# 17 months and barely 21 pounds?



## CrazyCatLady (Aug 17, 2004)

Now I have the WIC people telling me that she's faliure to thrive. I didn't even know they used that term in toddlers? She's in the 9th percentile for weight and the 11th for height. The only reason we got accepted for WIC is because she is so tiny. What can I or should I do? She eats all the darn time, it's mostly healthy stuff, but that's what she likes. She's always been on the small end of the charts. So again (I know I'm always bugging you guys about this), do I need to worry or is she ok? She's plenty busy and has tons of energy, but I'm kind of tired of people thinking that she's only 11 months old when they see her.


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## 3ncountin (Nov 12, 2005)

she sounds alot like my daughter who is now almost 4 and she is still small ( about 25 -27 lbs ) Anyway when she was 18 mo old her doc made me keep a food diary becauase she didnt believe me when I said she ate all the time.She too ate mostly healthy stuff as we try to avoid keeping any junk food in the house .I ended up making a few small changes in her diet like putting a small amount of real butter on her steamed veggies ,making her little milk shakes with bananas and whatever other fruit she wanted in it and whole milk I also made sure to let her nurse whenever she wanted it . Anyway she added a littyle weight but her doc finally just realised she is tiny and otherwise very healthy so she gave up trying to push the food issue. I found with the WIC people it helped just to say " her weight is being monitored by her doctor he /she is helping us with the issue. I truly think some people are just tinier than others. I was so tiny that pictures of me when I was 8 look like 4 yr old.I grew out of it but even though I am 5,3' I am still the thinnest person in my family .


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## Tori Gollihugh (Jun 16, 2005)

As long as you are close to your child and KNOW him/her, don't let anyone else tell you what SHOULD be with regard to their being or welfare!

I agree wholeheartedly with the PPers who recommend, basically, taking their 'problem' with a grain of salt. I also think that, if you must continue with WIC, do as the PPer suggest with regard to telling them that you are dealing with the issue through your child's Doc. That should definitely get them off your back.

My daughter sounds a little "more" average, but when we last went to the Doc (when she was 9 months old) she was on the small side. I decieded that well baby visits were a bit of a crock because I knew she was well and I can compare her stats with the charts available online. I also didn't want to deal with those annoying questions about her food intake. She has nice chunkers, even now, so what the HECK!? She's obviosly thriving socially and cognitively - and isn't that the majority of failure to thrive (I DO know size plays a part, but it's a lesser part).

Mr. Rogers has a song about how everybody is fancy. Maybe her 'fancy-ness' is her tinyness!







Don't let them push you around. Be your child's AND your own advocate!!!

Good luck with the bureaucrats!


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## Moon Faerie (Aug 2, 2004)

If my dd comtinues along her curve, she should be around 20 lbs at 17 months. She's 12 months now and weighs 17.5 lbs. Our Dr has never once been concerned. She may be on the small side, but she's right on the "average" for bf babies weighing 2.5 times birth weight at a year. WIC on the other hand freaked about her size. (Right after they got done lecturing me about my "huge" 2 year old. Whatever. Ds is built exactly like my dh as a child, and dd is just like me as a child.)


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## fiddlefern (Nov 9, 2003)

I come from a different perspective from the other posters.

My child IS failure to thrive and it has taken me months and months and months to accept that and do something about it (feeding tube- it's been a huge help), because almost all of my friends are into natural family living and said he's just small, he's got energy, etc. (My MDC friends are actually the ones who've been supportive of me getting help for him- I live in Portland OR, and it's very progressive here).

OK, all that being said, I'd be suspicious about the idea that a 21 pound 17 month old is FTT. Has your child dropped dramatically in percentiles weight percentiles (like from the 90th to the 50th, or from the 50th to below the 5th?) Has your child dropped percentiles in height or head circumference? (the head is serious, when that stops growing, it can affect development).

If you can answer no to these questions, which I suspect you can, then your child is probably either at a healthy weight or a weight that's a little low for her. If it's low, this is easily fixed. All toddlers need a good amount of healthy fats in their diet, for optimal brain development and good growth. You can get these (as previous posters said) from organic butter (which is GREAT for kids, IMO), nut butters, whole milk or goat yogurt, cheese, etc, etc.

Follow your instincts and don't let the WIC people or anyone else push you around.


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## CrazyCatLady (Aug 17, 2004)

Actually the wic people were very nice. They just let me know that the only reason I qualify is because Zayla is so small. She tried to make it sound more gentle by saying that she looked healthy anyways. Zayla hasn't been to a doctor since 11 months. We never did wbv (no vaxes, no point really) and haven't had health insurance. But she just got accepted on the state insurance here in Wa, so I'll be taking her in soon because I'm worried about her development as well. I have no idea about what her head measures or has measured. She's almost always been small though (9th-12th percentile). So nobody is pushing me around (for once) but it does bother me that everyone still thinks that she is a young baby (I always get asked if she can crawl or walk yet?) So I guess a trip to the doctor is the answer here. Thanks everyone.


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## abandbunk (Jan 7, 2006)

my dd is 20 months old and 20 lbs, she is also very short, she is in the 3-5 percentile for both height and weight, she's just teeny. I am of average height but my mom is 4 10 1/2 so I definetly think it is just genetic kwim?


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## 3boobykins (Nov 21, 2001)

I don't see how a toddler who is on the growth charts can be considered ftt, as long as development is normal overall. DD is about 16.5 months and I doubt if she's even 19 lbs. She gained about 3-4 oz in the last 3 months. She's just very active and seems to be naturally petite. She's I think around 10% for height, and not on the charts anymore for weight, but her weight and height are close so she's not skinny. She did indeed drop percentiles from around 3 months on the charts, going from near the 50% to falling off the charts around 15 months--but so what? She's been walking since a year, picks up new words constantly, and is overal bright-eyed and bushytailed. All of my kids dropped percentiles starting around 6 months. It's a very normal pattern for bf babies.


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## TurboClaudia (Nov 18, 2003)

our son is almost 20 months old and weighs a little over 22lbs and measures about 31in tall. he's in very low percentiles as of his 18 mo visit (7th & 15th, i think... it's written down somewhere...) but he's back on the charts, which is a good thing. he, too, eats like a fiend, mostly health stuff but also some fatty stuff like cheese and french fries, too. he's also in love with carbs right now and would eat crackers all day if he could choose his food.

from what i know about failure to thrive, you have to drop at least 2 growth percentiles in a time period. so if you haven't monitored her growth closely, they can't really "diagnose" failure to thrive, just take an educated guess that it *might* be the result of what's going on.

i don't know much about WIC, but what i have heard from friends and acquaintances who have dealt with WIC is that they are mostly well-intentioned but often misinformed or miscommunicating. so maybe you might consider just taking what they offer that you find useful and let the rest go? i mean, as far as the advice or thoughts they offer. it probably doesn't help you from second-guessing yourself, i know, but something to think about it...

and as for other people thinking your child is significantly younger than their actual age, i got that a lot, too. someone once asked if my almost 11 month old was "around 6 months" because her granddaughter was around that age and around the same size... wtf???!!!??? i used to carry him or sling him a lot until he learned to walk confidently, and i think that generated a lot of those comments. since he has been walking, the comments on his size have practically disappeared, but the comments of "oh, isn't she so cute?" have multiplied... umm, yes, we think he's pretty cute, too.







i think it must be his round face and long blond hair. oh well.

hope you can find peace about this soon, mama...

~claudia


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## Mom2Madeline (Aug 31, 2004)

My 20 month old just hit 20 pounds. At her 18 month ped visit she was 19 pounds. He told me to give her PediaSure. I smiled and nodded. But he didn't seem overly concerned. I was a skinny little kid too. Genetics.


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## Christine&men (Jun 4, 2005)

My 21 month old DS weighs about 21 pounds. My side of the family is average, but DH's family is shorter (with one giganticly tall nephew, not sure where that comes from because SIL is very short). DS was on the small side (for Americans that is, right on track for a German baby, husband is French). So, I figure, he is just smaller, but full of energy and his numbers add up (meaning, he did not drop suddenly in percentiles, head measures okay). And he did gain lately. Honestly, I don't mind giving him treats (not before dinner/lunch of course) anymore and I think that helps. Anyway, I cook mostly from scratch, always have apples/bananas and other fruit at hand. So we eat mostly healthy but those extra calories from treats might add up to something...


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## abandbunk (Jan 7, 2006)

also wanted to add that IF your dc is "skinny" and NOT proportional, then some good calorie dense foods are : avocado, cheese is dc eats dairy, salmon if your doing fish yet, bananas are high in calories, oh gosh there are some others, i'll try and post them later when I can think of them. but my dd LOVES avocados which are REALLY high in "good" fats, as is salmon (which she loves too!)....


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## faithnj (Dec 19, 2004)

I'm scared my daughter really might be a "failure to thrive" child. She's 13 months, and I doubt she's 17 pds yet. At her 1 year weigh in she weighed about 16.5 lbs. But soon after she caught a cold, and I think she might have lost weight. Also, at about her 1st birthday, her appetite seemed to decrease, and she doesn't seem to drink as much formula as she used too. She has been reaaaaaally resistant to eating solids-- prefering the bottle so much more. I have tried everything to get her to eat-- but it's been mostly a no-go thus far. The only solids she really accepted were Cheerios, crackers, and toast. And she completely resists allowing anyone to feed her. I mean she will howl and go crazy if you try to take control over what she puts in her mouth. Only lately, now that I just let her pick at the food on my plate, has she started to eat more solids. But she's tiny and her tiny little hands aren't the most efficient. Most of her food misses her hands and ends up on the floor. In other words- the only reason she's eating more food these days is because I let her PLAY with the food. But still, it's not enough food. She was in the 5th percentile most of her first year. On her 1st birthday, she was in the 3rd percentile. I don't know what to expect now, but I imagine that with the decrease in her formula intake, she just might have fallen off of the charts.

Anyone have any suggestions of stories of situations similar to this???

Faithnj


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