Hello...
I have a 7 month old that seems to have one arm fatter than the other...
Its not sore or red or has any signs of being inflamed or anything and when I press on it she doesnt act like it hurts or anything. I have notice that she favors the hand on that side...
Its not a huge difference but you can tell if you compare and her shirts are tighter on that arm also...
Has anyone experienced this with their baby?
I called my pediatrician and I am going in today at 4 so he can check her arm. I hope everything is ok...
You need expert help to see if there is anything wrong with the thinner arm, get it looked at and tested.
Good Luck!
Ruling out any other abnormality identified at birth, I would not be too concerned. Is it right sided or left. Was she a chubby child at birth. Big factor tho' is what are you feeding her. If you are breast feeding what are you eating? Stay away from MSG laden food. Go natural. Drink plenty of water. avoid salt. if she is on formula get one that is natural or nurse. call a lactating nurse specialist to help if you have stopped.
dont' panic and pray to the Great Physician. He knows her better than you.
I would check with your pediatrician if you're concerned. They are so good about calming fears in moms. :)
Hmmm. if you would have said leg or foot I would tell you to have her checked for diabetes. i have not heard of the arm thing. I am concerned that blood or blood restrictions might be going on. Please take her to the doctor asap and have that looked at. it does not seem right somehow.
How does she use the smaller arm? She is too young to have developed a dominance (i.e. right vs left handed), so I would suspect that the smaller arm is weaker for some reason. If she seems to be using both arms equally and spontaneously when reaching out to you or when propping herself up on her arms, the doctor will probably just wait and see. If not, she may want to test for neurological reasons for the differences. Has developmental testing been a part of the well baby checkups? How is she doing with her milestones? Are her reflexes equal on both sides? Until she is checked out, you may want to encourage bilateral tasks, especially ones that involve weight bearing (creeping, crawling, propped sitting) and hand her toys that are too big to grab with just one hand. These are probably similar to the home exercises that a therapist would give you (at least this therapist). Just have fun playing with her. Wish you the best!
Hi S.,
This happened with my youngest daughter. We got an MRI and what it ended up being was Left Spastic Hemiparesis (sp). What that basically means is the neurologist found a spot on her brain that appeared as though she had a slight stroke during labor or delivery. So her left side, including her leg, was weaker just like a stroke victim. We had to really push for testing, as the doctor kept fluffing over our concern. She did get some therapy, but it was so mild that she went for just a while. She is 19 years old now and is doing great. They learn to adapt, and you really don't notice unless it's pointed out. Please email me if you would like to chat more about it.
____@____.com
C.
Definitely need doctors advice!
I haven't experienced this but with your description of her favoring (by this I assume you mean that she uses it more) the larger arm that would indicate to me that it might be easier or more comfortable for her to use it. The muscles on the dominant arm will grow larger, but usually not so it's that noticable. I'd definitely bring it up to the pediatrician for motor weakness or some other problem (the smaller arm).
Need the doctor's advice on this one.
