underweight 2 yr old

[charlotte2010]

Hi i noticed my daughter was small but shes still growing taller, when i looked up how much she should way (around 28lbs) and checked her weight 22lbs! I realised i have to do something fast.

she eats, she is a bit fussy and cant eat egg or anything with egg/too much protein and maybe i was letting her leave her food sometimes but now im trying to get her to gain weight.

anyone have any tips to help her gain weight? ive been increasing her portion size and i make her eat every meal.

she is a good height for her age but weighs the same as a healthy 9month old!

 

[Hope81]

Is she constantly gaining weight just slower? Or she goes for long periods without and even loosing weight?

 

[AugustMum]

A 9 month old?! My LO is 13 months and weights arouind 18lb or just under and she's perfectly healthy. She put on just over 1lb from 9 months to 1 year.

There is no average weight because it varies so much. As long as her height and weight centile vaugly match up then its not a problem. Just look at your child and see if she's happy and healthy and eating and thats all that matters. Obviously if you look at her and think she's underweight and something needs to change then go to your HV first and see what they say.

22lb doesn't sound bad to me if Im honest. My LO will probably be about that at that age.

 

[charlotte2010]

her weight has been consistent, she hasnt dropped and does eat but i think for her hight and age she is under weight. i looked at the chart with the different lines on it and she is under all of them so she is not even on the bottom line. i used to worry about her older sisters too (4 now) but she has consistently followed the middle line and so even tho she looks skinny/slim she is actually ok.

she just needs to gain a few more pounds but i wasnt worrying before i checked her weight as she had been consistently growing, it was only when i couldn't find any knickers that fit her when she was potty trained and that she is wearing 18 month old clothes that i realised something is wrong.

I will see what the doctor says, she used to have an allergy to cows milk so she never had milk after i stopped breastfeeding but now she likes it and has no reaction i might give her full fat milk twice a day and see how that goes.

 

[Laura_C]

22lbs isn't too far off really, my little girl was just over 24lbs at 2 years old.

I was always worried about her weight but professionals never seemed bothered, they just said she was petite although she was quite tall. It started mainly with her when she caught pneumonia when she was 2 and she lost lots of weight. She ha always been on catch up ever since. She hadn't eaten properly for over a month and lost so much weight. We managed it through monitoring her food intake and she has gradually caught up. He doctor said to not restrict anything, if it's fatty etc and she wants it, let her have it! He said too many parents are restricting fats for children as they are scared of them becoming obese, he said this has caused so many problems in recent years with the children he has seen. Young children need full fat milk, cream, cheese etc nothing with reduced fat. Aim for 3 meals and 2 snacks a day if you can. As much variety as you can get into her. A good breakfast is really important, healthy cereal - Grace use to have two or three weetabix with full fat milk with a cup of milk to drink too. Mid morning she would prob have some toast with butter or a yoghurt or both, poss some fruit. Then at lunch she would eat a tuna sandwich or beans on toast, add a bit of grated cheese for extra calories. Same with dinner, spag Bol with extra cheese on top or something like that to give that extra boost. If she wants desert let her have it. Depending on what time she eats her dinner you may be able to sneak in supper before bed, with Grace that would be a small bowl of weetabix again or a toasted teacake or something.

My HV said that we could get her on some weight gain type drinks around her meals to help put the little extra on if he became ill like that again and lost weight. Just a short term thing but apparently it gets them back to where they were before hand, so maybe thats an option. I can't remember what they are called but they are specifically made to help children put on more weight after illness or to give them a boost. Your GP could help, I think they are like milkshake type drinks. She never needed it luckily.

I also started Grace on multivitamin liquid tonic to help give her a boost too. Xxx

 

[charlotte2010]

thanks Laura,

so far she has been up for 7hrs and has had cereal plus a cup of milk, a large banana, water, half a chicken burger, diluted juice, i can see she is getting tired but will tempt her to have a piece of iced bun before her nap. later i will try her with some veggie snacks, chicken and rice for dinner and maybe some more fruit, plus more milk. i think slowly her stomach is stretching to accommodate more food so i hope she would have gained 1lb by the end of the month.

I bought a weight gainer for my other daughter when she was 2 but she never liked it, it was like formula milk. she had pneumonia once too and lost weight but she recovered quickly. my other daughter had vitamins for 1 month and after that her weight hasn't ever been a concern since.

thanks again for the advice