Tricks to fatten little bottoms

Discussion in 'The Toddler Years(1-3)' started by 5280babies, Sep 29, 2010.

  1. 5280babies

    5280babies Well-Known Member

    Just had 18 month appt. Zoe 19 lbs. 5 oz. Jude 18 lbs. 15 oz. Scrawny little things, which if you saw DH and I you would say how are your girls so petite? So, pedi recommends adding more butter and oils to cooking as one tip. They drink about 32 oz of milk a day each, eat three meals and probably 4-5 snacks...I feel like there is not an hour in the day where we are not eating. Zoe very good eater - Jude...well, my picky one. So, for those of you with tinies (I know you are out there) can you throw some tips my way on adding some calories to foods for your LOs?

    (I should say that these gals are active little sprite beings and alert and happy. Pedi says they just classify them as "petite" but we are always on the watch for them falling off their curve or flattening out. We don't want that and will be hoping for 21 lbs. at 2 year appt. in March. So I am not freaked out, however, it would make me very very very happy for them to look even slightly chubby...they did look chubby a few months ago and then they sprouted vertically and any little baby fat they had disappeared.)
     
  2. TwinxesMom

    TwinxesMom Well-Known Member

    Jessy has always been tiny due to her heart problem. We for the longest time kept her on whole milk to keep up the calorie. She is still tiny at 33 lbs at almost 5. Her ID twin weighs 40lbs and is 2 inch taller, however jazz is no heavy weight and is mainly muscle.
     
  3. slugrad1998

    slugrad1998 Well-Known Member

    We do lots of yogurt (the whole milk kind) and peanut butter. Eggs are good too, and you can mix cheese into them to make them even higher in calories. My picky boy would live on bread and crackers if I let him so its a constant struggle to get nutrition into him! How tall are your girls? I get a lot of flack from people because my DD is in the 25th for wt but 97th for height so she looks like skin and bones and my DS is 50th for height but has never made it on the chart for weight.
     
  4. kingeomer

    kingeomer Well-Known Member TS Moderator

    :wavey: Another Momma with tinies here! Both of my kids at their last WBV are the 5th percentile for weight. I add carnation instant breakfast to their milk for extra calories, make their food with full fat butter, give them full fat yogurt & pudding, when I make them eggs, I add whole milk and cheese. I also will add a little cheese to their veggies. When I looked a pictures of DH and his sisters when they were little, my children have the same body type as they did back in the day. I kind of think my two will be on the tiny side for weight for a while.
    It sounds like your girls had a good WBV and they are pretty good eaters!
     
  5. orangeyaglad

    orangeyaglad Well-Known Member

    I'm a pro at this and my girls don't really dig whole milk - they may only drink 8-10 ounces a day, but will suck down some soy milk. However, the doctor still wants us to keep them on whole milk. Grrr

    We do half and half in scrambled eggs and in french toast. I make sure to add whole milk to their oatmeal. Lots of avocados, olive oil, mayo (on sandwiches), lunch meats - since these things are high in mono-saturated fats, which are good fats. We also do lots of yogurt with whole milk. Stoneyfield has a great organic yogurt that is made with whole milk that the girls chow down. Also, I will give them chips since they are really fatty and make a good snack from time-to-time. You don't always have to do high fatty foods, but also very high calorie foods like breads, muffins, cakes (I bake a lot here.)

    Good luck! I know how frustrating it can be. I have come to the conclusion that my girls just have a super high metabolism like their daddy. We can only do so much, but the rest is up to them. :)
     
  6. 5280babies

    5280babies Well-Known Member


    Well, ironically Jude went from not on the chart in height to 25th percentile and Zoe is now 50th percentile. Clothes they was wearing well are now too short and too big in the waste. I sew little darts in almost all their pants...which is a little funny looking but we even struggle with the adjustable waists. Kind of a crack up. We did start PB and they loved it and are now lukewarm - will keep pushing One of them would also live on bread and crackers, especially ritz and graham crackers. We have been hard core on the nutrition beat until Jude wouldn't eat anything and a couple months ago we gave in and started infusing her diet with a lot of snacky supplements like the crackers, when we have italian they get the french bread, etc. But it is a daily battle to balance the good food with the "easy" food. :)
     
  7. jromkey

    jromkey Well-Known Member

    I have a couple of rolly pollies over here (21lbs and 24lbs at 12 months) and I'm not sure how I managed to fatten them up so much :laughing: but when I was scrolling through the SY Toddler Guidebook recently I noticed a document on High Calorie Foods for Toddlers and it had some great tips and tricks for adding extra calories to the food they eat. You've probably already seen this but I just wanted to draw your attention to it just in case!

    BTW Betsy - your girls are absolutely precious and if I were you I wouldn't worry about their long and lean proportions!!
     
  8. AmynTony

    AmynTony Well-Known Member

    my kids have always been on the smallish side - Abby is finally now catching up at 4.5...doc said the best thing is to keep them on whole milk...lots of cheese - she loves eggs, bacon and pancakes...if you'd see her eat you'd never guess she's only 33 lbs!
     
  9. vharrison1969

    vharrison1969 Well-Known Member

    I think a huge part of how our kids look (and what body shapes they will have as adults) is all biology and metabolism. :pardon: There's not a whole lot we can do to affect that. I have skinny-minnies here too, but if you saw them eat, you would be flabbergasted that they can be so thin (24.5 and 25.4 lbs. at their 2 year WBV). When they lay down, their tummies look like supermodels' and when they stand up, you can see their ribs! We do 3 meals and 2 snacks per day, and they eat well at every sitting. The ped says they're sticking to their growth charts, and since they're eating like lumberjacks, I try not to stress about it.

    We are keeping up with the whole milk, but after a whole year of constantly pushing super high-calorie high-fat foods on them and having them stay on the exact same curve, I've decided to give it a rest and let them eat "normal". They will be who they will be; DH was super small and thin (hard to believe, looking at him now ;)) and he filled out nicely in college. :)
     
  10. efmolly

    efmolly Well-Known Member

    That's what the pedi suggested to us too. Our boys are below the 5th for weight but at the 75th for height- if you looked at DH you would have no question where they got it, everyone in DH's family is tall and lanky. The pedi has run some tests and says they are just "bound for basketball". If they are eating, pooping and peeing well then I wouldn't worry too much. They just might be little, or late bloomers. I thought we were the only ones with scrawny toddlers! All the kids we know around their age are little chunkers. People always say "Why don't you feed those kids? They look like they're starving!" But they are little piglets!
     
  11. twoplustwo

    twoplustwo Well-Known Member

    They are happy, active healthy kids who have not fallen off their growth curve. I wouldn't change a thing unless there is a discordance in their growth overall.


    I too have little ones and I just make sue they eat healthy, well rounded meals/snacks and let nature take care of the rest. I don't think it is anything to stress over. My Amelia will be 5 y/o in November and is only about 26-28 pounds. She is doing great. I also think it is VERY normal for kids to seem to put on a little extra padding then have a growth spurt and the extra is all gone. I don't feel the need to try to force my kids to fit in the "average" range of other kids when clearly their body is doing something else.
     
  12. Nancy C

    Nancy C Well-Known Member

    My twins are also little - my son can still wear 12 month shorts and he is over 3.

    You have great food recs above.

    For clothes, these are used daily in my house.
    http://dappersnappers.com/
     
  13. 5280babies

    5280babies Well-Known Member

    Thanks everyone for your food suggestions! And Nancy THANK YOU for the link to the dapper snappers - I didn't even know those existed. I will be implementing all recommendations that I have not tried yet. My girls thank you for their future yumminess!
     
  14. angieb1979

    angieb1979 Well-Known Member

    Thank you for this!! We just put in our order for many of these for us and my niece who is also small. I've never heard of these and I'm super excited to get them. I thought I was going to have to spend the weekend sewing up all our pants.
     
  15. Nancy C

    Nancy C Well-Known Member

    These are fabulous - one of "why didn't I think of and patent that!!!"
     
  16. mnm000

    mnm000 Well-Known Member

    I have a skinny minny too. There are lots of great recommendations already by PP but I had two ideas that I wanted to add from meeting with a dietician for my guy.

    Dipping - my kids LOVE to dip anything they eat! So I try to offer something as often as possible for dipping. If we are having a snack with their favorite crackers, I'll put some hummus or cream cheese spread for them to dip with. If it's a meal with meat, they'll dip the most random things in ranch dressing (talk about a lot of fat and calories!). I know it's been said that PB in quantity is choking hazard, but mine dip graham crackers into it well without problems. Oh, and yogurt as a dip for fruit.

    Cook with half and half when you can. If I make mac and cheese, it's half and half. I add butter or veggie oil to his plate of food frequently.

    Anyway, hope those tips help!
     
  17. 5280babies

    5280babies Well-Known Member

    ooo..I love the dipping tip! Maggie - nice to talk to you - it has been a while! :)
     
  18. emp59

    emp59 Well-Known Member

    I would try not to focus on them gaining weight and just focus on them eating healthy. I think so much pressure is put on getting your children into the right range, that it's unhealthy. I love this blog and think this woman has got it right http://www.raisehealthyeaters.com/
     
  19. SC_Amy

    SC_Amy Well-Known Member

    A preemie mom I know of has a blog with lots of tips for LOs who need to gain weight:
    http://www.chunkymonkeymenus.blogspot.com/
     
  20. ljmcisaac

    ljmcisaac Well-Known Member

    I have a friend with 2 kids. Girl, 4.5 yrs, 35 lbs. Boy, 20 mo, 30 lb. !!! Personally, I agree that eating healthy and well-balanced is more important, with some fat every day to ensure they're getting the vitamins they need but no need to overdo it.
     
  21. mnm000

    mnm000 Well-Known Member

    :wavey: Hi Betsy! Long time no see! And we are back together on a thread about skinny kids! lol. Guess it's just their genes!
     
Loading...
Similar Threads Forum Date
Building muscle with steroids: Tips and tricks General May 8, 2023
Diaper rash tricks The First Year Jul 15, 2012
Any tips or tricks for when they feed off each other? The Toddler Years(1-3) Jul 5, 2012
Tandem feeding tips and tricks The First Year Feb 1, 2012
Please share your little tricks that help you get through the day The Toddler Years(1-3) Nov 19, 2011

Share This Page