My Concerning to My Baby's Weight

my daughter is 15 months old and weighs in at 21 pounds. She looks and acts healthy and eats what she wants, and she is a bit on the short side. I would not worry, my daughter just saw the doc who said she was perfect and not to worry either. Its all good!

My daughter was stuck at 19 pounds for over a year. Now she is 3 and stuck at 28 pounds. Her 4 month old baby brother is only 8 pounds less then she is. As long as she's eating I wouldn't worry about it.

My son is 15 1/2 months old and only weighs 19lb 4oz. He is only in the 5th percentile. I don't get myself worked up over it. He eats and looks fine. I know some doctors make you feel like there is a problem. I was a small baby and so was my husband. I personally don't feel like you have anything to worry about.

My daughter is 17 months and she weighs 21lbs on a good day. As long as she's eating I am sure she's fine. Some kids are built small, I was and now both my daughters are.

That is how my daughter is. At her 15 month appt, she was 20 lbs. She's 80th percentile for height and 10th for weight. She's always been in a low weight percentile. At her heaviest, she was in the 50th percentile. My doctor says that as long as she's growing, in height and head, she's alert, learning, etc. appears healthy in all other ways, that there is nothing to worry about. If you are at all concerned go see your doctor.

My kids weighed about that at that age. Now my boys are 3years 9 months and 25lbs and 4years 9 months and 31lbs. My dd is 7years 6months and weighs 43lbs. They're all healthy. On the petite side and with very high metabolisms, but healthy! Remember, someone has to be at the bottom of the growth chart.

As a Child Passenger Safety Technician, I just wanted to make sure that all these peanuts are still rear-facing. 1 year and 20lbs to turn forward-facing is an outdated recommendation. Keep those little stringbeans rear-facing!
More info on RFing toddlers... http://www.car-safety.org/rearface.html

Hi E., What was your baby's birth weight? They usually are 3x that by 1 year. She may just be petite! If you are still concerned, check with your Dr. I know they have charts now (I take my grandchildren) if there was a problem you may have been told. In any event, she is your baby- ask, it cannot hurt to be told "she is fine" Best wishes, Grandma Mary

My daughter is 21 mos and weighs 22lbs. The doctors say that she is a perfectly healthy toddler. Babies grow at different weights and have different builds. Don't worry unless she doesn't eat and acts sick. :)

if your pediatrician isn't worried then you shouldn't be. my 18 month old weighs 22 lbs. i was concerned because my daughter weighed 28 lbs at 1 year. she was off the charts for weight until 18 months and my son is somewhere in the middle. as long as they are getting enough nurishment to gain weight, you should be too cocerned.

My daughter was labeled "failure to thrive" because she was so small. she was only 19 pounds at age 18 months. My son is a little bigger, but still not big enough. After a ton of blood tests and food logs and lots of panic, I have come to the conclusion that my children's digestive systems were simply not ready to switch to solid foods at 6 months old. They needed more breastmilk b/c the more I nursed, the more they gained. We also supplemented with formula. I just think that their bodies were not able to fully absorb nutrients and calories from solid food. They both were reaching all developmental milestones either on time, or early. They were both alert and active. Check with your pediatrician. Ask about "failure to thrive" which is a label I hate because I think it sounds way more dramatic than it is. At least, in my case. 19 pounds at 14 months doesn't seem so small to me, but if your ped. thinks it is, than you may want to run some tests just to be sure. Keep in mind that every baby is different and the charts and percentiles are just averages. I am happy too share more details of you need the info. Good luck.

A.

My first question for you is - is she healthy? Are either you or your husband petite? My daughter now almost 7 years old was always on the light side. In fact the Dr. would tell me she needed to eat more. The funny thing, she did eat well. Sometimes she'll be the first to sit down and the last to leave. She just has a fast metabolism. There is nothing wrong with her. Shes' just very active. But because she inherited my small frame, she is petite. So, if your daughter is healthy I say don't worry, she's most likely fine.

Hi E.,

19 pounds for a 1 year old is not tiny. The typical baby triples their birth weight at a year, so 18 pounds would be just average at a year for a 6 pound baby at birth. Some gain faster - my daugher was 7 lb. at birth and over 23 pounds at a year. Some gain slower - my son was 8 pounds at birth and at 15 months, he was 20 lb 11 oz. Totally normal.

In the second year, from the first to second birthday, they typically only gain about 6 pounds. Big difference from the first year! But I hope that makes you feel better to know that each month at this point, you won't see a weight gain whereas in the first year, you typically saw a weight gain of a couple of pounds per month.

As long as she is steadily growing and physically thriving, there is no worry. My two oldest, both girls, are quite petite. The 6 1/2 year old is 35 pounds and just grew into a size 4/5. Her almost 3 year old brother is almost the same weight! Her pediatrician assures me that being in the 15th percentile for height and weight she would grow to be 5'4" - just my height. No worries!

As long as she is eating and drinking milk do not worry.
my daughter tends to sit in the 90% range in hight and 30% in weight. She eats a lot of fruit and vegitables and is constantly on the go. I used to worry the first few months of life but that is just how she is built. My only advice is not to use this as an excuse to give her a lot of junk foood. We have to take a lot of her pants in because she has no waist.

my 27 month old weights around 23 lbs, at 2yrs check up she was at 22 lbs, the doctor said she absolutely OK. if your kid is active, running around a lot, not cranky, eats ok( my daughter does not like to eat, but what ever she eats must be enough for her - she never stops! and if i dont give her food, she won't ask for it!)
don't worry, she's does not underweight for her age at all.

My daughter is now 16 months and just broke the 20lbs barrier. We were so excited to be able to turn her carseat around I thought of having a party. I was concerned about her low weight, but my Dr. said that as long as she was eating and happy I had nothing to worry about. It was hard not to try and get her to eat more because our nephew is 22lbs and only 7 months old. Everyone is constantly comparing them, but every child grows different.
Unless your daughter is having any other problems I wouldn't worry.
My daughter is happy and very healthy, just petite.
Hope this helps.

E. -

Both my girls were two years old before they hit 20 pounds (and they were both short - they were 30th percentile in height and not even on the chart in weight) and now, at 9 years old and 6 yearss old, they are in the 50-60th percentile in height and weight. Chances are, your daughter will catch up. It might just take some time. I kbow it's hard to be patient (especially when you see other chubby babies!) and you probably can't wait to turn the car seat around, but it will come.

If she is eating well and is a happy healthy little girl then I wouldn't worry too much. Definitely check with your doctor about her development if for no other reason than to allay your concerns.

How big was she at birth? How big are you or your husband or were you little as kids too? It's all relative! My middle son was tiny and it took him until he was about ten years old to start catching up with his peer group. Having said that, he was right on his curve from birth so although I was concerned.. it was nothing to be concerned about!

I don't think there is anything to worry about, as long as she has not lost a-lot of weight recently. It sounds like she is still on the chart.....My daughter is 3 years old and is only 24 lbs.(she's fine, just petite) What does your Doctor say?

My 4 yr old weighs 3o ls and my 2 yr old weighs 31 lbs. As long as your dr see's that his growth has been consistent for them, then I wouldn't worry too much. My dr tells me to make sure that he has good fat daily.

Wish I had the underweight problem. LOL

My youngest daughter is 13 months old and weighs only 17.5 pounds.Her height is about 24 inches.She is walking and people are amazed cause she only looks like she is about 7 or 8 months old.I have 4 other children who were always on the low percentile of the growing chart or whatever it is called but NOT this small.Her dad and I are 5'9 and 5'8 so I was a little worried myself. Her pediatrician, to be on the safe side, had us get bloodwork done for her to rule out certain digestive problems which came out negative thank god.We go back in june for a weight check and shots of course. He says as long as she keeps moving slightly up on the chart he wont be worried and that shes just small. If she hasnt gained enough weight compared to her height I'm not sure where he will go from there. My advice would be to talk to your pediatrician and see if he has any concerns regarding your baby's weight. If you would like to keep in touch my e-mail is ____@____.com. I hope I was helpfurl.

YES, TIMES TWO. Working with early intervention (in NY State) as of this past Thursday. They will be helping us with nutritionist etc... In the meantime, feeding girls every four hours (formula 7-11-3-7) followed by solids right after. Didn't stop formula due to weight and allergies. Got some tips on how to add fat to food and thicken it as our girls are idling on purees. (olive oil, wheat germ, mixed grain cereal - also adding nutri-rice to bottle twice a day - its a soluable solution so mixed in and does not change the text or thicken it.) Keep in mind all we are doing is in teaspoons as we had acid reflux babies that are now off medication and I think still need to eat small meals. BUT we do give them what they will eat.... Looking forward to adding more to their diet and dropping what is now becoming a nighttime bottle because they burn off everything.... I guess I didn't help but want to tell you that our girls are healthy and well and this is another hurdle to climb. We will get there. And I am sure you will too. Write me back via my gmail if you would like information I get from nutritionist over the coming weeks (____@____.com) All the best.

E.,

I have 5 children, so I've seen a lot of variation in weights over the years, from birth weights differing a whole 2 pounds, to weight at one year differing by almost 10 pounds. Right now I have a 16 month old who just barely weighs 19 pounds. She is perfectly healthy and eats well. If your baby is breastfed, that is a possible reason for what you perceive to be a low weight, but honestly they are just all different.

I wouldn't be alarmed by a 14 month old weighing 19 pounds. When mine was that age she only weighed 17 pounds. To help you compare, my baby weighed 7 lbs 6 oz at birth, so she is nowhere near tripling her birth weight. I also read somewhere that they should double their birth weight in the first two weeks?! I've never seen that happen with my kids.

I have also found that weight at one year or even two years is no indication of future relative weight. A skinny baby does not guarantee a skinny child, and vice versa. My largest baby (9 lbs 14 oz) is the oldest in his class, and also the smallest in his class...go figure. Don't worry...she's fine!

Hi E.,
I have three girls and all of them except for my last weighed about 19 pounds at the same age. As long as she is eating properly, thriving, and reaching milestones, consider her petite. What does your doctor say? If he is not concerned, I wouldn't be either. It is hard not to get caught up in those weight charts especially today when most kids are above the average weight. Good Luck

If you have a pediatrican-- give her/him a call and ask.There are tests that can be done if any questions from the dorctors side exist. My son is 5 and still isn't on the growth curve. Hasn't been since he was 5 months old. He's been through many many test to find out hes little:-)and perportionate (spelled wrong)

if you don't have a good not then might be worth finding out about early intevention They are are wonderful program and are great with eitehr helping a child with teh bench marks or reassuring that everything is fine.

But do give one a call as they can give you a medical reason to worry and things you can do or to take a deep breath that everything is fine.

Hi,
My name is A. and I have a girl Eva who is 3,5.
I just want to assure you that there is nothing wrong with your baby. She is just gaining weight at her own pace. So she is a bit underweight, but as long as she is healthy there is nothing to worry about. Most of my friends have lean babies and nobody is much worried because as long as they are healthy the are ok. If she is not eating well at her meals try to always have a plate of cut up fruits or sandwiches next to her and you will see when ever she is playing or sitting she will grab something all the time. That way you will be able to figure out how much she actually needs to balance her day.
Good Luck!

Hi there
I have been in exactly the same position. My daughter was only 16 lbs at her first birthday. I wasn't overly worried as she was only 5lb 9 when she was born (full term, no problems) and had always been on the lowest percentile for weight. She was and still is a small/picky eater. Neither my husband nor I are little but my husband's mother and sister are both very petite and I think she gets it from there. She was referred to a specialist (paed gastrointestinal medicine) but after a lot of tests they said she was totally healthy and just small (well we can't all be average can we?!) She is now 3 years and only weighs 26 lbs. But she is very advanced in a lot of ways and full of beans. I think as long as they continue to grow along their curve and develop normally and have plenty of energy then there is no need to worry. I feel like I spent a lot of time worrying about a perfectly normal child!!

my daughter and both of my best friend's daughter were 17 pounds at a year old. (actually, i was too... and i am 40!) all 3 of our girls are healty. ages, 8,6 and 4. as long a she is growing and developing normally and reaching milestones according to the doctors, i wouldn't worry about it at all!!

My son is 15 months and is only 19.5 pounds, so I know how you feel. The dr. is not concerned because he is gaining weight each time we go for a weight check. He is also 32 inches long. he never sits still, is on the move all of the time and up until a few weeks ago woke every 2 hours to nurse. Now he has been sleeping between 5 and 6 hours and going back to sleep when I rock him for a few minutes. The Dr. suggested that I feed him more food during the day. So breakfast, lunch and dinner he sits in his high chair for at least 20 minutes to eat and when he finishes I bring him to the living room to play I usually give him a little snack like fruit or a slice of cheese between breakfast and lunch and between lunch and dinner. Hope this helps!

My first daughter was the same exact size! We have a really great doctor that just kept reminding me that they all come in their own packages, and each one is very different. I would never worry about size alone again. Our doctor also reminded us that they know what their bodies need better than we do, and it's no big deal if they don't eat much for a few days and then eat really well for a day or 2. In this age of obesity we should not forcefeed our tiny children.
I was very nervous about it when i was going through it. My daughter is now 2 and 1/2 and is 24 or 25 pounds......but she's very healthy and has always been developmentally on target. I think it's best to focus on development other than size when trying to figure out is they are doing ok.
I now have another daughter who is 6 months old and she is much larger than my first ever was, which has really proven to me that they are all just so unique! I'm sure your daughter is just fine, she's growing at the rate that is right for her body.....her unique body!

My son is 2.5 years old and is only 25 lbs, He has been underweight ever since he has been an infant. I was concerend for a bit but realized that he is happy, healthy and doing great. He body matablizes food differenly from others. He eats just enough to get by. ( He is not the best eater and rarely eats junk food because he is not crazy for it. I would love to see him eat an icecream cup instead of a few bits. ) So don't worry if she is haappy and heatlthy

My daughter was 19 lbs. at 23 months. The doctors kept thinking something was wrong with her just because she wasn't on the charts. We went for tests and to various specialists for over a year. They put her on a feeding tube, but we could only take that for a month (she looked so miserable with the tube in her nose all day). In my heart I knew she was okay, but I followed the doctor's advice until finally I said enough. She is like me, she is just small. Developmentally I knew she was fine; she is my 4th child. She is 3 1/2 years old now, weighs about 25 pounds, but is the cutest little girl around. Yes, she's small, but she is just petite. She is healthy, and not a big eater.
So my advice to you is do what you feel in your heart is right; if you think she is fine, she is probably fine. Remember, doctors get very upset when children do not fall into the middle ground on the charts; if they are too big they get upset, and if they are too small they get upset. Not everyone can fall into that middle area.

My daughter was 18lbs at 15 months and finally 20 lbs at 18 months. I would not worry as long as your baby continues to gain at each pediatrician visit and stays consistent on the chart. I would be concerned if she stops gaining.

What does your pediatrician say? Is she growing along her curve properly? Each time you go to the ped.,he should tell you what her growing curve is and if she's following it. If he sees a problem he follows it up with tests. That is the first thing you have to establish and then go from there based on the answer. Good luck!

My son was born 9 lbs 9 oz. We had problems nursing, and he lost weight. The doctor called it "failure to thrive." I have been worried about that since his first week. He is now two and half and only weighs in at 28 lbs. Our doctor says that as long as he isn't loosing weight we are fine. Offer a well balanced diet, my doctor has never heard of a healthy child starving itself.

I hope that brings comfort.

My 14 month old also weighs 19 lbs and neither me nor my family doctor are concerned. I breastfeed and she wasn't interested in solids until recently. She went from being in the 80th percentile for body fat at 8 months and since she started crawling and walking dropped to the 15th. My doctor said that she wouldn't be surprised to see her go off the charts before coming back up at around 18 months. That is her experience with breastfed babies who aren't big eaters yet. It surprised me to hear that some practices would consider that failure to thrive! I don't know if you are breastfeeding but know that those growth charts were derived from statistics of formula fed or formula/breastmilk fed babies. What does her doctor say?

Hi There,
Don't worry!! My daughter is almost 2 and 1/2 and weighs 22lbs!! At her 18 month apt. she weighed only 18 lbs 5 oz. and at 2 years was 20 lbs. Our pediatrician is not concerned, I have always been petite and my husband is short as well, and said it was simply genetic. She also looked at her growth chart and although she has never been on the charts (since about 2 mos), she has always followed the curve, meaning she is growing at the right pace, just smaller. She also asked what she ate, and eats a fairly decent diet (better than a lot of toddlers, though she has her typical picky moments). Loves cheese, eggs, berries, spinich, broccoli etc. She just eats small quantities most of the time (except when she LOVES something like mac'n'cheese which she will eat 3 servings of). As long as your child is developing normally and is generally healthy and active, you have nothing to worry about!!

My son was only 19 lbs at 1 yr old too. He didn't even triple his birth weight. He is now a very healthy 40lb almost 4 yr old. As long as she's eating and continues to gain don't worry. You have to remember, she is burning alot of the calories she eats with all the things she's into now. And once they hit 1 their weight gain slows alot. Not compaired to what they gain in the first 9 mos of life. I'm sure she's just fine.

You MUST go to your pediatrician immediatly! The weight could be normal, depending on her height and your family stature, but there could also be many health reasons for a small weight and you need to take care fo them IMMEDIATLY so that her brain will continue to grow!!!!!

My daughter is 15 months and weights only 20lbs as you I was concerned but my ped told me that as long as she was growing and developing normally I had nothing to worry about. It all depends on the activity of the child and what you feed them. I am always very carefull with what I give my daughter, she doesn't drink juice and I only give her whole grains and plenty of fruits and vegetables. I figured that while I have control over what she eats I'll do it right as she will have ample time to eat junk when I'm not able to control it. She also runs around the house a lot, she actually runs around the house while she eats as I can't get her to be still for a while. She is never still so I am sure she is burning more than what she eats. Don't worry about it as long as she is eating and developing normally it should be ok. Just focus on all other development milestones she is reaching.

O.

Hello E.,

Just looking at all your responses, look at how different our children all are. I have a 16 month old who weighs just over 22 lbs but it 33 1/2 inches tall. All her clothes are 24 months because of height, we have to stitch the waist so they don't fall down. When she was born she was 8lbs 13oz. So by her 1st birthday she was supposed to be 27 lbs!!! I can't imagine that. She would eat all day if we let her. As long as yours is eating healthy and getting all the love she needs, I think she is just fine!

E.-
I would talk to your pediatrician if you are very concerned. My son is 22 months and only weighs 20.5 pounds. We were worried when he was younger, but both his GI doc and his pediatrician assured us that he was just going to be a thin child. We were able to get him to gain weight (up from 17 lbs at 14 mons to 19 lbs at 20 months by having him drink pediasure 2x a day - the only thing with doing this was that he didn't eat as much).
Good luck.
L.