No weight gain for toddler

I can't remember the exact time period, but there was a period of a
number of months around the time you're in now where ds didn't gain much
weight. He was exclusive bf until 7 months, and at 3 1/2 yo is still bf
1-2x/day. He was hugely off the charts for about a year, and although
the doctor had told us early on to expect a bf baby to start dropping
down towards average after about 6 months (I guess assuming we wouldn't
be going much past that), it happened say between about 12-18 months and
she got a freaked out about it. This was a family doctor, by the way.
Once the situation was resolved to everyone's satisfaction, we switched
to a ped.

He was growing much as you are experiencing, no weight gain, but
shooting up in height. The frustrating thing was that the doctor's
office kept having us come in to measure weight, but wasn't going to
measure height and head! When we realized this we insisted, and sure
enough he went through a period where he grew something like 4 inches in
6 months. And overall, ds' developmental pattern had been a weight
spurt, then a developmental/skill spurt, then a height spurt, and around
that pattern again and again.

This is not to say that his diet was totally perfect. When I did some
research, I realized that for his age, his diet was likely too low in
fat and too high in whole grains. During the toddler years, they need a
good amount of fat, and you think you're doing right with whole grains
except that their tummies are so small they get filled up quickly with
the whole grains, not leaving room for much else. We are vegetarian and
ds is allergic to cows milk, so there weren't lots of fats in his diet
so I started adding flax oil to his food, he finally started eating
eggs, I figured out he could eat goat and sheep dairy so started with
some cheeses, etc. I also added vitamins to his daily routine, mostly
just to get the doctor off my back, especially in regard to iron. And we
were still bf regularly throughout this time, although I don't think the
doctor was convinced that mattered on way or the other.

In the end, I think it was mostly just a normal phase for him, and he is
I think around 50% for height and weight now. Pretty much all the family
is small, no men over 5'8", and with him not eating meat or much dairy,
and the dairy he does eat being generally organic, he's not getting all
the animal fat and hormones which in my opinion are artificially bulking
up the average American child. He seems to be at a healthy lean state,
and eats well.

-Karen, mom to Henry 3 1/2 and someone due 4/24/04-

"Beth" wrote in message
...
So while I think that DS is healthy, and probably just converting a lot of
his excess fat into height, I do worry a little that weight increase isn't
supposed to stall out totally. Has anyone ever had a child who did not
gain
weight or even lost it in the early part of the second year?

My friend's child gained in height but not weight for quite some time. The
ped referred her to a nutritionist and advised Pediasure, but she told me
the doc wasn't totally worried yet, because she was gaining in height.

"Beth" wrote in message .. .

So while I think that DS is healthy, and probably just converting a lot of
his excess fat into height, I do worry a little that weight increase isn't
supposed to stall out totally. Has anyone ever had a child who did not gain
weight or even lost it in the early part of the second year?

Thanks,

Beth

Hi Beth!

I'm hoping your son doesn't end up having issues as 'severe' as my
daughter's were, but we did have a similar situation for awhile. My
daughter, however, was never that big to begin with, and weighs just
26 pounds now, at 2.5 years.

Anyway, she slowed down to no weight gain at around a year old, and
didn't gain by her 18 month appointment, at which she'd fallen off the
bottom of the charts. She needed to be tested repeatedly for many
things, including Cystic Fibrosis, one of the most serious things that
lack of weight gain can be a sign of; and Celiac disease, neither of
which she has. She was however allergic to milk and eggs, and her
intestines were damaged by the milk and eggs in my diet while I was
nursing her.

She did much better on a restricted diet --for both of us -- and
supplemental calorie increases, and just last month, we were able to
add milk back into our diets. We'll be doing a food challenge for
eggs in May.

Our daughter seemed healthy to us the whole time, but she did perk up
a bit when our diets changed, and she's growing -- slowly, but
growing.

I'd look closely at his respiratory and gastrointestinal symptoms
overall -- a lot of colds, bronchitis, etc? A lot of loose stools or
upset stomach? If yes, I'd ask your doc to screen for CF and food
allergies. If no, then keep on keepin' on! Also, how many ear
infections does he get, if any? That could signal something too.

I hope he starts growing more!

I did learn at a lecture that when height starts to slow or stop,
that's when there's a real problem, so at least he's still getting
taller!

Tina.

Don't worry. All 4 of my girls did the exact same thing! My husband
can still put his hands completely around our 7 yo DD's waist (but he
has big hands)...

My 9 yo weighs in at 45 lbs, she's 123 cm (about 4'1"), my 7 yo weighs
in at 42 lbs, and she's 115 cm (about 3'10"), my 4 yo weighs in at 26
lbs, and she's 94 cm (about 3'1"), and my 2 yo weighs in at 24 lbs,
and she's 80 cm (about 2'8").

They all were exclusively breastfed until they showed interest in
food. Then they ate little. They still eat little. But they eat to
their fill of a balanced diet. All of my girls hit 24 lbs and stayed
there for a long time, some of them 2 or more years.

You should look at your and your husband's family history. In our
case, it's from my side. I hit a spot where for 4 years I didn't grow
an inch. Wore the same size clothes, and was the shortest one in
class... Then over summer I grew 4 clothes sizes up! I also know
that my 2 younger brothers (6 & 8 years younger) hit about 35 lbs and
stayed there for many years. My sister and one of these brothers are
still rake thin, and eat everything that is in sight!

This is where it is important to know your family history. If there
are times where somebody stopped gaining weight, or stopped growing...
know that this can also happen to your child. Certainly, you need to
keep an eye on things so that you are not negleting something that
could be a real problem. But from the sounds of things, I'd say he's
perfectly healthy. Enjoy him in good health!

Johane
PS, I'm 5'0" and 120 lbs, my dad is 5'3" and 140 lbs.

"Beth" wrote in message .. .

So while I think that DS is healthy, and probably just converting a lot of
his excess fat into height, I do worry a little that weight increase isn't
supposed to stall out totally. Has anyone ever had a child who did not gain
weight or even lost it in the early part of the second year?

Thanks,

Beth