Am I right to be so worried about ds2? Very small boy...

[Mouth]

My ds2 is 25 months, only 80cm tall and just 21lbs (ish). This is about the size of a just-turned one-year-old.

He just doesn't seem interested in food and never really has. He has 2 bottles of milk and Abidec vitamins, as well as watered-down juice through the day. Food-wise he will eat a few spoonfuls of a meal perhaps, yoghurts, will have a go at some finger foods but either just eats a very small amount, spits it back out or throws it away after playing with it.

He also has been slow with speaking. He babbled on time and is now starting to say a lot more words but they are still not very clear, except for the few he uses most. These are mummy, daddy, nanny, up, down, more, car, no (!), garden, all gone, etc

He is usually happy and smiley, has a giggle at things, very active, plays with toys and met major milestones either on time or slightly late (walking at 16 months).

He tends to not always follow instructions the first time you ask - not sure how normal this is.

Anyway, I was worried about his language but that does seem to be improving quite rapidly so not quite so concerning now. I am really worried about his size (me and dp are average heights). His legs are still 9-12 months clothing size. His nursery said recently that he is 'slightly delayed' in all areas but thay they think he is catching up and will soon cross into the 'as expected' part of the chart.

I have already started the ball rolling with hospital appointment about his development so have taken action. I just can't stop worrying.

Do I seem overly worried? I think my family think I am going mad! (There are other issues adding to my anxiety levels too, but that's another story)

My DS2 was very small ( on 9th centile) at two and so I took him to gp who agreed he seemed unusually small compared to DP and I who are both above average height. We got referred to hosp where they tested him for coeliac and thyroid probs but found nothing and decided he is just smaller!

He has grown quite a lot in the last few months and is still small but is healthy and happy so I am not worried now but was happy I had him checked.

To be fair I was really short until I was 15 then suddenly grew tons, so maybe he just takes after me. Everyone always jokes that 6mo DD is bigger than him, but I shall remind him that the best things come in small packages!

I dont know about the development side but maybe try cutting down on the milk, 2 bottles will certainly go a good way towards filling a small tummy and make him less likely to eat solid food.
My ds2 is almost 11 now and is small for his age. He has always been what I call a grazer, he never eats much at one sitting, his 6 yr old sister eats a bigger dinner than him, he eats little and often instead . Perhaps instead of offering him 3 set big meals a day, offer him 5 or 6 smaller snacks and see how he goes?

Hi OP. my DS is very similar to yours in many ways. He's about the same size although is younger (17 months). He also has been a bit delayed in a few areas and his speech is not as good as your DS. He is not interested in food either.

We have been having speech and language therapy to address the eating as well as the speech. It is worth considering if just for the help on feeding. The SALT picked up on a few things I hadn't realized and his feeding has improved. I've also discovered in the last few weeks that I can feed him table foods with my fingers (he's never really accepted a spoon and is not motivated to self feed much) if I really distract him. I mean REALLY distract him - he plays with an application on my iPhone. I can get him eating cheesy pasta which has helped with weight. I have to be persistent - not force feed but when he bats it away I try a different distraction or try and engage him further into the distraction and try again.

I also give him high calorie milk although not more than 2 or 3 cups a day (about 300ml). I'm not in the UK at the mo and can buy high calorie milk at the supermarket but in the UK you would have to get it on prescription and it is very expensive. When i was in the uk I don't think my GP would have prescribed it if i hadn't gone private and got a prescription for SMA High Calorie and then gone to the GP and got them to prescribe it. They didn't like it but after a pead had said he needed it they couldn't say no. Might just help get his weight up.

Anyway, good luck and you're not alone x