Pleeease Help: Failuer To Thrive

[momof2princesses]

dd is 14 months old and is sooo tiny. She is loosing weight. Breif history...born 8 lbs 1 oz... seemed to grow at a slow rate. Exclusivly breastfed. ONe year old she is right at 20 pounds ( alittle under). I started making her babyfood at 6 months adn she would have NOTHING ot do with it. She has never been intersested in food. She will play with finger foods but will not eat them. I have tried EVERYTHING that I can think ok. She is just not intetrsted. I dism issed it thinking that "when she is ready" she will eat. Now, at 14 months she is almost 18 pounds and she is a little "sickly" looking. She will play and such been then act sick and lay around. She still nurses some but that is it. What is wrong with my baby?
Also, I do not know if it is related or not but she is also not saying any words. She will say mamamama adn dadadada but just grunt the rest of the time. Is this normal? my oldest was say ing 10-12 words by that age.
I am worried...someone please help.

[khrys]

I just posted almost the same topic. Ds is almost 2, and he is finally interested in food. He is also failure to thrive, at 21.5 lbs. He still nurses. He has always been healthy looking though, so you probably want to get some help if your daughter seems sickly. You can talk to Early Intervention to get an assessment and free therapy that will come to your house if you qualify. Try calling your local school district or asking your doctor to find the contact info for Early Intervention in your state (or search online). They do therapy for delays up until 3 years old. For not talking yet, ds has just started trying to talk, although I'm usually the only one who understands him! The skills involved in chewing food help lead to talking because they exercise and develop some of the same muscles in the mouth. That is why children who need help learning to eat usually see a speech therapist. You can also look for a speech therapist locally and see them directly instead of going through the EI program. HTH!

[mclisa]

khrys has the right idea. You need to get the baby screened for development and started on those programs.

I think you also need to see your doctor and figure out if there is some reason why the your child isn't eating. Is it a food allergy? Or maybe a malabsorption issue. Has your child been sick often? I think a blood panel looking into that as well as checking the urine might be needed. Kids shouldn't be losing weight and that is a red flag that something is going on.

[apple_dumpling]

Originally Posted by mclisa

khrys has the right idea. You need to get the baby screened for development and started on those programs.

I think you also need to see your doctor and figure out if there is some reason why the your child isn't eating. Is it a food allergy? Or maybe a malabsorption issue. Has your child been sick often? I think a blood panel looking into that as well as checking the urine might be needed. Kids shouldn't be losing weight and that is a red flag that something is going on.

:

My dd had reflux pretty bad at that age. She wasn't considered FTT (nursing seemed to pack a few pounds on her LOL) but she wasn't eating solids at a year, and she was barely 18 pounds. And this was on reflux meds! She also wasn't talking much at the 14 month old point, and she didn't really start talking until around 20 months or so... maybe even later. Now she just turned two and she is talking up a storm. As for the solids, she's still pretty picky but she did start eating much better around 15 months or so.

I think the difference with my dd is that she never lost two pounds like your dd has, she was just really slow to gain and eat solids. I really do think you should get your dd checked to make sure that there isn't a larger medical problem going on, especially if she is acting kind of lethargic around the house. I hope everything turns out ok for you... I can remember how worried I was about dd when she was that age, before she really started eating well.

[catherinevictoria]

I agree, you must call your pediatrician or go to the outpatient clinic at your local (maybe children's) hospital. I am close with a family whose dd was FTT at one year weighing 17lbs. They were never able to detect the real problem, but suspect it was something physiological, as she had some other minor birth defects that suggested so. They started a calorie chart and paid very special attention to her diet. You must find doctors who will be helpful and supportive and try to get to the bottom of your dd's problem. Lethargy for a toddler is a sure sign you must get her help. Good luck to you and dd! You might be frustrated at first by the doctors and other medical personel, but you must convey your daughter's symptoms exactly and trust your instinct.

[catherinevictoria]

one more suggestion:
consider environmental factors. What could be in her environment that she may be reacting to? Are there any major pollutants in your home or area in which you live. Try to brainstorm.

[alllyssa]

First, it is totally normal for your 14 month old not to be saying anything other than mama and dada. Don't worry about that AT ALL. Second, 18 lbs. at a year is also totally normal for some babies. Third, if your baby seems sick and is loosing weight take her to the dr. A "simple" (of course, it's not simple for baby to get poked) blood test will rule out anemia, lead poisioning, an infection of some sort, or something, God forbid, worse. BUT it's probably nothing so don't worry.

BTW, my baby Klara only weighs about 18 lbs. and has only gained a pound or two in 6 months. I am not worried at all. She is VERY active and started crawling at 5.5 months and walking at 9 mos. so she doesn't have time to gain any weight!

Good luck,

[laohaire]

Originally Posted by alllyssa

First, it is totally normal for your 14 month old not to be saying anything other than mama and dada. Don't worry about that AT ALL. Second, 18 lbs. at a year is also totally normal for some babies. Third, if your baby seems sick and is loosing weight take her to the dr. A "simple" (of course, it's not simple for baby to get poked) blood test will rule out anemia, lead poisioning, an infection of some sort, or something, God forbid, worse. BUT it's probably nothing so don't worry.

I agree that the verbal stuff is normal. And the weight of 18 pounds isn't too bad in and of itself, but LOSING weight is a red flag. And she's lost 2 pounds. So I don't think saying it's probably nothing is realistic.

I WILL say that I think she will be ok with some intervention, so I'm not saying this is a dire, dire emergency. But weight loss in a child that age needs to be addressed.

[bauchtanz]

I would suspect allergies. No matter, your child needs to be seen by a Dr.

[sbgrace]

I also don't think a weight loss at this age (let alone a baby who appears to lack energy or be sick) is likely to be nothing. That said, it could be something that is easy to fix with diet changes (like celiac disease). Is your babe seeing a dr.?

[3boobykins]

I agree that a 2 lb weight loss, appearing "sickly" and low energy is not "nothing" DD2 was under 18 lbs at a year, but eating, full of energy, and gaining--much slower than before, but definitely not losing weight. I would check this out as soon as possible. I'm sure she'll be just fine, though, once you figure out what's going on.

[oliversmum2000]

my dd is almost 16 months old and weighs 18lbs, i dont think being small on its own is a cause for concern, but the fact that your dd has lost weight and is lethargic and generally unwell rings alarm bells for me - i would definitely get her checked

[momof2princesses]

thanks for the advice....i have an appointment with the ped in the morning. i just hope and pray that he listens to me! i will keep you guys posted..

also, today...dd ate 2 cookies (gluten free chocolate chip from the health food store) i know it is not the best in the world but she ATE them! sould i continue giving her this since she eats them...or insist on more healthful things (which she never ever eats!)

[sbgrace]

Well, if my kiddo was eating nothing and losing weight I'd let him eat some cookies! A suggestion--if she will drink and you can find a smoothie that she likes (fruit base is generally popular though my guys like carrot juice) you can get all kinds of calories and protein and healthy fats in a smoothie.
I'm really glad you are seeing a dr. I hope you'll update on how it goes.

[Valian]

Originally Posted by momof2princesses

thanks for the advice....i have an appointment with the ped in the morning. i just hope and pray that he listens to me! i will keep you guys posted..

also, today...dd ate 2 cookies (gluten free chocolate chip from the health food store) i know it is not the best in the world but she ATE them! sould i continue giving her this since she eats them...or insist on more healthful things (which she never ever eats!)

I'd offer the cookies and add some flax seed oil on top!

[momof2princesses]

well...the dr. is definatley concerned. her weight was right at 18 pounds. he said to give her PEDIASURE ?!?!?!!!! (two cans per day) While i understand that it has all the nutrients she needs...it jsut seems so unatural...plus..if she would drink 2 CANS of pediasure then I would not have this problem b/c i could give her a smoothie or something. problem is she sips at it (maybe two good sips) and will not have anything to do with it. So, I decided to go to the health food store. today. I bought some "Lauras Healthy Junk Food" basically good-for-you cookies, LUNA Bars (i think she may go for this) and Animal Parade liquid vitamins along with individual boxes of Organic Chocolate Soy Milk, and Organiz Apple Juice....I am just going to keep trying...she has another appointment in 4 weeks and if she has not gained or has lost weight he wants me to WEAN her : and give her formula (NOT!!!) and he will do blood work...

[KatWrangler]

I would get a second opinion. Losing 2 pounds in a 14 month old is alot!

ETA - I think bloodwork should be done now. Not in four weeks.

[maryeb]

I say get the bloodwork done now. 4 weeks seems way too long to me....I don't understand why testing wouldn't be done right away...Not that this sounds seriously alarming, as my ds wasn't eating much solid food at 14 mo. nor saying much besides mama/dada, but you are concerned and you said the dr. was as well.

[dawn1221]

I would also insist on bloodwork now. Please keep us posted. I am very concerned.

[iamama]

I agree on getting the blood work done. I can't believe your doc suggested weaning! Is it possible to use a different ped.?