Son Not Growing

My middle daughter is the same way. She is 3 1/2 and still wears 2T pants. She is just small. My mom and cousin, who used to sit for us, both said my sister adn I were small. We are both fine now! i would not worry!

L.,
Take comfort. Boys in my family are historically small until puberty. My brither was the smallest in his class until the summer after sophmore year when he grew about 12 inches in 2 months. He is now 6'2" but remains very skinny.

so when my son spent the first 4 years of his life moving down on the percentile chart (65th down to 30th) we knew it was nothing to be alarmed by. He is now 6 years old, just went through a growth spurt and is in the 90th percentile. He's in another plateau again. I anticipate it will last anywhere from 2 months to 2 years.

In our case, we found it best to messure him only against his own self. Is he still eating well? has there been a change in eating patterns? How is his energy level? does he have enough energy to play with his sister? As long as he feels fine, we chalk up to his personal genetic design.

I have the same problems with my almost 22 month old twin boys. They were tiny preemies though. We have been doing this since about 12 months too and Pediasure is so expensive. After all of the testing they have put them through, everything is negative and they still are small. My husband is 5'6" and his family members are all small people. I'm 5'7" and my family is tall but slim. Everyone around us tells us not to worry and after seeing so many specialists, we realize that they just will be small. They are still on Pediasure and milk (mixed half and half) and that is all they drink. When they put them on 100% pediasure, they ate nothing. Now they are eating a lot better. They are just SO active and never stop moving from the second they get up to the second they go to bed. They barely even nap in the afternoon for us. They aren't even on the charts.

I wanted to tell you, you are not alone. Try to add calories to his meals as much as possible. Condiments add quite a few and then you can add vegetable oil to some things. We give our boys as much meat as they will eat (they are super picky) and cheese too. They are getting better but it will be awhile for them to catch up to their peers I'm sure.

If your son is active and you don't see anything else wrong with him, don't worry. Just keep doing what you are doing. We are actually seeing a nutritionist now (which you might consider--to give you ideas what to feed him--especially if he is picky) and we will be switching doctors really soon. We want to find a doctor that specializes with preemies/multiples.

Good luck and hang in there!

Has your dr. recommended working with a nutritionist to make sure you are feeding your son calorie dense foods?

My 5 year old had some weight issues when he was younger. He was a 10 pound baby, but got into the 5th percentile. We had him tested (took him to a specialist at Children's) and he had reflux which magically went away after his second birthday.

Before that I was under a lot of pressure to have him gain weight. I had a list of calorie dense foods to try and get him to eat (sorry I have passed it along to another mom) and obsessed over his weight. Kind of hard to do with 3 other kids.

He is now the tallest in his class and is in the 85% percentile weight wise.

If your doctor isn't that worried, I don't think I would be. If he's eating ok and filling up enough diapers, those are good signs. Does he spit up alot (that's the problem we had)? Are they making you go in for weekly weigh ins? If not they are not that concerned. Doesn't he have another checkup in a few months? If he's eating ok, and filling enough diapers I think I would wait and see.

M.

Sweetie, Get to a new pediatrician. They aren't always right. Deb

I also have a son that doesn't seem to gain any weight. He gained 5 pounds in 2 years! He is just back on the charts for height and weight after 2 years of not being on it, he is now in the 5th percentile. I have been concerned about this for 3 years now and my ped finally said something that got through to me at his last checkup--he said that he is developing well while not gaining weight and to not worry about the charts because the majority of the kids in America are overweight anyway so the chart doesn't mean anything anymore!! He said it's much better to have a child that's a little smaller than one that is obese!

L., I am going through the exact same thing. My son is 20 months old and he just weighs 20lbs. We have been dealing with his lack of weight gain since he was 6 months old. Some months he gains, usually just a few ounces, and some months he stays the same. He has even lost an ounce on 2 occassions. He has not been on the charts since he was 9 months. All kids grow and develop at different paces. He has been tested for several things and everything was fine. I believe he is just going to be on the small side, at least for now. Everything else about him is fine. He is active and on tract developmentally, of course, except for his weight. Believe me I have spent many sleepless nights worrying about him (more than you usually do). The bottomline with my son is that he just is not that interested in eating. Some days he will eat well and others barely at all. However, if you are not comfortable with what your pediatrician is telling you, maybe see a specialist. It is just important to remember that every child is different and they do not all grow at the same pace. I have 3 children and he is the only one that has had a weight issue.

Hi L.~
My daughter, who turned 2 last month, went thru a phase like this. She went from her 15 month to 24 month not gaining any weight, but still growing in height. My pediatrician told me not to worry. Chances are, like my daughter, he is just maintaining his weight by playing with his older sister, running around, etc. At this age they are much more active, which is my pediatrician's explanation for the pretty much non-existent weight gain. As long as he is still eating sufficiently, I wouldn't be too concerned!
I hope this helps!
J.

I have a friend who has 3 daughters and the middle girl was always so small and never seemed to grow. The mom was watching a special on Oprah about children with sleep apnea and she noticed her daughter had many of the symptoms...come to find out she did have sleep apnea and that was why she wasn't growing. Once the problem was corrected she shot up in height and looks really healthy now. I would get a 2nd opinion. My daughter had an eye virus and my pediatritian was treating it like pink eye and I just took matters in my own hands and took her to a opthamologist and he had to see her every day for a week and many times after that because the virus caused scarring on her eye. If I had waited, she would probably have lost a lot of vision in that eye. You have a gut feeling things are not right keep seeking medical attention for your son till you feel comfortable with his diagnosis.

Have yo useen a GI dr? And do not go to Lutheran General. He could have EE. get him to a GI and let them think aobu tit. Good job testing the celiac and CF, I would go further and test for allergies and when you take wheat or dariy out see if he grows after a month though it takes time for the body to heal and then be ablke to used the food to grow after malabsorption issues, good luck feel free to e-mail me with any other q's, you can have EE with no symptoms not to scare you but just elimate that one like you did the CF etc.
take care,J.

I haven't read through any of your responses so sorry if this is a repeat, but I just wanted to say that my nephew was not growing and it turned out to be a thyroid problem. They now have him on a synthetic thyroid medication and he has a check up at the children's hospital every so often. He is growing and seems to be doing much better now.

Hey some kids just do this... my boys did...
My youngest is now 3... he is stuck at 28 lbs now.. he was stuck at 24 when he was 23 months on to about 3.. finally made it up to 28 lbs... b day was in dec....
I cant give him whole milk he has a constipation issue.. so he gets 2 %.. infact he needs 1 % it still hurts him....
just make sure you are giving him fruits and veggies if you feel he is eating and still not gainning.. maybe try some enzimes.. it will help to break down food so they can be digested easer....

Good luck.... and dont worry.... he will catch up.. My older son like I said did this.. he is taller than me and hubby now and he is amazing looking!!

Don't Worry...It's normal. You'r son is just growing from a toddler to a big boy. My kids(now 14,9,6)all stopped at 25 lbs and for the next year just got longer and grew into that baby fat. As long as there are no other problems I would not worry. If he wasn't growing taller either then get a second opinion. God Bless.

My son was the same. He grew in inches but not in weight gain. In other words he is growing, he is not unhealthy- he is getting longer not wider so to speak! But I understand it can seem worrisome. My son was also in the bottom percentile of weight but not height. As long as he is eating, and the doctor is checking in on him regularly I think you are ok. If he was having failure to thrive issues he wouldn't be gaining inches I don't think. But yes don't give him low cal food of any kind, that is clearly counterproductive. My son (and myself) is the skinny body type which is lucky for him in the long run, sometimes difficult during school years, especially for boys. And worrisome for Mom. Take care.

Hi L.,
I wonder if he could have allergies or be lactose intolerant. Have you been to a gasto specialist? Those were issues we had when my son went through a similar period when he was an infant.
Take care,
B.

L.,
Follow your gut if you feel something is wrong go to a different doc. My son was 2 and a half and still not talking and the dr told me not to worry. I took him to Children's Memorial in Chicago and got him early intervention services. He is almost 5 and still getting speech services. As a mother you know when something is not right. It sounds to me like there is definitely something wrong. There are lots of other things out there that could be wrong besides celiac's and CF. In the Chicagoland area I would go to Children's. They are the best for kids. They can refer you from there if you need more help. Good luck.

L.,

My sister in law just went through this. Her son has always been little and they tried everything to get him to gain weight and nothing worked. After switching peds several times she finally found one that took her concern seriously.
As it turned out her son had sleep apenea. He went for a sleep study and they found out that he was having obstructive apenea which was fixed after they removed his tonsils and adenoids. Since the surgery he has gained 6 pounds in the last 3 months. Maybe now he will get out of the 5 %tile. The old wives tale about only growing when you sleep is true.
You might want to look into it.
Good Luck!
J.

Hi,

Sounds like something I would be really concerned over too. No matter what people say. I have never had this happen to any of my children, but I just wanted to share something I had to learn the hard way. Doctors are not always right it is worth it to get a second opionion or a thrid. Especially if you feel like there is something not right. Don't just sit there b/c your Doc said nothing is wrong. Keep looking/fighting until something is explained to you or you find the reason that makes that little feeling of "not right" go away. Best of luck!

My grandson Nathan has the same "symptoms" as your son. Nathan is now 6 years old, and the same as your son did not grow in height or gain weight at all from 12 months to 24 months. He was also given the same testing for celiac and cystic fibrosis, with negative results. My daughter took him to a pediatric endocrinologist who stated that Nathan was a candidate for growth hormone, but my daughter declined the treatment.
At 6 years old, Nathan is now starting to grow in height, although his weight remains at about 28lbs. I am not sure where he stands on the percentile charts, but he is definitely smaller in stature than other children his age. However, what Nathan lacks in height or weight, he makes up for in personality and spirit. As long as your son is in otherwise good health I wouldn't worry about his low height and weight. It is a good idea to make sure that he has a healthy diet with limits on dairy, wheat and sugar as these are not good for any of us.
Remember that good things come in small packages. Your son will catch up.

Both my daughters were labeled failure to thrive by 15 months old. (New term is Failure to Gain Weight, as they really are thriving, but then it was FTT)

It is the scariest feeling to give your toddler a bath and KNOW that they are too skinny. Tara was worse then Elise, even though they both weighed 18 lbs at 18 mos, Tara was about 3 inches taller so it looked lots worse. Tara is almost ten and still is barely 50 lbs (goes from 48 to 52 depending on how much she has eaten). Elise is 6 1/2 and around 40 lbs (varies between 39 and 42, again, depending on her eating). When Tara was 18 mos old I went to a neighbor who had a 2 mos old and asked if they had a size 2 diaper as the size 3s were falling off of her. They told me their 2 mos old was already in size 4. I cried.

We still worry about Tara, but not Elise because Elise seems more proportionate. And Elise seems to steadily, though slowly, gain.

I don't have much advise for you, just wanted you to have my sympathy. We have gone through all the testing with Tara, no reason, just "high metabolism".

I am not sure about weight. My son hasn't grown in height. He is now 3 years old and is still wearing 24months or 2T pants. They did a bone age test and blood work. The bone age was about 6 months behind. He'll probably hit a growth spurt soon. As for your case, kids are very active at that age. Keep feeding him healthy foods and it should be okay.

L., there is a illness called "failure to thrive". It is overlooked in this country for obvious reasons.
Taking in the food is one thing, metabolizing and using the nutrients is an entirely different issue.
I know this because my next door neighbor from years ago had this problem with her daughter. Check into it. If you need to know more, then contact me and and I can share with you what I remember

Hi L.. I am actually going through the same thing with my son. He was also tested for celiac disease but it turned out to be negative. However, his pediactric GI specialist is still researching it further. As a matter of fact, he has had two scopes done, and he is about to have another one this week. They are now thinking he may have eosinophilic esophagitis(say that 3 times!). During the scopes they took biopsies of his esophagus and stomach. The end of his esophagus was reddened and irritated. This is a newer disease that officially came out in 1995 so there is not much background information on it. It mimicks acid reflux, so it is often misdiagnosed. I know how tough it is not knowing what is going on with your child. We have been dealing with this for almost a year. My son had not gained any weight between his 9 month and 18 month checkups. He is now almost 2 1/2 and still not on the charts for either his height or his weight.

Basically, what I am saying is if you feel that there may be something wrong, look into it further. A lot of my family kept asking me why I was putting my son through all this. I have trusted my pediatrician from the beginning, and when he felt there was something wrong, I had to agree with him. University of Chicago Hospital has a whole department and website dedicated to GI diseases, just in case you want to obtain further information. Good luck, and if want to talk further, don't hesitate to keep in touch!

Same problem happened to me. My son was growing and gaining right out of the womb. When he started walking is when he stopped growing as fast. The Drs took all sorts of tests, but he is fine. He is just always on the move and what he consumes is used for energy and the rest is pooped out! He is a little short, but my husband and I are not that tall either. I am sure you child is fine and if the Drs are fine with his progress then you should not fret. My Dr was opposite, I felt that they were too worried, which caused more problems than need be!

Hi L.,
I have a 2 1/2 year old twin boys and one of them sounds just like your son. He is also the same weight since his 1 year check-up. My other son his 6 pounds heavier. My smaller son eats 10 times more than my other son who is big. I don't worry one burns more calories than the other. As long as your son eats healthy I would not worry.

You've had some serious conditions ruled out by the doctors, so that is good!
When I was very young, in the 1960s, for Kindergarten through 2nd grade, I didn't grow a pinch! I weighed 28 pounds that entire time! I was short and tiny. My dress size and shoe size stayed the same. This concerned my mother to the point that I was hospitalized into Illinois Research hospital where I was tested for many things, including a growth hormone defiency, which was ruled out. Conclusion: I was just going to be small with nothing wrong which turned out to be true.
I hope that is your case too. It happened to me!
I also wanted to add that I was a TERRIBLE eater.I'd get by on very little. I liked only a few things and maybe that is the case with your son. If so, find those things he really enjoys and let him indulge in them. It might just be working on his appetite to get things going.

Dear L.,

I would not be satisfied with the workup your son has received. I think you should call a children's hospital and have him worked up for poor weight gain. It can have many causes but I think no weight gain since 12 months is clinically significant. Good luck. A.

L.,

Our daughters have followed a similar growth curve to your son. Both started out at about 50 percent and then slowly went down to below the 5th percentile in weight and 25th in height.

With out first we were not initially concerned. Our pediatrician (a man who is about 5'4") didn't suspect a problem. Then my first daughter had a bout with rotavirus and was hospitalized. She had months of loose stools after that and we saw a pediatric GI specialist. He suspected celiacs and tested for cystic fibrosis, too. Like your son, thank God, she did not have either. But we found she did have a temporary lactose and fructose intolerance.

With our second, the consensus is that she is petite.

My husband is 6'1" and I'm 5'2", so I thought the girls would likely be a little taller than I was at their ages. But our pediatricians have told us that girls often follow their mothers' growth curves. I would imagine the opposite is true?

Hope this helps.

E.

Take him to an Endocrinologist and have him tested for growth hormone deficiency.........it must be done quickly because he is at the age where he should be taking his shots to get the maximum benefit. My nephew was not given his shots and he did not quite make it to 5 feet tall......his parents decided against the shots.The ultimate decision is yours however if you feel at all squeamish about learning to give shots, be grateful that at least it isn't diabetes!Carolb

Hi, L.,
I am first going to say that as a mom, you need to follow your gut. If you think something is wrong, keep pushing. You don't mention what dr.'s you have seen, but we have seen a nutritionist and a pediatric endocrinologist at Rush so far and have gotten some results pointing to what may be going on, none of it too serious.

A friend of mine sent me the link to your story because I am currently going thru something similar. My 23 month old has always been small, but around 9 months old her dr. started to get concerened and sent us to a nutritionist, which helped me with a few tricks and things for her eating, but her weight gain didn't pick up. We made another trip to the nutri, but then we went in for a weight check at 21 months and my daughter had lost 1/2 lb. So her dr. wanted her evaluated. Her iron is a little low, her cortisol levels a little high, and her IGF a little low, but the only thing they are especially concerened about and want to retest is the cortisol level. Her bone age is about half her chronological age, which means she has a lot more growth potential.
One thing that I think really can be overlooked is genetic tendencies too. Her dad and I were both very small children - under the 5th percentile in length and weight until we were halfway thru elementary school. I think for some kids this has a lot to do with it.