health nurse's?!

Melissa - posted on 07/21/2010

I was told by the nurse that My daughter is over weight she is 35.5 lbs but she is 3f 2 inches tall ! When she was born they also told me she was underweight. She was 6 weeks early and weighed 5 lbs 7 oz and only 18 inches long. I would not worry at all as long as you know he is getting all the food he needs in a day.

Jessica - posted on 07/20/2010

Zac eat every type of food, heaps of fruit and vegie... he eats more than me... his a big pig when it comes to food... his not skinny cant see any bone... we are not small our selves, at least wedont see her that offten anymore as his getting older

Becca - posted on 07/20/2010

9.78kg is not big for an 18month old but it is still within the normal range of weight for a child of that age on the WHO growth charts so unless he was up at a higher percentile until now and just dropped suddenly I wouldn't think there should be a problen. I'm a small woman and my son only sits on the 3rd percentile (meaning only 3% of normally developing children are smaller than him). I was told that as long as he is developing proportionally and generally stays on the same percentile that he's fine. Your health nurse may be using the older growth chart and on that one your child may not be in the normal range, which would seem to be of concern if they didn't know any better. However the old chart is based on a very small, all caucasion sample, from a single community in the southern states and therefore is flawed.

Tina - posted on 07/20/2010

i have noticed in the past and with friend's visits with their babies to health nurses, that most babies are considered either overweight or underweight, my niece was supposedly underweight when she was about nine months and you should have seen the size of her she was the finest healthiest looking child every a real bonny baby, as long as you know your baby is eating enough to keep him going, he's fine i wouldn't worry too much, after all everyone has a different motabolism we don't all need the same amount of energy to keep us going for the day.

Rachelle - posted on 07/20/2010

Sarah- I can not believe she would say that to you! I am sure that when your son is ready, he will not be "lazy with his words", instead, he will talk everyone's ear off, and do it perfectly! And if she thought something was wrong, why would she lay blame on you instead of just offering a speech therapist?
It's people like her that make me glad that I am going to school for nursing, just so I can set a good example of how a nurse should act.

Jenna - posted on 07/20/2010

Every child is different. My son isvery tall (almost 3 feet tall at 18 months old) but he doesn't weigh as much as most children. He is lean and strong, with muscle tone. The pediatriian said he is just fine, he will even out when his height stops spurting. My son eats like a champ and he is absolutely happy and healthy. If the nurse gives you mouth about it again, ask to speak with her supervisor or the office manager.

Amanda - posted on 07/20/2010

don't get me started on heath nurses/visitors lol the first run in i had with them was when my daughter (now 6) was 13 months old they told me she was over weight then 3 months later when she was more active and the baby fat dropped off they told me she was underweight then when my son was born we went for a routine check-up and he has a faint birth mark on his back the health visitor measured it and tol me to bring him back 2 weeks later coz they thought it was a bruise and i was hitting him then they accused me of not feeding my 3rd child formula and said i must be giving her some kind of alternitive because she was not keeping down any milk it turned out that she is allergic to cow's milk protein and is only allowed soya i don't know how these people get away with making or implying theses kind of things when they don't have any children of there own all children are different and you as a mum no when something is not right with your child if you are not concerened then just ignore everything they say your instinct is a lot more accurate than a piece of paper

Melly - posted on 07/20/2010

I've had three different health nurses, because the first two were absolute cows. I thought they were meant to help and guide mums (especially first timers), not make them feel like they are doing the worst job in the world. I left in tears every time until I got the health nurse that I have now, she is brilliant!

Anyway, on to your problem.... First, YOU ARE NOT A BAD MOTHER!!!!! Second, If she was doing her job properly and felt that he was underweight then she should have asked you what he does eat, and give you suggestions to get some more weight on him, rather than accusing you of starving your child.

All kids are different, their little bodies process foods differently, some are more active than others, there are many factors that can contribute to how much they do or dont weigh.
I'll be honest and say that when i read he was under 10 kilos and 18 months old, that I thought it was quite light, but it would never enter my mind that you are starving him!

Sarah - posted on 07/20/2010

my nurse told me when she came to see my newborn that other my son (4 next month) is lazy with his words, and its my fault she flat out told me. i do have a speech impediment that i can not control, although its only a slight one. but she had the gall to say i was teaching my son to speak improperly and smarten up and learn how to speak and teach him how to speak properly

Jacki - posted on 07/20/2010

Im from australia, courtney is right on 12.12 kgs she eats lots of stuff she is willing to give anything a go its great she even loves her greens lol glad i could help

Jessica - posted on 07/20/2010

THANKS. im not sure were you are from but in australia, the kids weight is just determand on there height-Zac should be 12kg... Zac eats vegise every night and meat and lots of fruit.......
The thing is my health nurse dosen't heve any children and only reads the info off paper... Your right, every kid is different ;-)

Jacki - posted on 07/20/2010

you are deffinatly not a bad mother i have felt a simular way, recently my daughter turned 1 and had her needles the doctor told me that courtney was fat, and that i was feeding her too much junk food and to stop feeding her so much. i felt so awful, i have let courtney taste almost everything, she has tryed pizza, red rock noodles, macdonalds and KFC, but we dont have take out or fatty foods all the time, she loves her all her veggies. They way i see it is that all kids are different and will develop differently, courtney is 12 months old and 12.12 kgs and i love every little roll :-) cheer up he seems like a happy active and healthy little boy as long he is happy than you should have no need to worry, please dont think of yourself as a bad mother, i dont know you but i know enough to know that you arnt a bad mum. hope i have helped :-)