My almost 2-year-old daughter has a serious pot belly going on!! When she wakes up in the morning, it's not as noticeable, but still there. As the day goes on, she tends to bloat as she eats (no matter what or how much) and by night time she looks VERY big in the belly! I have brought up the big belly issue to 2 ped dr's and both have said it's nothing to worry about - that the internal organs grow faster than the child so they all have pot bellies ... yet when I look at some other children this age, they aren't even nearly as big as my daughter in the belly. Sometimes her belly feels tight but most of the time you can push in on it. It doesn't seem to bother her at all or cause any pain and she has no bowel issues. I just want to make sure this is "normal" ...
Have any of you had kids that had this issue? Does it get better or should I bring it up again to the Dr?
(Just FYI - My daughter is 20 months old, about 32 inches long and weighs about 25 pounds)
Thanks in advance, ladies! I appreciate any input.
To some extent it is normal, but if you really think it is somehow different from most other kids I think you should not be too quick to give up. If it really bothers you, I would keep asking.
Babies with bellies...no worries. No need for a doctor...she will grow out of it. Stop worrying...you will make yourself crazy. As long as your doctors agree I wouldn't be concerned.
sounds JUST like my 19mo.
try removing dairy and see what happens. it IMMEDIATELY shrunk our daughters belly!! literally, in one day.
In fact, just switching to Lactaid milk made a WORLD of difference. She really loves cheese and we still let her have some now and then, even yogurt. but for the most part, we try and limit it. Just having her drink Lactaid has made the biggest difference.
She still has a little belly going, and we may take more steps like gluten free (since I have celiac disease, its possible she has that or a gluten sensitivity).
Her GI specialist is rec' all this.
you could talk to your pedi also.
but I'd just 'test' this and see what happens.
This happened to my grand daughter. She will be 7 in May but when she was 4 she bloated as you described. We demanded complete blood profile. Thank God we did. She had extremely high cholesterol. Thankfully it was controlled with diet and we still keep an eye on the bloating. Good Luck
I agree w/ Meredith, that to some extent it is certainly normal. And your little girl sounds perfectly average on her hieght and weight. But if YOUR GUT is telling you something is not right then seek more help.
I will tell you of a experience I had (not to scare you but to tell you to trust your gut):
3 yrs. ago we were invited to a bday party for a 3 yr old co-workers son. The kids were wearing swim suits. This was the first time we had met the birthday boy and I thought, he is so cute (and super skinny) but he had a really big belly. I couldn't stop thinking how abnormal I thought it was.
Well a few weeks later he had his 3 yr. check up...he had huge cancerous tumors in his belly. Today he is happy and healthy. :)
To this day I still am a little wowed that my instincts were right-especially as we only spent about a hr. w/ this kid.
Just trust your mama instincts. :) I think cutting out dairy for a while is a great idea too-might make a world of difference!
Take care!
My sister always had a pot belly, we called it baby fat. It pretty much went away, but I will say as an adult she found out she has total wheat intolerance and other food intolerances.. So keep an eye on your child.. Maybe consider seeing if she does better without wheat for a few weeks, or dairy..
Speak with her doctor first..
I personally don't think you should worry about it too much, but if it helps, talk to your ped again. Maybe they can do blood work or something. Sometimes the worry nags at you so much, that you need something visual to help :) My toddler is also sporting a pot belly of his own. He's not in any pain, eats mostly healthy foods and my ped also told me he will grow out of it. I know I did :)
My daughter had that, my son not as much
It's totally normal
my 18 mnth old who is otherwise skinny (he is also small for his age) has always had a pot belly. we call it his kitty cat belly (because we can still see his little ribs when he stretches so he looks like a newborn kitten that just had a big meal) i dont think its anything to worry about
