I will apologise in advance as this will be very long, i feel i need to give all the information so that people can give an honest opinion.
My dd1 is 7, she has always been large for her age, when she was a baby she was always on the top of the percentile charts. When she was a toddler she lost the tubbyness, but was still very tall for her age.
From the age of 2/3-6 she was in clothes 2 years older than was meant to be.
But even though she was still very tall, her weight for her height was perfect.
She caught swine flu in Oct 2009 and she lost a bit of weight. (Not a huge amount, but enough to notice)
Last year things were very stressful, family death/ bullied/ sats etc. But from spring time have all been fine.
We at home have noticed that she was getting taller, but slimmer. Just put it down to growth spurts etc. Last few months family/ friends etc have commented on how skinny she is starting to look, and it is true she is looking skinnier. (Please dont worry she is not skin and bones, but def skinny)
We have never been able to use clothes from 1 year to the next as she always grew so much, this year apart from a couple of dresses which look too short she is wearing all of last years clothes. But i have to take in/ adjust the waist and neck lines as too big/ not sitting right.
Biologicaly our family has curves. On both sides we have big thighed curvy woman (think more Martine McCutcheon than super models) I am small in height, but my sister is tall. So i just thought she was taking after my sister.
Now health wise she gets regular tonsilitus and a few ear infections and they have started to keep an eye on how many/ how bad etc.
She eats loads, i mean nearly an adult sized portion of meals. She is a dream eater always has been. Always finishes her meals, loves fruit and veg, eats everything she is given. She has a healthy breakfast, then fruit snack at school, a large healthy pack lunch, a biscuit or small snack when home and then a healthy family suitable tea. Then more fruit if wanted. She eats well at meals but doesnt complain of being hungary in between, so i am sure she eats enough. Also on play dates eats nearly double what her friends do ( at home and always asks for seconds when at their house)
She has always had loose bowels, we took her to the doctor when she was around 18 months and mentioned the fact that were always loose. We were told that she has "classic toddler loose bowels" and will outgrow as she gets older. She never really has but it does not bother her/ us. Just thought it was down to the amount of food/ fruit/ veg she eats.
However over the last 6 months she has got worse, as soon as she eats with in 10 mins she has to run to the toilet. She poo's about 5 times a day. Always loose. If she does an activity (dance/ swim/gym) she has to leave half way through the lesson to sprint to the toilet.
She has a best friend who has always been the same size as her, they started school at exactly the same height and weight. Last year her friend shot up 3 cm's taller than dd1, and this year another cm. So she is now 4cm taller.
When they started school the girls were around 3.5 stone.
We weighed dd1 when she broke her arm in summer 10 and she was 4stone 3lbs.
We weighed her last week and she was just under 4stone.
Her friend is 7stone. I admit her friend is bit chubby, but i am still worried about the fact that there is now such a huge difference between the 2 when similar height, and also the fact that she has lost weight over the last 2 years.
Would you take your child to the docs for
a) the fact that she has not gained weight and has lost weight over such a huge period of time.
b) The fact that she seems to struggle with her bowels and go more than i think is natural for a child her age. Also has to go asap when she has to go.
c) both issues and think that they may be related.
I suffer from anxiety with my children and mainly their health. I have had help with this over the last year or so, but it has made me dubious of taking them to the docs now as do not wish to be judged.
My best friend and mum both nag me to take her to get checked.
By dh however feels she is just changing body shape and we should leave it abit longer. (he is very chilled out leave things by nature, he is not uncaring)
I swing from one feeling to the other.
Would i be reasonable to take her and mention all of the above or is that being anxious?