my child's 3lbs under weight, HELP

[akblackiston]

My child just got put on WIC and we found out that he's 3lbs under weight for his age and hight (he's 15 months, and 31 inches and only weighs 21lbs.). He's a VERY active child who apparently has a VERY high metabolism....he's always running around AND eating EVERYTHING...but is still under weight. We have to go back in for another weigh-in in June to see if he's gained any weight. What can I do to help him gain weight without forcing food down his throat? I know it's only 3lbs, but I want him to gain weight to make WIC happy.

please help!!!

[autymsmommy]

My advice is to just make sure that he has plenty of time to not only snack (on healthy snacks) but also that you make regular meal times a routine. I had a couple of friends who were on WIC and what wic seemed most concerned about was that the parent was able to recount what the child had eaten that day and that the parent was making healthy food choices for the child. My daughter was small also but unless a DOCTOR tells you to be worried, chill. WIC is not made up of doctors or even nurses. Every child is different, so don't worry unless your son is unhealthy, and it doesn't sound like he is. You could have alot more potential problems if you try to load him up on unhealthy foods or if you try to get him to eat just to gain weight. Children know when they are hungry and they will let you know, I promise! Have a physical performed by a doctor and take the physical form with you to your next WIC appointment, let them know that no matter what they say, your son's DOCTOR (WHO BY THE WAY, HAS WENT TO MEDICAL SCHOOL) says your son is in good health. Good Luck!

[ra11en]

I agree with autymsmommy. Do what you can, but don't let WIC cause you undue concern. My 17 month old barely weights 21 lbs, and has always been very under average weight and height her whole life. I'm not concerned, nor is the pediatrician.

But, lik autymsmommy said, there are things you can do to make sure all is well regardless of what the scale says. Consistent snack and meal times are good - helps them to know it is time to eat instead of not bothering because they know you'll give them something when they do want it. And healthy snacks with well balanced meals are very important. My pediatrician is more concerned that my daughter has a well rounded diet that includes fruits and veggies and calcium foods than she is about the numbers.

Just one look at my daughter's gigantic belly and all the rolls on her thighs erases any concern I get from time to time. I have no doubt she is happy and healthy, even when she skips a meal as she often does.

Good luck!

[bkmev]

WIC is not a control issue. You do not satisfy WIC the DR or anyone else, Your concern should be your child.

If he is healtlhy, eating good, active, other growth measures are being met as far as cordination, activities, walking on time etc....... Then don't woory about him.

Undernurist children do not grow and develop well. If all the above is watched, then he is getting what he needs.

Follow your docotrs orders, feed the proper amount he will be fine.

Worst thing to do is overfeed. At some point all the extra calories will stack on and you will not get them off. Remember while feeding him now, you are setting a tone for him to live by the rest of his life. Good heatly meals, snacks and drinks are in order. If he over eats now, as an adult he will have a lot of issues to deal with and overwieght is a bad thing to try and fix.

I was the youngest child of seven growing up. We all had different body sizes. One brother was always thin and tall. He ate twice what the rest of did. He just burned it off differently. When the two oldest boys left home, Mom had to learn to cook family meals all over again, those two comsumed as much as the rest of us combined.

WIC is a program to help provide you and your child good nutritients. They have good intentions, but never feel pressure from them. They will still provide the food certificates, it is what they do!

Be yourself, feed him healty food, and love him and play with him, enjoy life, Be happy Don't worry! Smile when you go to your appointments, listen to what they suggest, thank them and leave. If you have concerns big them up to your Dr. If you have a problem I am sure he will point it out.

Height and weight charts are only an average, they are not a cientific given. Like everything in life, take it with a grain of salt!

[jtmommy32]

My son is 15mos old and 32 inches and is probably only 23lbs right now. He weight 8lbs at birth but has my husband's build, long torso, short legs and thin. My son is also on WIC and thankfully they have never said anything about his weight. He eats healthy and has stayed consistent in his growth patterns, so his pediatrician is not concerned. Some children are just going to be smaller or larger then others. Even if the nurses or dietician at the health department said anything about my son's size, I'd ignore them, they aren't experts like another poster said and as long as you show up to your appointments your son will get his vouchers as long as he continues to meet the qualifications of WIC which is based on the financial situation of your family.
Florence

[vegan_mom]

I agree with the others-- Different people are different sizes. I'm close to six feet tall, and weigh about 160. (Yesterday, the scale read 162, today it read 159.) I weigh less than what I did before my six month old daghter was conceived. I eat. I eat plenty. I eat whole, real foods and avoid unnatural ingredients. I also breastfeed, so that might have contributed to weight loss as well. (Now that the spring thaw has finally come, I am able to get out and walk again-- Not for more weight loss, but because I like getting out, getting active and it's good for physical and spiritual health as well.)

Anyway, I don't know much about WIC. (My daughter and I probably qualify, but I've not really looked into signing up. We don't need the extra health care and we don't need the food vouchers. Also, the food vouchers are probably for stuff I wouldn't buy or consider healthy. It's my understanding that nurses work for the program. However, since the nurses or WIC are not your child's primary medical care (I hope), I would take what they say with a grain of salt. Well, I take all child care advice, whether it be from a friend, an acquaintance, my mother, MIL, sister, etc. with a grain of salt. I consider it and if I think it's worthwhile, I will incorporate it into my life.

My six month old daughter is skinny. We can see her ribs when she is naked. She has a couple of horizontal striped sleepers which I like because tehy make her look pudgier. Also, when we switched from disposable diapers to cloth and G Diapers (we use the flushable liners when we're out and pre-fold cloth diapers [we fold them so that they are long and rectangular, then fold them in half, putting the folded end, and the thicker end in the front where she needs more padding]) she started to look pudgier, too.

I would think that the WIC people would be concerned with WHAT your child is eating, not how much. I know a mother who, at the time I saw her, was quite proud of her nine-month-old daughter's big size. My thought was, "What are you feeding her?" I think I got an idea later that evening. We were at dinner together where the main course was pizza and the dessert was a bakery cake. Yuck. No veggies, no fruit. I saw her daughter suck down soda in her bottle. When I had left to breast feed our daughter, my husband said that the other mother fed her children (the older being just about a year and a half) pizza and the cake. Yuck. I did see the girl with a bottle of formula, but she just played with it. Of the four mothers there, I was the only one concerned with making sure my daughter ate properly. (To be fair, though, the children of one of the mothers were all adults and were capable of making their own food decisions.) Instead of pizza, I had a veggie burger with a whole wheat pita and carrots. Instead of cake, I had an apple.

My husband and I are concerned that my daughter is skinny. However, I've gotten comments that in regards of her length (I don't know if she is longer than average, or if she just looks longer) and her skinny-ness, she looks like me. So, since she is six months old, and is used to solids, we're going to start giving her whole jars of fruits and veggies instead of half. We'll ask her pediatrician about it at her next visit. I did tell the nurse that I'm vegan and she knows I'm breastfeeding, but that's all the further the discussion of food has gone. Except for the last visit, when my daughter was four and a half months and the doctor said we could start her on solids and gave the suggestions on how we should do it.

Also, with the wealth of reliable information on the Internet, you should be able to find some good advice to talk with the doctor about, too. (That's why, from what I read, I thought my daughter was too young for solids. That, and since I breastfeed, I knew it would be her first real big step of independence. I wasn't ready for that.)

Dr. Sears, Dr. Spock, American Academy of Pediatrics, Baby Center, Baby Zone are all good references. (And other parenting magazines as well.)

Anyway, I hope I've been of some help.

[KilliansMommy]

Honey, my son is 8 months old and is still wearing size 0-3 months clothes and some newborn onsies. I mean he had a condition which made him stop growing in the womb but still, he's so ity bity and he's just fine. As long as your baby is healthy and happy you shouldn't worry about forcing him to gain weight but what my sons doctors told me when he gets old enough to eat is give him six small meals instead of 3 big ones so he's eating more constantly and it helps him to gain the weight.