Failure to Thrive
I'm looking for input from anyone who may have experienced what I'm going through right now with my son. He's 18 mos. old and is 22 lbs. He hasn't really gained weight for the last 5 months and our pediatrician is concerned. He has food allergies (milk, eggs, nuts). I'm still nursing him and he doesn't appear to be ready to wean yet, which I am fine with. He's taking Cytra-3 because he had low co2 levels and they are back to normal now. We saw a nutritionist who said he's fine...no need to worry. The next day we had a GI consult and they said it's failure to thrive. They tested his stool and said that there's no evidence of malnourishment, but they want me to stop breastfeeding immediately and start feeding him higher fat foods. I'm worried sick and am having a hard time with 2 completely different diagnosis. I can do the fatty foods, but he went on a liquid strike when I tried to stop nursing and I'm guessing that breastmilk is better than dehydration. He will drink water from a sippy cup, but he's not impressed with soy milk. Any thoughts? Advice??
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by KM on -
If you continue to have difficulty with the GI doctor, (ie discouraging breastfeeding and a healthy diet high in natural fats) maybe you should get a second opinion.
Both of my children hardly gained any weight at all between 18 mo and 23-24 mo. Then all of a sudden they started to gradually gain more at a consistent pace. The 20lb mark was the hardest to break, but we did, inour own time.
I'm not saying that you should ignore your doctor, but it sounds like you have conflicting opinions there. One says "no problem" the other says "no malnourishment, but stop breastfeeding" and diagnosis failure to thrive.
I hate mixed signals. :) Good luck and it does sound like you are doing better. ((HUGS))
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Permalink Reply by askyourfriendkira on -
I was just reading through all the posts-- glad he is gaining some and all the foods like avocado, (organic if you can) butter, should help. It's hard when doctors tell you something you know doesn't seem to make sense, like "stop nursing".
It also made me think about single side nursing-- just wondering if he is staying on one side for each nursing, which ensures that he will be getting the fattier hind milk as each nursing progresses.
Good luck!
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Permalink Reply by Megan Seibert on -
My youngest is tiny. She's 6 and she only weighs 37 pounds- so she hovers around the 10th percentile now. When she was younger though, she dropped below the 5th and it didn't seem to matter what we fed her - she just didn't grow. The pedi was actually concerned when she started crawling because she said she was too small. Her feet even stopped growing for about two years.
When she was four the pedi suggested we have her tonsils out because they were very large. Well when we went to the ENT he said the adnoids needed to come out too. Turns out, she had NEVER been able to breathe through her nose (explains why she abandoned breastfeeding at 6 months) and her body wasn't getting enough oxygen and so it wasn't growing properly. She is still small and she always will be, but she has definitely made some progress. It is very possible that your son's size could have a medical reason that is not his diet. Good luck - I hope you are able to find some answers.
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Permalink Reply by Amy Cruz on -
Jamie, I am glad to hear your son is gaining some weight. This may keep the Dr off your back. My first son was underweight for a very long time. He started at 5lb 9oz. He was always active. He never sat still on his bottom, he would sit on his haunches and then crawl and climb everywhere. The Dr said he had FTT. I was not concerned due to his activity and I kept nursing him until about 2 1/2. At 7 he was 49 lbs. He did not start to be average weight until he was about ten. Now he is 18 years old and weighs from about 150 to 160.
When he was little one thing that he liked was milkshakes. I realize you can't give him milk, but he might like a rice milk or soy milk shake. Then you can add all kinds of things that are healthy and high in calories and he will think it is a great treat. Blend together bananas and other fruits or use carob (or chocolate if you dont mind giving him a sweet treat sometimes). We also added protein powder. I think kids like these burn a lot of calories. That is my opinion anyway. Good luck!
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Permalink Reply by Davonia on
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Adding soft tofu to shakes are a great way to get in protein and you don't taste it at all.
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Permalink Reply by EmilyK on -
I was wondering out loud if he stopped gaining around the same time he started walking or trying to walk? I know my kids alway lean way out when they start being more active. Seems fairly normal to me, but seeing a naturopath or nutritionist (or someone who is both) seems like a really good way to go.
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Permalink Reply by Jamie Crawford on -
My daughter was still almost exclusively nursed at 18mo and only weighed 21 and half pounds . She just wasn't interested in any other food. Even though she was very scrawny she was very healthy and thankfully I had a very pro breastfeeding doctor who never said a thing about her weight. We continued to nurse until she was 28mo and after that she still didn't gain a whole lot. She just now reached 28lbs and will be three in just a few weeks. And I still haven't heard a thing about failure to thrive.
For some reason the medical profession is always saying you need to stop nursing at the smallest sign of slow weight gain. It DRIVES me crazy!!!!
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Permalink Reply by Tiffany on
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I personally would start looking for another pediatrician. The fact that he wants you to stop breastfeeding and start formula/Pedisure like drinks concerns me. Your milk is best. Our boys are complete opposite of each other but healthy. My oldest is 39 inches and 33 lbs...looks skinny, but eats healthy, active, never sick. Our second is 18 months and 22 lbs and probably 28". He looks beefy compared to his brother, but they don't eat much junk food, mostly fruits and veggies. Might just be his body type! I would try to find high fat healthy foods and not worry about it. If he is healthy (in your opinion) and happy that's all parents should be asking for! Good luck!
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Permalink Reply by Cherylyn on -
Most children gain weight more slowly, or not at all for a period of time after they start crawling and walking. I have 5 kids, and all of my kids have had a tendency to be small. My daughter is almost 2 years old and she is barely 20 pounds. She is healthy and active and eats well, so I'm not worried. I would recommend you continue breastfeeding, because that is the best liquid you can give your son, especially if he refuses to have any other liquid but water. The breast milk will give him the nutrients he needs, and you can fill in the solids he eats with as much fat as he can stand. Babies do need high fat content in their diets at this age, but slower growth or small size doesn't necessarily mean there's a problem. Since he does have some pretty big allergies, you're naturally going to have a rougher time helping him get enough good balance in his diet. Keep nursing and give him more fatty foods. That's my opinion. Keep at it!
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Permalink Reply by Dixon Doula on -
I know that many breast fed babies do not follow the standard growth charts, since most of them were done during a time when the majority of kids were bottle fed. They get what they need. So as long as they are not behaving as though they are not getting enough, I'd worry more about the nutrition and less about the weight. I saw a few postings about rice milk. While many kids like the flavor better than soy, I don't think it has the right amount of good fats to substitute as a formula, and especially not as a substitute for breast milk.
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Permalink Reply by EmilyK on
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have you tried goat's milk? It has lovely fat content and doesn't contain the allergens that cow's milk does. Kids that are sensitive to cow's milk usually do pretty well with it. I used to mix it with a tiny bit of molasses to cover the strange taste (as well as add a little iron) and both my sons drank it until they were developed enough to handle regular milk.
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