18-Month-old Needs to Gain Weight

My kids are all small. One tip that I think is helpful is to add Carnation instant breakfast to milk. My kids liked it, and it adds calories. I know what you are going through. I have a 4 year old that is barely 30lbs.

All my kids were like that. None of my three kids ever got over 12% on the scale. They are fine!! As long as your child is healthy, happy and progressing in every other area, stop worrying. My first pedi. talked me into going to a nutritionist for my first child at 12 months, made me stop breast feeding and it freaked me out. I was worried that I wasn't being a good mother, I was worried that my son would die or something by way the doc talked to me about body weight. BUT nothing was wrong. My next two children are slim as well, it's in their bones to be slim. My current doc isn't worried in the least, his children are slim as well. Don't worry, keep doing what you are doing, make sure she eats a variety of foods and as many good calories that she can handle and she will be waht she will be. I hope this helps. I hate it when doctors make you feel that you are not a good mom if your kids aren't in the "middle of the curve"
Good luck
N.

Oh, my niece had problems with this! She was even smaller, I think, because I remember she was well past her first year before she could turn her car seat around. And my sister fudged a little. She said, "with a full tummy and a full diaper, she weighs 20 pounds!" They were desperate to turn her around, as you can imagine.
Then she got the flu and lost some weight. Because she was so tiny to begin with, she had to go to the hospital. Her pediatrician said she had to regain weight fast or she'd have more health troubles. So he said to go to the grocery store and look at the nutrition info on all the butter-flavored spreads and pick the one with the most calories and put it on everything. It was something like Parkay (sp?) Squeeze. I think my sister also offered healthy snacks more often than she usually would, like twice between meals instead of just once.
My niece is now 9 and she's still small. There's only one kid in her 4th grade class that's smaller, and it's a boy. Personally, I think it would be harder on him than it will be on her. It's harder to be a petite boy!

Tell your Dr to jump in a lake!! :) Just kidding. My daughter was only 17lbs on her first bday!!!! So all kids are different. If she is eating, healthy and growing in height I see no reason to worry. My daughter is almost seven and still only weighs like 41lbs!! My son who is almost four weighs more then she does. Every child is different, try never to make a issue about weight in front of her. My daughter already gets some teasing at school for being so petite but I keep reassuring her it is a good thing and all kids are different. I would find a new Dr and get a second opinion, you are doing great!!!

My 21 month old followed a very similar pattern. At her one year appointment, one doctor in our group practice told me that I needed to quit breastfeeding because that was what was causing her to not gain quickly enough! A different doctor from the same practice saw her at her 15 month check up. After doing some blood and urine tests, she was diagnosed with RTA--a kidney disorder. At 18 months, she was 19 lbs, 8 oz. Now, at 21 months, she is finally over 20 lbs. I would have your doctor check for RTA if that has not already been done. I did not want to use pediasure--the second ingredient is sugar. I mix whole milk with formula--I use earth's best organic formula b/c it does not have high fructose corn syrup, and also add whey protein powder to the milk/formula mix. It is a little thick, but you can add milk to thin it down if you need to do so. I feel like that gives her a good mix of vitamins, extra calories and good protein. I also make sure I give her NO sweets or juice--so that she is hungry for good nutritious food. She is doing better--she had stopped gaining for a few months there, and now is gaining (although still not on the chart for weight). I think indicators like her activity level and appetite are important for the doctor to look at. I also kept a food diary for a few days before my appointments, so the doctor could see what she was eating and how much, etc...

Also, I like to give her a small amount of plain yogurt mixed with applesauce--I add udo's dha oil to that and an infant probiotic. Between that and her milk blend, I know she is getting good protein, good bacteria for her gut, good carbs and protein from the applesauce, and good fats every day. I feel like those two food supplements are my insurance that I am doing my best to give her what she needs. Hope that helps!

If she's tracking on the weight charts, don't worry about it and tell the Dr. to back off. My now 4 1/2 year old didn't hit 20 pounds until 17 months (I remember when we FINALLY got to switch her forward facing in the car). And at 4 1/2 is only 31 pounds - that's 10th percentile, which is pretty much where she's sat since 15 months old. That said, keep up the healthy foods. Stick w/whole milk, use real butter, cheese, etc. We also spiked our daughter's oatmeal w/ canola oil for a while when she dropped on the weight chart - I was worried olive oil would put too much taste into it and she wouldn't take it.

As long as your daughter is staying on her own growth curve, that is ALL that matters. My daughter is even smaller - she did not turn 20 pounds until she was 2 1/2 years old. Just hit 14 lbs at 1! Now, at nearly 5, she only weighs 28 lbs. But she eats, is healthy, and is on her own curve. No worries, your daughter is fine!

I too have a child who is smaller than average. She is 4 1/2 and only weighs in at 34 lbs. I was accused of not feeding her and that I wasn't a good mom to her, but I agree with all the other posts. Look at her overall health. Is she eating well? Does she act like she feels good...has energy to play and run around? Does she sleep well at night? If you can answer those questions and say yes, then I think that she will be alright and you are doing a good job. I had my DD blood tested to make sure that there weren't any medical problems (which there aren't) and have now left it at that. As long as she continues to grow and gain the weight she will be fine. (My DD has her own curve, but she is still getting the job done). Most importantly is to trust your own instincts about her, if you feel like she is doing fine, then don't let what the doc says about her influence you too much....don't get me wrong, you need to listen to the advice, but you are the one that is around her more than they are and know her better than a doc can in a 20 minute visit every other month or so. Don't stress too much, she sounds just like my DD. Good luck with your search.
J. (SAHM with 6)

We did Carnation instant breakfast, one serving to 10 oz. whole milk. It's a very common substitute for formula for low weight babies. Incredible results. Also, we add butter to everything! Cream cheese is a big hit for breakfast and Yo Baby whole milk products. We've also found some string cheese that isn't reduced fat. I can't tell you the brand, it's not always at the store, and we're out right now. It's in a green bag. :) We mix in extra butter to things like mac and cheese, etc. The one thing we haven't conquered is our son only eats fresh veggies -- hard to add butter too.

All that to say, unless there is weight loss, or a significant drop in the chart, or other health issues, I wouldn't worry about it. We did the other to get our son from below the 2nd percentile. He's now above the 10th. We're still going since the doctors would like to see him around the 25% since that is where is brother typically is. Sometimes, though, kids are just little. If she's happy and healthy, I wouldn't worry about it. Our specialist told us it's more important that the percentiles are close than where they fall on the chart. In other words, you don't want a kid to have a high height and very low weight.

GL, get a second opinion if you're doctor's pushing too hard.

My cousin went through this with her DD the DR even said he would call DCS on her, they ran a bunch of test on her cause like my DD they were both born with the same kidney problems and once they ruled that out (my DD is very chubby) was when the DR got testy, and like your DD she ate very good, one thing that has to be remembered is that once kids hit a year and start walking their weight can drop and level out, my oldest went from a fat baby who could barely sit up cause he was so fat to a very thin child once he walked, back to where I was going before I rambled :). She told the DR fine do what you have to do I know my DD eats, and switched DR's, the new one said although she is small so long as they see some growth in height and weight even a few onces at that age then all was good and he had her supplement one sanck with the pedia-sure for kids, she still didn't gain a lot of weight but the DR felt a little better with supplementing, today she is 7 years old and still small, not the shortest in her class but almost and still very petite, that is just how she was made, and her brothers are big boys. I would relax a little and look at her overall health and it appears that you already have that figured out. SOme are big some are small, if you could see my family you would agree and we all eat the same things, my 15 year old brooke his collar bone twice in one year and the DR told him it because he doesn't have enough meat on his bones and he eats more then my 15 year old and he is heavy......nature it does what it wants!

Hi E.,

I also have an 18 month old daughter who is very thin. My doctor told me it would be good for her to gain some weight but that he was not worried about her as long as her % curve continued to go up. Kids at this age usually plateau a bit because they are more active and not so interested in food. I wouldn't worry too much and try not to take what the doctor says personally. I am confident that you are a wonderful mother and it really sound like your daughter is healthy and happy.

Have you tried Carnation instant breakfast shakes? They come in a couple different flavors and my doctor recommended these as a good high calorie food to add to my daughters diet. Also, try adding high fat foods to the things she already eats. If you ever make her fruit smoothies or something similar add a drop or 2 of canola oil - she won't taste it and it will add some extra calories. Would you daughter eat chopped avocados? These are wonderful for calories and good fat. You could chop nuts into very small pieces (almost powder) and add them to oatmeal or yogurt. I make waffles for my kids and use whole milk, oil and whole eggs which adds as much fat as the recipe will allow. There are lots of not-so-good fat options: Add some butter to oatmeal or fry your lunch meat (I had a friend that had to do this for her son because he was losing weight and later actually had to start taking the growth hormone shots). The key is everything in moderation.

Keep doing what you are doing and know that it is the best for your daughter. Good luck!