1 Year Old Is 16 Lbs.

I have 15 month old twins. My daughter is over 20lbs., my son only weighs around 17lbs. They don't even look like twins, because they are so different in size. I don't feel that my daughter eats more, I think he just has a higher metabolism. The dr. always makes me feel like I am doing something wrong, and that I need to feed him a lot more. I have tried and he is still tiny. I have just decided that is how he is. As long as he is eating healthy, then I try not to worry. Even though today I weighed him at home and I don't think he has grown in like 2 months.

My daughter weighed about the same around that time. She is 20 months now & weighs about 23lbs. My doctor wasn't worried. You don't need to worry either.

M.,
I want to ask you a few more questions about this cough because I have the SAME situation with my daughter. She is 1yr and is 16lbs. She has gained 3 oz in 7 weeks and coincidentally 7 weeks ago was also sick with a cold and learned to cough at the same time. She has had a cough ever since which leads to a gag and can actually cause her to vomit. We are doing all sorts of tests to try and get to the bottom of the problem. We don't know if it is a failure to thrive thing or if anatomically something is wrong. She eats well and her twin sister who eats the same diet gained a 1/2 lb in the last 2 weeks. Do you have any insight? Can you help?

Updated

M.,
I want to ask you a few more questions about this cough because I have the SAME situation with my daughter. She is 1yr and is 16lbs. She has gained 3 oz in 7 weeks and coincidentally 7 weeks ago was also sick with a cold and learned to cough at the same time. She has had a cough ever since which leads to a gag and can actually cause her to vomit. We are doing all sorts of tests to try and get to the bottom of the problem. We don't know if it is a failure to thrive thing or if anatomically something is wrong. She eats well and her twin sister who eats the same diet gained a 1/2 lb in the last 2 weeks. Do you have any insight? Can you help?

Both my sons have gone through this. My oldest son didnt gain a pound from the time of his 12 month visit to his 2 yr visit. He is now average height, 4 years later.
My youngest son is definitely small for his age. When he turned 3 he finally was in the 5% for weight. I would say as long as everything else is fine, and he is eating well, try not to worry, that growth spurt will come soon enough!

M.,

Has his percentiles changed? My son dropped from the 75th to the 5th percentile by his 10 month check up, turned out he had reflux (heart burn).

R.

The concern should not necessarily be what he weighs or where he falls on the charts, but his own individual growth pattern. Has he always been smaller or it this a recent thing? If he has always been on the higher end of the scale and is suddenly not gaining any weight, or ends up losing weight, then it's something to look at more closely.

Two of my kids have done this, one of them not gaining a single ounce from 9mo-15mo, and the other had always been around the 60th percentile until he hit about 6mo when he started dropping not only on the chart (went from 60th to 2nd), but he then began actually losing weight.

Your son's iron levels should have been checked at his 9mo appointment, even if they were fine it would be worth checking them again, as iron deficiency can cause not only physical growth issues, but mental development problems as well if it gets severe or goes on for too long. Both of my kids that had growth issues were anemic and it took a couple of months of work to get them back on track. I was also breastfeeding them, and the one that was losing weight turned out to be affected by a medication that I was taking. It had been cleared for me by two different drs, and our pediatrician also said that it should be fine and very unlikely to cause problems, but after much research we found a very rarely reported side-effect was that it may slow growth in breastfed babies-as it slowed fetal growth when taken during pregnancy. We did a trial weaning to see if it would help him (he was about 10months), and though he didn't eat much and only had a couple of bottles a day, he immediately improved. So make sure you take a look at what you are doing as well just to rule out anything that could cause him to be smaller than he would be naturally inclined to be.

Otherwise, he may just be a smaller kid for now (or forever). Out of my 7 kids, only one has managed to get up to 20lbs by a year, usually we're happy if they make it to 18! :)

My soon to be 18 month old barely tops out at 18 lbs. if I weigh her fully dressed and with a wet diaper ;) But on a more serious note, my daughter was very slow to gain weight when she was born and my midwife and pediatrician inspired a lot of panic and fear in me. They wanted me to supplement BF with formula, which I chose not to do and did not take her to another pediatrician again until she turned 1. Although her weight is so low it is off the charts, when looked at with her height, she is in the 27th percentile (still low, I know) and her head circumference puts her even higher. She is still mainly BF, but I try to offer her lots of healthy foods to try. She is happy and healthy and active and developmentally on track, so I have quit worrying about her petite size. My biggest problem with her small size is coming up with creative ways to keep her pants up! Unless you have any reason to worry about developmental issues, and your pediatrician is not concerned then I would not worry about it. Many BF babies seem small, mainly because their little bodies are so efficient at digesting such perfect food. Good luck!

M. - My daughter was only 17 pounds at a year, with a really big head. She had her own growth curve which she followed, so the doctor wasn't concerned. My husband is quite tall and I am average size, so I wasn't expecting such a tiny kid. However, she is now almost 8 years old, and although she is still quite petite, she is very smart academically and doing great. My only concern with your son would be if he wasn't growing on his curve and if the doctor was concerned. Otherwise, don't fret about it! Kids come in all shapes and sizes. I have just been grateful to not have to buy as many clothes!

My kids were in the low percentile of their height and weight, but a year ago, I was introduced to Herbalife and I have given my kids their kids shakes and vitamins. They both went from the 35th percentile now to 67th percentile. I could see that they are growing and they are so healthy, hardly ever get sick. My youngest just turned one when I started him on the kids nutrition. If you want to check it out, you can contact me, because now I'm an Herbalife distributor because the products have made a huge improvement on our families health. My office number is 888-236-4453 or email ____@____.com
-O.

My 11-month-old was 18 lbs when we weighed her last week. (That was on our home scale which isn't the most accurate.) But she seems to be developing fine. I have heard that breastfed babies should be put on a different chart. The standard charts are for formula fed babies.

M.,

I think the "charts" are more trouble than they are worth, to be honest. Rather than getting worked up over his percentages, here are some questions to consider:

*Does he seem happy and satisfied, or is he fussy and cranky all the time?
(What is his activity level like? An undernourished child may be lethargic and tired.
*Has he recently started walking or gotten more active? This is the normal age for babies to start moving around more. As a result, they start burning their baby fat and putting on more muscles. You might see them get more lean, start looking more like a sturdy toddle than a chubby baby. (My first didn't gain any weight from 12-18 months, but she grew 5 inches. She dropped from the 95th to the 40th percentile for weight.)
*Has he learned a new skill recently? Often kids are so interested in practicing a new skill that they don't want to eat. It will pass.
*What body types do you and your husband have? Now is around the time your son's genetic blueprint will start kicking in. If you and/or your husband are petite, it is not reasonable to expect that your son will stay at the top of the charts.

Another consideration is that breastfed babies have a different way of growing that formula fed babies (who most growth charts are based on). Formula fed babies tend to gain weight at a slower, but steady rate. Breastfed babies typically gain more weight in the first six months of life, then slow or stop gaining in the next six to twelve months. This is normal!

A final thought - look at the chart mathematically. It represents 100% of the population (theoretically!). In that population, someone has to be the heaviest, and someone has to be the lightest. Where you fall on the chart is NOT an indicator of how healthy you are. Even experiencing a sudding jump or drop in percentage does not mean that something is wrong. It only means that something COULD be wrong.

My best advice is to keep nursing and make sure your son has plenty of highly nutritious snacks available to eat. Don't fill him up on junk food or lots of highly refined carbohydrates. Offer plenty of high-protein snacks to build muscle. (My girl liked cottage cheese, cheese sticks, and meat.) Beyond that, just keep an eye on the way he is acting. A happy, active, strong child is obviously not wasting away.

Best of luck,
S.

Hi M.,

What did your doctor say? Did he/she seemed concerned? If the cough is persistent, you may want to take your son back in again. If your son is over one year and has plateaued with weight gain, that sounds just like my second son. He did the same thing. He is now 10, and has just turned out to be a bit more petite than our other kids. He can eat anything and not gain weight. Sometimes I wonder if the growth charts' averages/expectations have been skewed by babies who are bigger from drinking formula (over the years).

As for the whole milk, I'd really think twice about that, unless he takes to it right away. If he shows any signs of throwing up, congestion or writhing after drinking it, pay attention. Also, we and some of our friends have had bad luck with soy milk--that goes the other way and causes butt-burning diarrhea in a lot of kids. My second son showed these signs and just drank a lot of juice, and I worry that that is why he is skinny, but what can I do? He eats like a horse now and still has little body fat.

So with my third son, when all this happened, I tried toddler formulas, but that $20 a week was pricey after nursing him up till then. Then at Walmart I stumbled on a product called "Nido" that was in the center aisle, but permanently located in the Hispanic foods section. It's a Nestle product for infants over 1 year old. It does have other languages all over the packaging, but it works fine. My son loved it so much he drank it for a year and a half before I finally put my foot down and told him he had to drink regular milk. Not sure if it's connected, but he's big for his age. Nido is much less expensive, at about $3.58 per small can and $16.50 for a large can that lasts about 3-4 weeks. If you live near a Walmart it might be worth a try. Or keep nursing.

Good luck! Sorry if it's more info than you needed! :+)

Hi M.,

My one year old was also 16lbs. We would laugh because we thought she would be in elementary school before she would get to turn around in her car seat. It turns out that she is just smaller. She has a huge appetite and is very healthy, she just doesn't weigh very much. Now that she is two she is about 22 lbs. but still healthy as ever. As long as your little one is eating and healthy I would say there is nothing to worry about. My conclusion is that people come in all shapes and sizes that is why there is the developmental continuum. Someone has to be in the less than a 3rd percentile just like someone has to be off the charts.

Good Luck!

Don't worry about it at all. My oldest son has always been small in the weight department. Once he went on whole milk he fattened up a little bit, but not to much. The flu shot could give your son a mini flu since he has the infection in his body with the shot. I don't give my kids flu shots because after each time I did I had to take them to the ER with a temp over 105.

Hi, my son is also under weight. He was up on the 5 percentile for his i year check up and when we went back in for the 15 month check up he had dropped to the -5 percentile. I was very shocked since he eats like a pig:). He is two now and so far has not made it back up into the positive percentile, but following his own curve (the doctor says it's fine as long as he does not drop any lower). Any ways he was tested for RTI (renal tubular acidosis) and came back positive. It's sounds more scarier than it is. It means that his kidneys fail to excrete acids into the urine, which causes a person’s blood to remain too acidic. They put him on some medicine which is helping to keep his stable, but we wont know if he is going to grow out of this until his is 3 or 4.
My other son was also on the light side and dropped in weight around his 1 year/ 15 month check up. We put him on whole milk and pedia sure and that did the trick. No more weight problems with him, he just does not eat that much/very picky eater so he is on the lower end of the scale.
I hope this helps. Any other questions fill free to email me.

My daughter was 15lbs at one year, and at her 15 mo., she was only 16. The doctor wasn't too concerned, but has us put her on pediasure instead of milk for 3 months. He said if it made a difference, than she just wasn't getting enough calories. If it didn't do anything for her, than she was just a skinny girl with a high metabilism. Well, it didn't do anything. She is 3 now and only weighs 25 pounds while her 13 mo brother is 23.8. Some kids are just skinny, but if he is active and happy, then he is just fine.

Just wanted to add to all the great advice you've received that you might like the book "Mothering Your Nursing Toddler." It's published by La Leche League and is such a great resource for learning about weaning (or not weaning! ;) Nursing into toddlerhood has saved me a million tantrums and drama and allowed me to put my feet up once in awhile and enjoy my active child instead of just chase him, so good for you!)and diet beyond breastfeeding. You could borrow it from your local LLL group for free; find your local group at www.llli.org.
My first son was 15 months old before he was even close to growing out of his infant car seat, but he was perfectly healthy. Since he was very allergic to dairy, I never did introduce cow's milk, which I think causes children to put weight on faster than they otherwise would (I mean, look at what it does for baby cows!)
Best wishes!

Hi M.,
My 17 yo was a little bit, just like that. Now he's 6' tall and 155 lbs., lean but very strong. He's on the wrestling team and tends to wrestle above his weight class. When he was little his weight gain tended to slow down when he became more active. Like when he started crawling, then when he started walking/running. I did see a pediatric nutritionist when he was about 14 - 18 months old. It was comforting and reassuring.

Both my boys are in the "5th percentile." Which is really small, we found out! Their daddy's sister's son is past the 100th, off the charts, he's enormous. We have small boys. But we know they are fine because they are on their own growth curve (meaning it doesn't level out with no growth) and they aren't mal-nutritioned (sorry if murdered that word.) As for the cough after the flu shot, this is pretty normal too. If it gets worse or persists, he probably caught a bug right around the time he had the shot. I hope he feels better soon! Sometimes my boys take the flu shot really well, and others it seems not so much.

Hi i have a similiar sitiuation. I have a daugter who will be 1 june . 25, 2010 ans weighs 16 pounds. She will only eat cheerios, baby food fruits, and the pedritrician has her on nutramigren with me adding rice cerel since she is about 3 months old and she still is under weight. Last month she weighed 15 10 and now she is 16pounds. So we attempted pedisure and my daughter absolutely hated it. The pediatrican said to contiune with the formula and to come back nexk week for another weight check. Developmently, she is perfect. It is just that she is under weight and i am just as baffeled as you are. Maybe you can help me too!!??

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HI I HAVE A SIMILIAR SITIUATION. I HAVE A DAUGTER WHO WILL BE 1 JUNE . 25, 2010 ANS WEIGHS 16 POUNDS. SHE WILL ONLY EAT CHEERIOS, BABY FOOD FRUITS, AND THE PEDRITRICIAN HAS HER ON NUTRAMIGREN WITH ME ADDING RICE CEREL SINCE SHE IS ABOUT 3 MONTHS OLD AND SHE STILL IS UNDER WEIGHT. LAST MONTH SHE WEIGHED 15 10 AND NOW SHE IS 16POUNDS. SO WE ATTEMPTED PEDISURE AND MY DAUGHTER ABSOLUTELY HATED IT. THE PEDIATRICAN SAID TO CONTIUNE WITH THE FORMULA AND TO COME BACK NEXK WEEK FOR ANOTHER WEIGHT CHECK. DEVELOPMENTLY, SHE IS PERFECT. IT IS JUST THAT SHE IS UNDER WEIGHT AND I AM JUST AS BAFFELED AS YOU ARE. MAYBE YOU CAN HELP ME TOO!!??

M.-
Breast fed babies are almost always smaller then bottle fed ones. They get to regulate their own intake rather then being forced to "finish the bottle". The charts for growth percentiles are based on bottle fed babies mostly, so they can be misleading. I breast fed my son until he was over 3 (due to allergies he couldn't have other milk). At one year he was just barely on the chart, but now at 4 he is in the 25%. His growth curve stayed the same as it always was, but most kids slow way down when they hit toddler hood because they can regulate their food intake better--no more having to finish the bottle. That said, I don't know how tall your little one is so I'm not sure if he's extra skinny. Also, are you or your husband small? My doctor didn't worry about my skinny son because I'm very little. You say he eats well and if he's not cranky all the time from hunger then I wouldn't worry. Some kids are just small. Oh, and typically kids do slow way down in growth between 9 months and a year. Also, I would consider keeping your son on breast milk even after one. The World Health Organization recommends breastfeeding for AT LEAST the first TWO years. It's better for their immune systems. Cow milk is perfect for a baby cow, they have four stomachs and digest things twice. Breast milk is perfect for Human babies. Just a thought.

As for the flu shot and the coughing, it sounds like an allergic reaction. Unfortunately I know a lot about that because my first son was incredibly allergic. After striking out with western medicine we found an alternative doc who was able to help my son. I've sent over a dozen other kids to see this doc, and every time he figures out the problem immediately and solves it. If you are interested in his name let me know and I'll get it to you.

Good Luck!
J.

My daughter was 16 pounds when she was 1 year too. She is almost 3 now and is 23 pounds. She is well proportioned and the doctor just said she's very petite and is following the same growth pattern I did. Most of the time, she eats more than my almost 6 year old. As long as he's eating well and the doctor doesn't have concerns, I wouldn't worry about it. It could also be that he's in the middle of a growth cycle and could be getting ready to grow lengthwise. His growth will probably speed up; I know my daughter had a huge growth spurt this summer. Good luck.

M.:

My daughter was 7lbs at birth (39 weeks), but she always had a hard time gaining weight. She was on track for her development too. My pediatrician was never concerned, so I tried to let go of my own concern. By the time she was 18 mos. old, I decided to find another doctor. It turned out that she's allergic to gluten and dairy. In the last 6 months she's gained 6 lbs, and moved from the 2nd percentile to the 18th percentile in her weight.

Some people will naturally be small, but if this doesn't seem to reflect what you and your husband's genes are like, and you still feel concerned, I'd recommend getting a second opinion.

Hi M.,
You didn't mention if your doctor was concerned or said anything. My first born was always around the 50% on height, but about 15% for weight. As he got older, he eventually started tracking along the 75% height and 25% weight percentiles. My daughter has always been towards the top % in height and weight and my other son average. Both my husband and I are thin (husband is about 6'4"). Kids come in all shapes and sizes. If your doctor did not express any concern, then keep doing what you are doing and relax. I stressed a little with my first one since he was skinny, but then I looked at his parents. Keep enjoying the kiddos. As you know, it goes quickly.
Take care,
S.

p.s. I dug out the baby book since it is hard to remember. His percentiles, especially in the first year were all over the board - 15%, 25%, one time he was even 40% and then back down to 25%. Crazy. The doctor was more concerned if he was tracking along the same line.

M.,

My daughter was slow growing, but fine on all her milestones. At 12 months, the doctor I did the check up with made me feel like a terrible mother because she was not eating a lot, still nursing, and wasn't gaining weight. Well, I fed her as much as she would eat! Anyway, at
15 months, they ran a blood test and diagnosed her with RTA--renal tubular acidosis. Basically her kidneys weren't quite mature, which affected her pH, which affected her appetite. She was on medicine for about 12 months, which perked her appetite up, and is now fine. She is about average for height and in the 5th percentile for weight--so small but in the normal range. I know in the blood test, they looked at several different things. If you are concerned, you might just see what your doc thinks--talk with him or her and express your concerns. Mommy's intuition counts for a lot. I just tried to make sure she got a good variety of foods, and added a liquid vitamin if I was concerned about that day's intake.

I continued to b/f until 27 months, and just offered her healthy foods. A friend in a similar situation started feeding her daughter doughnuts to try to get her to gain weight. Just offer him healthy foods, and include a variety of fruits and veggies, and he will eat what he needs. Also, for a healthy fat, you can mix a good quality, purified fish oil (Carlson's or Nordic Naturals) in applesauce and feed it to him. Their little brains need tons of DHA, and fish oil is a great source (as is breast milk). Don't let external pressures force you to wean before you are ready!

Good Luck.