# My toddler is LOSING weight...why?



## MarigoldB (Oct 11, 2002)

Ironically, my ds gained a pound a week from birth, leveling out at 20 pounds by 4 months. He was up to 25 pounds by a year, but the last two appointments his weight has gone down. He's a little over 22 pounds now.

The ped said he'd be concerned if the baby were showing any signs of illness, but there are NONE. He's healthy looking, happy, eating a LOT (I posted recently about how he seems to be a bottomless pit!), still nursing...

So why is he losing weight? I asked about the fact that he's been very active with crawling and working on walking, but the ped said that the typical thing is that they level out for a while, not lose dramatically.

I did a search, but no one else seems to have posted about this particular issue.

Anyone else have this experience? Any ideas what could be up?

The ped said to keep doing what we're doing and bring him in in 6 weeks for a weigh-in. If he's still losing, he'll want to run some tests and examine his nutrition.

I've been including more solids over the last few weeks, but I've not been real good at variety. He's eaten yogurt every day for lunch, for example, though it's a LOT of yogurt (10 ounces at a feeding).

I ebf until 12 months because ds showed a marked intolerance for wheat products. The ped did say that gluten intolerance could cause weight loss, but the child would also be sickly, cranky, somehow obviously showing signs of illness.

Any advice?


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## angela&avery (May 30, 2002)

i wouldnt worry about it for now, my son has recently lost weight simply because his appetite has gone down (which is normal) and he is more active being that it is summer. my son also gained weight at a fast rate as an infant, and now is very healthy as well... i wouldnt worry about it quite yet... it is very normal for their appetites to cease once they are one or so...and they are also more active, after all.


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## Gemini (Apr 9, 2003)

If he has recently started walking that'll for sure do it. Or is he been walking for a long time now??

My dd has diabetes and one of the first signs was weight loss and extreme thirst. Diabetes takes about 4 to 6 months from onset to show symptoms, and I certainly hope that it isn't the cause of your dc's weight loss. Not to make you worry, but if he starts having extreme thirst, bring him in to have his blood sugar and urine checked.


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## justmama (Dec 24, 2002)

My daughter was just 20lbs. 1oz. at a year of age but did lose 2lbs the next month from being so mobile and active. You have to take into account also that for the first year they practically triple their birth weight and the second year most only add about 4-5lbs. They become LOTS more fussy and they are TONS more active. It could just be the combination of the two. if he is still nursing, I wouldn't worry about it a bit. He's getting everything he needs. Make sure to avoid wheat products yourself to not transfer them in your milk to him(which I'm sure you are already doing) and be sure to nurse often. Be sure to offer a variety of fruits, veggies, carbs, and dairy(if you are offering dairy) and he will take what he needs. My daughter just turned 3 today(Happy Birthday Madyson!!!) and is JUST 30lbs. She can't seem to break that mark! Most kids her age are around 32-35lbs but she turns 30lbs and then loses weight so she's less. I've never weighed her in at over 30lbs. she's a size 2T but her length puts her into 3T. All pants fall off. I have started making her clothing(all dresses and overalls) to combat this problem because she looks like a homeless person. All her clothing is too small or fallign off! So we have the same problem here!
Meg(mummy to the birthday girl!)


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## MarigoldB (Oct 11, 2002)

Thanks for the replies. It's a scary thing when the doc says there's something possibly wrong even though the baby looks and acts perfectly healthy!

I do NOT have a fussy eater--that's for sure! He eats just about anything I give him, and he eats a LOT. He is very active now. He was late crawling, but now charges around on all fours like he has four-wheel-drive! He's also starting to take steps and always wants to climb the stairs every time we go up.

I have noticed that I try to limit what he eats (afraid of obesity), and so I distracted him when I thought he'd had enough rather than listening when he said he wanted more. I've increased the variety of his foods and I'm feeding him until he shows disinterest.

Also, the ped said not to take the wheat out of his diet yet. I never considered my OWN diet--interesting! I'm certainly willing if that is necessary.

I did have the thought this morning that the way adults lose weight is to consumer fewer calories than they burn. Perhaps that's all that's going on--he just needs more calories than I've been giving him.

The weight-loss, btw, was three pounds over 6 months (25 pounds at 9mo, 23.5 pounds at 12 months, and now 22.5 pounds at 15 mo).

Roxanne


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## Lisashepp (Feb 12, 2002)

I am concerned, but not worried.

Do some internet searches for Celiac disease, diabetes, and hyperthyroid. If he isn't stabalized, or gaining in 6 weeks DO let your ped run some tests... better to be safe then sorry.

Lisa


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## justmama (Dec 24, 2002)

Madyson has had a dairy allergy since she was born and when she was still nursing, she would react to dairy in my bm. I completely cut out dairy and if I had grilled cheese or a glass of milk or whatever, I would pay for it later. She was fussy and completely miserable, she refused my breast, her face would swell and break otu in hives, etc. Ugh, it was awful. Maybe just cutting back on wheat for the time being until your son can be properly diagnosed might help a little. Just a thought.
Meg


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## MarigoldB (Oct 11, 2002)

An update:

I really kicked up the solids.

I ebf until ds was a year old. About a week or two later he was significantly more interested in solids--like mooching from my plate!

I started him then, one little meal a day. In the process I also started nursing him less and less. Seems logical, but I realized (considering how he was ALWAYS saying "more") that perhaps I wasn't replacing the same number of calories and fat grams that I was taking away with the skipped nursings.

At least, that's my hope. Like I said, I've drastically increased his solids amounts (to the point where he finally shows disinterest rather than stopping just because he finished the amount that I thought he should eat). At the end of August I go back to the ped. I'm thinking about going in this week just to weigh him.

He's not shown any signs at all of any allergies, eats anything I put in front of him--and a LOT of it. (Get this: I mixed mashed butternut squash, a little milk, and a puree of chick peas, sesame oil, orange juice and milk TOGETHER--and he ate it like it was ice cream! And it was cold!)

The ped was very puzzled because my son appears and acts VERY healthy. He has a vocabulary of over 100 words (I lost count after that), so he's not showing any intellectual impairedness (is that a word?), either. The ped just couldn't see any reason for weight LOSS after ds gained weight like it was going out of style the whole first year.

So, my reasoning is that it's possible that I wasn't replacing the rich breast milk with appropriate amounts of solids. After all, what do we adults do to LOSE weight? Burn more calories than we consume.

Oh--and rejoice with me! He took his first step last Saturday and is up to 6 steps in a row before he biffs it into the floor!

A Ponder: If I hit the floor as many times and the same way ds does every day, I wouldn't be able to walk the next and would be black and blue! Pretty amazing...

Roxanne


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