20lbs at 20months old..

Jenn - posted on 10/08/2010

as long as she is a good weight for her height its ok. as long as her dr knows and thinks its ok it should be. my daughter is the same way. she is just petite. my daughter is 3 years old now and is still only 24 pounds. some kids are built a bit smaller than average. good luck

Christine - posted on 10/03/2010

My son is pretty much the same way. He is 22 months old and is 21 lbs. My son had some other medical issues so we ran the gamut of medical specialists including dietitian, endocrinologist, geneticist, hematologist, and cardiologist. Long story short, there is nothing wrong with him. Alot of stress and blood work for nothing. My fiancé and I are not particularly big people so we think he is gonna be normal for our family and is starting now!



One note: We did the Pediasure thing and it was a huge mistake as far as I was concerned. He would hold out on meals and wait for the Pediasure he knew was coming between meals and it didn't help him gain weight anyways. His picky eating resolved itself after we weaned him off the Pediasure.

Jennifer - posted on 10/01/2010

My daughter is the same. She has always been slow to gain weight and actually didn't reach 20 lbs until about 18 months and she's still hovering there. My doctor suggested that we add Carnation Instant Breakfast to her milk and I do that twice daily. I think it helps a little. It at least has prevented her from losing.

Ashley - posted on 09/30/2010

Wow! I feel weird because my daughter is 21 months old and she is 32 pounds! But she should be shedding some off soon because she is starting to lose her baby fat. But my oldest had that problem and the doctors told me she was fine and healthy and the reason she was like that is because she was so active and losing her baby fat. But she was also about 26 pounds at 21 months. My friend went to the doctors and they gave her a name of a weight shake mix to give to her kids and sure enough it started working.

Jennifer - posted on 09/29/2010

I am just relieved to see that so many other babies the same age are the same weight as my daughter. She is 21 months old and not quite 20 lbs yet. My ped sent her to a endocrinologist, a gastroenterologist, and childrens hospital for a sweat test to test for CF. My gut was telling me she is fine, just petite, but I don't want to NOT test her and then find out something was wrong! Any other baby I see her age, or only like 10 months old are soooo much bigger than her. It is such a relief to hear there are other babies that are just a little small!!!!

Melissa - posted on 09/28/2010

Gracie (dec 29) was 19 pounds for about 6 months from 12-18 months, gaining a fraction of a pound a month. Finally hit 20 about June, and now suddenly in the last month finally hit 23. Nothing really changed other than all of her teeth were in so we weren't having food refusal d/t teething.
As long as your child is healthy in every other way, I wouldn't stress. Grace ate well, and has always loved her fruits and veggies, so we tried not to stress about it since she was developmentally on or ahead of target. Dad is 6 feet tall and 136 pounds, so I guess she'll be like him, Just keep the healthy food available and encourage the good food. As long as Dr says your child is healthy, you're fine. ;-) Some kids are just slender. good luck!

Lindsey - posted on 09/28/2010

my daughter who is almost 22 months only weighs 20 lbs too she JUST broke the 20 mark about a week ago! shes 20lbs 5 oz...and i have a little boy who is 8 months old who is already 20 lbs!!

it all depends on the child and how they metabolize food. Dont give her candy to try and gain weight thats not the kind of fat you want her to have seeing as how a lot of kids are over weight these days im pretty thankful having a small child.

all you can do is offer her food a toddler will not starve their self so just feed her and give her healthy high protein snacks or something my daughter likes peanut butter sandwiches (well bread with a very thin layer of peanut butter enough to flavor it dont want a choking hazard) and cheese, fruit i just give her a few snacks here and there to try and get her calories up and of course whole milk :-D good luck

Pam - posted on 09/28/2010

my son is also the same, now at almost 24 pounds and he is 22 months. for the longest time he would not gain but eats great. he is so active and always moving so i think he just burns it fast. I would not worry if she eats and is on track shes probably fins. my doctor made several comments that kind of worried me but i see him everyday and i know he is ok. good luck, she is a doll!

Suzanne - posted on 09/28/2010

My daughter is 21months, she weighs 24pounds, she's always been petite when everyone else's toddlers seem to be alot heavier. if she is eating healthy, i wouldn't worry they burn alot of energy at this age. I stress when mine won'teat, but i was told by other mum's they will eat when there hungrey. if your really worried go see your baby dr. good luck

Brandi - posted on 09/27/2010

At 21 months old, my son is only weighing 21-22 lbs. At 12 months old his old pedi diagnosed him with Failure to Thrive. Broke my heart! They did all sorts of blood work to try to determine if he had some sort of metabolic problem (all came back ok). His new pedi is concerned about his weight as he has dropped completely off their charts and jumped from the 10th percentile in height to the 50th (at 18 months old). We started out giving him 2 bottles of pediasure a day as well as 8-16 oz of soy milk (he has a severe lactose intolerance and can't have whole milk). About 3 months ago, I cut him back down to 1 bottle of pediasure and no more than 16 oz of soy milk. He was having runny poopies 5-8 times a day, and I felt like he was taking in so many liquids and getting so full off of them that he wasn't taking in hardly any solid food. Since we adjusted his liquid intake, he is now eating better at his mealtimes. He is still very slow at gaining weight though. He is overly active (walking at 9 months old and running by 11 months old), so I know he burns off a lot of what he takes in pretty quick. Maybe try the pediasure if you haven't already. It is loaded with calories and has a lot of the nutrients in it that we sometimes miss out on daily. You can get the generic "Parents Choice" brand at Walmart and save a couple of dollars (I think I pay about 8 bucks for a 6 pack compared to 10-12 bucks for the name brand).
I"m going to have issues this winter finding pants to fit this child. He needs 2T for the length and 6-9 month for the waist. LOL I guess I was the same way as a small child too, so I think a lot of his problems are genetic!!

Christy - posted on 09/27/2010

not to scare you, but my son had the same problem with gaining weight. he's a dec. 2008 baby and at his 15 month wellness check the pediatrician could not feel his femoral (groin) pulses. We made the next available appointment to the cardiologist. My son had an open pda and a coarctation of the aorta. he had to have surgery right away. However, we still have trouble getting him to gain weight. He finally hit 20 lbs 2 oz in July. We ( his daddy and i) were hoping for a big growth spurt but we're still waiting for that to happen. We also went to a special cardiology dietitian and were told to follow a similar diet to those posted above. No water or juice, pediasure or whole milk with carnation instant breakfast, and to add butter or oils to all of his food. They told me to give him as many calories as a pro athlete like michael phelps would eat and assured me that he needs all the fat he can get for brain development. etc. I somehow squeeze four full meals and 3 bottles of pediasur plus snacks into my little boy. I'm hoping for a big gain next monday.... i'll let you know if it worked or not...

Angie - posted on 09/27/2010

Elizabeth Jones- was your doctor concerned about the amount of pediasure? Our nutritionist said to give our daughter 3 a day; the bottle says not to excede 2 a day and our doctor said more than 2 day can be too much on the kidneys. If Ava doesn't gain a ton of weight and soon we will have to see a GI and an endocrinologist. What is the GI looking for? What kind of tests did she do? After about 6 months, Ava stopped gaining weight on any sort of curve and has been gaining and loosing weight since (she's 21 months).
Thank you!!!

Shana - posted on 09/27/2010

For any of the moms trying to give their babies whole milk: I had the same problem with mine. He was on rice milk (vanilla flavored) from the time he came off of formula. We recently switched him to 2% milk after him being on previcid for 4 months ( he had severe stomach issues with the milk) He didn't want to drink the milk because he was used to the vanilla flavor so i bought ovaltine malt powder and add a chocolate up his milk. HE LOVES IT. plus it has 12 vitamins and minerals so it is alot healthier than reg. chocolate milk.

Benita - posted on 09/27/2010

As long as the doctor isn't in a panic and your child has a healthy appetite, I think you're fine. Kids start to drop weight when the begin to walk (or run!), so this is probably the issue. My son was a small kid, and the docs subjected him to blood tests and xrays to look for the problem. Wanna know what the problem was? His mom is 5'3", and his dad is 5'5"--two shorties for parents. He was little cuz he was little. Hope that helps.

Danielle - posted on 09/26/2010

My daughter's dietitian recommended foods like avocado, cheese, full fat yoghurt and eggs to get her to gain weight. Also with anything like bolognese sauce or casseroles you can add extra olive oil to for extra calories. My daughter also loves pasta with cheese sauce which I make with tuna, broccoli and zucchini. In the sauce I use milk, cream and cheese to fatten it up. Also, keep in mind that after they turn 1 their weight gain slows down a lot compared to their first year. I am in Australia so only know kilograms, but the dietitian said 200 grams a month for kids over 1 year is ideal. Good luck, I hope everyone's advice has put your mind at ease!

Angie - posted on 09/26/2010

My daughter is 21 months and just hit 19lbs. My doc here, in Mexico City, was concerned about a Kidney problem, but doctors in the US said that she didn't have a kidney problem.
We are working with a nutritionist. She said to avoid falling into the temptation of giving sweets, sugars and junk food. Eventually you will have to cut out the bad food and it starts bad habits. We give our daughter 2 bottles of Pediasure everyday. We put olive oil on chicken, noodles and veggies. We give her avocados, peanut butter and cream cheese. Also, I previously was trying to get her to eat all the time; so when ever she wanted food I gave it to her. The nutritionist said that it is counter-intuitive, but don't give her food between feedings. When the graze, they don't ever get their hunger up. So feed her 3 meals and 3 snacks, but nothing in between. It's hard, especially when they are crying for food, but it is worth it.
Additionally, down here in Mexico we have something called Ranisen - it increases appetite; I'm not sure if it is available in the US.
She has gained and lost weight her whole life. She just recently gained 10 ounces in a week.
Good luck!!

Heidi - posted on 09/26/2010

My little one is 21 mo also and she has weighted about 23 pounds for atleast 6 months. The dr is not worried and neight am I. I look at is as she gets more wear out of her clothes and she is a happy little girl. She eats and even our day care provider does not know where the food goes.

Elizabeth - posted on 09/26/2010

My husband and I are currently going throught the exact same thing with our son. He was 8lbs, 4oz when he was born and when he was about 5 months old (when he started crawling) he started to gain weight slower. He's been hovering at around 19lbs - 21lbs since he was about 10 months. He's currently seeing a GI specialist and our normal pediatrician. We were told to put him on the normal pediasure and to add any calories we could to his food everyday. We tried everything. Whipped cream, butter, junk food, fast food, etc. He still kept bouncing back and forth between about 19lbs and 21lbs. At our GI appt last month we were told to give him the special 1.5 calorie pediasure. The GI specialist said to give him 5 cans a day. This pediasure isn't sold in the stores and is only available through home healthcare. We just had a follow-up with our pediatrician on Friday and he weighs 21lbs 7oz. He's also grown 1in in the past month. I'm looking forward to a few more ounces of weight gained when we see the GI specialist again in the first week of October.

As far as advice, I would recommend that you address your concerns with your pediatrician. I would definitely try the normal pediasure also. I'm so glad that you posted this because lately I was seriously starting to feel like my husband and I were doing something wrong. Knowing that our son isn't the only child going through this is definitely encouraging. Good Luck with your daughter! :)

Sarah - posted on 09/25/2010

My little girl is only 19lbs and 21 months old. She is perfect. Every child is different. As long as they are happy and healthy...everything is good. We do feed her Carnation Instant Breakfast with whole milk every time we give her a cup like our doctor told us to but she still gains no weight. She eats like crazy though. I just keep telling my husband that she fills an empty leg with the food..lol.

FELICIA - posted on 09/25/2010

My son will be 21 months at the end of this month and he only weighs 22lbs...His pediatrician told us to give him pediasure, but it seemed to give him diarrhea. So we have been trying to give him whole milk, but he doesn't like it. He will however drink the strawberry milk out of the little milk boxes. He liked the pediasure but because it seems like everytime we give it to him to drink or put it in his oatmeal, he seems to poop a lot, so I don't know what to do either. Also I was told by my husband's aunt and uncle that my husband was little like this too when he was little. My son eats all day

Dalya - posted on 09/25/2010

well my daughter was born in dec 2008, was formular fed and gained weight according to the right line on the graph for the 1st 6 months. then we hit the weaning stage and since then she has fallen off the charts and now weighs just under 18lbs. she doesnt eat very much at all (eg for breakfast she'll eat 1/2 handfull of cereal and for lunch 2 spoons of rice and a chicken leg) but shes always active and on her feet and is almost always happy. her father is skinny and im average and we're both not that tall but my daughters pediatrition got really worried and sent her off for all these blood tests to see if she was allergic to anything eg. flour, and we saw a child dietitian for 5 months. the blood tests revealed that everything was ok and all the stuff that the dietitian recommended, she refused to eat-even if i made scrambled eggs with butter instead of margerine she wouldnt eat it. the dietitian even recommended making her milk more concentrated but nothing has helped! ive accepted the fact that ive got a kate moss for a daughter and i figure that as long as shes happy and doesnt seem to be suffereing then alls ok! its my mother-in-law and doctor that have the problem! good luck with yours :)

Chelsie - posted on 09/24/2010

my son is the same way.... he has been on pediasure since he was 15 months old and he is now 21 months old. my son has never really had milk his dr took him straight off formula and put him on pediasure. they said he is healthy they would just like to see him gain some weight since he only weighs about 20 lbs

Lisa - posted on 09/24/2010

My son who is now 6 was jus tliek that. We kept him rear facing until his length made it uncomfortable to sit rear facing-his little legs would squish up. Our doctor recommended pediasure. Its a meal replacement and tastes great. like flavored milk. I woul dnot recommend candy as this is only empty calories and if she is active will just burn them off- plus you are raising risks for teeth and other health issues. My son is still a stick of a kid barely 40 lbs at almost 7. He eats a lot of carbs and is very active. I think its just the way your daughter is. she may have an excellent metabolism. If you are really concerned talk to your doctor. PS. my daughter is 21months and wieghs just 21 lbs and eats all the time! Remember that we see obese kids all the time that sometimes when we see a healthy one we think- something must be wrong=)

Samantha - posted on 09/24/2010

Hi Amber,
My son is the same as your daughter he is just over 20lbs. He goes through stages of not eating lunch so what we do now is give him a few snacks during the day and in the early evening we give him our dinner and pack him up with yogurts and desserts like mousses. We spoke to the health visitor about him and doctor they just suggested to get as many calories in him throughout the day as possible.
The health visitor alsosaid at his age as long as he is getting taller then there is not a problem. So don't worry too much about her as you could have the same problems as a friend of mine has, as her baby is too big for her age. I hope this helps a bit.

Desiree - posted on 09/23/2010

My son stayed the same weight the whole 2nd year of his life. As long as she is still growing taller I would not worry.

April - posted on 09/23/2010

she's just petite and meant to be slender! :)

Tiffany - posted on 09/23/2010

My daughter was born December 2008 as I think your daughter was. My daughter is 19 lbs. I wouldn't worry about her weight. Her doctor will tell you if they think it is a problem and they can tell you of some weight gainers if she needs to take them.

Brandi - posted on 09/23/2010

@ Vicki, Wow! That's what my concern was...I thought healthy was most important than seeing the numbers on the scale tip. I felt like the doctor was missing the big picture. And I felt that I was being accused of starving my baby or something. The nutritionist gave me all this advice on what to feed my son. I was stunned that a nutritionist was telling me to feed my son a burger and fries and anything fried and not feed him juice or water because there are no calories in them, but only creamy drinks.

Vicki - posted on 09/23/2010

My son has never been skinny. I think he hit 20lbs by about 8 months old! At one year old, he was 25lbs, and at 18 months, he was 25lbs and maybe a few ounces... Thus my doctor was badgering me about him not having gained any weight... Like, seriously? He's already a big boy, and really started walking at 15 months, thus burning calories and thinning out. My doctor recommended adding lots of butter to EVERYTHING, and giving him chocolate milk, with a follow up appointment the next month. Well, it was successful. I got him to gain almost a pound in a month, which satisfied the doctor, but I was still angry about it. How is it that I am supposed to have my son eat healthy, but load it up with butter and fat?? Ridiculous.

Brandi - posted on 09/23/2010

I've been going through the same issue with my son and doctor. I think he's totally fine and healthy and meeting all of his milestones, so I didn't see what the big deal was, especially since he's always been healthy. But it really started to stress me out when I felt pressure from the doctor to make him gain weight. They wanted me to bring him in just to get weighed and referred me to a nutritionist. I finally gave up and decided to go with my own instincts about what's best for my son and not worry about what everyone says. I don't think every baby needs to be chubby. The most important thing is that he's healthy, happy, and thriving.

Shana - posted on 09/22/2010

my son is similar. we have always tried to get him to gain weight. He had severe stomach issues when he was younger and so wouldn't eat alot. now he eats but doesn't seem to gain that much. (also, every time he seems to gain, he gets sick and loses a pound or 2) It frustrates me to no end. I've pretty much decided that he is probably going to be one of those tall skinny kids. I'm just happy that he eats. Plus, i always ask the doctor when he goes if they think he is too skinny. He just tells me he is a good weight and would rather him be on the thinner side then overweight (like 3 out of 5 of his patients)

Heather - posted on 09/22/2010

My son is 23 lbs at 21 months sooo its ok as long as they eat healthy!

Gabrielle - posted on 09/22/2010

My daughter has always been slow to gain weight, although she has picked up some weight recently. I'm surprised that she weighs 23 pounds now (at 21 months). If she's weighed the exact same thing for 11 months (since 9 months of age) that would really alarm me! What does your pediatrician say?

I would be hesitant to give candy to help her gain weight. If she's picky, try offering her healthy things that she loves. Yogurt is healthy, and I've noticed that YoBaby Yogurt has more fat, calories, and vitamins than adult yogurt, so it used to be the only yogurt I bought for my daughter. I switched recently because she's gained more weight. Try to find healthy things that have good fats in them (cheeses, avocado, egg yolks, etc.).

Leia - posted on 09/22/2010

My 21 month old and my 3 1/2 year old are the same way. My 21 month old just hit 20 lbs. There was a brief period that we counted every ounce. She is proportinate just small. She drinks whole milk and eats 3 meals a day with 2 snacks. Cloths are a big pain but I have found Old Navy has the length that we need with the adjustable waist or if not I use one of her big sisters scarfes and use it as a belt. The doctor says that she is fine and she is also on WIC and they say she is fine just a very petite little girl. Dont stress about it. She will be fine.

Pam - posted on 09/21/2010

my son is the same way he just hit 23lbs but are dr. says he is fine just dont force her to eat try yougart and some snacks in between meals they say they should have 3 meals and 3 to 4 snacks a day

Natalie - posted on 09/21/2010

My daughter is very slender as well. She was just about 21 lbs at her 18 month apt. and is tall too. I used to be slender before I had her, and now I am having a hard time getting the weight off, and her dad is over 6ft. tall. Our doctor has no concerns though since she is right on track with her milestones and is very active. The hard thing for us is clothes! I would consult your doctor if it is really worrying you.

Diane - posted on 09/21/2010

my twins are 21 month old and the smallest is just 20lbs while her sister is 23lbs, they are both healthy just small babies. as long as they are eating well i really wouldnt worry xx

Fiona - posted on 09/20/2010

my son was the same when he was that age and the child health centre always worried about his weight even though he was energetic and healthy,my advice is dont stress about it and try not to go by everyones standards of what a baby this age should weigh because every child is different in build and length

Kristen - posted on 09/20/2010

is she getting taller?

I wouldnt worry too much, my neice is 3 and JUST finally hit 20lbs. If you or her father are real slender, she could just be a small baby.

Janet - posted on 09/20/2010

My little girl is exactly the same - she is 21 months and weighs 19lbs. She was very ill earlier in the year, but has been well for the last few months, but still not gaining weight. I consulted a dietician and she told me to give her pediasure - she didn't want to drink it during the day, so now I pick her up at about 10pm each night and she drinks a whole bottle of pediasure. She also told us to give her full cream yoghurt, and to add the pediasure powder to the yoghurt (to increase the calories). We also have to add butter to her porridge and vegetables. And we have to feed her every couple of hours - basically whatever she will eat. But even though we are doing all of this her weight goes up to 19.5lbs, then down to 18.5lbs. So we just keep on trying, and hoping she will put on weight one of these days!

Nikki - posted on 09/18/2010

if shes walking and running or even crawling shes burning calories so she wont really gain weight....but if its really bothering you i would call the pediatrician about it just to make sure nothings wrong

Jasmine - posted on 09/18/2010

my son is exactly the same! though he just recently started getting very picky about what he eats. his doctor suggested mixing carnation instant breakfast mix in his milk...so far i think he's maybe gained a pound or 2 but its only been like a month so i don't know if its working or not. also i try to give him more snacks...hopefully both of our babies will start to fatten up soon lol :)