Toddler not gaining weight

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amother

Cyan

Sun, Feb 12 2017, 3:44 pm

My toddler is 19 months old. He happens to be bh eating and sleeping really well. He actually loves to eat!
Today I was at the Dr and she told me that she sees he's not gaining weight and slowly slowly going off the chart and today he was actually off the chart!
She referred me to a GI to go check him out. Anyone ever had such an experience? What did it turn out to be?
I wonder if I should even be concerned.

The thing that actually concerns me most is that I know a few people that were also not gaining as toddlers so they started taking some supplements or whatever else and turned out to be obese 😬

amother

Gray

Sun, Feb 12 2017, 4:08 pm

I had this with my daughter. We pulled gluten and she gained 3.5 pounds within the next 6 months.

ETA: She was already off dairy.

Last edited by amother on Sun, Feb 12 2017, 4:17 pm; edited 1 time in total

ectomorph

Sun, Feb 12 2017, 4:14 pm

Took my toddler off dairy. He lost several pounds before we figured it out

amother

Cyan

Sun, Feb 12 2017, 4:24 pm

amother wrote:

I had this with my daughter. We pulled gluten and she gained 3.5 pounds within the next 6 months.

ETA: She was already off dairy.

Did you realize any symptoms that gluten might've been causing ? Like stomach cramps or something? Or she was totally fine and then took her off gluten so she started gaining?

I'm having a total nightmare thinking of putting him on a gluten free diet.

Also, is she still off gluten? Gonna need to be off it for life kind of thing?

ectomorph

Sun, Feb 12 2017, 4:28 pm

amother wrote:

I would try dairy first... More common and easier. My son had absolutely no difference with no gluten

anonymrs

Sun, Feb 12 2017, 5:40 pm

Everything seemed completely fine regarding her stomach, no cramps, constipation, diarrhea, or anything like that. Her only symptom was lack of weight gain (and eventually weight loss). She's 6 now and still off gluten. It's not as scary as it sounds.

About 6 months later, I suddenly noticed that she stopped having tantrums. I have no proof that it's related, but I always wonder if really she was always uncomfortable and that's why she was more easily irritated. I'll never know, but I do enjoy her personality a lot more now!!

newmommy22

Sun, Feb 12 2017, 7:48 pm

I wouldn't pull off of gluten until you tested your child for celiac. I can think of two other gastro condition s off hand that can cause slow weight gain. Best to see the doctor, do some testing and then change your child's diet if necessary.

PassionFruit

Sun, Feb 12 2017, 8:09 pm

Please don't cut out any food groups before speaking to a doctor. Toddlers need nutrients that are found in all of the food groups and if you don't know what you are doing it is easy to lose a good portion of nutrients the child needs.

amother

Saddlebrown

Tue, Feb 14 2017, 4:59 pm

Do NOT pull our foods for a child not gaining weight unless you know there is a problem. Pulling a major food group will only make the weight issue worse.

My daughter had this, went to pediatric gastro, he did a bunch of tests, saw her lvier enzymes were elevated - this can affect appetite and/or digestion. They did further tests to see why the liver enzymes were elevated. In the end, after extensive testing by several doctors, it turned out that my toddler had mono. Within several weeks, the virus cleared naturally and her weight started climbing up again. I strongly recommend asking to have your toddler tested for both mono (EBV) and CMV (similar to mono). Mono usually causes no symptoms in small children, so don't rule it out jsut becaus eyoru child seems fine.

Also, celiac should be tested for too, though usually it would be accompanied by other problems. But ti should be tested for.

Lastly, a nutritionist that specializes in children aged 0-2 is a must! This was so helpful for us. Just because your child eats a lot, even if they eat healthy food, it doesn't mean they are getting enough calories, or enough fats and protein.

In general, in terms of how concerned you should be, falling off the charts in weight is a concern. A concern doesn't mean it's something terrible, but that it does need attention.

My daughter was always underweight, and still is, but her weight gain has been steady since the mono episode, and in following the nutritionists guidelines.

amother

Ruby

Tue, Feb 14 2017, 5:58 pm

We put my then 23 month old on pediasure grow and gain, after she was cleared by a gi and endocrinologist. She's since gained 4 lbs in 6 months, whereas from 12 months to 23 months she grew a few inches but didn't gain a single pound.

shnitzel

Tue, Feb 14 2017, 8:23 pm

We just had this issue. My son fell way of his 1% growth curve. He was 18 lb at 18 months.

My doctor said most kids who aren't gaining well aren't eating well so the first thing I did was make sure he was getting calorie dense food and track his calories before his next check up. We also made sure his CBC and iron levels were normal. He was eating well, about 1200 calories and nursing 3 times a day. The doctor took a detailed family history of growth and then decided to do blood work. He said with normal iron levels a malabsorption issue like celiac is highly unlikely but he still requested the test for celiac, thyroid and growth factors and one more. B"h everything was normal.

With adequate intake, no sign of absorption issue and a child with tons of energy we were happy not to pursue more invasive testing. My son is 21 months and still crazy skinny but he loves eating and is happy and active.

I didn't find pediasure helpful with weight gain because my son was eating well anyways and he was just substituting an equal calorie snack for pediasure not eating both.

I would NOT eliminate an easy calorie source from a child with growth issues diet. If the doctor does decide to test for celiac it's also helpful to have gluten in their system.

shnitzel

Wed, Feb 15 2017, 1:26 pm

I wanted to add one more thing in terms of concerns about obesity. I think that sometimes in an effort to get the child to eat more because of immediate concerns about the child's health unhealthy eating habits and attitudes towards food are created. I don't believe it is the actual calorie dense foods or supplements like pediasure that are the problem. I noticed it in myself and when talking to other parents when my sons weight first became an issue. I really love this eating philosophy and found it's helped create a healthy attitude towards food and my son actually eats more than when I was trying to push food all the time.
http://ellynsatterinstitute.or.....d.php

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