15-month-old losing weight

1132 Views 8 Replies 7 Participants Last post by CaliMommie, Apr 6, 2006

minkajane

Discussion Starter · Apr 5, 2006

DS eats like a horse. He crams food into his mouth like he's starving sometimes. Last night, he nursed, ate about a cup of mixed veggies, ate half of a very large veggie wrap, then I found him into the mixed veggies again. All this in the space of an hour. But I think he may be losing weight. I weighed him at home about a month ago and the scale said he was right at 20 pounds. We were in the hospital for an appointment for me last week and ran by pediatrics for a weight check. 19 pounds 6 oz. Monday, we took him in for a visit because of a sinus infection. 18 pounds 10 oz. Could fluctuations like this be because of the scale? It's quite possible that the one at home is off by a bit, but losing almost a pound in less than a week doesn't seem right. He was weighed in the same office, but I don't know if it was the same scale.

He seems happy and is very chubby, but he's always eating. He can eat a whole banana in less than a minute. We've always had trouble getting him to pack on the pounds. He's been off the bottom of the scale since he was 8 months old. He started solids at 5 ½ months and has loved food from the start. He nurses at least 4 times a day, sometimes 5, so at least he's getting calories from that. I've been trying to give him nutrient-rich foods like veggies and spinach and oatmeal. Is there something else I can do to help him plump up?

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elmh23

· #2 · Apr 5, 2006

Scales can vary greatly, so I'd take that into consideration.

Can you nurse him more? Avacodo is a really great fat. Other than that, I'm out of suggestions.

Good luck!

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USAmma

· #3 · Apr 5, 2006

My dd has eating issues so we get her weighed regularly. Last week she weighed 26.5 pounds at the ped's office, and 25.5 at the Ped GI's office the very next day. I think it was due in part to her recently having drunk a smootie drink right before the Ped's appt and right after we got back she did a big BM. The next day at the Ped GI's she was not eating or drinking well and had done her BM already. That plus the variation in the scales makes me realize that you need to look at the overall trends, not the specific weight between different scales.

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carrietorgc

· #4 · Apr 5, 2006

another take - food allergies or things like celiac disease can lead to malabsorption and low/slow wt gain. how are his stools? the ped can do a simple test for malabsorption based on the stool.

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minkajane

Discussion Starter · #5 · Apr 5, 2006

He poops a LOT. They're usually pretty solid, with a few squishy ones in there. No blood or mucus that I've noticed.

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TurboClaudia

· #6 · Apr 6, 2006

in all the things you mentioned he eats, i don't think i noticed any fatty things... fats are soooooooo important for young brains and that would definitely add more weight to him (barring any other physical or allergy things going on), and it would also help him feel fuller longer since the stomach emptying is controlled mostly by fat content of the food in the stomach.

fatty things our son likes to eat: avocado, cheese, cottage cheese, yogurt (whole milk variety), chicken, potato chips/veggie sticks/other junk food, sunflower seed butter (we haven't done nut butters yet), butter (on his toast, bagel, rice cakes, but he doesn't like it on veggies anymore). i just realized that lot of these are dairy, so they may or may not work for your child. i also put Udo's Choice Oil Blend on his oatmeal every morning since it is a flax seed and sunflower see oil blend and full of healthy fats.

he does sound like he's just a small boy and yes, different scales can make a difference and different time of day, when they've eaten, when they've pooped/peed, and slight dehydration if they are or have been sick can also make a big difference at these young ages.

~claudia

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minkajane

Discussion Starter · #7 · Apr 6, 2006

He eats cheese, avocado, rice cakes, breads, bananas, pasta, a little ice cream, and whatever we eat most of the time.

He was tested for cystic fibrosis several months ago and the test came up negative. There has been no mention since then about further testing because he seems proportional for his size, not skinny.

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bobandjess99

· #8 · Apr 6, 2006

I think certainly your scales are off..i know the one in my docs office is about 4 ppounds heavier than my home scale....but that aside, as to the whole losing weight issue....

I personally believe it can be NORMAL.

My dd has done the same thing...at 1 year, she was 31 pounds....by 17 months, she was down to 29, now at 19 months is down to 27......

She eats foods and nurses still. She has grown in height, met all milestones (usually very early), talks, laughs, plays and is in generally good health.

I think that for some children, they can have LONG plateaus where their weight stays about the same for quite some time......and for some kids, losing weight is normal.....my dd was a roung, michelin-man fat ball of chub when she was a 27 pound 9 month old....and a 31 pound 1 year old.....but it is normal for a child to "slim down" , particularly if they were breastfed....the whole concept of "losing the baby fat"

The whole "children shoudn't lose weight" stance has no medical basis, as far as i can tell......

And who the heck said growth has to happen on a "curve"???????
Bah.

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CaliMommie

· #9 · Apr 6, 2006

Quote:

Originally Posted by carrietorgc
another take - food allergies or things like celiac disease can lead to malabsorption and low/slow wt gain. how are his stools? the ped can do a simple test for malabsorption based on the stool.

: Have they ever tested his stool? DS2 has fat malabsorption issues, and doesn't have cystic fibrosis or celiac. We are hoping to be able to get him tested for Shwachman-Diamond syndrome soon as it is the next most common cause of fat malabsorption issues in children. Also, I agree with the PP who said that scales can vary greatly~ the scale at DS2's ped's office & at his Ped GI's office were 8 oz different, HUGE considering his weight gain issues, as a one ounce gain was significant for him. Good luck finding the answers you need, mama

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