The Dr told me my DS is FAT!

Has anyone ever heard of putting a 15month on a diet or restricting his food intake? My DS weighs 26lbs 8oz and is 31" tall. The Dr said he is on the cusp of his weight getting out of control, and that he is not to have any snacks (we really do not do any) or juice which we don't do anyway! He also wants him on 2% vs whole milk. I feel awful, I have one twin who is border "Failure to Thrive" and one twin who is borderline Fat. :angry:

I didn't think it was that big of a concern when they are this little. My DH is 6' 4" so he is a pretty big guy himself.

 

26 lbs. doesn't seem that big for 15 mos. Can you see another doc and get a 2nd opinion?

 

Is he walking? Is he doing his milestones on time??? In my toddler class last year, we had a child who was 15 months who weighed 35 lbs. He wasn't walking yet... barely could crawl. All the 'experts' were saying nothing was wrong except it was his weight that was holding him back.
I don't think that weight is all that high for a 15 month old... it's amazing what people's opinions are!!! :hug99:

 

:blink: My 3rd, Josh, was 25lbs at a year. He was big, but nothing to worry about. He is 3 now and has thinned out from constant motion! :wacko: :hug99:

 

I'm trying to remember what the girls weighed around that time, it was probably about the same, but they are also tall. Ainsley was in a higher weight percentile than height, but then once she was walking, she evened out. Don't worry about it. If you are feeding nutritious food, he should be fine.

 

One of my daughters was 26lbs 8oz. & 31 inches at her 15 month appt just like your son!! And her head circumference is in the 110%!!! And she was born at 33 weeks!! I will admit I worry sometimes about her size. However, our pedi did not suggest switching from whole to 2%. We also don't do juice or lots of snacks

 

I don't think that I would listen to the Dr. Sometimes as parent we know more than they do. 26 pounds for a 15 month old isn't BIG. Reading how your DH is tall and big boned makes me think he is just going to be like him.

Get a second opinion.

Erin

 

I have to say, that would make me REALLY mad. I looked up your son's weight on a growth chart I found on the web and it looks like your son is near the 75th percentile, which is within normal limits; not fat! I agree with dfaut, can you get another opinion? Also, I'd be really worried about putting my kids on 2% milk before they are 2 years old; I thought they need the fat for brain development. Sorry you have to get this attitude from your pediatrician.

thea

 

Wow. My son was 25 lbs at his 15 month appointment, and I think that was only around the 50th percentile for weight. And my daughter was almost 30 lbs at their 15 month visit. I would get another opinion.

 

That's really ridiculous. I can understand if he was concerned about a three year old, but at 15 months?! My guys were both exactly that weight at that age and our doc said they were fine. They didn't really stretch out until just this last year. After two and a half years of rapid weight gain, they haven't gained anything at all in almost a year. He will eat what he needs and as long as you're not hauling him into McDonald's every week, I'm sure what you're feeding him is fine.

 

QUOTE(thea7 @ Nov 5 2007, 09:43 PM) [snapback]482955[/snapback]
I have to say, that would make me REALLY mad. I looked up your son's weight on a growth chart I found on the web and it looks like your son is near the 75th percentile, which is within normal limits; not fat! I agree with dfaut, can you get another opinion? Also, I'd be really worried about putting my kids on 2% milk before they are 2 years old; I thought they need the fat for brain development. Sorry you have to get this attitude from your pediatrician.
thea

I wouldn't stop the whole milk without at least one other opinion. I can't imagine putting a 15 month old on a diet. I have a friend whose son was really big - I'm going to email her for his ht/wt at 15 mos. I know her pedi never said anything like that and I bet he was at least that big. I also would get a second opinion before doing any food restrictions but I think the milk advice is particularly bad - I wouldn't listen to my pedi on that.

 

wow, Berkley must've been obese, she was 30lbs on her 1st birthday.
I'd take that w/ a grain of salt to be honest, that weight isn't unreasonable IMO.

 

DD weighted close to 30 at 15 months. She was really, really chunky. Once she got the walking thing down she slimmed down. I really think that your Dr. is being unreasonable. I would get a second opinion!

 

My DS is walking and has been since he was about 12months. He has never had a fast food maybe 3-4 bites of sweets his whole life. He eats cheerios, ravioli's, fruit, teething biscuits, crackers, cheese, some veggies, bites of what we are eating for dinner etc.

Thank You all for your advice, I thought he was being pretty harsh. I think I will get a 2nd opinion especially about the milk.

 

My Patrick was 26# and 31" tall at his 15 months appt and my doc said he was fine and dandy! Time for a new pedi IMO! Sorry that he said that to you! I think he sounds just fine! :hug99:

 

QUOTE(thea7 @ Nov 5 2007, 06:43 PM) [snapback]482955[/snapback]
I have to say, that would make me REALLY mad. I looked up your son's weight on a growth chart I found on the web and it looks like your son is near the 75th percentile, which is within normal limits; not fat! I agree with dfaut, can you get another opinion? Also, I'd be really worried about putting my kids on 2% milk before they are 2 years old; I thought they need the fat for brain development. Sorry you have to get this attitude from your pediatrician.

thea



This was my first reaction as well.

My boys have always been below/at the charts for height and weight. However, our ped has always said that as long as they are maintaining their own, relatively parallel (to the charts) growth curve, that he was not concerned. We just barely made it into the 5-15 range at 18m. However, I feel if we were in the 100-115 range he'd have given us the same response.

I can't imagine that 26 pounds is that much more than average at 15m for a boy. Have you googled growth charts? I'll bet they vary somewhat.

Sorry if this was redundant, I didn't take the time to read through every post.

 

My oldest was 28lbs at 15 months and 32 inches (95% for both). The doctor did not have any issues with it, because her weight and height were proportional. However, he did put her on 2% reduced in order to slow down her growth (he said there is still plenty of fat in 2% reduced fat milk), which is did ... she came down to the 90% for weight and 95% for height at 18 months. But now, at age 3 she was still 95% for both (39lbs and 40 1/2 inches), however her BMI is normal (she's not overweight, she just had the average size of a 4 1/2 yo at age 3).

My twins are following in her foot steps. My son was 23lbs at 9 months (75-90% for both, both height and weight) and my girl was 21lbs7oz and 29inches (90% for both). My oldest was 22lbs and 29 1/2 inches at age 9 months (95%).

I do plan to switch to 2% with the twins at 15 months as well, and most likely the doc will recommend it. My oldest changed to fat free / low fat at age 2.

 

If you look at my siggy you can see my boy was BIG! My pedi never mentioned a diet or to stop using whole milk at any time. He has slimmed down at around 18m and has gotten SO active. I know my boy is big because he LOVES his milk. My girl has always been smaller because she likes her milk but it isn't as big of a deal to her.
I can't wait to get my two on 2% because that is my preference. But I will wait until 2, no matter how chubby he was. :lol:

 

i think if you are feeding him non-processed veggies, fruit, meat and grains, no juice and all good wholesome food I wouldn't worry a bit.

 

Your son is not fat my DD was about 23lbs at 15 months old at 2 she is 30lbs 90th% I know i shouldnt say this but I have a 4month old nephew who is 21lbs now that is a fat baby.

 

First of all, did he actually say the word FAT or was he just concerned that your son is trending on the larger side? The word "fat" would definitely bother me.

But, other than that, I am the odd man out. I might ask for a second opinion, but ultimately I would listen to the Doctor's advise. Maybe he sees a trend we don't know about. He is basically unbiased and has your DS's best interest at heart. It is certainly better to prevent a weight problem than to correct it later. I think we all know this for ourselves, but don't tend to see it in our small children.

Maybe if my parents had nipped my weight issues in the bud as a child, I wouldn't be where I am today. Obesity among children is at an all-time high and it just doesn't leap out when they are older. It starts with a little extra weight that could be easily managed when you are choosing all their foods for them as toddlers.

I'm not saying that this is where your DS is heading, but wouldn't it be better to just change milk now than have to put him on a diet plan later on? Especially if changing milk is not going to hurt him at all.

 

I agree with the other post. L weighs roughly 27 lbs now, we go Friday for the "official" weight and she has thinned. I would not change his diet. I might however, find a new pedi!

 

QUOTE(Stacy A. @ Nov 6 2007, 03:54 PM) [snapback]484243[/snapback]
First of all, did he actually say the word FAT or was he just concerned that your son is trending on the larger side? The word "fat" would definitely bother me.

But, other than that, I am the odd man out. I might ask for a second opinion, but ultimately I would listen to the Doctor's advise. Maybe he sees a trend we don't know about. He is basically unbiased and has your DS's best interest at heart. It is certainly better to prevent a weight problem than to correct it later. I think we all know this for ourselves, but don't tend to see it in our small children.

Maybe if my parents had nipped my weight issues in the bud as a child, I wouldn't be where I am today. Obesity among children is at an all-time high and it just doesn't leap out when they are older. It starts with a little extra weight that could be easily managed when you are choosing all their foods for them as toddlers.

I'm not saying that this is where your DS is heading, but wouldn't it be better to just change milk now than have to put him on a diet plan later on? Especially if changing milk is not going to hurt him at all.


This happened to me when the girls were two. My pedi was quite emphatic about it. I was horribly offended and upset, but after I calmed down, I could see that the grandparents were stuffing them full of goodies all the time (homebaked, but still), so even though I was feeding them a very careful, whole grain, healthy diet with no snack food, no fast food, no junk food and no beef, I did need to curb other people's tendencies to indulge them.

In my case their height was in the 5th percentile and weight was in the 50th. So they were average weight, but the proportions did not match up.

I also made an effort to be sure they were active every single day (one of them is the most inactive toddler I have ever encountered). Weight problems run on DH's side.

It was not fun, the grandparents were pretty mad if I'd say they could have one piece of cake, not two or three.

A year later, though, the doctor was very complimentary at how they had progressed. Laying the foundation for heart disease starts very young, much younger than anyone had thought. I didn't think a few extra cookies were worth a decade off their lives, so I sucked it up and fixed it.

I am not saying this is your issue, this is just my story. I was so shocked and angry when he said that, but ultimately he was right (I did a TON of research trying to prove him wrong).

 

Jazz was close to that I'd get a second opinion