Re: Never ending weight battle...

Thanks everyone, she's sitting here eating a slice of provolone and apples which she loves so hopefully she doesn't start refluxing later from the cheese and we can continue with this.

It just makes you feel like a bad mom. I'm always thinking, Do they think I'm starving her cause I have my own weight issues? I mean I feed her, trust me, I spend half my day cooking and feeding this kid.

They have mentioned testing her for Celiac in the past but that is usually associated with diarrhea which she doesn't have

Re: Never ending weight battle...

DD is in the 10% for weight. I always say she is on a self-imposed "South Beach diet" because all she likes is fruit, some veggies and lean protein.

That said - I make her scrambled eggs, pb&j or pb and bananas, she eats TONS of salmon. She won't eat avocados but its a great idea.

I also give her pediasure. Cheese.
pasta w/olive oil and locatelli.

She does not like "typical" kids foods like pizza, mac & cheese etc.

Re: Never ending weight battle...

Maria, I am crashing, because my almost 14 year old adopted sister had very similar problems, actually more extreme, when she was Alexa's age.

Can you speak to Alexa's GI doctor about Pediasure? My parents put my sister on it and it helped a lot.

Could it be an absorption problem? Maybe still reflux?

I can talk to my parents and ask them about my sister and what types of things they did.

Re: Never ending weight battle...

DS turned 3 in November and he isn't even 30lbs yet. He is little and skinny and eats all day long.

But, DH was the skinniest thing in the world as a child so nobody is worried!



I am sure DD is fine!

Re: Never ending weight battle...

M&J have never been on the charts either. M was 17lbs and J was 16lbs11 oz at their 12 month visit (which was really at 13 months). They eat like crazy too. I swear I have no idea where they put it. I am struggling with the milk thing too because although they never had a dairy sensitivity as infants, they have had on and off diarrhea since we started whole milk, although in the past two weeks they seem to be tolerating it a lot better, so I think their bodies just needed to get used to it.
I've been trying to do the high fat thing too... one thing I found they really like is sunflower seed butter. I put it on an english muffin and they devour it.
They used to like avocados, but won't eat them anymore. I've started putting butter in their vegetables, tossing pasta in olive oil, etc.

Re: Never ending weight battle...

my son was never on any growth chart
he seemed to stop growing altogether between 2-3 yrs...we did a lot of research, met with an endocronologist as well as numerous other specialists. Turns out that our son is Growth Hormone Deficient. We made the decision to put him on growth hormones, because without it, his project height was only 5 ft. With the Hormone he most likely will get to 5"6 - 5"8. He has been on the hormone for 15 months now. When he started he weighed less than 30lbs and was wearing a size 2t. He is now 41 lbs and is wearing a 5t.

At 1st I was devested that my son was not growing...but thorugh research, I learned that there are many different reasons that a child may not be growing...and thankfully many of them can be helped.

Re: Never ending weight battle...

sorry this is something you are struggling with.

I would just try to add a lot of good but healthy fat into her diet. I think the dairy will help and I think every single baby goes gaga for cheese.

Also, avocado, nut products like butters (if your doc okays this, everyone has a different POV), bread is caloric, bananas are also high in calories compared to other fruits.

Maybe also make her things like grilled cheeses with olive oil (healthier than butter, but I believe more caloric), pancakes, etc.

Re: Never ending weight battle...

No advice, just

Re: Never ending weight battle...

Maria, Miranda was always a peanut too. At 1 year she weighed 16 lbs. You know she's still small, but healthy.

If Alexa is eating a good amount, then I personally wouldn't worry. If you do want to bulk her up, have you considered cooking with coconut oil? It has a high fat content (although a lot is saturated fat). Maybe increase her protein intake too?

Re: Never ending weight battle...

Hmmm, i'm trying to think of what's more fattening ..........

Yogurt - I get him the la creme b/c it's the only one I can find other than the Yo Baby stuff that's full fat

Does she eat eggs yet? -
Sean loves scrambled eggs w/ cheese and veggies (although I just found out from the Ped I was supposed to wait until he was a year for eggs....... )

He also loves grilled cheese -

fresh ravoili

Home made Mac & Cheese

I sneak veggies into anything 'cheesy' I give him ..........

Re: Never ending weight battle...

oh and i also add ovaltine to her milk. She loves it and its a healthy way to add some extra calories & vitamins

Re: Never ending weight battle...

Honestly Maria I would just yes the doctor's to death and let it go.
My DD is small. She was something like the 2nd percentile at her 1 year. At 4 years old and then some she finally made it to 30lbs.
You know your DD. You know if she's healthy or not. Don't make food such a big issue because in my opinion it only backfires. I know it's stressful when people say "She's so tiny" or "she's so thin" or doctor's say she needs to gain more but honestly if she's not sickly and malnourished leave it alone. She'll grow.

Re: Never ending weight battle...

Thanks everyone for the suggestions. I just got back from Trader joes loaded with full fat dairy and some sunflower seed butter.

I met DH for a late lunch adn we sat down and really analyzed what we have been feeding her. For years DH and I have been eating pretty lean diets to try and loose weight... still doesn't work, all those damn those brownies

When we look at what Alexa eats she eats a lot of grilled chicken and fish and steamed veggies and fresh fruit and high fiber multigrain cereals cooked with water. While a lot of kids can easily gain weight and grow from this my gut tells me Alexa has a fast metabolism and really needs the fats.

We really think her dies is lacking in fat. We do cook with olive oil, but sparingly and don't use butter.

SO now that we have been given the go ahead with the dairy we are going to see if that helps. I'm going to make her spinach quiche and whole wheat Mac and Cheese with veggies, grilled cheese etc..

Thank you for all your support, seriously, I'd loose my mind if it wasn't for you all.