14 Month Old Is .17 Percentile for Weight

What is his height percentile? Is he growing, even slowly?
My niece was so small! She didn't hit 20 lbs until she was a little over a year, so she had to ride in her infant car seat that whole time. She wasn't a good eater, but mostly, she was just small. Then she got a stomach bug. Because she was so tiny, she ended up in the hospital. After that, they tried everything to get weight on her, including finding the fattiest, highest-calorie butter spread in the store, and putting it on and in everything. She did put on some weight.

I think the worst after-effect of this incident is how she and her little brother eat now. They're super picky still, and since my sister and BIL were desperate to get them to eat, it because a huge battle, with the kids manipulating their parents like crazy. When they didn't want to go to bed, they suddenly said, "I'm hungry" and their parents instantly stopped putting them to bed and let them stay up late to eat. This turned into their not eating any dinner, which they didn't like so much, and waiting to eat until after bedtime, when their parents gave them yummy cereal instead of that yucky broccoli from dinner.

My niece is still small. She was wearing size 2 shoes at age 10, and my 6 yr old is wearing size 1 1/2 now. My sister worried about her constantly, but did some family research and found that we have a tiny spitfire of a woman in our family tree. She was only 4' 9". that helped my sister stop worrying. Also, my nephew, although he ate just as poorly, is plenty tall.

Stick it out, giving him lots of things to try to eat. Cheerios, those fruit-puffs (they're fun shapes), and puree things with a hand-blender to make them extra smooth. But don't let him know that you'll do anythying to get him to eat, or you'll just make more problems for you and him in the future. It sounds like he might have sensory issues, where he doesn't like textures. Does he pull at his clothes or hate tags in his shirts?

These are my random thoughts on the subject. Sorry they're not real organized!

Hi A.,

The folks who responded with the feeding therapy are right on the mark. I would encourage you to have your doctor write the referral/order to send your son to a feeding therapist. Most are speech or OT's and are trained in exactly the kind of reactions your son is having to foods. They will work with him (with you there as well) and try a variety of foods and play to get him more comfortable with it. I would also encourage going thru with the doctor's testing-- and don't be worried. It's so much better to know what you're dealing with as a mother than not. And it's much better to get all of this going now, at his age, than to wait until later, when it's much harder for him to overcome a sensory issue or be treated for anything serious. Personally I think he's fine (as long as his height/growth chart is consistent) and that feeding therapy may be all he needs to jumpstart his oral motor/sensory issues. Best of luck and don't lose hope! All will work out-- just wait. :)

I wouldn't worry about his weight as long as he continues to hit milestones. My kids were off baby food and on to table food by 12 months. Maybe try feeding him small pieces of what you're eating. FYI: my daughter is 22 months and 19 lbs 5 oz and only 30 1/2 inches, and not on the chart, but happy and hitting milestones. We did all the testing, LOTS of blood tests and because of her small size she had to have multiple blood draws to get enough. Go with your gut, if you think testing is necessary go with it, if not you know what to do.

Wow, 0.17%ile, that's pretty low. I've never even seen that growth line on a chart (in fact, it doesn't seem right to me--can they double check?). The lowest I've ever seen on a growth chart has been 2%, which is where my son is now. Obviously, your son is smaller than mine, but it doesn't seem like 17 lbs at 14 months is more than 10 times smaller than my son!!! My son is 17 lbs at 12 months. No biggy to me. He was 4 lbs at birth and has been healthy in every way. Our Dr. said to feed him extra fat. Your son is getting plenty to drink so he won't die, but offer him lots of different things and don't make a big deal if he doesn't accept them. Here are some suggestions: full-fat yogurt (the whole thing, not just a teaspoon!), full-fat cottage cheese with diced soft canned fruit. Put lots of butter in those sweet potatoes! Cream cheese with graham crackers, cheese ravioli w/ butter or olive oil or cheese sauce, full-fat soft, processed cheese, just to name a few things. I know, my son is fickle sometimes and won't eat anything but the fruit, but at least I know I've tried, and he surprises me a lot (this morning he ate some yummy banana muffins I made, with lots of butter on them). Let me know if have any more questions.

I went through some of these same things with my daughter who is now 3. She was born ar 6lb 9 oz but she has not even been on the charts for % the doctor was worried about her and she had all kinds of tests run on her including cystic fybrosis, ciliac disease all kinds of tests I don't even remember all of them. But she was fine and at her 3 yr appt. she is finally in the 47% for weight! She has other issues with possible hearing loss becasue of ear infections im guessing. but her weight is fine now and she was a VERY picky eater too . I guess my suggestion would be to not give up on foods keep giving them to him and try not to worry too much I would do the tests just to be safe but I bet he is fine!

I can only respond to the weight concerns...it's all I have experience with. =) If there are no problems found through testing, I wouldn't be super concerned about the weight. My daughter was somewhat picky about food but her pediatrician was never concerned because she did continue to grow, even if it was a small amount. We were happy with a few ounces. Also, her iron levels were fine and she had no signs of malnutrition. My daughter was 15 1/2 lbs. when she was one and it took a whole other year to reach 18 lbs.. She wasn't even on the growth percentile chart for most of her first year and was in the 1% group for years after. She was wearing 6-9 months clothes forever. Her weight gain was slow until she was about 4. She just now started wearing 4T underwear but had been wearing 2T/3T for over two years. She'll be 5 in April and suddenly she's hit a growth spurt and everyone keeps telling me how big she is for a 4 year old (she's actually just looking more average now but definitely taller than she was). =) I would totally not stress. If he's happy, active, and beginning to walk, it sounds like he's doing great! I remember getting a paper from the doctor at one point about how there are different types of eaters. Some only like one thing and some only like one consistency. It might just be as simple as that. Keep us posted! Hope everything works out! You might just have a tiny little guy on your hands. =)

I think he is exactly how kids are spposed to be. Pushing solids on children as young as 1 or less is ridiculous. children need to be breastfed as long as possible but I say maybe by 3 they should be eating some solids. His nutrition is great but its not fattening. Breastmilk is super think and digests very fast. Dont be suprised if your kids dont like meat lol mine are both bonified vegetarians but come from meat eating parents. They know what they like and dont. Your kid is normal in my eyes unless doc says he has a true medical reason. Happy , healthy and developinbg well is no cause for alarm. My 2nd girl is 22 months and she is barely 24 pounds ans she was born 7.6 lbs at birth! Skinny Minnie! she just doesnt like meat, or food for that matetr she rather just drink it all. she is 100% healthy and growing just fine. Dont fret, and dont compare your kids to others!! I have a exceptionally large child and a dainty one. they are so night and day! Till the doctors say there is a definitive reason, your kids perfectly normal, really! NORMAL!

If he seems to be followig that same general trend throughout his life, he is fine.. The only time to worry is when they sudden drop3mo and percentiles. Say if he was at the 60% at 10% at9mo it would be a reason to worry. If he has always been a small guy, dont worry at all, SOMEONE has to be in the 1%.

A., of course I can't tell you whether there's anything wrong but my son was the same way and they ran all the tests and nothing was wrong with him. He was born in the 50th percentile and at one point, at about a year, he was down to the 3rd percentile! Yikes! He was back up to the 30th percentile at one point and now, at almost 3 years old, he's in the 15th percentile. He's just fine health wise but we struggle with food on a daily basis. It's a control issue with him and he won't eat much at home because he knows we want him to. Now, we tell him "no videos" unless you eat some dinner. It works - sort of. Bottom line is that he is fine health wise and he will not starve himself, no matter how much it seems like he will. Hang in there and I'm betting your son is just fine.

I wouldn't worry because of his percentile. My daughter isn't even on the charts and after lots of testing the DRs have all concluded that she is healthy and that its just her. However, I would have his feeding issues checked out. I would let your DR run the tests just to be sure, but to me this sounds more like a sensory feeding issue and there are therapies that can really help or eliminate the strong preference for baby foods. I would look up your local Early Childhood Intervention number and self refer. They will send a speech therapist (who actually deals with all the mechanics of the mouth including chewing and sensory problems, not just speech) out to your home to test his eating and chewing skills for free. Then you have the option of doing therapy through them or not and they will give you a report of his development in these areas for your DR. Its great to have this done at home because your child will be more comfortable and will show them how he usually eats. Also they are able to take much more time and observe more behavioural causes for slow weight gain than your DR can in appointments in his office.

My kids are complete opposites, my son is 95 percentile height and weight, my daughter is 95 percentile for height and 40 percentile for weight. What I can share is my friends kids have always been small for their age and barely, if at all in any range on the chart. They are both healthy normal happy kids. They do take a while to eat but they do eat. She wishes her kids had my kids habbits. You don't say how tall he is. Here is a link to weight vs. height. http://www.cdc.gov/growthcharts/data/set2clinical/Cj41cs0...
My friends daughter is always on and off the chart for weight vs. age but when you look at weight vs. height she is perfectly fine. Still in the 20-40 range but she's fine. If your son is ok on this part you might want to get a second opinion before going through a bunch of tests. Are you and/or your husband or family short/petite, this plays a huge role in if their size too.

On to food, it took my son a long time to like food with texture, I wouldn't worry about it. Keep small foods in front of him while you are feeding him and he will eventually pick it up. you might try mixing some solid food with the stage 2. I would use the beach nut rice and oatmeal cereal and mix it with the sweet potato, etc. Once he starts to get used to the texture you can thicken up the cereal which will make it lumpier and give it more texture. He eventually grew out of it and now eats almost anything.. Hopefully it helps with the transition.

I say don't stress. I have three boys that were the same way. With my oldest, we ran him through so many expensive tests, but there's absolutely nothing wrong with him. He was just small. Now he's four and so tall and still healthy as ever! My youngest boys had RSV so the only thing they were tested for was cystic fibrosis. They are now two and only just beginning to get back onto the growth charts. Part of me wishes I'd not put my kids through all the tests and avoided the expense and the hassle, but it's nice to be sure they're fine. If your doctor is not overly worried and your son is healthy in every way and progressing and still growing (however slight) he's fine. Some people just make smaller kids and it's perfectly fine to not be above 50% on the growth charts. Sounds to me like he's just fine and you're doing a great job!

It's natural to worry. It can't hurt to run the tests and see. My friends daughter was very tiny. It turned out she had some sensory issues w/ food - texture etc. She did attend some food classes when she was about 2 - 2.5... and she's 4 next month, super healthy and doing awesome in preschool. Whatever it is or isn't, do your best to take it as it comes... and enjoy the little guy!

I would have the tests run, just to make sure there's no underlying problems (our son was severely anemic in the same situation), but it sound like sensory issues. I'd see if Children's has a branch near you, or if there is some other options. Child Find is free for the evaluation and services. My two kids who have needed feeding therapy have really liked Beckman's Tri-Chew toys (the blue or pink ones, not green). It has really helped speed up their progress. I just let them chew on them as long as they want. I usually just Google the name and buy from the cheapest website, usually 3 at a time. Letting them chew those and then trying to eat really helped a lot. The toy is designed to help baby (or child) feel their mouth so eating can happen with less trouble. I really think that feeding therapy would help from what you're saying. I would suspect the only things that may show in blood work is possible deficiencies due to such a limited menu. Please don't take that as judgement. I just know my kids with eating issues ended up needing vitamins earlier than most kids due to lack of nutrition even though we were doing everything in our power to avoid it. If you need help finding therapists, I have a pretty good resource list, although not as far out as Montrose (yet). I'd be more than willing to help. I know how overwhelming things can feel at times. I hope he does well. If it's any consolation, I have one kid at the 75th and 50th percentiles, one we fight for everything. It's a good day for him if he qualifies at the 10th percentile, but usually is below the 3rd, and another that swings from below the 2nd to the 25th percentile. Sometimes kids just don't gain as fast. Remember, the growth charts are averages, which means someone is way high, and someone else is way low. :) Hang in there!

I've known of several babies that were just naturally very small, and didn't have any problems. But I agree with the other moms that it's a good idea to look into feeding therapy in case that's an issue.

My son has always been a good eater, so I don't have much advice in that department. But he's gone through phases in his growth from very chubby to too thin. When I needed to put weight on him at the same age a big favorite was mashed banana and avocado. Lots of good nutrients, and lots of good fat in the avocado. If it's too thick for his tastes, you can thin it a little bit. I also made a lot of full-fat yogurt smoothies -- which were a big hit.

My son was born at 6lbs 8oz and had a low weight issue as well as he was a VERY picky eater too! He was completely OFF the scale for over a year and after he was something like 2.5 he finally got back on at being in the 2% range. My doctor didn't worry about it because he was growing, he was eating, just on a different scale than the average. But his growth chart still showed he was growing - just not like average. He is now 3 years old and still hasn't hit 28lbs,... so basically I'd say don't worry about it until whatever tests you have done are back & IF the Dr tells you there's something *to* stress about. (Still try not to then, but I think you get the point.) :)
Your son may just be a tiny guy like mine, but being active burns off the calories so fast to get fat on their bodies. ... Good luck!

I agree of what some others say about not worrying. I would add that the whole milk/formula bottles he's getting sounds a little high. My pediatrician said it should be less than that--maybe he is filling up on milk and not food? If you pulled that back a little, it may help. My daughter would get one bottle of milk a day after 12 months and then I would nurse her after she ate. Just a thought! Good luck.

Good questions! From my experience, I would not run tests as suggested by doctor, but would make an appointment with a Speech Language Pathologist or Occupational Therapist for a feeding evaluation. When a baby has weak muscles in their mouth, or incorrect movement of the tongue, in inhibits them from chewing and swallowing, These babies often refuse meat or mixed textures. But with training from a professional, they develop the skills they need and go on to be super eaters. My last child had feeding therapy, and I *wish* I had known about it for my first child. When you call to make an appointment, you want to ask if the therapist has experience with pediatric feeding. (Many are trained for elderly stroke patients, and you want one with training with kids) Hope this helps!
A.
www.breastandbottlefeeding.com

All kids move at different paces, but I think it is a good idea to have him checked out incase there is something going on that can be easily fixed and help him to get more nutrition. My gf's daughter was born at 32 wks at 3 lbs and now at 10 months is not a good eater either. Her pedi suggested she add olive oil to most foods. She has other tricks like sour cream and cream cheese, all mixed in with her favorite pureed foods. She was also told the meat was super imporant because of the iron and she daughter was becoming anemic. She was going to try putting chicken in the food processor with olive oil and trying to add cream cheese for flavor? Hope that helps some, good luck!

My son was that weight at 12 months. By 18 months he was up to 20 lbs. I can't remember exactly when he gained what, but he doesn't seem that different from your son. He was less than 5 lbs when he was born and has always been in the 1st or 2nd percentile for weight. Our doctor has never been worried and our son has been healthy in all ways. I wouldn't worry about your son just based on his weight. From what I understand, his growth curve is more important than his weight itself. Has he been gaining steadily, even if he's small? If he's stopped growing, that would seem to be a concern. But if his rate of growth is holding steady, I would ask your doctor more questions. In terms of foods that your son eats, have you tried making your own baby food? It's super easy and I think it tastes better than the canned stuff. Maybe it would appeal to him more?