would you be worried? low weight baby

[Deir]

I'll keep this short -

My dd is 18 mos old and weighs 18 lbs and change. She has been slow gaining since about 6 weeks old. I tried a a strict elimination diet for myself to see if it helped her (she also had mucus in her poop) There was never any discernible change until she started eating solids around 6 months at which time the mucus was gone. Her only other thing is a contact diaper rash, which isn't horrendous.

She is a very busy active child and also sleeps well. She never was an all night nurser like my boys. She is still nursing but only a few times a day.

She is developmentally great and beautiful but so tiny and skinny.

I have a chronic illness that began in January so I am justifiably worried about my sweet girl.

I have decided to just feed her whatever right now and not worry about dairy, gluten whatever since I haven't seen any evidence that it makes a difference but I still worry.

Any input?

[GoddessKristie]

I have a girlfriend who has a DS with a similar experience. She found a lot of information and support from the Magic Foundation. www.MagicFoundation.org 1-800-3MAGIC3 (She just posted something a couple days ago about them, thus the info :) )

Hope you can find some answers!

[Mosaic]

I would seek input from a professional. Actually, I have! My daughter sounds just like yours, and we are currently working with a nutritionist and feeding therapist for eating issues. This weight is well below the chart for this age, and in my daughter's case, we have had feeding difficulties all along and have watched DD slide down the curve. If you LO is eating normally and has always been on the lower end of the curve, there may not be any big concern. But in general, I do think you should check with your doctor or focus on increasing caloric intake; some kids are just too busy to eat!

[Deir]

Our new ped is a really good homeopath and MD. She thinks there could be some leaky gut issues.

My issue is that I am so overwhelmed with doing diet changes because I am on a severely restricted diet myself and I just can't deal with having the baby's diet more limited still!! Also- she likes cheese and bread so I hate to take away calories.

She hasn't dropped on the curve, just since 6 weeks has been slow gaining but steady. She is a very busy girl and sleeps through the night without nursing so shse might just not be eating enough. It is so stressfull though given my health problem. I worry about her so much sometimes. Other times- I think- she is fine- just a little one. I am 5'2" and 110 lbs and my dh is not huge either.

People say."look at you- you're small!" But given the fact that I am very sick...that doesn't cheer me up! :(

[LynnS6]

Originally Posted by Deir 
She hasn't dropped on the curve, just since 6 weeks has been slow gaining but steady. She is a very busy girl and sleeps through the night without nursing so shse might just not be eating enough. It is so stressfull though given my health problem. I worry about her so much sometimes. Other times- I think- she is fine- just a little one. I am 5'2" and 110 lbs and my dh is not huge either.

The sentence I bolded is the crucial one. I have one very slender child and one who's not. For each child, my ped is only concerned if their growth curve changes. So, ds dropped from the 60th percentile to the 25th or something like that for weight (while maintaining his 95th percentile for height) after he learned to walk. My ped commented "he probably just ran off all his baby fat". He got back up to the 60th percentile for weight over a couple of years. At age 10, that's STILL  his profile. (4'11 1/2", 72 lbs.). My dd has always been (from birth) in the 85th percentile for height and the 90th-95th for weight. Once again, her ped isn't concerned because that's her growth curve.(Also look at your daughter's body build -- is she longer in the legs than the torso? If so, she'll be lighter than 'average'. My dd is long in the torso and short in the leg, she's 'heavier' because of that.)

Remember too that toddlers don't eat nearly as much as babies do. Babies more than double their birth weight in their first year. So, if she was, say, 6 lbs at birth, being 15 lbs. at 1 year, is 1 1/2 x her birth weight. If she did that again between 1 and 2, you'd have a 40 lb. 2 year old, and a 90 lbs 3 year old! Now, some 2 year olds are naturally 40 lbs. Most aren't. So, it feels like they eat like a bird. You can try leaving a snack tray out with healthy, protein rich foods with some fat, along with some whole grains, and fruit. You can try making dips with avocado or hummus with a little extra olive oil.

But if this is her curve, it's her curve. The best thing you can do is to focus on your health, not worry about feeding her unless she's showing signs of allergy, and accept that you've got a small child. If you're 5'2", I would expect her to be big. The important thing is that she is growing and developing. that's GOOD.

[Deir]

Ahhhh, thank you.

I hope you're right Lynn!