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Baby tummies

post #1 of 8
7/22/07 at 10:54pm
Thread Starter 
This post might be better suited for the Health and Healing forum, but I wanted you TF'ers opinions.

I've been around a couple babies whose tummies kind of stick out. These are 12-18 month olds that I have specifically noticed lately. Two in particular. I know their parents diets are typical American diets, and therefore the kids too. They are both first born children. Both breastfed under 6 mo. So, do some babies stomach's just stick out more than others, or is there a reason?
I know stomach's can stick out if one is malnourished, but that seems awfully extreme for these otherwise (typically) healthy babies. But, on the other hand, I know one of these babies diet is particularly..how to put it nicely...bad. Before and since he was weaned he has eaten whatever his parents were eating. Since he weaned he just drank plain store milk. I believe he weaned himself btw. But he doesn't appear to have any health issues. Anyway! Any thoughts?
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post #2 of 8
7/22/07 at 11:18pm
I gotta say, I've NEVER heard of someone having a stick out tummy because of "typical american food." Both mine have stick out tummies
post #3 of 8
7/23/07 at 1:00am
Thread Starter 
That's great! I absolutely meant no offense, and I'm glad it's just a baby thing.
post #4 of 8
7/23/07 at 2:02pm
Oh yeah, I'd say it's baby thing. Mine has had TF since she started eating and was breastfed until she self-weaned at 26 months. She's 2 and 1/2 now and still has a major sticky-out tummy! We were freaked about it when she was a year old (is it normal?) but we've since noticed that heaps of kids her age are just the same.

Spartz.
post #5 of 8
7/23/07 at 2:07pm
Well, there's normal baby/toddler pudgy tummy look, then there's the bloated stomach look. A child having a swollen looking stomach is one of the major red flags for celiac disease. Both of my kids went from the bloated look to the pudgy look once we got off of gluten-containing foods.
post #6 of 8
7/23/07 at 5:49pm
How would one tell the difference from the normal baby/toddler pudgy look to a bloated stomach? What is an accurate test for celiac? How long did it take for your kids to lose the bloated belly?
post #7 of 8
7/23/07 at 6:08pm
No gluten problems with my little girl - she never has it. I'm intolerant to most gluten-containing grains and the couple of times that my daughter has had it, she's reacted very badly so we know to keep her off it.

I think it is normal for babies and toddlers to have sticky-out tummies - within reason. When you think about how much they can eat (especially when a growth spurt hits) and their size, it makes sense. For example, today my daughter ate a bowl of yoghurt, two eggs, about 8 roast potatoes, 4 large chunks of cheese, two glasses of milk, half a cup of sultanas and a bowl of mince and rice for dinner. Now I am 5 times her weight, so if I had eaten 5 bowls of yoghurt, 10 eggs, 40 potatoes, 20 chunks of cheese, 10 glasses of milk, 2&1/2 cups of sultanas and 5 bowls of mince and rice - i.e., 5 times what she had - then I would no doubt have a large tummy too.

I think they need their large tummies at this age so they can fit in all the food they need for growing, activity and development.

Guess it's just hard to judge when it's normal and when it's a sign of something else; if you can't be sure it's large as opposed to bloated, then it wouldn't hurt to try some dietary changes and then if there still seems to be a problem, a proper medical check. But I am inclined to be relaxed about it if the child is otherwise healthy, active and developing properly.
post #8 of 8
7/23/07 at 6:17pm
A quick google search didn't bring up a picture. I know there's a picture in Kids with Celiac Disease by Dana Korn. I think it's on page 7- http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/1890...04779-5145220#. I don't have any pictures older than about 6 months on this machine, or I could post one.

Basically, it's pudgy vs swollen and bloated. You look at the kid and say "wow" because it doesn't look childish, it looks abnormal.

Accurate testing is controversial at best. I tested throguh www.enterolab.com and found out I carry two genes, so we didn't have genetic testing done on the kids- we know they have at least one of the celiac genes.

It took about 3 months of strict avoidance to look normal again. I also had abdominal bloading that went away.