One Year Old Wearing 6 Month Clothes

In my opinion, if she has lost 2 pounds in the last two weeks at such a young age, something is up and the little girl needs to be checked right away. If the doctor does not seem too concerned, get a second opinion.

Best Wishes,

J. H.

1 mom found this helpful

I think that just to be on the safe side, mom should keep a complete diary of what she is eating and have a consultation with a dietician. Also, scales are not always accurate. Maybe she should also make sure she is weighing at the same time each day on an accurate pair of scales.

S.

I think it's important for one thing to consider family history. Our docs have expressed minimal concern at our children's low weight, however we know that both my husband and I were very thin as children (not anymore unfortunately!) and both of our children have been this way as well--not off the growth charts, but around the 5th percentile or less. What our pediatricians have also said is that as long as they are consistent in their place on the charts, not to worry about it. However, they do also recommend feeding them the higher calorie snacks and plenty of dairy.
If she is continuing to lose weight, that should be looked into, but I think if she has always been this way, it's not something to be overly concerned about.

Hi, M.,
Don't worry about your niece. My twin daughters were and still are very small in weight for their age. At 4, they just now weigh 26 and 29 pounds. They are healthy, active, perfectly fine and normal in height and development. They are just small in weight. Their muscles are proportionate to their builds and they are just fine. Tell her mother to learn to sew, though. I have had to (and still do) put tucks in the waistbands of every pair of pants, shorts and pajamas that my girls wear because they can still wear 18 month and 2T clothing around their waists at 4 1/2 years old.

My son is 27 mths and can still fit into 9-12mth shorts. He is wearing 18mth clothes. I say as long as the child looks healthy and is eating, and getting the proper nutrition,I would say nothing to worry about. She is just petite.

If her dr isn't worried, I wouldn't be either. I was always (until I hit puberty) really really skinny. I mean small... anorexic-looking skinny! People used to make comments to my mom and now I understand what they were all about. Does she eat? Do you have concerns about her parents? If not, then don't worry about it. I still have some 9mo clothing for my 16mo old. And you should see him eat! LOL! I hope everything works out well!

M., you should find another doctor if you are still concerned after her regular doctor has said she's healthy. This is not normal. There could be many underlying problems. Personally, I would go for a second opinion. Our prayers are with you.
Jan in MO

My granddaughter will be 4 in August and she is still wearing 18 month clothes. The doctor says she is perfectly healthy and not to worry. She sometimes goes a couple of days without eating anything more than a piece of fruit and drinking some milk. He says she knows when she is hungry and will eat when she is ready. She was 6 weeks early and only weighed 3lbs 12 oz, so she has always been small. I was worried too but the doctor swears she is fine, so I have learned to live with it. We just make sure that we chart her eating habits and take her to the doctor often for checkups. As long as your neice is healthy I don't think there is much to worry about. But stay on the weight loss and make sure you tell the doctor about it.

I have 2 daughters that are at the bottom of the growth chart. My 2 1/2 year old has been under the chart most of her life and my 5 month old just fell below about a month ago. Based on her older sister, she will probably continue to stay below for at least another year. My oldest is now back on the chart, but only in about the 10th percentile. She will be 3 at the end of the summer but still wears some 18 month clothes and even a few 12 month items. Anyway, we spent much of the first year of her life in and out of the doctors with weekly weight checks, multiple blood tests, and eventually trips to see specialists. They even made me keep diet diaries to be sure I was feeding her enough! Everything came back normal, as I suspected. There were times that she would drop a little weight and then gain it back, but for the most part she was slow but steady. They've now resolved that she is just petite. I have now had to take my younger daughter in for monthly weight checks but am hoping that as long as she continues to gain she will not have to endure all the tests that my oldest did. As long as they are healthy I don't see anything wrong with having a small child. In fact, I think it's great because they outgrow things slower which saves us more money! And they're also lighter to carry!

Make sure the scales are ok, but if she's really losing weight, you want to talk to the pediatrician.
I'm not a medical professional, I only have my own experience, but I know from our son that if the adrenal gland isn't functioning properly a baby can lose weight despite eating properly.
Are there any other symptoms besides losing weight?

My daughter has always been small, right now she is 2 and the same size as our friends nine month old. However, she is active and healthy. Is your niece active and energetic or does she seem tired? I would be concerned if she is tired and also I have heard that malnurished children sometimes have a soft spot that sinks on their head. She may have never grown out of the 6-9 month clothes to begin with, and just needed to stay in that size for a bit longer. I don't see size as being unhealthy, unless she is exhibiting outward signs for concern I would say she is probably just as perfectly healthy as the 5 month old.

I would think the doctor would be concerned with her loosing weight. Like you say as long as they gain weight and are proportional I think it isn't a concern. This is something that really has to be addressed by her pediatrician. I always worry mine are to big but they are very tall too so their weight and height are proportional and that is what seems to matter.

I would get a second opinion. Losing weight is not usually normal for an infant; especially 2lbs. For us that could easliy be water weight, but on an infant that's like a limb! The fact that she is a good eater speaks well, but to get a second opinion couldn't hurt. There is what they call 'failure to thrive' that is usually recognized by weight loss or inability to gain (and usually involves poor eating and many other symptoms), and there is also cystic fibrosis that involves being notoriously small but eating like crazy (this one is actually an issue that most seriously affects the lungs that also has that symptom... funny thing with this one, most parents notice a salty taste on their child's lips when they give them kisses) but there could be normal things that explain it or even simpler things that maybe just need correcting (like celiac disease as mentioned by someone else)... no matter what though, the doc said himself 'if she's gaining'... and she's not, so check it out. Wishing the best for all of you!

My youngest is also tiny, he is 31 months (2 years and 7 months) and he barely fits a 2T some of his pants are still 18 months and many of his shorts are 12-18 months. The weight loss however, is a cause for concern. Mind you she may just be small, she should not be loosing weight. I would talk to the Ped.

I would definitely call the doctor about the weight loss, especially if she's gone down a clothing size. May be nothing - weight fluxuates, but still. I thought my doctor was crazy when he had no concern about the way my son ate - practically nothing - just pancakes and other bread products, and very little of those. He told me that as long as he was growing or gaining weight, he was fine. Well, he's 6'3" now and still eats like a bird. My daughter who is built more like him eats fairly normally and is 14 now, is a head and shoulder shorter than her classmates and still wears a girl's size M tops and 10 slim pants (sometimes size 8 slim). She's barely 75 pounds. Some people are just tiny. If it's any consellation, my grandpa was tall but skinny and lived to 92 on a diet of mainly peanut butter, cookies and hot tea!

First did you weigh her at the same time of day with the same clothing on. Obviously if you weigh her right after eating one day and when she hasn't ate for a while the next time it will seem as if she lost weight. As far as the size as long as she is healthy, growing, and developing at the proper pace she is probably fine. My daughter was still in 6-9 month clothes on her first birthday. She is now 20 months and still in 12 month clothing and can still wear some 6-9 month clothes. There is nothing wrong with her she is just little like the majority of the women on my mom's side of the family.

Being small doesn't necessarily mean anything. Some people are small all their lives, some may start small and "catch up" laters, who knows. What does concern my about your question though, is the 2 pound weight loss. That's a pretty big percentage of her body weight. I'd get her checked out and if your not satisified, take her to see someone else. One dr. does not have all the answers.

my oldest son stayed small and didn't gain much weight the first year. He did spit up a lot and I was concerned about that and always asked the doctors about it but they didn't seem too concerned because his weight was consistant. He wasn't gaining a lot of weight but didn't lose weight so as long as he was gaining they were happy. He also had bronchialitis from 3 months old and continued until we moved to a different state when he was a year old, then he got better but was still small for his age. In fact he wore a size 2T when he started Kindergarten. He was always below on the growth chart and occasionally would hit the 5% in those first 5 years but then would drop off the chart again at his next appointment. He is now 15 and is 5'6" and right around 100 pounds. He is still smaller than most boys his age but looks healthy and finally grew in height. We are short. His Dad is 5'6" and I am 5'2" and he still has a few years he could still grow taller than us.

If this baby is looking sick or has other concerns then check with more doctors, but if she is just consistantly small and otherwise healthy then she will probably be fine. My son was always a happy baby, the only concerns we had were his wheezing with the bronchiolitis and the excessive spitting up but he never fussed with any of it and is a very bright kid with high goals that he is working to achieve for his future.

I would be concerned now.

My son is on the other end of the chart - 98th percentile height & weight - and if he lost 2 pounds, I would be concerned. Not panicking, but certainly concerned.

I am tiny. Always have been off the chart tiny... If I lost 2 pounds now, I'd get concerned and consciously try to eat some extra calories.

There are a few other things that come to mind:
Make sure you aren't accidentally sabotaging her appetite with to many carb/sugar snacks. We did this with my son at about this age.
If she just started walking, the extra activity can cause a slight weight loss. Or re-distribution... I've known a lot of babies to "slim down" when they start walking - only to have a growth spurt shortly thereafter and be walking around in pants that suddenly look like waders!
With the increasing warm weather, make sure she's getting enough liquids that she's not losing her appetite due to minor dehydration. If she doesn't want water - try watermelon!
I would also recommend going to the Dr. again - or a different Dr.! That far outside the growth curve warrants additional research, just in case it isn't just being a cute petite little thing!

Hope that helps - or at least gives you a starting point for conversation with a doctor!

T.

I wouldn't worry about it.

My daughter is 5 (6 in July) and last fall at school she had shorts on. They kept sliding down and finally the teacher looked to see what size they were and she was shocked to see 18 months!! My daughter is very petite but tall. She only weighs 32 pounds and is very hard to find clothes her age to fit her. I always make sure she has a belt at school incase I forget to put one on her. Her ped. isn't worried about her being small as we have family members that didn't even weigh 100 pounds their entire life. My sister is 53 and never got over 90 pounds.

J.

Has she recently started walking ? Or switched from the bottle to a cup ? Or even switched from baby formula to cow's milk ? All these things can cause a slight, temporary weight loss in a one-year-old.
You can try giving her some baby formula (if she has been off of it) since it adds weight, or Pediasure in addition to meals (not in place of meals) or put Ovaltine in her milk since it, too tends to put on weight.

She should be checked by her pediatrician, but if you are not comfortable with his opinion and really feel there is something not right, get a second opinion.
Your niece's health is of far more importance than any perceived offended feelings on her doctor's behalf. I really don't think he would mind if you get another opinion, but if he does mind and is offended by it, then his primary concern was not for your neice but for his own reputation, and perhaps he is not the best choice for her anyway if that is the case.

i have a friend whos child is the same way. when her doctor couldnt come up with an explanation, she started doing some research on her own. she now believes her daughter has celiac;s disease. this is a condition that makes the body unable to digest glutein-which is found in bread, pastas, all starchy foods. the only problem is, they prefer not to do the test until 18 months of age. her doctor believes this could be the reason maddy isnt growing well, and if they were to switch her to a glutein free diet,the sypmtoms would disappear within 2 weeks. however, the doctor told them to give her pediasure several times a day for now, which has helped her grow some. theyre just waiting for the 18 month mark to do the test. i dont know if the cases are the same, but it might be worth looking into. hope it helps.

At that age, you aren't supposed to be concerned as long as they are gaining. She is LOSING, so yes, be concerned. It's not about her size on the chart, its about her size in relation to herself on her own curve.

I would talk to your sibling about getting your niece to the doc sooner rather than later (unless you are her primary caregiver - then you take her in as soon as you can). The doc will know if it is a problem and how to correct it. If not an issue, at least it will put your mind at ease. Hope that helps.

I'd get her to the pediatrician. She's losing weight, and 2 pounds at her size is a lot to lose, and it sounds like she lost it pretty quickly.