Concerned about 2.5yo weight

[BCmamaof6]

How much does your 2.5 year old weigh?
My DD is 30 months old, just over 90cm tall & weighs less than 27 lbs. (Probably close to 25, actually)
She is SKINNY! So much that I can feel all of her bones right under her skin.
She doesn't eat much...picks at her food like a bird...snacking throughout the day, but never eating much at any one time.
She nurses ALL the time. Like at least 15-20 times per day.
I've had a few people (including my mom) recommend that I limit how much she nurses in order to get her to eat more.
What do you think?
Do you have a skinny toddler?
Does your toddler STILL nurse more than they eat solid food?
Do you give any supplements ?
Any ideas?
I don't mind her nursing all the time, I'm just concerned about how thin she is.

[hottmama]

My 2.5 yr. old weighs 33 lbs., but he's bigger than most of the kids his age I know. My friend's 2.5 yr. old weighs 24-25 lbs., and is the same height as Julian. Both our boys are still nursing, but Julian nurses more often than his friend (and also eats more food- he's a real eater, I tell ya). I don't think nursing less would help at all- mama milk is high in fat and protein!

[TiredX2]

When DS was born (so DD was 31 months) DD was around 26 lbs.
She was always slightly taller than normal.

DS at 2.5 was closer to 27 lbs

Now, at 6.5 DD is 48" 45ish lbs

DS will be 4 in August and is 38" 34ish lbs.

25-26 lbs at 30 months is well within the range of normal (25 lbs is the 10%) and not actually that far off from her height percentile.

DD was not nursing *that* much at 30 months because I was 7-8 months pg, but two months later she had bfed baby poops, lol. DS was nursing that much. They are both happy and healthy. Unless your DD has an obvious problem I would try not to worry. And even if she did have a problem, honestly, I would hesitate to blame bfeeding. I have known some pretty skinny kids who were bad eaters and didn't have bmilk to fall back on--- now *that* would worry me.

[JaysMama]

My dd will be 3 in September and right now she weighs around 25 pounds. She is 36 inches tall. We have been going to a nutritionist at Childrens memorial for awhile now and we get regular weight checks at the peds office. She still nurses although it's only 2 to 6 times a day depending on her desire. Here's what they have told me and it seems to be working for my dd. She's really started adding some good weight and now even has sorta round thighs. I can still see her ribs though and that makes me nervous too. So first off, they don't worry if her weight doesn't go up a lot just so long as she is still getting taller. Secondly they had me stop her from grazing all day. My kiddo doesn't get enough calories that way but yours could be different. We eat on a lenient schedule so that way she can get hungry and eat a nice amount at one time. Of course toddlers have little tummies so it's an every 3 hour or so schedule. Our schedule goes like this: 9am we eat breakfast, 12 we have lunch, 3 a snack, 6 we eat dinner and before bed a nice big snack around 9 pm. It works because she recognizes her body telling her it's hungry and if she's hungry at 11:30 instead of noon then that's when we eat, kwim. We just had this nasty cycle of me panicking b/c she didn't eat enough and then I'd offer a snack and she would be full at the next meal and here's mom going "oh my, she won't eat! Have another snack!" It's easy to panic when they are such little peanuts to begin with.
The other thing I've done is to increase calories everytime she eats. I add a cup of nonfat dry milk to her half gallon of whole milk, I add oil to everything, I use Udo's Oil in her yogurts to help with omega 3's, I use a lot of nut butters and even sneak them into smoothies or shakes for her, avacados are great too for sneaking into stuff. The doctor prescribed pediasure but my dd doesn't care too much for them and has to be in the mood or she won't drink them. You can pretty much use them anywhere you would milk though. I make her oatmeal with it sometimes.
She doesn't consume a ton but she's getting a better appetite recently. I really just try to make every meal count and add the calories.
As far as the nursing, I don't know what to tell you. Her docs don't know she still nurses but that's b/c they are not supportive of it at all. I cried in the room when one of the specialist told me that I was going to have to wean dd right then b/c 1 and a half years was long enough and I'd made my point. It was time to give her food and cows milk to make her grow. I don't agree but I don't feel like fighting the battle everytime I go there so what they don't know won't hurt them! (or dd!) I don't know how demanding your toddler is to nurse but I try to have mine stick to after she's had her meals and she's ok with it.
Best of luck mama and feel free to pm me.
Karissa

[veganmamma]

nak. my dd is over 2.5 yrs and baaarely 25 #. I figure her metabolism and body type are naturally this way. as long as they gain consistently and don't lose, it's no big deal.

[maxwill129]

Hi. I just wanted to say that my DS is almost 3 and is only 26#- and he doesn't nurse. So don't think it's because you nurse that your DC is skinny! He's strictly on solids and is still tall and skinny! I don't worry because he's so healthy. His ped says that she's not concerned at all and I'm not either. Don't let anyone tell you to stop nursing!!!

[veganmamma]

Originally Posted by maxwill129

Don't let anyone tell you to stop nursing!!!

Seriously! Breastmilk is probably the most calorie and fat dense snack my kid eats all day!

[JaysMama]

Originally Posted by veganmamma

Seriously! Breastmilk is probably the most calorie and fat dense snack my kid eats all day!

:

[BCmamaof6]

I feel relieved knowing that she's not the only one at that weight.

And really, all of my children are thin. DD in question was only 6 lbs 1 oz at birth...so maybe she's naturally thin...
I guess it's the fact that she suddenly got taller that made her 'thin out' and look way skinnier. She also has a very high activity level, so I'm assuming that she burns a lot of calories.
I won't quit nursing for ANYTHING & have no intention of even limiting her nursing...it's just hard to know what to say to (well-meaning) people who suggest that she's thin because she nurses more than she eats, YK?

And it's tricky to get high fat foods into her. She doesn't drink (cow's) milk (we don't buy cow's milk...apart from a tiny bit of organic milk for my coffee) and doesn't like goat's milk (although I can sneak it into smoothies)
we eat very little meat, have serious nut allergies in the family, and she's really picky...

Any suggestions for high calorie or fatty foods? (healthy fat, obviously...not junk :LOL )

[veganmamma]

I try to sprinkle hemp seeds into everything. DD is allergic to peanuts, so she eats sunflower seed butter. She likes macadamia nuts too. I had my phase of trying to fatten her up and gave it up. We have a high fat vegan diet anyway, why go to a lot of trouble when she is definitely getting enough fats and just metabolizing them differently than me or her dad? I understand your worry, I just don't think it's terribly founded. If she's getting a lot of breastmilk, I don't see the need to introduce other milks. Of course, you asked for high fat ideas. Olive oil is a great way to add fat to things. I'd stay away from extra virgin since toddlers tend to dislike the taste. I buy spectrum organic oils and just keep around a bunch of different ones. Flaxseeds and flaxseed oil are good too. Oil goes in fried things, sauces, on toast in the form of margarine. We use Earth Balance organic margarine. It's not as good on the poly and monounsaturates, but definitely better than butter in terms of saturated fat. I'm disorganized b/c I'm nak and dd really ought to be sleeping but is squirming instead. I hopeI'm being helpful.

[Artemisia]

High fat foods that my DS likes..
Coconut milk
Avocado
soy icecream
bread dipped in olive oil

[PuppyFluffer]

My 37 month old dd is 28.5 lbs. I don't know her height off hand. She looks lean but not skinny. If she puts her arms up, you can see her ribs. She was an average sized baby at birth but never had rolls like a lot of babies have. I just think this is her body type and I am not worried about it.

Edited to add that she still nurses daily. I can count on her wanting to nurse at wake up, at nap and at bed time. Most days she nurses several other times too. I occasionally have to deny a nursing just because I am in the middle of something but mostly, I nurse her on demand still.

[Ravin]

Our ped suggested goat's milk to help DD's calorie intake boost. So she gets it on her breakfast cereal and I use it in things like mac and cheese (although we don't eat that very often). Also whole fat yogurt.

[BinahYeteirah]

bs"d

My dd just turned 3 years old and she weighs about 26 pounds. She is healthy and growing at a rate just right for her. She looks good, has lots of energy, and is hitting all her developmental milestones on time or ahead of time.

[Peony]

I have a skinny dd, she is 2.5 and probably around 25 lbs, we don't do well baby visits so I actually have no clue what she weighs right now. I'm curious now though, I might drag out by scale and stick her on it tomorrow! Anyway, I've never worried about her weight she has always been smaller, was just under 7 lbs at birth, I am thin as well so I know where it came from. I just try to put extra fats on her food, when we make popcorn, I pour extra butter on hers, her pasta gets more olive oil, same thing for veggies. She likes cream cheese balls, just cream cheese rolled in wheat germ, sometimes I put a bit of fruit juice and some vanilla for added flavor, lots of calories there. Lately her favorite snack has been plain rice cakes, not exactly a high calorie snack, but that's what mama's milk is there for! She nursing constantly as well.

[bleurae]

It's so interesting. Today I was actually doing a lil worrying about my son. He eats a ton and breastfeeds a ton but still I worry sometimes. He is 32 months and 38.5 inches and weighs 32 pounds. I am sure many are wondering why I worry.
Well, he was born at 10 lb 1 oz and by 9 months he weighed 29 pounds. So it trips me up sometimes that in 23 months he has only gained 3 pounds. I have been told it is normal but it still trips me up sometimes. He is a healthy happy boy with a ton of energy so I have to just stop wasting good energy worrying, but sometimes I just do.

[hummingbear]

Here is another big baby gone lean and small...

DS at birth 8 lb 4 oz / 21 1/2"
at 1 year: ~19 lb
at 2 years: ?lb
at 3 years: ?lb
at 4 years: a hair over 30 lb / 38?"

It seemed that once he was around 20 lb he just quit gaining weight.
He is healthy.
Every so often I wonder if I should worry,
then I think that this culture is overly obsessed with size.
Bigger is not always better.

DS also nurses and does not like milk products with the more recent exception of yogurt.

learn what you can and remember that you know things that others just can't know no matter how much they have studied

[tryinghardmomma]

I've had 5 2 year olds, and now a 19 mos old too.

1- weaned @ 4 mos. At 2 was 26 lbs.
2- weaned @ 6 weeks. At 2 was 21 lbs.
3- weaned @ 9 weeks. At 2 was 27 lbs.
4- weaned @ 1 year. At 2 was 18 lbs.
5- still nursing almost 4 years. At 2 was 32 lbs. Last week he was 36 lbs.
6- still nursing at 19 mos. Last week was 21 lbs 4 oz.

the ones that were b'fing, I didn't limit b'fing at all and just gave them food to appetite.
As you can see, babies come in all shapes and sizes.