch of body weight per day. So, you could do a little meal planning for her, and plan out a really healthy, fatty list of foods you'd like to see her consume in a day. Then, lay it out on the counter, and make a habit of giving her a bite every so often. You could probably get a lot more in her each day that way, rather than just doing snacks and meals. You could maybe even leave a snack tray out on your coffee table or something?

[shanniesue2]

DS gained really well until he was 5 months old and then pretty much just stopped. Our family doc kepts saying he was fine. He was happy, meeting his milestones, and appeared very healthy. At 17 months, we switched to a different doc. Ds had only gained 4 pound in 12 months (but that's not why we switched). The new ped heard a heart murmur and sent us for an echocardiogram. DS had a very large hole in his heart that was causing it to enlarge and he wasn't gaining weight b/c his heart was using so much energy to do it's job. We got the defect repaired and he is doing great now. At 18 months old, when he had the surgery, he weighed 18 pounds. Now at 2, he weighs about 24 (25 on my chiro's scale) and is back on the charts!

[Abismommy]

My 2yo, she'll be 3 in July. Weighs 25 lbs...she is skinny! Her ribs kinda show, skinny legs, arms..just very dainty and petite
She was 7lbs 10oz at birth.
By time she was a year she had not hit 20lbs. She was like 18 or 18.5!
I was and still am tiny. I am 25 and weigh 93.5 or 94lbs! She gains but gains slowly and always has. She eats very very healthy too. She used to pick like a bird though! She loves peanut butter, string cheese, deli cuts, pasta, milk, water, sushi, salmon, chicken, apples, carrots, grapes, blueberries, strawberries, oranges, eggs, bread with olive oil and herbs, waffles..lol. So maybe she would like something she could pick out?
I think she has a really well balanced diet. Sometimes her weight does worry me. My husband reassures me that she takes after me and she is healthy. She is very energetic, sleeps well, hair and nails look fine, we weigh her every week.
We actually made her a snack shelf, with all the stuff she loves to eat. It really helped us. We went to whole foods, and target. Got all her favorite stuff and she loves to graze! Dr. Sears has some really good tips for picky eaters!
Oh and we all got the stomach flu here! My 1 yo lost one lb..although she was chunky to begin with...9lbs 4oz at birth and is my heavier kid..takes after her daddy. My 2yo the teeny beanie lost 1.5lbs. It was over a week and a half. They gained it all back in the week they started eating again
We don't do WBV we're without health insurance I have been job hunting for MONTHS for insurance so when I get really worried..I make dr appts. The stomach flu..well I went to the ER. Nothing was said about her weight!
GL mama!

[shanniesue2]

Originally Posted by Abismommy

We don't do WBV we're without health insurance I have been job hunting for MONTHS for insurance so when I get really worried..I make dr appts. The stomach flu..well I went to the ER. Nothing was said about her weight!
GL mama!

Have you looked into gvt funded insurance for you child(ren)? I know my state has a program for 3 and under, and I'm sure there are other programs for older children as well. Speaking from personal experience, I would say that it would be really worth it to at least look into insurance options for your LO(s). If we hadn't had insurance when we found out DS needed open heart surgery, we would probably have lost everything we own and be in bankruptcy right now (all of the insurance claims came to about $100,000--and worth every penny).