My daughter was born at 6 lbs. 8 oz. I breastfed exclusively for about 6 months, and she gained weight quickly, always hitting right around the 50% in weight. At her last dr. visit (for an ear infection) last week, she was up just over 23 lbs. at 31 1/2 inches long, and my husband and I have both noticed that her belly is a little rounder and her cheeks are a little chubbier than we've seen before. She is with her grandma during the work day, but this is my general understanding of her eating habits:
Morning: 1/2 c. oatmeal made with whole milk with 1/2 of an apple chopped up (ususally doesn't eat it all),
Afternoon: Mostly, A scrambled egg or a yogurt and some bread. Yesterday it was some chicken noodle soup. She probably also has either a peeled apple and/or some halved grapes.
Home with Mommy: She snacks on about 1/2 c.of dry cheerios and some water.
Dinner: Changes, but last night it was 1 egg + 1 egg white scrambled with a sprinkling of cheese, 1/4 cup of corn nibblets, and 1 unbuttered breadstick. Plus a couple of black olives from my salad.
Before sleep: About 6 oz. of warm whole milk.
Are we doing anything wrong? Should I double-check with my MIL that she is eating just what I think she's eating? Or are we just over-reacting (I recovered from an eating disorder about 14 years ago). She is a very active girl and spends her time running around any room that she's in!
There is such irony in parenting. The very things we guard against in our children are often the ones that create the very problem we're trying to avoid. I was chubby growing up, and the teasing is what led me to develop eating problems as a teen-ager. But, as some helpful moms have pointed out, obsessing over what my daughter eats could lead her down a similar path. This was a big lesson for me. Thank you.
As for my daughter's health, I found out it was not so much what my MIL was feeding her,but what my husband's grandmother (who helps my MIL take care of the baby 3X a week) was feeding her. Apparently, when GMIL (I suppose) was doing the care-taking, my daughter was snacking on pumpkin pie and all kinds of cookies and crackers. I didn't put it together until I realized that my daughter was coming down with a diaper rash and was spitting up frequently on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. So, I asked, "So, Gram (GMIL), do you like helping mom with the baby?" Then it was, "Oh, yes! I let her have just a wee bit of pie...and cookies...and these chocolate cereal bars, well, it says that they have less saturated fat than regular candy bars, so they're healthy..." AHA!
I just told her that the baby really likes fruit and veggies and whole grain cereal. They're her FAVORITE FOODS to snack on. And wonderful GMIL said, "Oh, OK. Then I'll make sure she gets those to snack on."
So, maybe problem solved. I will pull back on worrying about the weight and I think that I now have a new partner in keeping my wonderful daughter healthy!
My daughter went through chubbier stages and then would thin out. You can tell by looking at her monthly photos the changes in her weight. I wouldn't worry about it if the doctor isn't worried. If they thought there was a problem with her weight, they would have said so at the appointment. Just keep offering healthy choices.
My first was 8 12 at birth and gained 2lbs within two weeks, exclusively bf and had a cleft lip even. He was in the 99th percentile every time we went to the doctor's. He looked very chubby through his toddler years. But he ate well and was active. He is now 6 1/2 & is a skinny but tall kid. I think the key is just to keep them eating well and active and don't stress about their body image and they will grow to be a healthy happy kid.
She is fine. Does she need to be persuaded to eat the food you listed? Does she want MORE than that? Kids are amazing judges of how much they need to eat. Focus on teaching her to eat when she's hungry and to stop when she's full. Don't fall into the clean-plate trap and things like that. Those are all BAD behavior habits that are learned, as I'm sure you are well aware. I hope she's getting more milk than just the 6 oz. you listed at night. She should still be having milk with at least 2 of 3 meals and her nighttime snack. I doubt you can overfeed a baby of this age. They won't eat if they are not hungry. Just continue to freely offer healthy foods. She'll let you know everything you need to!
Kids fill out and then sprout up over and over. You'll see this many times!
It sounds like she eats fine to me and her weight is exactly average. My daughter is about the same age, height and weight and eats about the same, although mine drinks much more milk (probably you just didn't write about her drinks). I would suggest, warmly and kindly, that you find someone in your life that you can speak to about your continuing recovery from the eating disorder. I think your daughter sounds perfectly healthy and she needs you to be, too, and that includes keeping an eye on your anxiety over her food choices. You can do it. Good luck!
You want to keep kids active no matter what their weight is as it's just the healthy thing to do. Take her to the mall and let her run or to the kiddie area there.
With that said, kids go up and down in their weight, some more noticeable than others. When they're inbetween growth spurts they will fill out more. Then suddenly they'll grow and thin out as their height goes up. Then the cycle starts again with rounding out as they're not growing in height, then shoot in height again.
Looks like she's eating healthy so no problem. Just make sure that she's getting 18-24 ounces of milk a day and use juice split with water only when she finishes her milk during the day. Juice is just a treat as real fruit is more nutritious.
Toddlers fluctuate a lot so I wouldn't stress. Just feed her healthy foods and let her get exercise and run and climb when possible and she'll be fine!
All 5 of my kids were and are so different in shape. With my triplets, they all eat the same things but are completely differently shaped and different looking. One has a low metabolism, is much taller and built like a football player but lumbering. Another is small, thin, and athletic. The other is thin and long torso. One has short and wide feet, another long and average, another long and narrow. So kids just vary so don't stress about the little things.
K. B
mom to 5 including triplets
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oh my goodness I wouldn't worry too much mama! My 6 month old is 21 pounds ... yes I know, seems like a lot... but great uncle is 7 feet tall. Doc says it's normal and part of genetics. Besides, he's only 6 months so he'll grow out of this stage. I would just make sure your MIL is giving her healthy foods but otherwise it's pretty normal so I wouldn't worry. When she's 3 and going through the stage of being a picky eater you'll be glad she gained some weight beforehand. :)
Your daughter is fine. She's probably just going to go through a growth spurt soon. Babies this age know how much they need to eat, and their weight and height can bounce up in the blink of an eye because of sporadic growth periods. As long as she's not filling up on fast food or fried fare (which it sounds like she's not), then there's no need to worry. Keep doing what your doing, all that you mentioned feeding her is healthy and appropriate for a baby this age. My son weighed more than that at her age ( he was always a chubby baby). By the time he tuned two he had gotten much taller and has been a relatively slender toddler ever since. I wouldn't try to cut back on her fat and calories because that can cause serious problems for someone so young who's still growing and developing so much.
I agree with everyone else. She's fine. Unless she's being fed soda or juice all day, she's not going to overeat. My little buddy has a big "milk belly" hanging over his pants right now which is a sure sign that those same pants are about ready to be an inch too short. Out, then up. That's just the way they go.
This is a little hard to say in a message, but if you are having concerns about either your or her body image/size, you might want a little booster with a counselor or whomever you worked to recover from your eating disorder. All moms wonder if their kids are gaining too much/not enough weight, just make sure that your previous experiences aren't also part of that anxiety. As I understand it, eating disorders are often control disorders, and I'm wondering (playing armchair psychoanlyst here, which I am most assuredly NOT qualified to do) if you are having a little bit of a control issue about what she's eating when she's not with you? I may be WAY off base here, but just something to think about.
Good luck. And happy shopping for some new, taller baby clothes sometime soon! :-)
She sounds just fine to me. My daughter was born small about the 50th percentile but jumped up to the 90th percentile quickly and I was alarmed as she stayed in the 90ith percentile until well over a year old, probably closer to age 2, but as she got older she started to even out grow taller and now at 4 years old she is about the 50th percentile and just perfect. My son was big from the start born at 10 lbs, and was off the charts in weight for almost his whole first year, he dropped bacck onto the charts by his 15 months checkup(90something percentile) and at 18 months he was around 75th percentile. I am guessing he is is bit lower than that now at almost 2. Both my kids ate healthy and I let them eat as much healthy food as they wanted. Don't worry about it at all, I know that is probably hard as I have a history of ED too, but she is just fine and definitely not gaining too much.
As long as she is eating healthy food (which she seems to be) i wouldnt worry about it. be happy that you have a good eater! My dd is 18months and 19lbs and eats like a bird!! i worry like crazy too but for the opposite reason, i think its just normal for moms to worry that their kids are "normal" sounds like you have a healthy happy little girl.
Toddlers' job is to grow. We have the thinnest elementary age children, but at your daughter's age it is healthy and normal to have what they call babyfat. It is our bodies' way of storing energy so that the great work of building bones can be done. When she turns five and six she will have a completely different shape, much more long and thin. For now, she needs to be just as she is. Consider adding some cooked vegetables to her diet, and bits of raw also. You are doing fine. Please don't restrict her fat intake. She needs the cholesterol in butter to nourish her brain. One thing you could do is offer her some butter melted into her breakfast oatmeal. I bet she'll like it.
I mean this in all sincerity and love, I was super alarmed by this message pertaining to a 15 month old-but now I see where you're coming from. At first I couldn't believe the carefully measured and unbuttered descriptions of daily food (I don't butter my kids whole grain bread either, but I'm just saying, it seemed notable in context with the half cups and half apples, and dr's perfect 50% weight chart), then when I saw you mention an eating disorder it sort of clicked.
Do not worry about rationing your child's food and don't watch her shape with a magnifying glass. She needs as much healthy food as she will eat. For her brain development and sleep habits. All my kids grew in spurts of "out" and then "up" Chubby one day, longer the next all through toddlerhood. They've always been somewhere totally average on the charts.
They eat no junk food at all, drink only watered down natural juice or organic milk, but they are allowed to eat as much as they want. They have to eat what I feed them for meals, and all the healthy snacks they want. They get a bite or two of cake at birthday parties and a sliver of Halloween chocolate (maybe 1/8 of a mini snickers) with their fruit for dessert for a couple of days after Halloween so junk doesn't become the forbidden fruit. They know what's only for rare occasions like ice cream because of sugar. The more healthy food they get used to liking the better before they get out in the junk food world. They have tons of energy for playing and sleep like stones.
I have no idea of their exact portions from day to day. But kids need natural essential fats for their brains-(olive oil, avocados, almond butter,)and most of all they need to learn not to be too obsessed with food.
Your daughter is so young, you really don't need to worry about a chubby round baby shape.
If you think your MIL may be secretly feeding her excessively fattening snacks with bad oils and sugars and and chemicals and fat in them like Jif or something, you could make sure she isn't. Read the labels on MIL's food and make sure nothing is artificial or sugary. Just worry about quality of food, not quantity. Great job caring about your daughter's health! Keep it up, but don't worry about her eating too much at this age!
C.,
My son just turned 14 mos & he was 6-9 at birth & now is 28.5 lbs & 31 inches tall. He has a round little belly & very chubby cheeks too. I think she sounds just fine. I imagine she will go up & down a bit in the weight percentile but much better to have a baby that's a little chubby than one that is too thin. As long as she's eating when she's hungry & being given healthy food (sounds like that is true) then I would not worry about her weight.
Her diet seems ok, maybe a little heavy on eggs. Try some meats or beans for protein options. Her weight is totally normal. The percentiles should only really be a concern when your child is very close to 1% or 99%.
Maybe you are projecting your weight issues onto her because of the eating disorder. It is really important to realize this now and change that behavior (maybe through counseling) before she gets to be old enough that it makes her self-conscious and prone to a disorder herself.
Dear C.,
A normal infant will triple their weight in one year. It appears that your infant is on the right track. If you take a look at you and your husband, does your child have similar cheeks or torso features? The other question is: how well do you know nutritional facts in order to plan weekly menus for your infant (toddler soon) while you leave her in the hands of others. I know that I would never eat an apple after chicken soup because it would cause bloating. Simple things like this will help you design a menu for your infant in agreement with G-Mom. If your "little princess" has pain, or bowel problems, then consult a professional so you will have peace about the situation.
Vary the diet in order to receive the benefits from many different types of food. Proteins are the building blocks. I would not worry about a little plumpness for your toddler, when she really gets moving, she'll work off every ounce of it.
What a wonderful gift: I always said that the grandparents are the "jewels" in the eyes of the grandchild; and the grandchild is always the "jewels" in the eyes of the grandparents.
God bless your family during this time of the year, and in the new year,
E.
My son is 18mos old, and weighs 30lbs. He is about 34 inches. His belly is round as well, and so are his legs and face and arms! :) Babies should be chunky, as they have so much growing to do they need the stored energy for their bodies to get there!
I don't measure anything for him, I just put a portion of each food in a bowl or on his plate and he eats as much or as little as he wants. I have asked my doctor before about over-feeding, and she told me a baby will vomit if he is eating too much. Otherwise, they will stop eating when they are full. Try that with your daughter, maybe she will surprise you! Just make sure she is not spending too much hungry and waiting for food, then it could cause a health problem.
My doctor also told me that growth spurts happen as "weight, feet, height". My kiddo wears a size 7W in shoes, so I know he will be tall like his daddy!!
Good luck, and try not to worry about it. If necessary, maybe it will be a good idea to talk to someone about your own issues with food? I don't know what they are, but I am sure you don't want them to inhibit your daughter's health and well being!! Have a wonderful holiday!
Try not to project your eating disorder fears onto your daughter. Take a deep breath!
If your pediatrician was concerned about your daughter's weight, they would have said so.
She sounds perfectly fine to me! I agree with the other Mom's who have noted that unless she is being offered absolute JUNK all day, then she will regulate her appetite quite well. She sounds like a good eater, great variety.
My daughter was quite chunky as an infant, she is 2 now and is starting to slim out. Enjoy the cuteness!
My daughter is the same age and is probably about the same size (her next doctor's appointment is in a couple weeks, so I'm not sure exactly what her height and weight are right now). Your daughter is fine. She eats much more variety and much healthier foods than mine does (mine is already such a picky eater I can hardly get her to eat anything!) Remember, in addition to the growth spurts others mentioned, that the normal toddler shape is a big round belly. This is totally normal and is because their abdominal muscules just aren't that strong or well-developed yet. Kids know what they need to eat. They will stop when they are full and ask for more when they are hungry. Toddlers don't yet understand all the issues we as a society have around food- they just eat to live (as opposed to many adults who live to eat). Keep offering her a variety of healthy foods and milk and she'll be fine.
Has the pediatrician warned you at all? My friend's daughter is 17mos and already wearing 3T (weighing 35lbs). She has quite a belly and even says "ouch" when her mom snaps her pants closed :) The peed took her off whole milk, moved her to 2% and cut her off juices - they'll check her again in a few months.
Good luck!
