My tiny 2 year old

[OiMum]

Sorry ladies- I feel a very fickle Mumsnetter as I only log on when I've got a whine and need a good talking to!

Well...my ds was 2 last Wednesday and he stepped on the bathroom scales this morning and it showed him weighing just 1.5 stone. I know they're not 100% reliable but I ran right to the red book and discovered that he has dropped a couple of centiles and is about 2.5kg below 'average'. He's in age 2-3 tops and isn't unhealthy although he picks & chooses what he eats and can be incredibly fussy (he's 2 I hear you cry!) so I forgive that. But why isn't he growing?! I've got a doctor's appointment for 4th August but that seems an age away and I will go off my head before then. This has been my big worry throughout his tiny life- I can't shake it and am just worried there's something wrong with him. He has been teething- just the last 2 molars to come now but I am so worried. Why isn't he growing?! He still has a big sleep (sometimes over 2 hours) in the daytime and I'm convinced it's because he's malnourished!! HELP ME LADIES!!!!

Not sure this will help, I think you need your ds to be seen and then be reassured, but my ds is only 30lb now and he is 4. He is totally fit and well, strong and active, just petite . He was probably about the same weight as your ds at 2yrs. If your ds has energy and isn't always ill, then he's probably just growing as he should. My ds still has naps in the day too - in fact he is having one now.

OK ... you know you're worrying unnecessarily, right
He's healthy, and has just dropped a couple of centile. He's still well within ranges of 'normal', and is teething (so probably is eating slightly less than normal)
He sounds totally normal and fine to me.

Dd is very, very slight (she is 3.5 and still in 2-3 age clothes - with some 18mth-2 years bottoms). The hv monitored her for a while (she was skidding along the bottom of the charts), then pointed out that I'm tiny (never weighed over 7 1/4 stone until I had kids...), & she was very, very active it was probably no wonder she was small.

And, given the prevalence of childhood obesity, I'm much happier that she's thta way round.

Any idea why this is an underlying worry for you?

Thank you ladies! I do feel that I am worrying myself for no reason and I know that when he was weaning I caused problems by being so uptight because he didn't devour everything I put in front of him.

He has bundles of energy, never stops running around and if he wants to eat, he will eat plenty. He's more of a grazer I think- he would rather have a running buffet all day long than 3 solid meals. I just hate the whole weight thing- I avoid it like the plague and just go by how he's acting to judge his health usually but he jumped on the scales of his own accord this morning and I couldn't help but look! My friend's baby is 10 months old and weighs not much less than him and is probably less than 2 inches shorter than him. In fact, everyone's babies seem bigger than him!!

I think the problem stems from the fact that he had FGR whilst I was carrying him and then was so small at birth. I just thought he would be this stocky kid judging my his father and I am about 5'6" so not tall but I've always been about 10 stone so I'm not tiny. Then he did beautifully until I stopped breastfeeding and I know I pressured the weaning. I have such a hang up about it!! Maybe if I hear 'he's fine' from a doctor I might just relax???

He did beautifully until you stopped BF? Is it possible that he has a dairy or other allergy/intolerance? My DS1 did well until we started weaning and I gave him yoghurt, cheese etc - at which point he started to gain weight much more slowly. When we cut out dairy he started gaining weight quickly and caught up to the same centile he was on when we started weaning.

my dd1 is 4.6 and doesn't quite weigh 15kg. I have a friend wth a just 2 year old who has weighed more than dd1 for ages. My dd2 is only 4 months and also v. small although have a feeling she will take after me and just be a midget

I can see dd1 tsakes after dh who is 9 stone and can slip below this v. easily ().

Try not to worry, some kids have to be small to make an average.

Oooh- that's interesting! I have a slight dairy intolerance, if there is such a thing. To be honest, apart from his morning milk and the odd yoghurt his dairy intake isn't that high. He's not a huge lover of cheese although you can guarantee a cheese and ham toastie will get eaten. Definitely something I will ask the doctor about. Thank you for that.

I meant if there is such a thing as a 'slight' dairy intolerance- not that I don't believe in dairy intolerance!!

I think his two-hour sleep is normal, definitely nothing to do with malnourishment. My DS still sleeps that long and 12 hours each night and he's nearly three.

If he seems happy, full of energy, etc I'd try not to worry - like you say he does eat when hungry. Two-year-olds tend to seem to suddenly be a bit skinny and look more like a child than a chubby toddler. My DS fits into DD's nappies (packed the wrong ones the other day!) and she's only six months old. DS also prefers grazing rather than three meals a day (as do I!)

A friend of mine with a three year old got him weighed the other day - she hadn't weighed him for over a year but thought she would as she was getting her DS2 weighed. Her DS1 had dropped right to the bottom of the chart (2nd percentile or something) but the HVs all said absolutely nothing to worry about. The weight charts are designed to make you worry I think, I never get DS weighed any more. Me and DP are both taller than average but DS is shorter than most of his peers - I used to worry about that but now I think he'll catch up in his own time.

Try not to worry (easier said than done I know!), he sounds fine to me.

im in same boat. my 25 mth old weights 1st 9lb
he was 9lb 3 at birth tho but has slowly slipped doen the centiles....
hes happy and very energetic but isnt a great eater...more of a grazer too....
hes had more than his fair share of non-serious illnesses which i guess doesnt help. (chicken pox at 12 weeks - was exclusively breast fed for 6 mths tho, chest infections. throat infections, croup, eczema,
he too wears aged 2 tops but the trousers aged 2 swamp him....
size 4.5 feet....
i am only 5ft 2 and husband isnt massive either so maybe its all normal?
ive not been to docs about this either

I have the same. My ds is 22months and still in age 9-12 trousers.
He is so picky with food it is sometimes painful to watch. He has quite a few food allergies. He is also on the very bottom of the chart. I really need to get him weighed again.

The problem is, I am 5'0 tall, so I think he takes after me rather than my 6'2" DH. It upsets me sometimes as I know smaller boys can be picked on etc.
Luckily, he is totally gorgeous looking so I am thinking I would rather have a Richard Hammond than a Jeremy Clarkson!

At least we're all in this together ladies- sometimes it helps just to know your child isn't the only one. He too has had a few illnesses- terrible chest infection and chicken pox, all mixed with teething, the dreaded age 2 fussiness and running around like a loon all day.

To be honest- I think I'd worry just as much if he was a chubber! Then I'd be saying 'I'm so worried that he'll be a roly poly and I've always worried about my weight so now I'm going to focus on him and give him issues...blah blah blah'. And as awful as it is, I don't think I'd be this hung up over having a petite girl.

Once I go to the doctor and they give him the A-OK and me a dressing down I will accept he's just a teeny tot!

I hope all the other ickle babies are well and good and we can all think back when they're towering over us and remember how worried we were.

Thank you all again for putting my mind at rest.

hi there try not to worry (i know it is a silly thing to say as we all do about our kids)anyway my dd is 3 1/2 years she weighs just 1.7 stone & is just going in to 2-3 year old clothes so i would say your ds is about the same as my dd & he is 18mths younger so to me he is a big lad

My DS is a skinny thing too. He has been wearing 6-9 months shorts this summer and he has just turned 3! Think he has weighed 2st 3 for the past 6 months. We have a height chart tho so we have seen that he has grown consistently. He is still a short arse compared to friends. Not a scrap of fat on him and you can see his abs. He was also a baby who fell off the centiles.
My daughter is now following a similar growth pattern, so it looks like it must just be a genetic thing. DH and his sister's are those kind of annoying people who can eat what they want without putting on weight so it looks like they'll take after him. They are both v healthy children. DS has only been to Drs couple of times in his life.
Sure Drs will tell you he's fine, but would be good to put your mind at rest. DS had 2 hr nap and 12 hrs at night til 2.5 years. How I miss the peace and quiet!

Thank you all ladies- really helpful. I think I am probably worrying about nothing- his dad was a skinny little boy and now works really hard to bulk up so perhaps he just takes after him- I think I was quite a skinny toddler once I'd gotten out of that baby fat stage too so perhaps it's just natural for him to be this size. Imagine if they were all like little clones of oneanother running around- it'd be awful!!

This thread has helped me worry less too - dd is 3.3years, weighs just under 2 stone, and is 91cm tall, size 7 and a half feet.

She keeps growing and getting taller, but staying the same weight!

She has plenty of energy, eats plenty and gets around 11-12 hours of sleep per night.

She's always been a lean, tall skinny-minny, just the way she is I guess! Takes after dh

OiMum, you can't win either way, my ds2 is 2 and weighs a whopping 18kgs, he eats well and spends most of the day running around the garden. Everyone comments on how 'big' he is and how 'small' I/dh are. I can't change the way he is! Your ds sounds just fine to me.

My ds is exactly the same - although we did get him checked out and turns out he is low on iron, vit D and something else (can't remember what right now). Is on supplements now. Also may have thyroid issue. So not to scare you, but maybe get a specialist to do some blood tests?
I think the key thing is not what size they are but whether they are dropping centiles or not.

My dd1 has just turned 3 and weighs 1st 11lbs or 10.7kg she is 90cm and has size 7 feet.

She also has/had cow's milk protein allergy and we are off to dietician this afternoon so will be interesting to see what she says. I was told to re-introduce dairy a couple of months ago which I have done but her weight is dropping off the chart (she is on the 0.4th centile now).

Another point is how do you accurately weigh a child like this? I mean what are the best/most accurate scales?

She has been weighed a couple times on those old fashioned black scales at the dr's but I'm not convinced you can get a very accurate reading off those for a small child?

My dd eats well and both dh and I are 5'8". She puts weight on so slowly too- about 3.5lbs in the last 18mths.

Anyone else have a child who has dropped off the bottom of the chart?

Hi All. Me again! I took him to the doctor this morning as there was a cancellation and I have now spent since 10am in floods of tears! He has dropped from just below the 50th centile to the bottom of the 0.4th and has grown just 1cm in the last 6 months. I now have to weigh and measure him regularly over the next 4 months in order to be referred to a paediatrician. So, so, so sick with worry. thatsnotmymonster- I too am now the proud owner of a child who has dropped off the bottom of the chart and although I am so grateful to everyone around me who tells me he's OK, I am still sick with worry that there's something wrong with my son. I know he was small at birth but he shot right up to 50th centile with no worries and grew beautifully until around 12 months- this second year he's barely grown. Good luck with your dietician this afternoon- I hope all goes well.

Sounds very similar to mine. 3.6 kilos at birth, growin well until weaned, then a steady drop throught the precentiles until eventually diagnosed as Failure to Thrive at 18 months. He is 2 next week and weighs 10.5 kilos and has had battery of recent tests, we have the paeds consultant on Tuesday to find out results, I'm very nervous about it.
Other symptoms include digestive problems, huge bulky pale poos (sorry ), low iron, low ferritin, high alkaline phospate, very pale with thin hair and very easily bruised. Main contender for a diagnosis is coeliac disease, but will find out next week.
Wish us luck, and the same for you

This sounds similar to my dd (now 11). From birth she was always in or above the middle of the charts. She was weighed by HV at 18 months, then again at 2 yrs. At that point it was discovered that she had not grown in height or put on weight since 18 months. So panic stations! Her weight and height were monitored by HV for the next few months and we were referred to a paediatrician who didn't find anything wrong. Basically, she wasn't a big eater and a bit fussy so it was decided that all her food energy was going into running around and not growing. At the suggestion of the HV we started to keep a food diary and tried to increase her calorie intake. But, basically, she was fine.

Since then, dd has always been small for her age and up to the past year has always been very slim. She is filling out now, and we are keeping more of an eye on what she eats as we don't want her getting any plumper. I will be interested to see what her final height will be, as her centile puts her way below her projected height range based on parents height calculated from the red book.

Dont worry, i have a 2.5 year old who still fits into some 12-18 months clothes, ribs sticking out, concave stomach, looks like i dont feed her which i try and try to do. At the end of the day,if they are happy, healthy and alert and hitting their milestones they are fine. Each child is different and thats why i hate these growth charts as it does not really cater for individuality. I reassure myself that i was a worse eater at her age and was a lot thinner(my mum tells me) and look at me know i cant stop eating and i am a size 14-16. They will catch up, dont worry.