failure to thrive

sunrosejenn wrote: does anyone know anything about this? or have you experienced this?

yesterday we went to a WIC appt. they weighed her, measured her and took her hemoglobin. her length and hemoglobin are fine. there a bit worried about her weight.

birth - 5lbs 14 1/2oz
3mos - 12lbs 6oz
6mos - 15lbs 9oz
9mos - 16lbs 4oz
12 mos - 16lbs 12oz

she is less then 5% for weight probably about 1%. she is going to be evaluated by a occupational (they also work with feeding issues) and developmental therapist.

i've charted this myself on a growth chart and i'm starting to freak out. i've know she hasn't gained alot of weight since 6mos old.

what will they or can be done to keep her from going into failure to thrive. i know i'm small so she may be small herself. but even then you are supposed to still gain weight and stay in the same percentile even if it is slow weight gain (not sure if this made sense, not sure how else to word it).

for myself according to standards i'm about 10 lbs underweight for me height. i should weigh 95-105. i was 5 lbs at birth and 2 weeks early as i was a breech c-section baby. when i was 11-12 weeks pregnant i only weighed 75lbs as i had lost 8lbs and i didn't even know it. and currently i weigh between 86-88lbs.

please tell me things are going to be ok and I won't loose Eliana. lately i've been having dreams that Eliana has died. each and everyday when i pick her up from the sitters i just hug her and won't let go for 5-10 minutes as i'm so glad she is here.

~Roo'sMama~ replied: I don't have any advice or experience with this I just wanted to offer some hugs. I'm sure Eliana will be ok ~ its good you're taking her to the occupational therapist so you can figure things out!

3_call_me_mama replied: HUGS!!! Try not to worry too much. Get the help that you can and go from there. A good friend of mine has a daughter that weighs up exactally the same as your DD and she is the same age. Well she just turned 1 on the 14th. She weighed the same at birth as your DD as well. Her ped is a bit worried but not too much as she is healtthy otherwise. He mom is very small also (not even 100 lbs I think) and was a small baby too. I hope you get some answers and also some rest. This littel one sure has been an adventure hasn't she

MomToMany replied: She sounds fine to me! As long as she has a steady upwards curve on the growth charts (even if it is on the low end), she's doing fine. Especially since she was so small at birth. My youngest DD was 7 lbs. 10 oz. at birth, and she only weighed 16 lbs. at a year old. There was a time at about 9 months or 12 months where she wasn't on the charts at all. She's a peanut! Some kids just are small!

Also, once babies become mobile (around 9 mos. old), they slim down & their weight gain slows too. Is she meeting her developmental milestones fine (crawling etc.)? THAT should be more of a concern if she's not meeting them than how much she weighs.

Let us know what you find out!

A&A'smommy replied: UM well I personally think you need to get a second opinion I would see if you can get a list of ped. that your medicade will allow you to see and go see one of them just to make sure they are right.

mysweetpeasWil&Wes replied: My DS has dropped to about the 5% in weight around the 12 month mark too. He was 8 lbs at birth and was always up there on the scale until he hit about 10 months or so. He's probably a little over 20 lbs now...My ped is not worried.

How are your DD eating habits? If you notice that she doesn't eat much, then yes, I would be concerned, but like Mollie said, if she's meeting her milestones, I would say she's fine...but I'm not a doctor of course. I heard that it was normal for their weight to drop in the second year of life. They are more mobile so they're busy burning calories, plus more distracted when it comes to eating.

I would also agree that she seems to be taking after you! I have a good friend who's daughter is about 16 lbs at 14 months. She's petite, but her mom is also. She's healthy in all other aspects, so nothing to worry about.

sunrosejenn replied: thanks girls for your kind words. i just need to stop freakin so easily with Eliana but i can't help it i gained that from my mother.

we have no insurance at this time. i had to re-apply for medicaid a 2nd time as they never rec'd my application. there is only one dr's office in this county that is accepting new medicaid patients. otherwise i'd have to drive 1hr 15mins to see someone else. which of course means loosing one day of pay to take her. i hate living in a small populated area.

thanks again

sunrosejenn replied: she eats 24oz of formula a day
she eats about 1 tablespoon of food per day.
she sat up on her own at 7 months
she crawled at 8 1/2 months
she started to cruise at 9 1/2 -10 months

she has only gained just over a pound since 6 months old. she wasn't mobile until 8 /2 months old.

PrairieMom replied: Failure to thrive isn't anything that you have control over, as long as you are feeding her. Some kids just don't grow very fast. growth normally slows down once they start moving around and all that too. Is she strong and meeting all her milestones? If you are small, I would take that into account too. Its probably normal for her to be small also.
However, I would still have it checked out. She may need to have her diet altered, or something like that.
Don't freak out. Get her looked at and figure out whats going on ( if anything) and then see what needs to be done. (if anything)
I would deffinately take the advice of a Ped. Over that of a WIC officer.

sunrosejenn replied: i'm waiting to hear from the occ and dev therapist to schedule appts. with the holidays coming and there main office is where the Nov 6 tornado hit they are behind in making appts.

she eats 24oz of soy formula
on average 1 tablespoon of food a day and sometimes none

from birth to 6 months she was gaining weight fine (in the 25-30%) then has only gained abt 1-2 lbs in the last 6 months.

she was not mobile til she was 8 1/2 months old.

she is also still on formulas as she is not able to take dairy. we've tried on and off and several ways in the last 1 1/2 months. she throws it up within 5 minutes and it looks like cottage cheese and smells horrible more then soy being thrown up.

Kaitlin'smom replied: why so little food? I know they recomend not really startign solids till 1 yr old but id your worried about weight gain (something we should not be putting a HUGE emphysis on) they why is she not having more baby food or finger foods? Just wondering.

Sarah&Mackenzie replied: Just a question? Are you petite (small framed) My SIL is and her daughter who is 1.5 years old is smaller than Mackenzie. She only weighs like 17-19 pounds and Mackenzie is 21-22 pounds. She is healthy and eats so maybe she is just going to be petite, don't get to stressed out o.k.

sunrosejenn replied: kaitlin's mom - that is all she will eat, she refuses to eat 75% of the time. she ahs a strong gag reflux and chokes just about everytime she eats and of course then throws up. she ate babyfood and table food real good from 4 - 6 1/2 months then stopped completely for about a month then small amounts of table food since then. i offer food all the time as the sitter does too. she just won't eat it hardly.

Sarah - i'm 4'11 and 88 lbs and her father is 5'10 not sure abt weight he has nothing to do with her and has never even seen her.

DansMom replied: Daniel has had major weight gain issues too---he's hovering at the 3rd percentile. He's also got food allergies, and is a picky eater, and doesn't eat much compared to other kids I've seen. His growth tapered off dramatically at 7 months. He'll be 3 on Friday and he still isn't 30 pounds. I strongly believe that your size (I'm petite too, so my son is) has a lot to do with how big your child will be, and that if she also has food allergies you will have a lot of food issues and people who don't understand will question your choices---the big issue will be finding things that she likes to eat that she can eat. If there is more going on with her health, the doctors will find it and possibly refer you to a specialist, but it does sound like she's on target with her milestones.

As far as foods go, because of his allergies Daniel's first foods were fruits and vegetables (the jars, then my own, like potatos and avocado, that I would moosh and spoon feed him). He hated cereal. If you find something she likes and won't spit out, I'd keep offering it. Best of luck, and keep us posted!

Kaitlin'smom replied: Okay I understand that Kait is also very petite in her weight just about 30lbs and she will be 3 in a month. She is on the pick side but will try things. I just try and keep the things around she likes. Deffinaly sounds like you need some more help with her eating at least, have you found anythign she does love to eat? Sounds like she is doing fine just has some things that need worked on with the gag problem and to work around any food allergies. I hope you find some more answers. Its so hard not to worry about them.

jem0622 replied: She is growing, so I really see no problem. I bet my girls will be about the same as your singleton come next week's ped visit.

If she were losing, then I'd have issue with that. If she doesn't want much food then don't push it! She is getting a lot of formula which is great! You may want to stick with the formula for now since she isn't liking food.

I would just keep letting her try different things and be really laid back about it. I'd definitely get a second opinion!

HUGS

sunrosejenn replied: even foods that I know she loves she will eat for a week or so then refuse it for a week or 2 then go back to eating it. there are even foods she has been eating for 6 months and then won't take it for awhile then go back to eating it.

she screams and fights you when you put her in the high chair and stick food in front of her. and she def won't let you feed her with a spoon.

she only has a reaction to whole milk and nothing else. she is fine with other dairy and other foods. she has a very strong gag reflux.

she is growing extremely slow .... triple her birth weight is 17.71875 and she only weighs 16lbs 12oz as of yesterday.

her dr prescribed prosobee next step since she can't handle milk. and as of last week still can't handle it throws it up within 5 mins and it looks like cottage cheese and smells real bad. she takes 24-30ox of formula a day

this is her 3rd dr as i'm paying out of pocket waiting for medicaid to start again. ive re-applied 2x since they say they never rec'd my app. the problem is in this county there is only 1 DR who is accepting any or new medicaid patients. otherwise i have to drive 1hr 15mins and loose a day of pay for appts.


thanks girls for everything today

jcc64 replied: I'm at work and reading fast, so forgive me if I've missed something or am repeating things already mentioned.
I am also the mom of a petite little one. Corey was 3 on 9/4, and still only weighs 27lbs. When she was your dd's age, she was 17lbs, I think. I am an average size and weight, but ds is pretty small for a guy, and all the women on his side are tiny. Genetics matters, as was previously brought up.
It sounds like she's hitting her milestones. Is she energetic? Does she have good muscle tone? These are all things my dd's dr kept an eye on. I guess it isn't all that surprising that your dd is small- not only b/c you're small, but also b/c she's really not taking in alot of calories. I realize she has issues with food- maybe you should ask to be referred to a nutrionist. They are vastly more knowledable about diet than drs are- and maybe you can get some new ideas, suggestions, etc for high calorie foods that are easy to tolerate. Has anyone suggested pediasure or whatever it's called- a high calorie vitamin enriched drink for kids that need to gain wt? Milkshakes and smoothies are another way to get alot of calories in. Avocados are great, and alot of kids love them.
Best of luck. I hope you find the answers you need.

sunrosejenn replied: her pedi mentioned pediasure at her last visit Nov 11. she has been taking it since then. an occupational and developmental therapist will be evaluating her as soon as they call to schedule an appt.

she is energetic but not sure what you mean about muscle tone. never thought of avocado's. i'll give those a try as well.


thanks everyone!!!

kimberley replied: good luck with the therapists. i agree with everyone else that her allergies and genetics play a big part and you should try not to worry. just wanted to send lotsa hugs your way.

PhiMuMommy replied: my son is also underweight but perfectly healthy.. i didnt' hit 50 lbs till the summer before high school.. and was tested for everything under the sun.. all the dr's found was that i had a very high metabolism that i would love when i hit 30....
wic always pushes for chunky babies... chunky in babies equals healthy to them.. then they gripe about it and take away chips and soda when they hit school age.. go figure...

i wouldn't worry too much.. if she is happy and plays and acts normal.. she is prolly fine

sunrosejenn replied: thanks everyone.

as of right now the only thing she can't handle is milk she does fine with all other dairy products. she loves cheese and yogurt and pudding. i'm hoping the therapists will be able to help alot with her gaging/eating issues.

she has not yet tripled her birth weight so there is some concern. triple her birth weight would be 17.71875 and she weighs 16lbs 12oz

3_call_me_mama replied: Neither of my kids tripled theri birth weights at 1 year. Cameron was 18 months and Kathleen is only 14 months now so we'll see but Watching her growth pattern, it looks like she's gonna triple about 18 months too. HUGS adn good luck to you!

redchief replied: I remember, angrily, our last appt. with a WIC "nutritionist." We used WIC with our youngest son. In his first year he was a very plump child (I'm talking rolly-poly here). Shortly after he started walking he plateaued and didn't gain any weight for several months. Now understand, the child was a little fatty!!! His weight distributed nicely during his non-gaining period and he grew, but since he didn't put on any weight he was diagnosed as "failure to thrive."

We took that information to our pediatrician who was flabbergasted and told us they are so hung up on averages tables and "norms" that they fail to see the children. He also told us Ricky was as healthy a little boy as could be. We took THAT information back to the nutritionist and she suggested we change pediatricians because our "obviously didn't know" what he was talking about. I demanded all records WIC had kept on our child and told them we would not be back.

They told us that we didn't have a right to those records. I had to threaten to sue them and go to the state WIC office to get the records.

I feel your pain, even after 20 years.

jcc64 replied: If she likes/tolerates cheese, what about whole wheat mac n cheese? Can't get any more high calorie than that, right? And what kid doesn't love that? Eggs with cheese are another high calorie option. When I reread your op, I saw that she was pretty tiny at birth. I think my dd probably gained about the same amount as yours' over the course of a year- she simply started off a lb heavier. She's still small, she's still not a great eater, but she gets what she needs, is healthy and in the end, what else matters? It'll be ok in the end.

1girl1boy replied: My daughter was 7lbs 11oz when she was born and only weighed 17lbs 8oz at 1 yr. I think your daughter is growing fine. She is now 2 and is 35in and 24lbs 3oz and I have a 9 month old son who is 23lbs and 30 inches! As long as she is happy and healthy don't worry! I have a very petite daughter!