Ped says they need to eat more

The girls had their 18 month appointments today.

They both fell off their curves a bit (Emma is 20 pounds and Mia is 18) so she ran some tests to make sure nothing was wrong.

All the tests came back ok so she suggested they each drink a can of PediaSure a day (there goes the grocery budget).

I was wondering if anyone can suggest some healthy foods that would help them with putting on some weight. I really don't want to start giving them hot dogs smothered in butter like my sisters friend did to her son!

 

Hi. I just got back from our 15mo check up today and am in the same boat with Amelia. She's only 17lbs while her brother is almost 21 (still little too, but not as bad.) I asked her what I could do and she said to put real butter on whatever I could think of--bread, pasta, pancakes, veggies. She also said to obviously increase high fat foods, like cheese (she said especially Velveeta). Finally, she suggested putting Carnation Instant Breakfast in her milk at all meals. We have to change our milk giving habits too. We usually let them walk around with their milk and they end up sipping it throughout the day. She thinks this might be affecting her appetite. She suggested only giving milk with meals (giving it about 1/2 way through the meal in our case since I think Amelia would get distracted by her milk and not eat as much.)

We had to see another Ped b/c mine is on maternity leave. I'm not sure how I feel about all that saturated fat, but I'm also concerned about her weight. I'll be interested in hearing others' opinions.

 

Ewww! She told you to smother in butter?? I would never do that! Talk about unhealthy eating habits Your babies dont sound that awful small, a little but not much. Frankly, I wouldnt worry about it! But you could do lots of pastas, breads, and cheese. Do they snack alot during the day? My girls eat 3 square meals a day with a light snack (organic cereal bar between lunch and dinner) They get up around 7, eat breakfast w/yogurt, eat lunch at 11:30 then go down for a nap and up by 2. I give them a sippy of juice (3oz each) and the cereal bar and we eat at 5. I then give yogurt at 6:15 and then are in bed by 7:30.

Their breakfast includes wheat toast w/jelly, waffles, french toast, cereal (organic honey o's), sausage and eggs...Lunch is rice, pasta, left overs, grilled cheese w/fruit (organic whole fruit), and dinner is a meat (chicken, turkey, pork or beef), potato or pasta, beans, cheese and mixed veggies. (most of this is organic)

 

Butter is actually not unhealthy for babies. I have a friend whose husband is a doctor & their kids always ate tons of butter. He said their brains actually need the extra fat to develop. Who knows, but I don't think it is unhealthy at that age. ardon: It's sort of like whole milk, we wouldn't drink it because it has too much fat in it, but for the babies, it's necessary. I like the Instant Breakfast idea, lots of extra calories and extra vitamins as well.

 

We had the same issue with Jake at his one year WBV. She told us to stay on Formula and add butter to stuff. She wanted us back for a weight check in a month, but we have a NICU f/u almost at that point, so she said that's fine.

However, I had been cutting Jake's bottle (misunderstanding what was ahead at year 1 - she kept becca on 3 bottles a day, just whole milk) so I think i was under feeding him.

That said, we give them whole fat EVERYTHING and we put butter on their pasta. I agree with Tina that it's good fat. I'm also on a mission to eat well - but not necessarily artificially low fat because all of that stuff has added fake sugar. But i disgress.

To the OP, before you go the pedisure route, I would try offering foods with natural fats (whole yogurt, cheese, etc) and up the portein vs. carb ratio. Maybe you can go in for a weight check before you do anything else.

 

I just read an interesting nutritional article about saturated fat... there are 2 molecular types and the kind in mlik and butter isn't artery clogging (this is the VERY abbreviated version) and that humans are able to use animal fat, but that lots of refined carbohydrates can be used to produce the artery clogging fats... so gived the choice I woul bulk up on the high cal fats and reduce refined carbohydrates.....

 

It may not be that unhealthy for them (I use butter in alot of things, but I dont saturate it either) but you have to think when they get older and dont need all the butter, they will be use to eating all their foods and wont like it without all the butter. That is what I would be concerned with.

 

They don't sound too underweight to me. I think that's around where one of my daughters was at that age. What about food like avocados? That has the good fat and my girls can gobble it up. I also think cheeses are a good idea as well. Have you introduced peanut butter yet?

 

I would suggest giving instant breakfast instead of pediasure.. much less expensive! Also, I beleive there is a generic/target brand of pediasure...

 

Butter and olive oil provide necessary fats and is MUCH better/healthier than margarine! My guys are small but following their own curve. I'm more concerned with vitamin and mineral intake instead of upping fats unnessasarily. They get ovaltine on their oatmeal and in their yogurt. We use carnation instant breakfast in their morning milk (one pack to two sippy cups.) They eat very well but we are on a vegetarian diet so its a different challenge giving complete proteins etc.

 

I would also add avacados - high in good fats for everyone.

 

Avocado (terrific healthy fat), butter, extra virgin olive oil (I put this on everything!), cream cheese, sour cream (if they like it), other cheeses, yogurt. If you are concerned about giving peanut butter right now, you could try sunflower butter.

 

QUOTE(angie7 @ Jan 18 2008, 12:04 PM) [snapback]577992[/snapback]
It may not be that unhealthy for them (I use butter in alot of things, but I dont saturate it either) but you have to think when they get older and dont need all the butter, they will be use to eating all their foods and wont like it without all the butter. That is what I would be concerned with.


that's wot I woz thinking they would get used to everything with butter on.

I would just try to increase their intake with regular healthy food. Or maybe they're just not meant to be big kids, if u offer them lots of food and they will eat until they're full, wot else can you do??

 

Jessy was only 22 lbs at 18 months. We gave her pediasure only when she didn't eat or was sick because it will make them not eat. Plus we give her ice cream after supper. She gained 2 more lbs and was 24 lbs at 24 months.

 

QUOTE(PetiteFleur @ Jan 17 2008, 08:35 PM) [snapback]577450[/snapback]
We have to change our milk giving habits too. We usually let them walk around with their milk and they end up sipping it throughout the day. She thinks this might be affecting her appetite. She suggested only giving milk with meals (giving it about 1/2 way through the meal in our case since I think Amelia would get distracted by her milk and not eat as much.)


we had to do this with both kids because they were drinking too much and not eating...also we cut out snacks - our twins were turning into grazers that never wanted to eat for meals but would munch all day long...now they get waffles or french toast sticks or a bowl of cheerios and a yogurt and milk for bkfst - usually pb and j or grilled cheese, a veggie and a fruit for lunch (and milk) and dinner is usually hot dogs or chicken nuggets (sometimes I can get DD to eat pasta) and a veggie and fruit for dinner (with milk)....they get a cup of juice/water mix when they get up from their nap about 2:30 or so and if they don't eat a good lunch sometimes they'll get a snack after nap - but I'm finding they are eating much better now...

 

My boys are on the thin side, so I've been trying to up the fat and protein. Our friend's a pediatrician and he also said that the natural fats in whole dairy are very healthy for babies and their growing brains. That said, I still don't "slather everything in butter". It just doesn't seem like a balanced way to eat. I do add butter often (to oatmeal, on toast or waffles, warmed up with applesauce, in muffins, added to soups etc.) where it makes sense.

Other healthy high calorie foods we eat:
Avocado, whole yogurt, cheese and cream cheese, almond butter, banana, salads w/organic mayo

At the end of the day though, kids eat when they're hungry. If your little ones are just genetically petite then they will most likely not put on huge amounts of weight no matter what you do. I've tried to make peace with this and take cues from my boys who are developing right on track and have TONS of energy. Someday they'll be happy they never have to diet!

 

I also use olive oil instead of butter just about everywhere I can (i.e. mostly vegetables).

 

At our 15 month WBV, our pedi also suggested adding instant breakfast to their milk in the mornings for some addition calories and nutrition. We have been doing it ever since. They get about 10oz of milk in the morning and we always add the instant breakfast. They drink other milk with their meals at day care. My girls are 23 months old and are both right around 24lbs. They are tall and slender. The pedi hasn't been too concerned about them being low on the growth curve. They have been steady. She thinks they are probably just going to stay tall and slender.

 

Thanks for all the great responses!!!

It has been kind of a long weekend. I went out and bought some Pediasure and some Carnation Instant Breakfast...wow that stuff in not cheap! Our problem now is that when we give that to the girls they get to full and do not eat their regular food! Yesterday we didn't give them any supplements and they ate GREAT all day. I am not sure which is better, them drinking a little of the supplements or eating regular food. I think we are going with regular food and adding more avocados, butter and whole milk yogurt (we had been giving them Yoplet Thick and Creamy).

Anyway - I think I will call the pediatrician this afternoon and see what she suggests since they weren't even drinking half a can each and it was messing with their food intake and she wants them on a can each a day.

 

I have a VERY tiny little girl on my hands who is very picky, but in a good way. She was a little over 19lbs at 18 months. The pedi suggested at a year that we switch to pediasure or add carnation. She refuses both. She doesn't really LOVE milk anyway but she only drinks it plain. She eats regular foods like pasta, meats, veggies, fruits. I do add butter and olive oil to stuff. Pedi is not concerned at all. She's on her own curve and will probably just be petite.

 

DD was also 18 pounds at her 18 month visit. We started her on CIB, but I bought the powder. I add just a little to her morning milk. Aside from that, I haven't done much that's different. I give them a well-balanced diet, because vitamins are just as important as fat.

If she wasn't drinking milk or eating real cheese at all, you'd need to worry about fat. The brain needs fat to develop.

The Pediasure and CIB aren't necessarily introducing more fats, but the vitamins/minerals. Pediasure is expensive. See if you can do CIB. One big can lasted me like two months and it was about $7.

I haven't had DD weighed since 18 months, so I'm not sure if what we've been doing has made any difference.

 

Some ideas for the pediasure...get the generic brands, they have more fat (Pediasure just did a "new improved version" with lower fat...which is horrible for those that use it to help gain weight!) and cost a dollar or two less. Also, you can ask your dr if they get free samples. Also, there is something called DuoCal, you can sprinkle it on some of their food and into their millk and it adds calories.
A lot of people are saying that they don't sound too tiny, while that may be true, what you need to think about most is their own growth curve. Yes, some kids are just tiny and will always be, but if they fall off their growth curve big time, that is a concern, regardless of how they compare to other kids.
We have been dealing with my son's failure to thrive and I have learned a lot about trying to get a kid to eat. He is again losing weight and at 33 mos old weighs just at 24lbs. We give him meds to stimulate his appetite and that doesn't work too well. We use about 3 pediasure's a day but only when we have exhausted all other options. Sometimes, its just all he wants and I would rather he get that with all the vitamins/minerals in it than just buttered noodles.
His newest obsession is shredded parmesan cheese...I can put that on anything or by itself and he eats it (well usually). Also, yogurt seems to be a good one for him.

Good luck getting them to eat and hopefully they are just going through a phase!

 

My girls had not gained weight from their 15month check up to their 18 month check up. They were only 17 pounds. We had known they were allergic to dairy but then found out their were allergic to wheat, eggs, beef, squash and bananas. They had quit growing because what I was feeding them made them sick. The doctor told me to fry all their food in butter...which they are allergic to...but I found a dairy free margarine that they can eat. We fry as much food as we can or add margarine to all foods we cook. Once we eliminated all their allergies, they started eating a ton and gaining weight. They will be 2 next week so we haven't had them weighed by the doctor but they weigh about 21 pounds on our home scale. They were in the less than 3rd percentile at 18 months so I am curious to see how much they have grown.