# 1 Year Old not gaining weight...



## Dolphin (Apr 22, 2004)

Hello







This has probably been addressed before, but I can't find a match in the archives. We just got back from my son's 1 year well-baby, and he has only gained a few ounces since 10 months, and he hasn't really gotten taller at all. He's BF and has very little interest in solids, and I know BF babies have a different growth curve, but no growth? I am looking for advice on whether I should be concerned and have his iron tested or whether this is ok... Should I be more aggressive in getting food in him? Thanks for any help.


----------



## 4Marmalade (May 4, 2004)

I don't think I would worry too much. I just checked my ds's baby book and between 9-1/2 months and 1 year he only gained 1lb and 1/2". At that point he also had little interest in solids but was still b/f a lot. Now he is the same weight and slightly taller than the "average" 20 month old. I would say as long as he's still nursing, experimenting with solids, having a normal amount of wet diapers and is generally happy and content than all is well.

It's also pretty well known that most infants/toddlers really slow down with growth around one year. Some even lose a tiny bit of weight. One of the reasons is increased mobility, whether that be crawling or walking.


----------



## Peony (Nov 27, 2003)

We just went through this with my dd. We decided not to worry about it. She is 17 months old, and still mainly bf, some solids, she loves her momma milk! Some days she will eat a lot, others she won't touch food, very hit and miss. I have a hard time gaining weight, so I know where dd got it from.


----------



## Tuesday (Mar 3, 2003)

My 13 month is in the same boat - his weight has only increased a couple of pounds since he was 10 months and same with height. He still mostly breastfeeds although does eat a variety of foods (well, he tries them). I am not concerned unless the doctor notices something awry. The only thing is, I am wondering if he gets enough iron because I rarely rarely give him red meat. I'm going to research this a bit (iron and diet). Anyway, I suspect this lag in weight gain around this age is normal.


----------



## Dolphin (Apr 22, 2004)

Thanks mammas







I guess it's somewhat normal - I'm a fairly petite person (or I used to be before baby anyway) and maybe he just takes after me in that area. The thing I worry most about is that he's getting enough iron and the nutrients that he needs, but it's good to know that others are experiencing this and it's ok. Thanks for your replies!


----------



## thoesly (Dec 23, 2003)

It doesn't sound like you have much to worry about. My own daughter was in the same situation at 1 year and at 18 months. The doctor was concerned enough at that point to get some tests done, but they came back normal. Remember that 1 year is still the "play with food" stage. Kids are experimenting, but most of their nutrition can be/should be breast milk if that's what you're doing (my daughter self-weaned at 30 months, but she was very much a "booby-baby" until then. If only the baby brother hadn't disrupted her grand scheme!)

Another point -- I had some complaints about my former pediatrician, but one thing I loved was that they used the growth charts correctly. They looked at progress for the child rather than between kids. If a child is at the 75th percentile for a year, then plummets to the 5th percentile within a couple of months, then there may well be a problem. But if a kid has always been at the 10th percentile, then drops to the 5th percentile, it's no cause for alarm -- something to monitor, maybe, but most likely, it's just a natural phase.

Best wishes,

Tara


----------



## Dolphin (Apr 22, 2004)

Thanks Tara. Actually DS has always been in the 75th - 95th percentile for weight, but at this appointment, he's dropped to the 25th. So that has me a little worried, although he seems very healthy and happy. The pediatrician seemed to not be terribly concerned, although she didn't just say it was fine. I guess I'll give it a couple more months to see if he'll hit a growth spurt, and if not maybe consider doing some tests. The thing that really has me concerned is that he's not getting taller either


----------



## batgirl (Jun 12, 2004)

For another perspective, my fifth child was in the 70% at 6 months, and dropped to the 50% by 12 months, and to the -20% by 15 months. She hadn't gained anything by 18 months, so I brought her back for a weight check at 21 months. I had to wean her due to a surprise pregnancy when she was 9 months old, and I think that's why. Plus, she had very very bad diarrhea, and was diagnosed with giardia, so she wasn't able to retain anything she ate. Now, at 2, she is up to the +20% and the giardia is cleared up. She caught it from a pool.

If you are still nursing, and she is getting milk, and no diarrhea, I wouldn't worry about it. But, if any of those things sound familiar, I'd check with the doctor.
HTH!
Carmen
__________________________________________________ ________
Mom to many, always







and








and never enough


----------



## Dolphin (Apr 22, 2004)

batgirl, if you don't mind my asking, did your dd have any other symptoms? I've always wondered how i would know if ds had diarrea because he mainly eats only BM and his poops are always runny. i have noticed an increase in poopy diapers lately, up from 1 per day to sometimes 3. Is this something I should be looking at?


----------



## Curious (Jan 4, 2002)

If he is healthy and happy, I'd watch before doing anything much at all. Dd gained no weight between her 9 and 12 month ped appt, and the guy got very concerned. Never mind she was talking to him, as bright eyed a baby as you've ever seen.

Even though he was off on his worry, his advice was good. Keep offering breast, healthy food. Though you can't make her eat. He also said to not comment at all on her eating, that anything you do to encourage any other behavior, fails when it comes to eating. So I just put out food, ate myself with a reasonable amount of relish, kept family meals fun and social...Dd really increased her intake of solids after her first teeth came in at 13 months, and by 14 months she was enthusiastically eating one meal a day - it went on ALL DAY. Still, little weight gain.

I changed doctors, the new doctor didn't even weigh her because she screamed when they tried to put her on the scale. Just said she looked great.

I weighed Dd peridocially at home, but stopped after awhile as she was clearly outgrowing clothes and reaching higher and higher...I had to keep moving things to higher and higher shelves. Weighing her just created anxiety as things didn't seem to budge. I took her in at 25 months, and she'd gained 3 pounds since I'd last weighed her at 23 months!!!

Dd still gains slowly, is long and lean, and healthy.

And here's a tidbit for any worried pediatricians about this weight plateau: the new edition of Nelson's Pediatrics (their main text), says that breastfed babies fall off the growth charts.


----------



## batgirl (Jun 12, 2004)

Hmm. Well, my dd was super duper cranky. I mean, really cranky. She would cry all day long, and whine if she wasn't crying.

And, when I saw diarrhea, I mean, run down the legs, all over the clothes and floor, anyone near her would need a change of clothes. I'd have to give her a bath every single time she went, just because diaper wipes couldn't even touch it. I'd dunk her in public restroom sinks if we were out, just to get it off her. An the smell would kill you. She's #5, so I'm used to smelly poop, but this was unreal.

If your babe is growing and happy, I wouldn't worry. My dd was doing neither.
__________________________________________________ _____
Mom to many, always







and








and never enough


----------



## 4Marmalade (May 4, 2004)

luvmyfamily - I just wanted to mention something else. You said you were concerned that he hasn't gained anything in regards to height. I'm not sure how your doctor measures height but I know with mine it was a pretty flimsy way in which they would lay ds down on the tissue paper covering the bed and then marking the top of his head and then the feet. If your ds is moving at all or even has the slightest bend in his knee it can change the height measurement. I remember my son "supposedly" shrunk 1/2 an inch in between appointments but he never really did. Anyway, it didn't seem like an overly accurate test in my doctor's office.


----------



## Evergreen (Nov 6, 2002)

:LOL Even the nurse at the well baby checks used to joke and sarcastically say, "Now time for the really acurate height test!" before "measuring"dd the way the above poster discribed.


----------



## Dolphin (Apr 22, 2004)

mama to one: thanks for bringing that up. I actually think the nurse might have overmeasured him at the 9 month appt, so that might be the reason for the apparent no growth this time. He hates lying on that paper and being still, so he squirms like crazy









batgirl: thanks for the additional info. my ds is definitely not having those kind of poops, thank goodness. And he seems quite happy and healthy to me. I'm glad your dd is better!! That must have been no fun for either of you. Well, I will try my best to not worry.

Curious: that's comforting about the Pediatrics note about BF babies!


----------



## pageta (Nov 17, 2003)

Here is what I'm wondering - did your child start crawling or walking between those two appointments? I have a place where I could weigh ds every month (until last month when he hit 25+ pounds). He started crawling at 7 months and between when I weighed him the week he started crawling and a month later (at 8 months), he LOST 8 OUNCES. I was completely alarmed, but everyone reminded me that he was so much more active so he wasn't eating enough to keep up with his new-found activity. At his 9 month check, he'd gained the weight back, but he'd dropped from the 95th to the 75th percentile.


----------



## mamatoady (Mar 16, 2004)

Take pride in knowing you are doing everything right. You are BFing. My dd is 22months and 22 pounds. She remained at 18-19 pounds from about her 1st birthday to about 15 months when she started gaining again. I think sometimes their eating just needs to catch up with their energy. When you look at your son, if he has sparkling eyes, energy, he is happy and has good color (even if he's pale







) then don't worry about it.

you're a good mama!


----------



## Curious (Jan 4, 2002)

I forgot to talk about height in my prior post. As others have said, the methods for measuring height are really crude, and when fractions of an inch make a big difference in percentile, it just looks like weird science to me.

But I did notice that Dd, who had been a long baby, wasn't much taller than a lot of kids significantly younger than she was. She was taller, but not by much. But here's what happened: Last June we met a boy 8 or so months younger than Dd, and she was a hair taller than he was. We saw him again in September (after Dd's big weight gain, right around when she turned two), and she looked like an amazon next to the kid.


----------



## Dolphin (Apr 22, 2004)

Thanks so much ladies - you all are wonderful and I really appreciate the input. I will give it a couple of months and see if he starts gaining again. He has become really mobile in the last few months, crawling at 8 months and walking around 10-1/2, so he's really been active. I have to trust that his body will do what it needs to do, as long as he seems happy and healthy. Thank you again!


----------



## Chanley (Nov 19, 2001)

my dd is 3.5 and was diagnosed with celiacs disease recently.

She was VERY small at one year. 18 pounds on her first bday.

I just chalked it up to bfed and her parents being small.

I wish I would have looked into dietary and genetic problems back then.

My son is now on a gluten free diet, his stools are solid because he nurses ALOT but he is now (10 months) eating some solid foods here and there.

My dd had runny stools and I thought it was from the breastmilk.

Be careful, I wish I would have caught it sooner. It has been a hellacious journey to where we are now.

www.celiac.com has more info


----------



## Dolphin (Apr 22, 2004)

Chanley, thanks for posting. Now I'm a little freaked out though. The only difference besides the stall in weight gain in my son is an increase in poopy diapers per day. He was at a steady one per day for several months and in the last few weeks, he's up to two or three. It doesn't seem to be diarrhea though. Is this something you remember noticing in your daughter? I'll definitely read more about it.


----------



## Chanley (Nov 19, 2001)

She did not get full blown diarrhea until she weaned at 2.5 and that is when we started seeing lots of problems.

I thought she was just small. She was not completely tiny but petite. I was too when I was little.

The symptoms vary. Lala, who is a mod here, her dd is the same. She had a BIG increase in diaper changes as well. I dont remember counting them with Aria but I know we had lots of poop.

I would look for some other symptoms as well. Does he have a big bloated belly?
Did he have "colic" or gassy episodes as a baby?

Does he ever get the allergy ring around his anus?
Does dairy upset his tummy?
Does he have excema or skin conditions?
Does he get circles under his eyes?
Does alcohol or drug dependency run in your family?
does depression run in your family?

these are just other things to look for. I am just relating my experience and I hope this is not the case but if it is, it is best to look into it early enough.

another site:
www.enterolab.com

I have been told that ALL children who are small should be screened for gluten sensitivity. No need to be freaked out tho, it is genetic and if you have it, you have it and just go on a special diet.


----------



## Nate (Sep 3, 2003)

re: growth charts, I just read something by an LC who said that they really look more at the head circ. at well-baby visits, and if the head is pretty standard, you don't need to worry. (DD is 20% weight, 75% height, 95% head. Plus a full--and I mean full--head of hair, so she can really look like a stick figure sometimes! :LOL But her weight really slowed down around 6 months--from 50% before, while her head stayed right where it had been.)

Anyway, I posted a similar thread a few months ago.
It's here.

HTH!


----------



## snuffles (Apr 11, 2002)

My 2 yr old dd has Celiac. She has always been on the small side, and is only 21.5 lbs at 27 months. Anyway, with Celiac, the symptoms can be different from person to person. One child will just have slow growth, while another child will have the bloated belly and really bad diarrhea. My dd has never had the bloated tummy. She had loose, freqent stools starting back in January. If you have noticed an increase in stools, I would definitely ask your dr to refer you to a pediatric GI dr. Celiac disease is much more common than people think, and it is totally curable if you follow the diet. PM me if you want to talk about it some more.

Mel


----------



## Dolphin (Apr 22, 2004)

I think I'm definitely going to call the pediatrician about the increase in poopy diapers, even though he has no other symptoms mentioned. I'd rather play it safe now... thank you all for the information.


----------



## batgirl (Jun 12, 2004)

Yeah, celiac was one of the things we tested for, before we discovered giardia.

good luck!
__________________________________________________ _
Mom to many, always







and








and never enough


----------

