3 year old weight and height - worry?

[rosie272]

wow Charlie is well underweight on that BMI calculator :/

 

[DaisyBee]

https://www.webmd.com/parenting/raising-fit-kids/weight/bmi/bmi-calculator

This bmi calculator also puts her underweight as well. And I could only put in 3 ft 2 inches vs that extra 1/2". It's says that 3.8% of kids from ages 2-5 in the us are underweight.

Megan was 5 lbs 14 oz when born, but gained weight quickly. As a baby she was on the chubby side. I was told she was going to be short, and then she started getting taller. By 1 year she stopped gaining much and kept getting taller. She went from 60%ile for weight down to 25%. She has remained around the 25%ile for weight. At 2 she was just under 3 ft and 25.5 lbs. So she is gaining.

Polaris - thanks... That's helpful

Eta - I have always thought she was a pretty good eater for a toddler. She has been a very active toddler as well. She doesn't love carbs, and has always had days where she eats less, but will eat more a day or 2 later. It's always evened out. She eats fruits and veggies and meat. Dh has never thought she was a good eater, but I've seen other toddlers eating habits and I think compared to some, she was less picky. Lately her appetite and pickiness has really picked up. So hopefully that is a phase and she will go back to eating some of those old favorites. I've always thought she was slender, but it never concerned me. Now she does really look skinny though and so when the scale showed she has lost I am really not surprised.

 

[hattiehippo]

Had to check out the BMI check and no surprise Tom is classed as underweight. But it does say that is just an indicator of body fat not actually a diagnosis of being underweight. And I could tell you he has absolutely no body fat on him just from looking at him and the fact no trousers stay up!

What were you and her father like as kids. As I said all the kids on my side are very skinny - my niece is on the 0.4th centile for weight and my half brother was so skinny from 6to 9 that we used to call him a lollipop..mean older siblings! But what I'm trying to say is that I'm not at all worried about Tom's weight because it is totally normal for my family and add in DH's genes (can eat anything he wants and is still only a 30 inch waist at 41), I'd befar more worried if he was heavier.

ETA Tom was 50th for weight when he was born but dropped to between the 9th and 20th line at 8 weeks old. He has stayed there ever since - he gains weight but very slowly. It's taken him a yr to gain 1kg (2.2lbs)

 

[Natsku]

The BMI calculator says Maria is overweight! I would never have thought that looking at her, she's below average weight for her age but I guess its cos she's such a shortarse.

 

[katy1310]

Sophie will be 3 in March and was 27lbs last time she was weighed a couple of months ago. She's tall and skinny - I had her in a pair of 12-18 month jeans the other week and they actually fell down round her ankles!!

She quite often needs age 2-3 for the height, but the waists in trousers and jeans are always a problem if I get 2-3. She has no hips and no bum and the tiniest little waist. She's very very dainty - her hands and wrists are unbelievably tiny. She still fits in her "up to one month" mittens

x

 

[mummylove]

My daughter is nearly 3 and only weighs 23lb and is short lol

 

[aimee-lou]

Earl is a stocky thing - always been 75th for height and 90th for weight and he seems to be following that line. Last time I measured him (around his birthday) he was 99cm and he has been 2st10lb (so around 38lb) for a while now.

I would say get some good dairy (not skimmed or 1% - at least semi, if not full) in the house, and let her have as much as she wants. I would go and check there's nothing wrong, but don't stress about it.

Try not to worry though. As long as her energy levels are ok, she doens't have any tummy aches etc and she is actually eating then I shouldn't think there's anything actually wrong with her. She is just slender. If nothing else, it's a good excuse to make some goodies with her!

 

[sugarpuff]

A has just turned 3 and she is 94cm tall and weighs just over 26lb. She is still on full fat milk and eats pretty well - her doctor has never been concerned about her size (considering she was on the 1st centile for weight and 92nd centile for length at birth, what she is now is blimmin good !). I had failure to thrive as a baby and am now a shortish size 6 (uk) and my husband is average height and slim - she was never going to be a massive child

 

[polaris]

Forgot to say, Thomas is still on full-fat versions of everything. When we saw the dietician she recommended lots of butter, oil, fried foods, etc. All the stuff you normally avoid in a healthy diet! She gave us a leaflet that was like the food pyramid turned on its head!

 

[DaisyBee]

Had to check out the BMI check and no surprise Tom is classed as underweight. But it does say that is just an indicator of body fat not actually a diagnosis of being underweight. And I could tell you he has absolutely no body fat on him just from looking at him and the fact no trousers stay up!

What were you and her father like as kids. As I said all the kids on my side are very skinny - my niece is on the 0.4th centile for weight and my half brother was so skinny from 6to 9 that we used to call him a lollipop..mean older siblings! But what I'm trying to say is that I'm not at all worried about Tom's weight because it is totally normal for my family and add in DH's genes (can eat anything he wants and is still only a 30 inch waist at 41), I'd befar more worried if he was heavier.

ETA Tom was 50th for weight when he was born but dropped to between the 9th and 20th line at 8 weeks old. He has stayed there ever since - he gains weight but very slowly. It's taken him a yr to gain 1kg (2.2lbs)

Dh and I weren't slender as kids. I was average... And dh was very stocky... No one from our families is built small. Both of our moms are shorter but neither is built dainty. Neither are overweight, but they aren't skinny if that makes sense.

Her eating habits are getting much worse and dh and I started discussing what actual food has been making it into her stomach recently, and realized how little she is eating lately. So before she was eating fine, and was slender, and I wasn't concerned. And now she is refusing most foods, and not sure how much she can afford to not eat. So we aren't pushing and letting her decide if she doesn't want to eat something. But I am later offering alternatives as I would rather her eat something than nothing. I don't want to make the situation worse by getting stressed as she is very sensitive and picks up on that. Her dad has been on call and working a lot this week and she has barely seen him and I'm sure that isn't helping her.

She has been spitting out things she would normally eat... Apples, blueberries, corn, broccoli, tacos, soup, pizza, spagetti, toast, chicken nuggets. She is refusing to try things she used to eat sometimes as well... Potatoes, peas, lettuce salad, oranges, grapefruit, baked chicken breast, rice. And eating only a bite or 2 of some things and sometimes crying about not liking it or saying she is done and full... Peanut butter sandwich, oranges, cereal, oatmeal, Mac and cheese. So I'm trying to get creative or offering things like toast, like last night for dinner she spit out tacos, I asked if she wanted broccoli or corn before dinner and she chose broccoli but then when came time to eat it she refused to try ( broccoli used to be her favorite veggie). I then made a taco for her with just cheese and tortilla and she wouldn't eat that either. ( she has said the first taco with the meat was spicy ) So then I offered toast. And she only ate a bite of it. So I would think she wasn't hungry but then before bed she wanted milk ( which she isn't always drinking before bed) and drank a lot, and then I offered her dry cheerios and she ate some of those. Breakfast this morning she had a very small amount of milk, of small serving of rice Krispies ( 3 or 4 bites) spit out apples again, ate 1 piece of canned mandarin orange.

 

[DaisyBee]

Sophie will be 3 in March and was 27lbs last time she was weighed a couple of months ago. She's tall and skinny - I had her in a pair of 12-18 month jeans the other week and they actually fell down round her ankles!!

She quite often needs age 2-3 for the height, but the waists in trousers and jeans are always a problem if I get 2-3. She has no hips and no bum and the tiniest little waist. She's very very dainty - her hands and wrists are unbelievably tiny. She still fits in her "up to one month" mittens

x

It's funny how things are so tricky with sizes... Megans size 3 jeans are already too short, and yet have the buttons on the sides and on the last hole. She can't fit into smaller pants as they are way too short. Its easier to have her in leggings as they are more form fitting so don't fall down and she can have size 4 for length. She was going to be in a wedding and got sized for a dress at the bridal shop. They couldn't figure out what to do, she needed the length of size 4 dress but fit into a size 18 months for actual fit. It looked like a shirt on her it was so short. Lol

 

[aimee-lou]

Judging by what you've said about her eating habits, she sounds very similar to Earl. I've had to be quite strict with him really and I insist that he has 1-2 bites of everything on the plate before he can leave the table/move on to dessert. He wont touch veggies normally, but I ask him to have 1 bite. I normally don't pile his plate, I put a small amount of everything (unless it's something I know he will devour - like creamy pasta, or sausages) and I don't hover. At the same time though, I don't offer an alternative. If he's still hungry he has to wait til the next meal/snack time. I do offer quite high fat/high energy snacks like cheese and crackers, raisins and chocolate buttons, grapes, biscuits and a drink, crisps and dips, things that I know he will at least eat some of. I'm not worried about Earl's weight or his diet per-say. It's just he's a nightmare to handle if he's hungry (just like his father!) and if I don't insist on him eating 'something' then he'll go all day on a couple of mouthfuls and then have a total breakdown. It's a nightmare at times and I sometimes feel like I'm packing him full of really unhealthy things but the majority of his meals are home cooked and he eats quite a variety of things now. Just 3 months ago........well, it was like feeding a wall. he simply wouldn't touch anything and would only really eat sweets.

Maybe take it back to basics. What I did was I did a couple of days of meals I knew he would eat, almost to try to coax him into eating at mealtimes so he'd expect to eat. Then I expanded out gently and added new meals etc. I don't have more than 2 nights in a row where we have something Earl un-friendly, just so he doesn't get into a habit. I also have the boys eat between 4 and 5 (Earl is currently eating him tea - he's been at school all day so it's spaghetti hoops and a sausage roll followed by rice pudding and strawberry compote) and then he has a cup of milk and 2 biscuits/a slice of toast/a small bowl of cereal at 6pm as his supper. Bedtime if 6.45-7.

By the sounds of it though, the whole under-weight, BMI calculator thing is inaccurate to say the least. I would probably just try to bolster her diet, get her more involved in her food and maybe speak to your Dr to rule anything sinister out.

 

[Hotbump]

If she is acting fine then I dont think you should be concerned My son is 3 (almost 4) and is below the 3% he weighs 26.9ish. I would just try to give her high calorie food that she likes as often as she wants.

 

[LolaLou]

Have you tried to offer her PediaSure? My DD dropped some weight when she was around 1, and her doctor recommended I give her a bottle a day. Each bottle contains 250 calories! It fattened her right back up, and it's not just empty calories. She loved the taste and I would just give it to her in place of her milk. Then would do half milk half Pedisure twice a day.

My 1 yo just had her 1 yr well baby visit, and they recommended it for her as well, as she is only 7% for weight and 90% for height. I was also told by a dietician that if the PediaSure is too expensive, you can get "Instant Breakfast" powder and add to their milk.

I wouldn't get too hung up in those charts. I have always been told that it isn't so much what their percentage is, as long as it doesn't incline drastically up or down. Losing a whole pound at this age is a bit odd, but keep in mind that it could be due to what scale was used, what she was wearing, etc. As long as she doesn't continue that trend I wouldn't worry too much.