# Distended tummy



## siouxm

I have a 3.5 year old daughter who has had a distended tummy for as long as I can remember (since her birth). I assumed it would go away with age, but it has not. The only time her tummy is sort of flat is in the morning right after waking. The rest of the day it is poking out.

This makes it difficult to fit pants on her since they immediately drop below down to her hips and then the crotch drags low and the legs hang well past her feet.

Has anyone else faced this? Is this some sort of alergy or other odd ailment?

I have considered that wheat may be causing it, but have yet to try removing it since there are no other obvious wheat related reactions.

Any help would be highly appreciated.


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## Yooper

My dd has this and always has. She seems healthy is every other way. I believe Iw as the same way. I remember my dad trying to get me to suck it in all the time when I was little. I see it on other kids too, usually girls. We have the same problem with pants. Dd prefers dresses with tights so that is how we solved that. It is very cold here so she is OK with putting on a pair of matching sweatpants over her tights when we leave the house.


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## mamatoady

my dd, 4.5, still has this. not sure what to say, I guess I thought it would go away too, but it hasn't. I read somewhere that it's common in cultures where skinniness doesn't matter as that most babies have it, but we are taught or somehow learn to "suck it in" but I don't know about that.

different bodies...
sarah


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## Mirzam

Quote:


Originally Posted by *mamatoady* 
I read somewhere that it's common in cultures where skinniness doesn't matter as that most babies have it, but we are taught or somehow learn to "suck it in" but I don't know about that.


I have a hard time believing that we as parents consciously or subconsciously teach our young children to such in their tummies however our culture views slimness. Dysbiosis can cause a distended tummy, but if your child is generally healthy and doesn't have gut issues, then it probably won't be. FWIW, my cousin had a distended belly as a child and certainly doesn't now. He wasn't overweight either as a child.


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## karre

hi
my cousin always had this problem as a kid. I think she just always wore shirts that covered her belly and pants with strechy waist bands (which even so tended to ride low). I know you are already considering the causese of this but i just wanted to say though that the fact that your daughter's belly is flat in the morning and distended by the evening really suggests some type of malabsorption/digestive issue. It sounds like what is happening is as your daughter eats throughout the day, undigested food get fermented by bacteria in the colon which causes a lot of gas to build up.

In my cousin's case her distended belly was due to cystic fibrosis. Even with pancreatic enzyme replacement her belly still stuck out. Hopefully nothing like that is the cause of your daughter's issues. Does she eat a lot of fiber...? Certain fibers cause a lot gas to build up because we are not able to digest them and so bacteria in the colon ferment them which produces a lot of gas. Another thing to consider is how quick her transit time is since the longer it is the more gas waste will build up. What are her stools like??? Frequent, runny, very stinky, etc

Anyway if you are really worried about all this please talk to your doctor!


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## nextcommercial

My daughter had this too. We called it her snoopy belly.

But, she has a dance friend with a Kidney condition, and her tummy sticks out more than my dd's. Even though K**** is thin everywhere else. Her tummy sticks out. It can't hurt to bring it up to the doctor.


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## MrsTittlemouse

I am so glad you posted this question, I have been wondering the same thing. My dd is 2.5 and I never thought her big belly was a problem, but then last week I started to wonder. She seems perfectly fine, so I probably won't worry to much about it, but if I hear any relevant info, I will be appreciative!


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## velochic

I hope this isn't your case, but it's worth checking out. My nephew had this same problem and it turned out that his liver and spleen were enlarged. He has a congenital liver disease that means his liver is failing (Congenital Hepatic Fibrosis). I think a distended stomach can mean a lot of things and needs to be investigated.


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## ameliabedelia

My almost 5-year old has a very sticky-out tummuy as well. I think there a couple issues at play with her. 1) she is overweight by the charts, but doesn't really look fat except in her tummy area...I think some people just tend to carry fat in their abdominal areas more than others 2) her tummy does seem to stick out more at certain times than others..we haven't noticed it being more in the morning or evening..but it seems to go through spurts of days/weeks. Ie. she might have several weeks where it looks really distended and full and then several weeks where it is "flatter" I think it is related to her digestive health and what she is eating. She also had constipation problems ..and being constipated can make the tummy stick out more.

FWIW, for the past year our daughter has been on a gluten free/caesin free diet and while this has greatly helped her behavior and her weight issues (she stopped gained weight so rapidly and is starting to grow into her weight), she still has a distended tummy (again worse some times than others).

If you child is overall really skinny but had a large tummy I would be more worried, than if they are just heavier in general or seem to carry more fat in the tummy area. My dd has been to the daughter a lot (tested for celiac) and weight checks, and they never noticed anything enlarged or abnormal.


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## siouxm

Thank you to everyone who responded.

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Yooper* 
My dd has this and always has. She seems healthy is every other way. I believe Iw as the same way. I remember my dad trying to get me to suck it in all the time when I was little. I see it on other kids too, usually girls. We have the same problem with pants. Dd prefers dresses with tights so that is how we solved that. It is very cold here so she is OK with putting on a pair of matching sweatpants over her tights when we leave the house.

My daughter loves dresses, but I have not even bought any dresses since taking her out of daycare. I should consider that since I get weary of constantly trying to pull her pants back up or roll the waistband down. Why can't they just make pants that fit a potty trained, pot bellied, 3.5 year old? You know, like hip-huggers!









Quote:


Originally Posted by *mamatoady* 
my dd, 4.5, still has this. not sure what to say, I guess I thought it would go away too, but it hasn't. I read somewhere that it's common in cultures where skinniness doesn't matter as that most babies have it, but we are taught or somehow learn to "suck it in" but I don't know about that.

different bodies...
sarah

Very different indeed. One 2.5 year old in my in-home daycare has a flat little tummy no matter how much she eats or what time of day. She is just one of many 2.5+ year olds that I compare my daughter to. Maybe I should stop, but then I get worried, you know?

Quote:


Originally Posted by *uccomama* 
I have a hard time believing that we as parents consciously or subconsciously teach our young children to such in their tummies however our culture views slimness. Dysbiosis can cause a distended tummy, but if your child is generally healthy and doesn't have gut issues, then it probably won't be. FWIW, my cousin had a distended belly as a child and certainly doesn't now. He wasn't overweight either as a child.

Very healthy, just a pokey belly.

Quote:


Originally Posted by *karre* 
hi
my cousin always had this problem as a kid. I think she just always wore shirts that covered her belly and pants with strechy waist bands (which even so tended to ride low). I know you are already considering the causese of this but i just wanted to say though that the fact that your daughter's belly is flat in the morning and distended by the evening really suggests some type of malabsorption/digestive issue. It sounds like what is happening is as your daughter eats throughout the day, undigested food get fermented by bacteria in the colon which causes a lot of gas to build up.

In my cousin's case her distended belly was due to cystic fibrosis. Even with pancreatic enzyme replacement her belly still stuck out. Hopefully nothing like that is the cause of your daughter's issues. Does she eat a lot of fiber...? Certain fibers cause a lot gas to build up because we are not able to digest them and so bacteria in the colon ferment them which produces a lot of gas. Another thing to consider is how quick her transit time is since the longer it is the more gas waste will build up. What are her stools like??? Frequent, runny, very stinky, etc

Anyway if you are really worried about all this please talk to your doctor!

This is most likely the case as she seems to release a lot of gas in the evenings and throughout the night. She gets all of her nutrients from whole organic milk, and fruits and veggies. Occasionally she has some meats or cheeses, or a peanut butter sandwich, but mostly she likes her milk and fruit.

She poops all day long, or at least it seems that way since she spends so much time on the potty "waiting for the big poo, mama". It seems normal for her age.

Quote:


Originally Posted by *nextcommercial* 
My daughter had this too. We called it her snoopy belly.

But, she has a dance friend with a Kidney condition, and her tummy sticks out more than my dd's. Even though K**** is thin everywhere else. Her tummy sticks out. It can't hurt to bring it up to the doctor.

"Snoop Belly" that's cute!
She will have her 4th year appt coming up in April and that will be at the top of the list.









Quote:


Originally Posted by *velochic* 
I hope this isn't your case, but it's worth checking out. My nephew had this same problem and it turned out that his liver and spleen were enlarged. He has a congenital liver disease that means his liver is failing (Congenital Hepatic Fibrosis). I think a distended stomach can mean a lot of things and needs to be investigated.

God forbid this is the case. But I appreciate the post.







:

Quote:


Originally Posted by *ameliabedelia* 
My almost 5-year old has a very sticky-out tummuy as well. I think there a couple issues at play with her. 1) she is overweight by the charts, but doesn't really look fat except in her tummy area...I think some people just tend to carry fat in their abdominal areas more than others 2) her tummy does seem to stick out more at certain times than others..we haven't noticed it being more in the morning or evening..but it seems to go through spurts of days/weeks. Ie. she might have several weeks where it looks really distended and full and then several weeks where it is "flatter" I think it is related to her digestive health and what she is eating. She also had constipation problems ..and being constipated can make the tummy stick out more.

FWIW, for the past year our daughter has been on a gluten free/caesin free diet and while this has greatly helped her behavior and her weight issues (she stopped gained weight so rapidly and is starting to grow into her weight), she still has a distended tummy (again worse some times than others).

If you child is overall really skinny but had a large tummy I would be more worried, than if they are just heavier in general or seem to carry more fat in the tummy area. My dd has been to the daughter a lot (tested for celiac) and weight checks, and they never noticed anything enlarged or abnormal.

She is not heavy, almost quite the opposite. She has always been above the 100th percentile in height, but in the 40-50th percentile for weight. But does not appear underweight either. She got cursed with my poor muscle tone (which I corrected later in life), poor joints (also worked to correct on myself), and hopefully strong bones.

In anycase, I will talk to the doctor about this in a couple of months, but I am feeling more assured that it is not some reaction to wheat or gluten, and more likely a fiber reaction due to her diet choices.


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## Yooper

I could be wrong, but I think if there were some grave medical reason for the belly, there would be other signs. Dd has not been to a doc since she was 2 weeks old so she has never been "checked out" but my mom is a pediatric nurse and has never even mentioned that she thought something might be off. I am not concerned for my dd since I remember myself being the same way.

Leggings seem also to stay up better. They cling to the legs so they are not so prone to falling down. I do know that you mean though. Dd PTed herself at age 2 and I was almost upset because I could not find clothing to fit her. The diapers were keeping her pants up







I scour the secondhand stores for dresses. They are cheap and I am not so upset when they get trashed at the park


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