No Weight Gain

C.,

My daughter is the same way. She is 19 months now and still weighs only 20 pounds. She was born a week late and weighed 8 pounds 2 ounces, so the doctors thought she should weigh more than she does. She is tall, but I have the same problem with pants, 18 months fall off the belly and 12 months are too short. She is constantly eating, and I have her on whole milk because of her low weight. However, the doctors say there is nothing wrong with her. They say she is just on the light side. Therefore, I would do the tests, but I wouldn't worry too much. He might just be a little on the thin side.

Doctors go by a weight chart that is for formula fed babies...many babies are smaller & that's okay. My little guy is 16 mos & 20 lbs & perfectly healthy. He has trouble gaining weight to but we're skinny people too. So don't worry, get some testing if you like. good luck.

Have him tested for celiac disease. Sometimes there can be no side effects except difficulty gaining weight.

Celiac disease is an intolarance to gluten (wheat).

My daughter was also 8.7 when she was born. She looked like a little sumo wrestler compared to the other 6 pound babies in the nursery. She did not gain weight from the begining but always looked and acted healthy. ( just very small) Dr's wanted my to feed her high fat foods like McDonals and add butter to things. It drove me crazy. Finally when she was about 3 she started to beef up, now she is still small (5yrs and 35 lbs) she looks healthy and acts healthy. Please go with your gut feeling as a mom. If you think or worry that something is wrong then go for the test.

Have a blood test for vitamin B-6

My first lost the ability to absorb B-6 one time (I think, for a variety of reasons not simply freakitude, it was a vaccine reaction), stopped growing. Doc caught it, gave her a direct B-6 injection to bring her levels back up, she's been fine ever since (I guess something drained it all and she couldn't replenish it fast enough or something, but once there was a usable level in her bloodstream her body got back on track).

Don't be afraid of tests, especially if they can just do one needle-poke (with comforting, all of my kids could handle one needle-poke, it was only when the medical folks did a second the baby/toddler flipped out). Blood tests give nice, tidy, definitive answers, and the answer might be important. (Lack of B-6 causes serious neurological damage, I was told.)

But if he is generally happy, healthy, and responsive, don't get too worried--moms usually Know if something is Wrong with their baby.

First, don't freak. My son, now 14, had the same issues. He was born 8lbs 3ozs but by his 3 month check up he barely weighed 9lbs. He dropped to the 5th percentile, the docs ran all kinds of tests(meningitis, metabolic), found nothing abnormal with him and determined that that was just how he was going to be. He's still underweight (and boy do I get tired of people telling me there is something wrong with him cuz hes so skinny!) but hes a healthy, happy, sometimes moody, normal teenager. He (and your son, I am sure) is just one of the lucky ones....their weight will eventually catch up with them.

My son just turned 2 a couple of weeks ago and he is only 22 pounds. For the past year I had been going in either every 6 weeks to 3 months to get him weighed and the doctor even had a ton of tests done on him. Every thing has turned out fine. Sometimes he eats like a horse and sometimes just a little and that is what you want. I am trying to give him extra fat to put on the weight. He is doing fine developmentally and if you look at him you would not think he was at the low end of the weight scale. I am going to continue giving him whole milk for this next year. Sometimes we get caught up on the percentile chart and how they are compared to other babies. If you child is doing great developmentally and is gaining weight I would not be too worried. I was very small as a child and my husband was on the slight end so I think he is natural that he is a little smaller. Hope that helps knowing that there are other babies out there that are on the small end.

S.

S.

Hi Candace-
All you can do is keep offering him food. He will eat when he wants. I think the hard thing at this age (if he is like my son) is that they are so active which doesn't help with the weight gain issue. My son is 15 months and only 19# last dr apt he was in the -5% but as long as he keeps gaining weight and is doing the things that he should developmentally the dr isn't too worried. I have lots of friends with kids that were really small too- off the charts like mine but now they are totally normal. I would say don't stress. Listen to your dr but also advice from friends like this can help ease your mind.
Adding some more fat like butter on toast or I add extra cheese to noodles or even a scoop of formula to his whole milk bottle. Anything to get some extra calories and fat in. If he is a picky eater maybe you can add more calories to the things he does like to eat.
Good Luck!
T.

C.,
First of all, look into celiac disease. I have it, and the comments that other folks have mentioned about it are true. It is sometimes not recommended to do the CD tests until at least 18-24 months of ages. There needs to be enough gluten in the body to test properly, and this amount of time somehow is effective.

My baby is 9.5 months old, and is below the charts now. She was 8.2 lbs. at birth, then was at 25%, 15%, 5%, and now below the charts. I take her back in for a weight check in a few days, so my fingers are crossed. I have learned that the weight charts are just a guide, and are not a definitive answer. Our Ped is worried, and always gives us a new task at each visit. One visit it was add fat, another it was more carbs, another it was supplement with formula. My baby eats like crazy, she just does not put on weight (or very little). However, she is meeting all of the milestones, and is doing great in that department. Sometimes, I lose sleep with worry, and sometimes I just look at how happy, alert and developmentally accurate she is. We also have had a few tests, all of which have come back negative (thankfully!). My advice after the celiac testing is for non-invasive testing first before donig blood draws, etc. It is just more pleasant for the baby. Good luck!

Wow this sounds very familiar to me. My son, now 10, is small and slender for his age (4'3" and 65 lbs), but is perfectly healthy. He went for quite a while growing and not gaining much weight around that same age. He still gains slowly compared to his hieght. It could be that your son is genetically predispositioned to be slender. My son is 1/4 chinese, his biological father is very slender and my father has always been very slender. My son inherited their fast metabolism.

If Your son doesn't seem lethargic and is acting like a normal healthy baby and gaining length, I wouldn't be too worried. Keep feeding higher calorie foods, but don't forget the healthy stuff too. Slim people can still get heart disease when they get older and eating habits start young. You can have the tests done if you need peace of mind, but I'm guessing you are going to have a little boy like mine that has to have a belt to keep his pants up once he gets out of diapers. (I recomend shopping for Wrangler Jeans in size 2 slim)

Check for food allergies. Also, Celiac disease can cause the bowels to not be able to process calories properly. It can also shut down the brain as the child gets older (this happened to me). This is a very serious illness, so doctors should be looking for it. There is a simple blood test to determine Celiac (unable to process wheat). My daughter had that and was underweight. After we took out wheat VOILA! Appetite went up, and she went to the 3rd percentile for size up to the 90th now!

C. there are a myriad of reasons why your baby hasn't been gaining weight. But try your best not to be fearful of what those reasons might be. Keep a good thought and remember to expect the very best. I know how overwhelming it can be when your child is ill because I've been through it but he needs you to keep a positive outlook and to expect only the best.

I'll keep you in my prayers. Remember...worrying never changes anything.

Blessings,
C.

Don't stress too much. Some kids will be small. Birth weight doesn't have much to do with future weight gain.
Continue what you are doing for foods. extra calories can't hurt. I try it with my 2 year old girl who is only 24 lbs (she has always been slow to gain).
Also i have heard the weight charts and percentiles are made for and definitely include formula fed babies who tend to gain weight much earlier than breast fed babies which is healtheir for them now and in the long run.
Of course if your dr suggests tests it can't hurt to do some just to rule out medical causes.

Hiya!

First off don't panic. You are not doing anything wrong. My daughter is 2.5 and barely 25 pounds. She started at 8.9 at birth and has steadily dropped on the growth charts. Bottom line is she is a bird. Almost three and still wearing 24 month clothes. The doctors, however, aren't concerned in the slightest. She is happy, healthy, and developing as she should. If you are concerned take him in, but they will probably say the same thing. However, taking him in may put your concerns to rest so I would recommend doing it.

For clothes issues (growing in length but not around) buy adjustable pants for him. Old Navy sells them (Target too I think?). The waistline has elastic you can pull and button inside to pull them in - I have to do this with my daughter.

My oldest son is like that and I've heard this happening with boys pretty often that they gain weight in the beginning months and then slow down at a year old or so. My son was 17 lbs at a year old and barely hit 20 lbs by 18 months. Now that he's almost 4 he's still only 29 lbs! In fact my 15 month old almost weighs as much as he does! He has always been a perfectly healthy active little boy - just tall and thin. We added whole milk yogurt and olive oil to his diet like another mom suggested and that helped some but this is just who he is. Having tests done is never a bad idea, but don't let it freak you out. As long as he is eating a reasonable amount I wouldn't worry about it. The one thing my pediatrician told me is that as long as his head is growing in the normal range then he's getting enough calories, so that might be something to ask about, but he's probably going to be perfectly healthy:) Hope this helps ..

Hello ~

My son (now 8 years old) followed exactly the pattern you describe, and at 18 months was diagnosed with Celiac Disease. It is a pain in the behind, but completely treatable. Don't mess around though, most pedis know very little about it and routinely mis-diagnose. I read recently that most people are misdiagnosed for an average of 11 years with Celiac. It is faily common (1 in 130 people carry the gene) but it isn't something MDs usually look for.

CD can be asymptomatic except for slow weight gain. Symptoms sometimes seen in children this age include crankiness, wasted buttocks and really thin legs, upset tummies, hyperactivity, pooping issues (too hard or too soft)and distractibility.

I would take your son to an endocrinologist. If you are in the Portland area I recommend the Pediatric Endocrinology Clinic at Emanuel Hospital. They will look for metabolic and autoimmune concerns such as Celiac, Diabetes, etc.

Good luck ~

L.

This is a topic close to me. My son was born pretty small and just stayed on a small percentil until 15 months when he dropped off the charts. At one he was 18 pounds and today at almost four he's about 27. At 15 months we were followed more to watch his weight gain. It wasn't until he was 2 1/2 befor I realized he didn't have normal poop. My 2nd little guy was forming solid poop before age 1 and Will was not, so I brought it up. Well, with his small size and messy poop we were onto a new round of interest.
Some kids are just naturally small - no doubt about it. I know I was quite skinny as a kid, so we tried not to worry a lot about Will. When his brother was born and took off in growth, it started to look a little more odd.
Fast forward and we are looking at a rather serious syndrome that Will likely has called Shwachman Diamond Syndrome.
My point I guess is that if it's JUST weight that's slow, and everything else is fine - height, head size, good energy, no tummy aches, no diarrhea, then it's like he's just small, but it's nice that the pediatrician wants to keep an eye on him. If there is anything else going on, stay proactive.

My son was born at 7 lbs 11 oz and dropped below the zero percentile multiple times during the first year or so of his life and was rarely above the 10th percentile. His height and head, however, were always around the 25th percentile. He had eating issues because of sensory problems BUT he was healthy and his weight gain was normal for him. His dad is a big guy and, like many doctors, his doctor was concered for a while and then we all acknowledged that there was absolutely nothing to worry about. My son is still small for his age (he's 27 lbs at 3 years of age and goes months without gaining any weight) but he's healthy and the best eater I know. He's just a very active kid and prefers veggies, fruits, low fat meat, and high fiber foods. If I ate more like him I wouldn't have to worry about my weight! Ha! Anywayon, our society worries too much about kids not being big enough and people seem so proud when their child is over the 50th percentile. It doesn't really make sense. Anyway, have tests done if it will put your mind at ease and then put your worries aside. Time goes by too fast to worry about things that aren't problems.

I've had no experience with this personally, but I had a friend who's son was born healthy, ate like a normal child would, seemed happy, but didn't seem to be gaining any real weight. He was stuck at weighing what a 6 month old would weigh at a year. His parents were very concerned and took him to the doctor several times to find an answer. Finally, they were able to get a referral to a doctor that deals primarily deals with digestive issues. Come to find out, their son had a type of digestive problem that wasn't allowing the food he ate to digest properly. So rather than food digest and his body intake the nutrients he needs, it was rejecting everything. But once they found this out and got him on the right diet plan, he gained weight like he should and turned out to catch up to where he should've been in the first place. I hope this helps.

Don't be overwhelmed with the idea of "tests" as it likely means stool samples (easy with diapers), and blood work (a one time blood draw, just a bit more than they would normally take). If he's as high energy as you say, there's probably nothing wrong, but if your son does have an absorption disorder, you'll feel better if you do something about it now (before it hinders his lifelong growth). And if your son is fine, the Dr. will shut up about his weight except maybe to suggest you improve his calorie intake.

While I wouldn't suggest eating at McDonalds, I would work on replacing existing choices with a variety of more calorie-dense foods: e.g., whole milk with 1T half-n-half per cup, light cream on cereal, give waffles with butter and syrup, french toast instead of regular toast, add extra cheese to mac-n-cheese, use a higher-fat content cheese like havarti, provide peanut butter, nutella, or cream cheese for crackers or veggies, and use higher fat% hamburger, etc.

If your son is old enough to chew well, you can give nuts (or make pb cookies, cinnamon rolls or brownies with nuts) as special dessert treats.

My daughter was only 24 lbs when she started Kindergarten, and didn't really grow more than a few pounds a year until puberty. She is now a normal height and weight (about 18% body fat at 5'4").

Ha,ha...does his daddy fuss alot too?!?=-) my son has always been skinny. around 15 months he wasn't gaining either. I had just weaned him and he was very active. both dr's i took him too said he looked fine.. skin not pulling in at the ribs and such. he was about the 5th percentile. He didn't seem to grow much then till about 2 or so. he is still skinny and about 30 lbs.. maybe more. he is almost 3 1/2 and just into his 3T clothes. One thing they told me was that I was trying to be too healty.. I was dieting myself and using low fat dairy. they said he needed the high fat. we fed him lots of yogurt and gave him cheese every night for a snack. He never did like milk...so I just try to still give him as much good fatty stuff... butter on bread...avocados..cheese sandwiches...cheese sauce on veggies... I am kinda glad he is skinny and tends to eat healthy on his own...loves fruits and veggies and not too big on sweets. Good luck! Hope it works out without having to do more!

Hi C.,

My son was the same way. He didn't gain any weight for 2 years! He was stuck at 20 lbs forever. But he continued to grow, and was very bright and had no cognitive problems. If he had an internal parasite there would be other signs so my advice is to use your mother's intuition. If you feel he is fine, trust your instincts. If taking him to the doctor makes you worry, put the next visit off for a while. Think back to when we were kids. If you were raised like I was, I don't ever remember being taken to check ups. And we made it just fine. No one knows your child like you do. Have faith in your own feelings. I highly recommend reading "How to Raise a Healthy Child in Spite of your Doctor", written by a pediatrician named Robert Mendelsohn. It will really empower you as a parent and sooth most of our parent worries. You can find it on ebay or on amazon. You are completely right about the growth scales, they are an average only, and invented by the formula companies to get parents to switch to formula from breast milk because breast fed babies don't gain weight like formula babies do. They also don't have as many weight problems, tooth decay problems, and if the formulas are made of soy, the problems multiply exponentially because feeding an infant soy formula is equivalent to giving them a birth control pill every day because of the estrogen properties in soy. So don't you worry about that growth chart for a minute. My son is now top of his class, gets straight A's in school, is one of the top athletes in the county in his class, and is always being recognized for his achievements by his teachers and peers. And he is still tall and thin, like I am, so you are wise to recognize the genetic influences there of your husband. No worries. :)

First of all- don't panic! My 8 year old has had this problem his entire life, and continues to be underweight. But- he's healthy. He has a crazy metabolism. We had concerns with failure to thrive problems, but that doesn't mean it's the end of the world.

Have you little one tested. They need to be sure his head is growing (and his brain). There are so many things that could be causing it, so wait to hear what they say.

It sounds like he's very busy as well, so really look at his calorie intake for a day or two and try to step it up a little bit. Dried fruit, peanut butter, and pediasure were things the dietician suggested to us. (If he doesn't like the pediasure give him whole milk with instant breakfast mixed in.)

We have uncovered a little bit of a miracle medication for weight gain, so if you are still worried let me know and I'll give you the information. It is a prescription, so don't worry- you'll have to go through your doctor for it. Our 8 year old weighed 40 lbs at the beginning of the summer and gained 10 lbs on it by the start of school. He could still use another 10 lbs or so, but It worked wonders for him.

My son when he born was 9lbs 2oz....he is going to be 3 this month...and he weighs just barely over 30lbs. My first question is how tall you and daddy are and how is your weight - especially when you and daddy were younger as well. I am a little overweight - ok maybe a smidge more. And my pediatrician kept yaking about how there is an obesity problem and looking at me like - I really need to worry about it with my son. I didn't get the way I am until my early 20's thanks to beer and Taco Bell. Anyway - I can go on. I would take a look at yours and daddy's family history first and see if your son is following any of your traits. Was your daughter about the same way? I have a friend who's daughter is 5 and she was still wearing 5T clothing this past summer and she wasn't a preemie either. Her mamma is just short and was tiny (until she had her daughter). If I remember correctly - her doctor wanted her to eat more fattier foods too. But - if the doctor is concerned - I would ask him what the "Tests" are for and what they will tell you. I think that if your son is healthy and eats like he's suppose to - he's got a really really good metabolism. Oh and about the clothing - the pants with the Adjustable waistline are absolutely awesome. Or you can bunch it in the back and sew it together to bring in the waist. My son is tall, but very slender. Good luck and let us know how it goes. Especially if you do the "Tests" - I'm curious to find out what the concern is.

He should be gaining weight, there's no doubt about it, he's growing taller, but the mass isn't keeping pace. He may have a very fast metabolism, but it's a good thing that your pediatrician wants to run tests to verify what's really happening. The fussiness could be hunger pains, so offer nutricious, high caloric foods to sustain him. He may not be able to digest some foods, using their 'go and grow' power. Take a deep breath, get the tests and follow their advice. It will be okay.

We had weight gain issues when my daughter was 9 months so she couldn't eat everything your son can, but a couple things we did that helped:
add full fat yogurt to anything even vaguely runny
add butter or olive oil to anything solid
make sure he has at least 30 minutes to eat each meal
ALWAYS have snacks (crackers, etc.) available
let him breastfeed as often as he requests

My daughter is now 18 months and while all the literature says she should be able to go through the night and not breastfeed, her pants don't stay up either! She still eats 3-6 times during the night and eats 3-4 meals plus snacks during the day. I hope that helps, but if you want any other suggestions or ideas, please pm me. :)

Sounds just like my little one....he was 19 lbs at 6 months, 19 lbs at 1 year, 19 lbs at 15 months, and about 21 lbs at 2 years. Now he is 4 1/2 and weighs about 31 lbs. His current pediatrician is not at the least bit concerned. He said as long as he is active and still following his own growth curve, it is just fine.

I wouldn't worry about it all, and just ignore all the comments about how small he is. If he's anything like my son, his personality pretty much overshadows his size anyways!

Hi C., I'm sorry you are facing this. I know the unknown is scary, especially when it comes to your baby! I too have a boy that doesn't seem to gain much weight. He started out growing really quickly, and reached the 75% or so very quickly, then tapered off and after about 6 months hardly gained anything. His Dr. had him come in at 15 months just to weigh him (thankfully, he had finally gained something) so we're just watching things. He's now only in the 3% for height and 15th% for weight. However, when we look at his parents (us) we are pretty small (dad is short and stocky) so it seems like he's now probably more in the percentile he should be. Take your size into consideration.

My Naturopath recommended high calorie items. Don't put any carb in the mouth without a fat on it. Peanut butter or cream cheese on crackers, not just plain crackers. Whole fat coconut milk in homemade smoothies. Lots of snacking on fatty, healthy foods, etc. Olive oil blended with beans on crackers works well too (seasoned with salt and garlic is what our son likes).

Try not to worry too much, but do follow up with tests if your Dr. does suggest it. It's better safe than sorry.

Best of luck!
T.

My 17 month old daughter is the same as your son. When I took her for her 15 month visit they ran out of 15 month benchmark profiles and so I filled out the profile for an 18 month old baby. She passed it with flying colors. My theory is that because she's so active she burns all her calories. She doesn't have any signs of falling behind in any other developmental stage for her age and as mentioned seems to be ahead of most her age. I still nurse her through the night. My pediatrician said to try to eliminate that so that she's hungry when she wakes up and said she will eat more during the day. I also think that feeding her constantly smaller amounts of high fat foods, like "Brown Cow" whole milk yogurt, whole milk, meats, salmon, buttered whole grain toast, cheese helps her eat more overall. If anyone else has better suggestions I also want to hear how I can help my daughter gain more weight.

I am not a doctor, but my son was 8.13 at birth and barely 20 at his one year - now at three, he is just around 30 - don't know why you think yours should be up to 24-26 by one, our dr. never seemed concerned with his weight...obviously, do what your dr. says if you trust your dr, but I don't think that weight gain suggests that there is something wrong - same pattern as with our son, and he is just fine!

This reminds me of my daughter. She was 10 lbs at births, and only 13 lbs at 6 months. I was breast feeding her on demand and she was nursing a lot. But she was active! She rolled over at 2 weeks and never stopped moving after that. I started solids at 5 months. She loved vegetables and her skin showed it (the carotene). At 1 year she was 16 lbs. Just thin and active. Growing, not as tall as some, but way more active than most.

If your child is active, and eating, I wouldn't worry too much. If his activity and growth stopped then I would worry.
Relax until the doctor tells you there is something to worry about.

Please stop worrying! Unless the doctor says there is a problem, chances are that your baby will continue along and then have a growth spurt. I am sure he is going to be fine.

Hi there,
I have heard that some children with Celiac Disease (which is an allergy to wheat and gluten) don't absorb nutrients if they are eating gluten. A friend of mine took her son off gluten and he started to grow a lot faster. I don't know if that is your situation but food for thought. :)
Good luck!