Weight Gain Issues

My twins (boy/girl) were born right at 37 weeks. Baby A, my girl, weighed 5lbs 12oz. Baby B, my boy, weighed 4lbs 15oz. Both gained weight great the first couple of months, however while my little girl continued to increase in %tile my little boy struggled to stay at the 5th%tile. Here is what his weight looked like the first year . . .

1mo- 7lb
3mo- 10lb 10oz
6mo- 13lb 11pz
9mo- 17lb 2oz
12mo- 17lb 7oz

At 9 months he "official" hit the growth chart at the 10th%tile, however as you can see he only gained about 5 oz in that period. So at his one year appt the doctor raised a flag and became concerned that his growth line had flatten and they like to see 'steady, continous' upward growth. She didn't really tell us anything to change or do differently but wanted to see us back in 4 weeks to re-check his weight. She said to let him eat/snack whenever and on whatever he chooses.

We go on July 1 for his re-check and I'm really afraid on what he's going to weigh or what they are going to want to do or change. He is developing normally otherwise, walking, talking, motor skills, etc.

So I was just wondering if anyone else has dealt with this similar thing? If I'm over-worrying it or what. If you have what did you have to do or change? Did they make you do tests or anything? Any advice or help would be greatly appreciated!

And just as a side rant, it's no wonder kids growing up these days have weight issues, they are charted from day one! And constantly being told they are over or under weight!!! To eat more or less!!!!!

 

My girls were born at 4 lb and 3 lb and by 12 months they were 21 lbs. Although we never had weight issues one of my girl is a terrible eater. To make up the required calories for her age I give her 2 Oz half and half mixed with 2-4 Oz whole milk 3-4 times a day. May be you can just offer him calorie rich foods.

By your description he seems to be a healthy boy so may be its just his body-type.

 

I understand your frustration totally! My guys were always skinny (born at 4lbs 3oz and 3lbs 2oz), and were like 3% for weight for their first 2 years. Nate actually fell off his growth chart at about 9 months old (due to a bottle aversion), so we were very freaked out. Luckily our ped is very low-key, and didn't stress us out about it, and Nate has been growing nicely ever since.

I fed my guys a *lot* of whole milk, organic plain yogurt with things like bananas and avocados thrown in. I also added some oil and butter to foods to fatten them up a bit. But the absolute *best* thing I did was to read Ellyn Satter's Child of Mine. There is a link to it in the sticky at the top of this forum.

I was really pushing foods on my boys, trying to get them to gain weight, and stressing myself out. I read this book when they were probably 14-15 months old, and I was ready to make a change. She basically tells you that kids will have the body types they are meant to have, and that you need to let *them* lead when it comes to what, how much, and *if* they eat. You can only control the what, where and when.

I backed *way* off trying to force my guys to eat, offered 3 meals, and 2-3 snacks per day of healthy foods, and let them take the lead. It was very tough for me (I'm a control freak! ), but it has helped immensely. I feel like my guys are really good eaters (veggies notwithstanding!), and are now about 50% for height and weight. :good:

I would definitely talk to the ped about your concerns, but I highly recommend giving this book a read as well.

 

My kids were at the 5th percentile for weight at 12 months and still at 24 months. I just offered them high fat foods (yogurt, pudding, full fat butter, etc.) during that time and also added carnation instant breakfast to their milk for extra calories... and now at the 3 year check up they both went up to the 10th percentile. At first I did stress about it but I realized that they are going to eat what they are going to eat and I could put out food and it was up to them to eat it.

 

My girls have been at the 5% & 10% respectively since birth & don't show any signs of moving anytime soon. Our doc isn't concerned as they are growing.

Your ped mentioned they were just concerned about the growth from 9 - 12 months - Did your little guy have an explosion of physical activity in that time frame? Was he sick at all? Both of these things can slow growth down.

Otherwise, I second what PPs have said - offer lots of healthy, calorie-packed foods & don't stress about it. :hug:

 

My little ones were born at 34w3d. they were (baby a my girl)4.5 and baby b my guy 4.9. Now at 1 they are 16.13 and 18even. They are not on the charts yet either. Our ped is not concerned in the least. With my oldest she was the same way but at 1 was diagnosed with the beginings of failure to thrive. She was healthy just stopped gaining weight. Weighted the same at 9 month check up that she did at 12 month. So we were told to put her on pediasure. gave her 2 bottles of that a day for almost 4 years. It was $$ but she finally made it on the chart and stayed there however I will tell you she is still just in the 5th%tile. She is 9 almost 10 and is 49.5 lbs. Its just how she is. Hang in there and wait to see what your recheck looks like. They may just be little for a while and according to multiple peds I have spoken with its better to be on the low end of the chart than the high end.

 

My kids are kind of like that but were born 9 weeks early. My daughter after struggling initally with some feeding issues, has always been bigger than her brother since being born. I didn't do anything particularly except regularly offer healthy foods. I second Child of Mine, that is an awesome book. Unfortunately, my slow gaining boy is also my picky eater, but the way I look at it is that I am teaching life long eating habits. It's weird because I'm only 5'5'' and my husband is an entire foot taller than me, so having a short boy seems strange, but it's his body type. Now at 3 he is kind of shaped like winnie the pooh :laughing: He clearly gets enough calories, but he eats significantly less than his sister who is tall and skinny like a bean pole. Kids just grow differently I guess. I remember how scary it was the first year with all the pressure to have them gain. GL!

 

Thanks Everyone! We actually just did his weight check Friday and he's up to 19lb 9oz. They are pleased with that, even though he was still at the 3%tile. Hopefully, he'll keep gaining like he should!

 

Woohoo!! :woo: Thanks for the update, and I hope this is reassuring to you. Sounds like he's just following his own unique growth curve. :good: