Toddler Girl Won't Gain Weight

At that age and up until even 3 and 4 my child kept gaining inches but not weight. Then he leveled out. I didn't worry too much (but I did a little) because both parents are tall and thin. It's fine, and later in life he will be one of the lucky ones.

My son is 2 and only weighs 26 lbs. It seems like he has been 26 lbs for ever. He is also tall and skinny. I talked to the doctor about his weight and he said that he is fine. he also will NOT drink milk. We give him 1% chocolate milk, not the chocorific stuff. We started mixing it with the vitamin D/ whole milk and have now stopped. the doctor said he would gain weight but he never really did from the milk. My doctor said he will be fine. Hope this helps. he said chocolate milk is better than no milk.

I was always told to lather on some peanut butter to help a child gain weight. Regular yogurt was mentioned too. You might also try her on some cream cheese and things like that. She will get the fats she needs and the calcium since she won't drink milk. I wonder if you have tried the lower fat milks for her. Personally I find the whole milk to thick and it clogs my throat so we use skim except for my 15 mo old. You said that your daughter likes meat. My sil makes these snacks with a tortilla. Spread on some cream cheese, add a meat (I like ham) roll it and cut it into bits size pieces. I'm sorry that I haven't any better advice to offer. I've never had this problem before. I have heard that this is often a common problem for children that were born as premies. Good luck to you. Shannon
PS. Starting a multi vitamin might not be a bad idea just to be safe.

Dont isten to those chart and numbers. I had so much trouble with my son. Whoa apparently has a high metabolism. My doctor made me write down everything I fed him, how much, how often, they did blood tests on him all kinds of stuff. Nothing. I complied to everything the doctor asked and took lots of time off work, gave my son extra food (believe me if he doesnt want anymore...he will puke it back up) and felt like a bad mother the whole time. My son is just tall and skinny (he's in the 80th percentile for height, and 20th for weight. He still has those baby rolls on his arms and legs!!!! The charts dont apply for everyone. Someone has to be in the lower percentile or it would not exist, right? I remember I felt so horrible when I went through all this stuff with my son. I thought the doctors would have my son taken away from me. It was very traumatic. Ask your parents, ask your friends, ask your co-workers. If they agree she is not underweight then she's probably just fine. I wouldnt rule out looking into it, just in case, but if you dont feel there is anything wrong...DONT STRESS ABOUT IT. Good Luck!!

Same with my 2 yr old! My Doctor was not concerned. She is in the 15th percentile for weight. I would not worry!

Don't fall into the trap of worrying about your daughter's weight at this age.

My daughter is 5 years old, 40" tall and weighs about 35 pounds. She was 19 pounds at a year old...so in the past 4 years, she's gained about 14 pounds. From the age of 12 months to 2 years, she gained 2 pounds.

She, too, was a very chubby baby...but at around a year old, they stop growing "out" and start growing up and using all of that baby fat to give their bodies energy to grow/mature.

As long as your daughter is eating healthy and looking healthy, just refuse the tests (in my honest opinion). They just cause more stress. If there is a medical concern that has been noted previously, I would just let it go.

All of my children have been thin and falling off the charts for weight. It is normal for some children. The charts are all skewed because of all the really overweight children that get added into the average. My daughter is 3 years and 3 months old, and she weighs 25 lbs. 10 oz. She looks great and wears those adjustable waisted clothes or dresses because that's what fits! I had a horrible time with my older children 11, 7, also when they were littler because of weight gain. It made me feel like I was doing something wrong, etc. They told me to put butter on everything, give them sour cream, etc., AND THEY ARE STILL THIN AS CAN BE! My 10 month old daughter is also very low on the weight chart. That is just the way my babies are.
When they are toddlers they slim down because they are active, and they go through phases of likes, and dislikes. You are doing great, and find doctors who look at more than charts. Ours finally is one that doesn't get alarmed. What a relief!
Keep up the good work!

I am afraid that my daughter isn't that old yet but she has never been above the 2nd percentile since she was 3 weeks old. She now tops out at about 16 lbs at one year. I have heard from other moms that pediasure is a good way to get calories in a child not interested in milk (it taste sweet). We recently switched peidatricians. Our first one had me feeding her only fats and cheeses, high calories foods. I was worried that she would have a heart attack by the time she was 2 the way she ate. She has always been a good eater.

I would just continue to encourage your daughter to eat. Sounds like she has a balanced diet. And have her tested, it is possible that her body is just not processing things the way that it should. Good luck!

At two, my second daughter was actually smaller than your daughter is and my ped. never said anything. She is small for her age, but my hubby and I are not very big people and no one in our families are very tall. What did the doc say they were going to test for? Don't get too stressed out, I think if she is growing that is most important.

My son gained only one pound from age 1 until age 2. He was 97th percentile in everything until he was 1. He's fine. It was never even mentioned at our well toddler appointments. He's four now and weighs 37 pounds.
I'm not sure why your doctor is concerned. I'd get a second opinion.

Our daughter didn't gain weight from about 9mo to 20mo. Her pediatrician suggested adding calories and fattening things up which didn't help. So he did some blood tests that showed she has Celiac disease. It is an autoimmune disease that causes her body to attack the intestines if she eats anything w/ wheat, barley, malt, or oats and that prevents her from absorbing nutrients to help her grow. My daughter also had a very distended abdomen which is a tell tale sign. Some of the other signs are diarrhea and nausea, but one of the biggest signs is failure to grow. I doubt this is what she has but if the doctor is going to do blood work you might as well have him test for Celiac because it can go undiagnosed in people for years. Best of luck to you and your daughter.

I would say my daughter is very much like this with body type of your daughter and is 5 and always has been (90th pr height, 25th pr weight). Your daughter's growth percentiles are within the normal range. It was never a big issue with the pediatrician with my daughter as this has always been her trajectory.

My son, is also like your daughter but has even lower pr for his height/weight (he is 2, and lucky to be 26 pounds); he was a very chubby baby, but slowed down after a hospitalization at 6 weeks from RSV. We did have him tested medically for some blood work (lead may have been one of those things)and nutrition issues to make sure there weren't issues with this. All came back normal; also his growth trajectory has been pretty consistent so the doctors were pretty unconcerned and still are. One of the pediatricians also mentioned to me that caloric growth will first go to the head/brain (which for my son is at 70th pr), then the length and then the weight. I still make sure his diet is good (we have seen a nutritionist too just to make sure for both of my kids) and that he continues on his growth trajectory where he doesn't fall off of a growth curve. Hope that helps, good luck!
T.

My son isn't as old but has the same stats. As soon as he started moving around, he stopped gaining a lot of weight after bring a baby that put on weight quicker than any other his age that we knew. As long as she's eating and levels off where she is, I wouldn't worry. If she continues to drop, there might be a need to look further in to it.
Good luck and try not to put too much emphasis on the percentages. If she's happy and healthy, that's really all that matters.

I don't think your doctor's concerned that she's in the 30th percentile, it;s the fact that she hasn't gained any weight. My son has been in th 5% since he was about 9 moth old. That has never concerend my doctor, he is a good eater and my husband and I were skinny kids. He didn't become concerend until he had a 6 month peroid (we do weight checks every 6 months) where it seemed he lost weitgh (for us this was a nurse using the standing scal instead of having him sit).

We had all the blood work done - it was harder on me. They take 3 vials and checked for celiac, thyroid and calcium problems. We fatten up everything he eats and now at 2.5 we are FINALLY at 26 pounds!

One suggestion, juice can be an appetite suppressant so I would try to limit it (which I do) and find ways to get her to drink milk, whole milk, that's all my son gets. If she like sweets maybe you can try the carnation breakfasts? It was suggested that we do that but my son wouldn't drink them because he doesn't like chocolate milk.

I would have to say all my kids are all like that. I am 5'5" and weigh 110lbs! My hubby isn't a heavy guy either. Hence, we have skinny children. We eat lots of veggies and carbs! Don't believe in "diets". I am sure she's just fine. Docs are so used to SO many kids over weight these days. I flip out when I see two yr olds eatting fast food! Unreal. I am sure she's just fine and would totally forgo ANY tests! If she acts healthy; I am sure she is! Rest easy.... Good luck!!
Mom to four very healthy kids!! :)

My son didn't gain weight between 1 & 2 1/2 years old. Ped. was concerned, did the blood tests - found nothing. Just was skinny kid - still is today, and he's a healthy teenager. You can try Pediasure for some extra calories, but quite frankly if she's eating okay and still growing, I wouldn't be too concerned.

My daughter just turned 2 in october and she is 33 inches tall and she weighs 25lbs. She hasn't gained much weight since she was about 1. My doctor hasn't said anything about her being under weight.Doesn't mean you shouldn't be concerned now i am a little concerned as well. She is a very active child as well. So if u could please if they find out if anything is wrong hopefully not let me know so i can bring it too my ped attention.

I don't really see where your peds concern is. Someone has to be in the 30th percentile or there wouldn't be a 30th percentile. Are you and your husband tall or thin? It would make sense for your daughter to have the same body shape.

It is normal and expected for children's weight to plateau once they are able to move around. The time to become concerned is when there is no outside reason and a child in the upper percentiles drops very low. Your child is still well within the normal ranges and in fact is pretty average.

I would seek a second opinion from someone who is a little less interventive.

Here are some quotes from a website about the CDC growth charts:

"In general, any weight or height between the fifth and 95th percentile is considered to be in the range of normal. If a child falls outside the normal range, it means that she is heavier or lighter than most other children her age. It does not mean that she is abnormal in the sense of being sick! " http://www.drspock.com/article/0,1510,4491,00.html

"The percentile curves on these charts represent what percentage of children are of the same height or weight. The 50th percentile represents the median height or weight for each age group, so that 50% of children will be above this point and 50% will be below it. If a two year old boy weighed 24 1/2 pounds, then he would be at the 10th percentile for his weight at this age. This means that 90% of two year old boys weigh more than him, but it also means that he weighs more than 10% of children of this same age."
http://www.keepkidshealthy.com/growthcharts/

I wouldn't worry to much. Your daughter is in the 30th percentile so that isn't bad she sounds like she's tall also which will put her in a lower percentile for weight. My daughter is 1 and is in the 15th percentile she weights 16/lbs. (most baby's weight that by 6-9 months) which is very small for a 1yr. old. She loves to eat, Ihaven't found anything she doesn't like.at her 1yr. check up she only gained 1/lb. since her 9 month check up. the doctor is not concerned because she's developing correctly and has an appetite, she's just a small baby. I was a very small baby. If your still concerned Pediasure makes all kinds of healthy snacks and drinks for toddlers it's a line called Nutrasure. They have more vitamins and minerals so you'll know she's getting what she needs. As long as she's deveoping correctly and eating and not losing weight, I wouldn't worry to much. I think a 2nd or even a 3rd opinion (like one of the other Mother's suggested) wouldn't hurt before I'd let them start sticking needles in her and putting her through all of that.Good luck to you.

My daughter just had her 2 year also and was the exact same as your daughter, 34" tall and 25 lbs. My ped said nothing about anything being wrong. My daughter will fight me to eat. Some days are good others are a major struggle. We feed her all the same things you listed, she loves pasta also. I limit her sweets and empty carbs, which she loves and I dilute her juice also to limit the sugar intake. I thought I was doing good, but reading the first person's response about the Celiac has me worried now because my daughter has always been small and has had stomach and immune issues from the start. Let me know what you find out.

I'm surprised that with her being in the 30th percentile he is so concerned. 30th percentile is below average, but not bad. My oldest son is 4 and just hit 30 lbs. He was always around the 10th percentile after his 2nd birthday. He is very active and ate much like your daughter at that age.

A lot of kids thin out at that age because they are so mobile. They don't gain weight nearly as fast as they had their first year. Had she been sick at all before her check-up where she might have lost a little weight? You could try adding some more high protein foods, and maybe flavoring her milk would help her like it better?