My Chunky Monkey

I was a big chunky toddler and ended up tall and thin at school age. We all are different sizes, just help her eat healthy and feel good about whatever size she is.

What you listed is pretty high in carbohydrates. Maybe do less of them and try other supplemental foods that are easier to digest and use up for energy.

how about my son who was 18lbs at 6 months, 20 lbs at 9 months, & then remained btwn 22-24lbs for the next year? He was wearing 24month clothing at 6 months! But he was in slims by school age.

my niece was even bigger, & was a skinny Minny by age 4....& is 23 now & still a size 3 or smaller.

she'll even out....relax! Just make sure she eats healthy & limit the junk!

My son was a big baby from birth. He was 8 lbs 4 oz- yes not alot, but he was barely a 37 weeker. So that is big for that early. At 12 months he was 35 lbs, 18 months he was already 45 lbs.

He is now 3.5 years old and STILL weighs 45 lbs, he is very tall (43 inches) and wears a size 5 clothes and 11 shoe already. He is just a big kid. He is very muscular and has no fat left on him. Your daughter will thin out too.

She will be okay. If you are feeding her healthy food that is the important thing. My daughter is 26 months old today- she already weighs 35 lbs too. But she is only 33 inches tall.

Again- please don't stress about it. She is fine and sounds very healthy. I know if my doctor told me to watch my daughters potion size I would have a fit because I know she is not "fat" and does not need to be on a diet or have restrictions. Don't pay attention to those growth charts, just worry about your daughter. She sounds very healthy to me! :)

My kids are all chunky monkeys. My 4 month old son is 16 lbs 4 oz and 25 inches long. My just about to be 4 year old daughter is 43 inches tall and 45 lbs. My 5 year old daughter is 45 inches tall and weighs 46 lbs. None of them look fat, just not bean pole thin like some other kids do. Which is fine too! My kids eat mostly healthy but not 100%. I do let them have pizza or mcds or things like that but not every day. They also eat alot of healthy foods. Like yogurt, eggs, tuna, chicken, milk, etc.
I would not worry about it and maybe make a few minor changes not for just her but for everyone such as buy 1% milk. See if you can lighten up any of your recipes. Offer low cal fruits or veggies for snacks, like cut up watermelon or slices of cuccumbers or edamame. But never in a way like she is on a diet! Only to improve everyone's overall health.

I think a good thing to look at is does she actually eat more than your son did at the same age. All my kids were little butterballs when they were under the age of two but stick figures by the time they entered kindergarten.

If she is eating basically the same portions as your son did then her kid metabolism may not have kicked in yet.

The thing is though if she really is eating too much you can't just cut back. That would just make her crave more and set her up for a lifetime of over eating. Instead of cutting back get her out to the playground more. The more active she becomes the more she will need to eat so she will grow into her eating. :)

One of my two-year-olds measured pretty similar. He was 38 inches and 35 pounds. He's almost three and has really thinned out over the past year. He's now about 42 inches and well over 40 pounds, but since he's grown taller he looks much thinner.

Probably a growth spurt. My oldest at 2, look kinda big. I don't remember the weight and all,but she had a belly on her. But she's now 5 and is tall but doesn't look over weight, just normal for her age and all.I notice with my kids they seem to get a growth spurt b/c they look like they get big and eat alot,then all of a sudden they get taller and look like they lost weight. I would just wait and see. But If her doctor told you to watch her portion size,just try and see what that does. But I don't think you should worried. All kids comes in different shapes and sizes,not all kids can look the same. I never pay any attention to those charts sizes anyway. Don't worried about it. :)

My son is 46 inches and 62lbs!! He's chubby! But the great thing about kids they have so much energy so take advantage of it and try to get her out running or bike riding as much as possible :)

Dont even listen to the percentile junk!! Its so silly. My daughter is in the 75% for her weight and shes a bean pole tiny stick. Shes soooo little! They are crazy!!

And she eats healthy as heck!

And, she will thin out. I look back at the kids chunky monkey cheeks in pictures and they are so skinny now!

I always thought the percentile thing meant your kid is the same as 97% of the rest of the kids at that age. When the percentile number is low then you know you are a little out of the normal range. Forgive me if I'm wrong. What percentile was her weight category?

My cousin was obese growing up, from the time he was a toddler. He never "outgrew" it and was pre-diabetic by the time he was 15 and suffered relentless teasing in school.
He did eventually loose the weight after going to a summercamp for obese kids, but he had a pretty miserable childhood.
I would heed your pediatrician's advice and watch what she eats. You say she eats healthy. but those calories are coming from somewhere and this is a lot easier to correct now that she is little. I don't want to be mean, but the fact that you are also overweight does indicate that your idea of a healthy diet, may actually be not quite correct (be it portion sizes or the types of food you eat). Something like 75% of people who say they have a healthy diet eat a lot more high calorie/low nutrition food than they think, partially because some of the things they think are healthy really aren't.

I would suggest that you keep a food diary for your daughter for one or two weeks and record every piece of food she eats (EVERYTHING). I did this while I was pregnant and it was really eye-opening so see that my in my opinion "healthy" diet had a lot of loopholes.

Your doctor or your health insurance may have resources to help you offer a better diet to yourself and your kids and help prevent them from becoming a statistic.

My son was a CHUNKY MONKEY until he was 3 - now at 11? he's "just right"...all of my kids got rid of their baby fat after they started going to Kindergarten...between 3 and 5? they were still somewhat "chunky" but always healthy!

I wouldn't stress over it until she's going through puberty - when she NEEDS the chunk to help with all the changes....

For me? It's not about portion SIZE but consumption - if she's eating healthy stuff - fruits and veggies - that's GREAT!!! Right now, to me, it's important that she gets what she wants and is growing...

My boys were both 30lbs at a year old, they were as round as they were tall. At 3, they were both 40lbs and 40" tall. BUT now at 9 my oldest is 70lbs and very tall and lean. My 6yr old is 50lbs. They have both leaned out.
My daughter is 4 and she is 37" tall and 30lbs. She is pretty scrawny. :)

As long as she is active and eating healthy then I wouldn't worry.

My first was the same way...never "looked" fat, but was always so heavy! Same thing...was active, ate well, etc...but she was always very heavy. Her doc always said not to worry about it, because she followed a healthy curve and wasn't jumping all over the place with her weight.

Now, at six, she weighs 53 pounds and is 47 inches tall. Apparently, that's still heavy...but she's super thing! She definitely doesn't have stick legs, or anything...she actually has a very nice, healthy shape...but no fat on her at all!

My stepdaughter (8 years old) is obese. I have no idea what that child's mother is doing to her. She's probably 4 inches taller than my six year old, and at LEAST weighs 100-110 pounds. It's been sad to watch her progression from a cute chubby toddler that looked perfectly healthy (the same way mine did at 2 and my current baby at 15 months) to a severely overweight child. Obviously, there's a reason for it...her mother is fairly careless and irresponsible, and I think a lot of McD's is involved...and a lot of seconds on hot dogs instead of offering healthy side dishes.

It sounds like you're doing the right thing...just keep at it, and she'll be fine. :)

I don't know how many pounds is "way off the growth chart," but I always thought that you wanted your children to be proportional. If she is 97% for height, you would not want her at 40 or 50% for weight because she would be thin. You also wouldn't want her to be the opposite 97% for weight and only 50% for height (she would then be overweight). She is a very tall girl so it sounds as though she is proportional, but I could be wrong on that since you didn't say how far off the chart she is. She is still only 2 and it sounds as though she fits right in with your family. I bet she will thin out on her own with age, just like her brother, however, I would take what she eats into consideration. The doctor could be right that you are just giving her the wrong portion size. Just because she is eating whole wheat pasta, doesn't mean she should have a large plate of pasta with a small side of veggies. You will have to make sure that her diet is well balanced. Maybe a litlle less carbs and a little more protein even. Good luck!

My daughter was SUCH a chunky little girl. She was always off the charts in weight and height, she is a little over 2 1/2 now and in the last 6 months has lost almost all her chub, but still super tall, she looks like she is at least 4! but its amazing, she looks like a different child now... anyway, just wanted to give you hope :) But her pediatrician did do some tests around her 2nd birthday to make sure she didn't have thyroid problems or anything else, she also did allergy testing. Her tests were all normal so we stopped worrying!

At 36" at 2yo... you know that means she's projected to be 6' tall, yes? :D

Have your Ped pull up the Scandinavian growth charts. My son was also big ((37.5 / 36)) at 2yo and for boys that put him off both sections of the AMERICAN (APA) growth chart, but had him at something like 55th and 60th percentiles on the Scandinavian one (which my ped has used on him for ages).

If you're within 10 points of each other, you're typically GOLDEN/ perfect/ DON'T CHANGE ANYTHING you're doing everything RIGHT. Just because she's off our charts, doesn't mean she's doing badly.

My oldest was always off the charts when he was little. He is now 6'1" and weighs 150 pounds. He always had a big appetite and always wanted to eat. He also had huge growth spurts and was always the biggest kid in his class. He still eats a ton of food, but I do not limit him because obviously at his height and weight now he needs it. We spent all the years prior to this allowing him to eat when he was hungry and allowing treats, but we constantly practiced learning healthy eating habits. I do not have to limit junk food now because he rarely eats it on his own. He chooses healthy foods and watches the types of food he eats. Now, he will have times where he eats 6 donuts or cupcakes or half a pan of brownies, but that is one of our "lol" moments and is not the norm. The key is his activity. If your daughter's activity is in line with what she eats, she will thin out as she grows and not be so far off the scales. The fact that you are teaching healthy habits now will pay off. Keep working with portion control as well, because she will pick up on how to manage that too. She may be one of those kids like mine that has a big appetite and grows fast, but that doesn't mean she has to have eating issues or weight problems. If you are working on all these things, and exercising her appropriately, and she continues to have weight problems, then you would need to seek out additional help.