He went on our Wii Fit Balance Board today and it said he lost 2 pounds from about a month ago. I know at this age they should be staying about the same or gaining a little. It seems like he NEVER eats. All he does is snack. I don't know how to make him eat and he is so picky, all he will eat is pasta. I think I am going to call his doctor on Monday but I can't take him in because I don't have insurance. I had a well check done on him last month at a clinic they had and they did not say anything about him being underweight. I know if they say to give him Pediasure he probably won't drink it because he doesn't like milk and I made him a chocolate/banana smoothie a while back and he refused to drink it. It is so frustrating. I don't think it is interfering with anything because he has plenty of energy, etc. Any advice or tips? On the Wii it said he weighed 34 pounds and he is about 40" tall. He is so skinny to me! I took him to our indoor pool last week and I could see his ribs when he lifted his arms up, I was thinking "geez, these people probably think I starve my poor kid!"
Mark weighs 38 pounds so there's not that much difference. I'm not sure how tall Mark is.
What sort of pasta does Dominic eat? Just plain? Maybe you could add something to that--like butter, cream soups, cheese. Is there some sort of powdered something you could sprinkle on the pasta that doesn't have a taste--like Benefiber but something that is for weight gain?
Mark doesn't drink milk, and Henry only drinks "brown milk" at school when he buys lunch.
Also, I'm not sure how accurate the Wii Fit balance board is.
Aubrey is 40 in tall and just barely 30lbs. But she is following her growth curve. Feeding these kids is a task.....well for my kids anyway, they don't eat anything but chicken nuggets and macaroni and cheese. LOL
When you say he dropped 2 lbs in a month, do you mean from what he weighed at the doctor's before, or what he'd previously weighed on the Wii board? I'm just thinking that maybe the difference could be the scales - I know I weigh differently on my doctor's scale than I do at home. But if his eating habits, behavior, health, etc., hasn't seen a change in the last month, I don't think I'd personally worry about taking him in.
But, Hannah is 41 inches tall and 36 lbs, so you definately don't have the only petite one out there... Hannah's pretty picky (though, thankfully not as picky as she used to be) but she's stayed on her same curve, so I think this is just her body type, and while I could really force the issue, it just stresses her out and stresses me out, with little reward.
Thank you! Now I don't feel so worried, you ladies always make me feel better! He eats mostly mac anc cheese, sometimes he will eat other pasta but not much, spaghetti o's, chicken nuggets, etc. I have really gotten into a bad habit of not feeding him on schedule and just letting him eat when he wants and I need to stop that, because obviously all he will eat is snacks.
Mason is 42" tall and 36 pounds, so Dominic sounds pretty normal to me! :)
I know the eating is frustrating though. I've been trying to be more strict about not making a separate meal for Mason. If he doesn't want what we're eating, then he doesn't eat, so he always ends up eating what we're having (though I try to make things that he will like).
We make chili a lot, and one trick we use is to put a lot of veggies in it, like chopped carrots. He doesn't know they are there, and eats it up!
Count Gavin in on the tiny boat - he is 34 or 35 pounds. But...I wouldn't say not to bring him in just because there are other kiddos that size. Gavin has had eating issues for a long time. Combined with some new things we just found out that he needs his tonsils out. We also found out that his tonsils are probably having a big impact on his eating as far as why he is so picky and we are very hopeful that after he has them out he will gain weight.
I'm not saying it's not normal to be on the small size but you are worried so take him in. You said you didn't have insurance - do you qualify for Medicaid or some other assistance for health insurance? Gavin has stayed on the same growth pattern for a while but I have been worried about his size and I feel like we have found an answer and I am so glad that we may be seeing some weight gain in the near future.
A few things though - don't trust the wii fit as far as measuring their weight. It's hard to know if he has really lost 2 pounds. IF he really has, then definitely take him in. Unless he was recently sick they shouldn't be losing weight at this age, especially considering what he weighs to begin with. Also, there are tons of ways you can sneak in extra calories into food he likes. Peanut butter on bread is good. Olive oil adds calories but has good fat in it as well. But IMO I think it's worth checking out with a doctor.
Thank you! Now I don't feel so worried, you ladies always make me feel better! He eats mostly mac anc cheese, sometimes he will eat other pasta but not much, spaghetti o's, chicken nuggets, etc. I have really gotten into a bad habit of not feeding him on schedule and just letting him eat when he wants and I need to stop that, because obviously all he will eat is snacks.
mikey is a super picky eater too. beyond picky really - he has only a handful of foods he will eat and none of them are very healthy.
here are a couple of my tricks:
hide a small amount of baby food sweet potatoes or carrots in mac & cheese. small enough where they can't really taste it but at least they're getting some veggie. i was even able to hide some baby food chicken in there to get more protein.
mikey loves chocolate milk so i make it with carnation instant breakfast (chocolate flavor) to get him more nutrients/calories.
i make mikey something he calls a "strawberry drink" - it's strawberry yogurt, milk & a vanilla instant breakfast. again, good protein & extra nutrients from the instant breakfast.
he likes peanut butter and jelly so we use whole grain white bread (because he won't eat wheat), organic strawberry preserves & we sprinkle a little ground flax seed on the peanut butter.
