Is my son too small? 20lbs. and 30" at almost 17 months?

[Toposlonoshlep]

Hi!

I am concerned about my son's weight. He is a picky eater, but he DOES eat. He is still breastfed, day and night and nurses often. He has no other health issues, other than a cow milk protein sensitivity. Very active, developmentally ahead by leaps and bounds. has been on his feet and moving since 9.5 months.
I am not small or petite, but his father is very slim at 5'9" and only 130 lbs.
It is obvious to me that his metabolism is quick. He just looks so small to me next to his peers. People constantly tell me how he is small. When I chart him on the WHO charts, he seems to have hung in there at about 20%. He was born at almost 7lbs.

We have been traveling and I haven't taken him to the ped in more than 4 months. Last time at almost 12 months he was almost 19lbs. The ped said at that point that was ok. Now he is 20 lbs. and 30.25". Is that super small? I am literally afraid of the ped at this point.

He eats a lot of the following: eggs, hummus, rice and beans, chicken soup with egg noodles, bread or bagel, avocado......and mama milk of course. Every other food I offer is touch and go.

What do you guys think? Should I be concerned? Should I cut down on nursing? Maybe my milk is somehow not fatty enough? Is that even possible?

[happysmileylady]

He's fine. SOMEONE has to fill out the lower end of the charts, right? My dd2 is BARELY 22lbs and she's going to be 2 the first of November. She's in the 3rd percentile and has been since about 4 months old. Some kids are just itty bitty.

[allical1284]

My DD is 15.5 months and is 28.5" and 20lb 10oz (fully clothed); I'm not concerned at all. She meets all milestones, eats /nurses well, and is in CONSTANT motion. Yes, I get tired of hearing from total strangers all.the.time that she is "so tiny for her age", but I know in my heart that she is just petite.
Definitely don't cut back on nursing!! That is the most nutrient dense food he is ever going to get! I do put a lot of thought into the food that I do offer DD; nearly everything I offer her has a healthy dose of good fats and protein. She eats homemade larabars (dates, almonds, walnuts, and dried fruit) and green smoothies (with added coconut oil) for snacks. For breakfast every morning she has eggs scrambled in butter with spinach and raw milk cheese or french toast made with sprouted grain bread, slathered with coconut oil. She eats whatever we have for lunch and dinner. I always avoid many of the common grain-based toddler snacks (crackers, puffs, cereals, etc...).
With things like the bread and bagels and soups, I would just be sure to add an additional source of healthy fat like olive oil, organic butter, or unrefined coconut oil.

I know that it is hard to have a little one! Especially when we have babies in our playgroup that are 4.5 months old, EBF, and weigh 18 pounds!

[Toposlonoshlep]

Originally Posted by allical1284

She eats homemade larabars (dates, almonds, walnuts, and dried fruit) and green smoothies (with added coconut oil) for snacks. For breakfast every morning she has eggs scrambled in butter with spinach and raw milk cheese or french toast made with sprouted grain bread, slathered with coconut oil. She eats whatever we have for lunch and dinner. I always avoid many of the common grain-based toddler snacks (crackers, puffs, cereals, etc...).
With things like the bread and bagels and soups, I would just be sure to add an additional source of healthy fat like olive oil, organic butter, or unrefined coconut oil.

Those are some GREAT ideas for foods. I do try to add olive oil to everything and coconut milk, yogurt, and olive oil based butter are our life-savers (because of the dairy sensitivity). We do add coconut oil to our own food, but I haven't consciously tried it with his breakfast bagel, for example. I hear ya on the 18 lbs. 4 month olds. Thanks!3

[swd12422]

Originally Posted by happysmileylady

He's fine. SOMEONE has to fill out the lower end of the charts, right? My dd2 is BARELY 22lbs and she's going to be 2 the first of November. She's in the 3rd percentile and has been since about 4 months old. Some kids are just itty bitty.

This. DS was 21 lbs at 17 months. He was in the 5-10 percentile as an infant and is now <3% since he started walking. The ped says he's fine, and we've received second and third opinions from trusted family members who are peds who say he's not even considered skinny, he's just small.

[CherryBomb]

I wouldn't be worried. DD3 is tiny and always has been. She's 2.5 years old and still only like 25 pounds! She wears mostly 18 month clothing. But very healthy and bright I think she was like 17 or 18 pounds at a year and a half!

[MountainMamaGC]

My DD was that exact height and weight at 24 months. As long as they are full of pep and meeting milestones, I wouldnt worry about it. My DD has been hugging the 3% since she was 12 weeks old.

[bodhitree]

My DD is 16 months old, and she's currently 32 inches and just barely 20 pounds. She has only gained a pound and a half in the last eight months, but she's gained five inches in height in the last six months. Our ped says not to worry--she thinks that this might just be a normal growth pattern for a breastfed, vegetarian kiddo. I'm just trying to make sure that I offer her plenty of foods that are high in fat. I don't necessarily want to try to get her to eat more, since I don't want to destroy her built-in satiety cues, so I just offer stuff and whether she eats it or not is up to her.

[bezark]

I wouldn't worry about it. DS is about the same age and is 22lb and 29.5".
He hasn't gained a single pound in more than a year; in fact, he lost one 6 weeks ago when he had roseola.

He was off the charts at 4 months and 23lbs, and I think right now he's at 25%. We've gotten a second and third opinion, and we've been assured that he's healthy and normal.

According to DH's baby book, he followed almost the exact same growth pattern, and he's 6'4" and 220lbs today.

ETA: DS also has tiny little feet. I thought it was strange that I had to hunt for weeks to find a suitable pair of shoes that came in his size, and I realized yesterday at BRU that size 4 is typically meant for 9-12 months. He's still got a little room to grow in them.

[kdtmom2be]

If it were MY paediatrician they would have been trying to send you for testing many months ago. My boy is 15.5 months, barely over 20lbs and tall and skinny. They are concerned because he used to be 80%ile and is now somewhere in the 5-10%ile range. HOWEVER, he is following the same growth curve as me, his half-brother and his cousin. I am ignoring the doctors for now. He's happy, healthy and he IS gaining, just slowly. He's also meeting or exceeding all milestones. THOSE are the markers that you should be using, not some chart. If he were off the chart or seemed to not be thriving, then I would be concerned. Or, if in my gut I thought there was really something wrong with him. If your gut say yes, then pursue it, if not, then don't.

[Toposlonoshlep]

Originally Posted by kdtmom2be

If it were MY paediatrician they would have been trying to send you for testing many months ago. My boy is 15.5 months, barely over 20lbs and tall and skinny. They are concerned because he used to be 80%ile and is now somewhere in the 5-10%ile range. HOWEVER, he is following the same growth curve as me, his half-brother and his cousin. I am ignoring the doctors for now. He's happy, healthy and he IS gaining, just slowly. He's also meeting or exceeding all milestones. THOSE are the markers that you should be using, not some chart. If he were off the chart or seemed to not be thriving, then I would be concerned. Or, if in my gut I thought there was really something wrong with him. If your gut say yes, then pursue it, if not, then don't.

Yes, if my kid had fallen off his own curve, I think the ped would be testing nonstop. I just didn't like her level of concern at his one year appointment and her pressure to have him gain weight. I mean, the kid was born just under 7 pounds and has hovered in the bottom of that $@&%! chart all along. Why is that so strange to them? Thank you for everyone who told me about their LOs. I think if no other problems are present, weight should NOT be a measurement of progress in child growth. Ugghh.

[happysmileylady]

My ped has told me a few times, that as long as the kids stay on their own curve, at even fairly close to it, then they are fine. My little one was only 6lbs 5oz when she was born, so small to begin with, then at around 2 months, she started losing weight and dropped off her already low curve. Once she started gaining again, she had landed at the 3rd percentile and just has stayed there since.

[luvmybaby333]

My oldest daughter didn't hit 20 lbs. until she was about 18 months old. Some kids are just smaller than others. Of course, at the time I worried about it a lot. I was constantly getting comments about how tiny she was. It was difficult to deal with as a first time mom. Now I realize that every child grows in their own way. Just as some children are much larger than average, others are much smaller. The average is only that: average. It is not the *best* weight for a child to be. It is simply more common. KWIM?

I'm sure your son is fine.

[lkmiscnet]

My 14 mo DS is only 18 lbs 4 oz and 31" tall. He is in the 3rd percentile for wt and 25th for ht. His ped was concerned that he was on the verge of a failure to thrive diagnosis. She thought he should be talking and walking by now, as motor/speech delays accompanied by low wt can be an indication of a nutritional problem.

He says mama and dada, but doesn't know what they mean and she said he should know 3-5 words by now. He does have his own babbling language, which is good. Also, when I tried to walk him in front of the ped, he kind of dragged his feet. I know he was just upset and tired, as he gets worked up at the ped's office and the appt ran well over his nap time. He does cruise around at home with furniture.

When I got him home, I told my DH how the ped said we should get him to use the push toy. I hadn't put him behind it yet because I didn't think he was ready. However, my DH did right away and lo and behold, our DS did the Frankenstein walk while pushing it across the room, all while squealing with joy. He loves to do it over and over...

Bottom line is that my mother's instinct is telling me that our DS is fine, and my DH thinks so as well. He is just small and developing in his own time frame. It's not like he's 2 and not doing those things!

I frequently struggle to get him to eat much of what I'm feeding him on a consistent daily basis, but I have come to the conclusion that he is extremely picky (i.e. he will only eat green colored things one day) and my meal timing is sometimes off, as he is still full from BFing or he is overtired and needs his nap. I'm still working on figuring out a schedule.

Based on the info in your original post about your son's milestones and activity and your DH's ht and wt, it doesn't sound concerning in my non-expert opinion. Just keep doing what you are doing with BFing and make sure he is getting healthy fats.

You sound like a great mom!

[Toposlonoshlep]

Originally Posted by lkmiscnet

Bottom line is that my mother's instinct is telling me that our DS is fine, and my DH thinks so as well. He is just small and developing in his own time frame. It's not like he's 2 and not doing those things!

I frequently struggle to get him to eat much of what I'm feeding him on a consistent daily basis, but I have come to the conclusion that he is extremely picky (i.e. he will only eat green colored things one day) and my meal timing is sometimes off, as he is still full from BFing or he is overtired and needs his nap. I'm still working on figuring out a schedule.

Based on the info in your original post about your son's milestones and activity and your DH's ht and wt, it doesn't sound concerning in my non-expert opinion. Just keep doing what you are doing with BFing and make sure he is getting healthy fats.

You sound like a great mom!

Awwww, thanks! This made me melt a little.
I am so glad your little guy is into the push toy. My son wanted to be CHASED with the push toy (he found the prospect of my DH running him over with it THRILLING, apparently), so I am glad someone is using it for what it's meant for. You sound like a great mom as well. If I have learned anything, its that even "milestones" are reached in their own time. My son who runs like the Tazmanian devil hangs out with a handful of perfectly healthy kids his age who just started walking. Some of them are more verbal than him, but he makes up for that with signs and as of a couple of weeks ago I can't get him to STOP talking. This is all to say that I have SEEN the vast scope of how children learn.

The diet is hard for me too. Some days he will eat A LOT, and others jst kind of play with his food and not eat at all. I will just worry less and let him lead more.

Thank you again. Your post touched me.

[faithsstuff]

my son is 20 months 24 pounds and 31 inches. I didn't even realize there was an issue. He used to be 80% but slimmed down with toddelerdom. Pay attention to your baby, you'll have an idea if something is wrong. You care about his, you are a good mama. My son is a very finicky eater and our ped said that nutrition is an issue of months at a time, not what he'll eat this week and not last.