3 yr old dd has lost weight

[GillL]

Dd has just turned 3 on Monday. Recently she has complained about her trousers falling down - ones that I thought fit her well. As it is she is wearing 18-23 months trousers and can fit in 6-9 or 9-12 months skirts. Some time last year I remember weighing her and finding that she was 29.5 lbs. Recently I weighed her and she was 28.5 lbs. It may be due to walking into town and back 4 days a week for pre-school. She hardly eats anyway and 2-3 nights per week she goes without dinner because she falls asleep in the car on the way home (after picking her up from mum's after work) and we can't wake her up. Something else that concerns me is that recently she has started to lose bowel control. She has been potty trained for a year now and used to be really good but for a while now she has been doing poos in her knickers. She doesn't seem to realise. Maybe it's some kind of illness. Has anyone else had experience of this?

Personally, i would take her to the GP for a check-up, can't do any harm. My DD is skinny and has lost weight bfor no obvious reason, it is a worry!

Skipping dinner that often is probably enough cause on it's own to lose weight - can she not have dinner at your mums/take a packed afternoon tea or something?

Has she recently got faddy about food generally (I ask because my 3yo has started saying she doesn't like things that she previously ate, I'm ignoring it because I've seen it all before and in 6 months or so she'll be back to normal)!

I think around this age they stop eating so much anyway because they're not constantly growing, they feed like bears during a growth spurt and peck like birds the rest of the time.

As HCTG says, a trip to the GP might prove useful, especially about the bowel control. It might be just be lack of concentration or attention seeking but best make sure.

Thanks. We've got an appointment at the gp this morning.

Her eating habits haven't changed in a year or more. I can't remember a time when she would eat dinner every night. You're probably right about the growth spurts though. Sometimes she doesn't stop eating so I guess that's why it worries me when she hardly eats anything.

How did you get on?

It went quite well thanks HCTG.

The doctor felt her tummy and couldn't find any problems so she thinks it could be behavioural. She said it could be a way to get attention from her baby brother. I'm not sure I agree with that but it's possible I guess. It was her first day in that surgery today so she said she would have to find out what the other doctors usually recommend - either hv or paediatrician. IMO it will be a waste of time speaking to our hv. She always just points out the obvious, common sense things that I would have already thought of. I suppose it can't hurt to talk to her though.