Would you continue with a bottle?

[MotherMayI]

My dd3 (my siggie is OLD!) just had her 3yr well-child visit. She is very petite, and is supposed to drink a pediasure a day as well as about 7 more ounces of milk. (she has been drinking pediasure for at least 2 years per pediatrician). The only way I have been able to get her to consume this much is by giving her a bottle 2xs a day. The pediatrician told me to stop with the bottle (I realize she is old to be taking a bottle) and to only offer her milk/pediasure until she has had 15 ounces. Then she can have water or juice. Our appointment was Thursday, and since then she has only taken sips of the milk- maybe 3 oz total. What would you do? My dd is adopted, so I did not breastfeed her. She is barely 24.5lbs and 33"- I do not want her to get dehydrated, or lose weight.

 

Thanks in advance for your advice!

[Plagefille]

Are you giving her a sippy cup or a regular cup? A sippy cup might work better for her. And honestly I would not give her anything else to drink until she drinks her required milk/pediasure.

[Emilylou]

Have you tired the sippy cups with straws... or making a contest out of drinking it with funky cups and straws ???

[ChristusG]

Sorry, I'm the one that says "if it ain't broke, then don't fix it." If she takes the Pediasure well through the bottle, then I'd continue with that. You can try it in a sippy cup, but if it's just not working, then I would think that getting the calories into her would be more important than what she's drinking out of.

[MotherMayI]

Are you giving her a sippy cup or a regular cup? A sippy cup might work better for her. And honestly I would not give her anything else to drink until she drinks her required milk/pediasure.

 

I am giving her a sippy cup...she picked out a few herself, and seemed excited to use them...now- not so much! thanks:001_smile:.

[Mom2J112903]

Sorry, I'm the one that says "if it ain't broke, then don't fix it." If she takes the Pediasure well through the bottle, then I'd continue with that. You can try it in a sippy cup, but if it's just not working, then I would think that getting the calories into her would be more important than what she's drinking out of.

 

:iagree: We are in a similar position and we do whatever it takes to get the calories in. If that would mean a bottle, so be it. :grouphug: Momma.

[MotherMayI]

Sorry, I'm the one that says "if it ain't broke, then don't fix it." If she takes the Pediasure well through the bottle, then I'd continue with that. You can try it in a sippy cup, but if it's just not working, then I would think that getting the calories into her would be more important than what she's drinking out of.

 

I lean toward this. If she were bigger, I may not feel that way, but she is on the bottom 3% on the height/weight chart, so any weight loss is too much imo.

 

What is the main issue re drinking from a bottle at 3+? Teeth?

[ChristusG]

I lean toward this. If she were bigger, I may not feel that way, but she is on the bottom 3% on the height/weight chart, so any weight loss is too much imo.

 

What is the main issue re drinking from a bottle at 3+? Teeth?

 

I would think it would be teeth....but if she doesn't have a bottle in her mouth all the time, then I wouldn't think it would make much of a difference. DD6 took a pacifier till she just turned 5 (we reasoned with her and she gave it to us a week after she turned 5). I know that's way too long, but it was a huge comfort to her at bedtime. The doctor would always tell us "You need to take the pacifier from her." I'd just smile and nod, ignoring him. She has perfect teeth....the dentist is always amazed with how well her teeth are aligned. Doctors don't always know what's best.

[MotherMayI]

:iagree: We are in a similar position and we do whatever it takes to get the calories in. If that would mean a bottle, so be it. :grouphug: Momma.

 

This has been what I have been going on up to now. I should have asked more questions while at the pediatrician. I thought she was ready for the change.

[KristinaBreece]

I lean toward this. If she were bigger, I may not feel that way, but she is on the bottom 3% on the height/weight chart, so any weight loss is too much imo.

 

What is the main issue re drinking from a bottle at 3+? Teeth?

 

Teeth. I think, are the main concern. Really, though, coming from the mom of a 22 pound 2 and a half yo DD, I would do whatever it takes to get her to eat. (Or in your case drink.)

 

I have a friend who's daughter is the same size as my DD & she'll turn 5 in August. She won't make her eat/drink anything she doesn't want & insists that she's just small & there's nothing else wrong with her, so the doctors are crazy & her body will grow when it's ready. :glare: I know when her DD is here, she eats practically nothing, and it just seems so wrong to not want to address such an issue.

[Carrie12345]

I'm pretty anti-bottle in general but, having a newborn who is barely in the 3rd percentile, "get the calories in by whatever means" definitely resonates with me! I'd keep offering other methods (sippy or regular cup) a few times a day, but I'd focus more on getting the stuff in!

[Canadianmumof5]

We have underweight issues here as well. DD is 7 and is stick-thin at just 40lbs. She is otherwise healthy and we too had to get Pediasure into her for well over a year. My first instinct is to keep with the bottle but try other things as well - maybe offer a sip from the bottle and then a sip from a really cool sippy cup at the same time.....double fisting the pediasure;)

 

Our daughter was 35 lbs when she started grade 1 and 36 lbs when she finished (she was in school for that year). We pulled her out to homeschool when her grade 2 year was starting and couldn't believe it when she gained 4 lbs within the first 5 months........something to be said for getting more than 10 minutes to eat your lunch!! She now has time for breakfast and lunch and can have snacks throughout the day pretty much as she wants. What a difference.

 

Anyway - I'd also try other types of cups....we tried the paper dixie cups with different characters, little mini shot glasses, fancy china tea cups, and even doll cups. Anything to keep her interested. Just rotate them so she doesn't get bored. A few shots here and there will eventually add up over the course of a morning. Oh yeah - I just remembered we would set a timer as well - every 15 minutes she had to come and have a 1oz shot.....it worked. She thought it was so fun to carry the timer with her and run back to the kitchen when it beeped.

 

Hope you can find something useful in that rambling.......

[amo_mea_filiis.]

I'd give her a bottle as long as she wants! As for teeth and language, a sippy cup is the same as a bottle but it looks better.

 

My 6 year old is on 5 pediasure per day and he wanted a sippy cup, with a squishy top, almost like a bottle nipple. Anyway, he's got his sippy, takes the pediasure and has put back on 5ish lbs.

[MotherMayI]

 

I have a friend who's daughter is the same size as my DD & she'll turn 5 in August. She won't make her eat/drink anything she doesn't want & insists that she's just small & there's nothing else wrong with her.

 

While I do believe my dd is just the right size for *her* I also believe that the pediasure is a big reason she is at a "healthy" weight. We have tried removing it from her diet and she lost weight very quickly. I would be terrified if she were almost 5!

[MotherMayI]

My first instinct is to keep with the bottle but try other things as well - maybe offer a sip from the bottle and then a sip from a really cool sippy cup at the same time.....double fisting the pediasure;)

 

 

Anyway - I'd also try other types of cups....we tried the paper dixie cups with different characters, little mini shot glasses, fancy china tea cups, and even doll cups. Anything to keep her interested. Just rotate them so she doesn't get bored. A few shots here and there will eventually add up over the course of a morning. Oh yeah - I just remembered we would set a timer as well - every 15 minutes she had to come and have a 1oz shot.....it worked. She thought it was so fun to carry the timer with her and run back to the kitchen when it beeped.

 

Hope you can find something useful in that rambling.......

 

Great ideas! Thanks, in will try them:D.

[MotherMayI]

I'm pretty anti-bottle in general but, having a newborn who is barely in the 3rd percentile, "get the calories in by whatever means" definitely resonates with me! I'd keep offering other methods (sippy or regular cup) a few times a day, but I'd focus more on getting the stuff in!

 

I was too until I adopted:tongue_smilie:, my bio boys were bf and huge so this is new to me...thanks!

[MotherMayI]

I'd give her a bottle as long as she wants! As for teeth and language, a sippy cup is the same as a bottle but it looks better.

 

My 6 year old is on 5 pediasure per day and he wanted a sippy cup, with a squishy top, almost like a bottle nipple. Anyway, he's got his sippy, takes the pediasure and has put back on 5ish lbs.

 

I do not have the squshy nipple sippy...this may help!

[MotherMayI]

Have you tired the sippy cups with straws... or making a contest out of drinking it with funky cups and straws ???

 

Straws? I forgot all about these! I think she might like these...thanks!

[3lilreds in NC]

Straws? I forgot all about these! I think she might like these...thanks!

 

:iagree:

 

When I was trying to get Emma to wean from her bottle, NOTHING worked. She would rather have had ice water in a bottle than warm milk in a sippy cup. :lol: It was very frustrating for this first-time mom, with all the pressure I was getting to get her off the bottle by age 1. My husband and I bought one of every kind of sippy and tested them ourselves, and chose the brand that was easiest to drink, but she still didn't like it.

 

Then, someone mentioned straws. It was like magic! It was much easier to drink from a cup with a straw than to drink from a sippy cup.

 

When she was 18 months old, we watched a friend's little boy for a week, and he was drinking from sippy cups. Since HE was doing it, Emma decided it was OK for her too, and she finally would use sippy cups. Silly girl.

[Carrie12345]

I was too until I adopted:tongue_smilie:, my bio boys were bf and huge so this is new to me...thanks!

 

Oh, I didn't mean to offend! My infant is taking bottles right now to get elemental formula into him. You do what you have to do when it comes down to it! I just meant that, "generally speaking", I think real cups are preferable to bottles or sippys. Not everything fits "general" boxes though!

[Chris in VA]

She might also like to use a regular cup if you use a little pitcher and let her pour her own.:001_smile: I use a creamer to practice pouring. Have her center the pitcher lip over and into the cup, and tip up. Have her hold the cup on the table, not pour in mid-air.

[Jennifer in MI]

Continue with the bottle.

 

That said, what is she eating? Is there any way you could up the calories with foods rather than the Pediasure? I have a tiny dd as well. She is my first girl after three very large boys. So, this was a shock. She didn't hit 20 pounds until she was 2. She's now 5 and weighs 28 pounds. Tiny.

 

Anyway, when we were off the charts small when she was a toddler, our doctor told us to feed a lot of avocado (she wouldn't eat it); pastas with fatty sauces - oils, cheese, etc; yogurt; fruits with dips - yogurt, cream cheese, etc; hummus (she didn't like this either!); meats. You get the idea.

 

My doc said he just wanted to see that she would gain weight. If she hadn't, then we'd do further testing. She gained a little and he was fine. She's been our healthiest child. But a mom still worries! She's smaller than her 3 yo friends!!!

:grouphug:

[MotherMayI]

Oh, I didn't mean to offend! My infant is taking bottles right now to get elemental formula into him. You do what you have to do when it comes down to it! I just meant that, "generally speaking", I think real cups are preferable to bottles or sippys. Not everything fits "general" boxes though!

 

No offense at all! I agree with you! Sometimes our little ones have different ideas:tongue_smilie:

[MotherMayI]

She might also like to use a regular cup if you use a little pitcher and let her pour her own.:001_smile: I use a creamer to practice pouring. Have her center the pitcher lip over and into the cup, and tip up. Have her hold the cup on the table, not pour in mid-air.

 

 

Ooooohh...she loves playing tea...I will give this a try!

[Lawana]

Is she growing? In height and weight? Following a curve, even though a very low percentile one? I've tried Googling a weight for height chart, but can't seem to pull one up. Weight for age charts are almost meaningless. I have a book, The Portable Pediatrician for Parents, that does have the weight for height charts, and according to those, 24.5 lbs for 33 inches is above 50th percentile. But that is on the Birth to 2yr chart, because the 2-5 yr chart doesn't go down to 33 inches. The lowest height on the 2-5yr is 35 in., and the 5th percentile line is at 25 lbs. So that chart isn't really helpful at all. Going back to the birth to 2yr chart, height is actually length, which is measured lying down, which will generally give a larger number. So adding an inch (to compensate for the difference between being measured lying down vs. standing up), to 34, corresponds to just above the 25th percentile curve. IMO, doctors freak out too much about low weight children, when the children are also very short.

Does she have some subcutaneous fat? I knew a woman with a very short 2 yo. The doctor advised feeding her Cheez-its:ack2: to add weight. The thing is, she was not "skinny". Just very low on the weight for age chart, because she was so short.

[Haiku]

My dd is adopted

 

Give her the bottle.

 

Tara

[1GirlTwinBoys]

Maybe keep giving her the bottle for now and trying healthy high fat foods to keep weight on. If she won't eat avocado, you could try mashing it with banana to a pudding texture. My twins LOVED this when they were younger. Also, coconut BUTTER on graham cracker is a great way to get in a lot of extra fat. Whole grain warm bread with butter. Lot's of veggie & fruit muffins. :)

[phathui5]

What does her food intake look like (aside from the drinks)?

[littleWMN]

I have not personally been through this but I have a few thoughts:

 

1. I'd continue the bottle. I assume you aren't giving it to her in bed and that you brush her teeth. Those would be my only bottle concerns.

 

2. Have you tried offering her milkshakes or yummy smoothies in a regular cup, just to get her interested? They have little disposable straw sippy cups that we use for smoothies (only we reuse them) and my girls really enjoy it. You can sneak lots of great stuff into a smoothie! Yogurt, fruit, powdered vitamins even, even avocado!

 

3. Is she consistently at the same percentile on the growth chart?

 

4. Has the Dr. considered WHY she's so small and loses weight? Has she been tested for Celiac, etc? (I have Celiac myself, was diagnosed 3 years ago so I do have experience with that)

 

5. You sound like a great mom! I have 4 kids, two of whom were adopted. Each child is so different and you have to consider their needs first, sometimes even over your own ideals (ask me how I know!). Sounds like you are doing that. :)

[Paige]

I would ditch the bottle. Have you tried her on the little pediasure or ensure bars? They are like cereal or granola bars. My DDs would never eat them but they were pathologically picky and I think most kids would eat them. My DD is 3.5 and about the size of your DD. Mine is about a pound lighter but I'm not sure how tall she is. She never took a bottle, ever, and would never drink anything other than water from a cup since she was an infant. She has also always been well below the 3rd percentile but she looks good and is healthy. Her pediatrician recommended not fighting her to drink milk but to give her all of the yogurt, ice cream, cheese, and oatmeal she wants. My older girls had food issues and were small and were on 2 pediasures a day for a while so I do remember going through all the concern and struggles.

 

You could also replace the pediasure with lots of things (that are also cheaper). We were told to take powdered supplements like slim fast, carnation instant breakfast, or even powdered milk and add it into yogurt, ice cream, oatmeal, macaroni and cheese, and even baked goods. The powdered milk can be put into almost anything to add calories and my picky eaters never noticed. I think the pediasure may actually be reducing her appetite and paradoxically making it appear that she needs it even more. It is very filling. The bars and powders mixed into other foods, are calorie dense and not very filling so she may end up eating more calories throughout the day then she does with the liquid pediasure. Have you seen a nutritionist? They could work with you based on what your dd likes to eat to maximize her calories.

[sewingmama]

At 3 I wouldn't worry too much about weaning her off the bottle - just keep trying other things as well. Both my boys are very underweight. My 19 month old still has two bottles a day - he drinks soy formula because he has dairy allergies. I'm not willing to give him no milk and he will only drink the formula in a bottle. He only gets it twice a day and the rest of the time he drinks water/juice from a sippy cup. I don't care what he drinks the formula from as long as he drinks it.

 

My 3yo was weaned off the bottle at 18 months -however he hasn't lost his attachment for it since DS2 was born and a bottle has always been around and DS2 is drinking the same formula he did as a baby. He sneaks DS'2's "leftovers" :glare: from the bottle. Anyway he doesn't get a regular bottle however if he skips dinner at night (which is rare - maybe once a month) because he is too tired or something I let him take a bottle of formula to bed - like I said he is very underweight and I don't want him skipping meals - he also won't drink formula from a cup even though he has been using a cup for everything for over 1.5 years.

 

Let her have the bottle - it's no big deal.

[Wabi Sabi]

Speaking as the mother of a 22 lb. 3 y/o girl and a 34 lb. 6.5 y/o boy I'd ditch the bottle and the Pediasure altogether. My kids have never even made it to the bottom of the growth charts!

 

If the goal is to get her to eat more then that's never going to happen as long as she's getting her belly filled with Pediasure instead. We gave my ds Carnation Instant Breakfast with whole milk for a couple years. Finally we quit when we realized he didn't eat because he was holding out for the yummy sweet milkshake-like drink instead. Once we cut out the instant breakfast he started eating a more reasonable amount (although he's still a light eater, neither of my kids have huge appetites.)

 

Our doctor contends that there is nothing wrong with a 22 lb. 3 y/o or a 34 lb. 6 y/o (barring any health issues) as long as they are relatively height/weight proportionate. A healthy weight for my 6'1" girlfriend would be quite heavy on my 4'11" aunt. Likewise a short kid is naturally going to weigh less.

 

Some people are just petite and there's nothing more to it. Small and thin does not necessarily equal unhealthy.

Edited March 13, 2011 by Wabi Sabi
typo

[Joyofsixreboot]

My advice (I'm an RD) is ask for a consult with a dietitian.

[melmichigan]

My DS3 will only drink milk from his "bottle" which is actually his bottle with a Born Free Sippy spout in it, the 6month soft spout. He will drink juice from a hard spout sippy and a cup, but not milk. :)

 

My DD's orthodontists says to let DC have a pacifier to sleep over their fingers or thumb, he isn't concerned until they are 5 because of the damage sucking on fingers and thumbs does.

[MotherMayI]

:iagree:

 

When I was trying to get Emma to wean from her bottle, NOTHING worked. She would rather have had ice water in a bottle than warm milk in a sippy cup. :lol: It was very frustrating for this first-time mom, with all the pressure I was getting to get her off the bottle by age 1. My husband and I bought one of every kind of sippy and tested them ourselves, and chose the brand that was easiest to drink, but she still didn't like it.

 

Then, someone mentioned straws. It was like magic! It was much easier to drink from a cup with a straw than to drink from a sippy cup.

 

When she was 18 months old, we watched a friend's little boy for a week, and he was drinking from sippy cups. Since HE was doing it, Emma decided it was OK for her too, and she finally would use sippy cups. Silly girl.

 

This sounds like Delaney! I will definitely try this! Thanks:001_smile:

[MotherMayI]

Is she growing? In height and weight? Following a curve, even though a very low percentile one? I've tried Googling a weight for height chart, but can't seem to pull one up. Weight for age charts are almost meaningless. I have a book, The Portable Pediatrician for Parents, that does have the weight for height charts, and according to those, 24.5 lbs for 33 inches is above 50th percentile. But that is on the Birth to 2yr chart, because the 2-5 yr chart doesn't go down to 33 inches. The lowest height on the 2-5yr is 35 in., and the 5th percentile line is at 25 lbs. So that chart isn't really helpful at all. Going back to the birth to 2yr chart, height is actually length, which is measured lying down, which will generally give a larger number. So adding an inch (to compensate for the difference between being measured lying down vs. standing up), to 34, corresponds to just above the 25th percentile curve. IMO, doctors freak out too much about low weight children, when the children are also very short.

Does she have some subcutaneous fat? I knew a woman with a very short 2 yo. The doctor advised feeding her Cheez-its:ack2: to add weight. The thing is, she was not "skinny". Just very low on the weight for age chart, because she was so short.

 

She does follow the curve on the chart- so the doctor did feel that she was progressing. I think part of the problem is that dd does look like my bio children, but she is tiny...I am 6'2", and my bio dc are all tall. My doctor seems to need reminded that dd is not biologically related to me...he asked me if my dh was really short (to explain her small stature!) Ummm- no, she is adopted! She looks perfectly healthy to me. She is not skin and bones, and she sounds like your friend- not skinny, just low on the chart. She was weighed with her clothes on so she would probably be a bit less than the 24.5. I do tend to agree that doctors freak out too much, but since she is the polar opposite of my other dc, I do question my instincts at times. Thanks for your help!

[MotherMayI]

Give her the bottle.

 

Tara

Thanks, I am leaning toward this at least with her morning pediasure.

[MotherMayI]

Maybe keep giving her the bottle for now and trying healthy high fat foods to keep weight on. If she won't eat avocado, you could try mashing it with banana to a pudding texture. My twins LOVED this when they were younger. Also, coconut BUTTER on graham cracker is a great way to get in a lot of extra fat. Whole grain warm bread with butter. Lot's of veggie & fruit muffins. :)

 

Thanks for the ideas. She actually loves guacamole, and truthfully it just didn't occur to me to add this to her diet more often. This discussion has me thinking outside the pediasure box! She is not a fan of butter...is coconut butter like butter/margerine in look/taste? She loves veggies, muffins she could live without:tongue_smilie:.

[MotherMayI]

What does her food intake look like (aside from the drinks)?

 

She generally asks for the pediasure first thing in the morning. She will have a slice of cinamon or nutella toast or some pancakes/waffles. She often has an egg for breakfast. For lunch she eats soup, whatever left-overs we may be having, hot dogs, mac and cheese, fruit. She also likes yogurt. For dinner she eats whatever we are having. She enjoys veggies more than meat. She has a snack of fruit or cheese crackers most days.

[MotherMayI]

I have not personally been through this but I have a few thoughts:

 

1. I'd continue the bottle. I assume you aren't giving it to her in bed and that you brush her teeth. Those would be my only bottle concerns.

 

2. Have you tried offering her milkshakes or yummy smoothies in a regular cup, just to get her interested? They have little disposable straw sippy cups that we use for smoothies (only we reuse them) and my girls really enjoy it. You can sneak lots of great stuff into a smoothie! Yogurt, fruit, powdered vitamins even, even avocado! She does occassionally drink milkshakes in a regular cup with a straw. We don't do a lot of smoothies (until blueberry season) but she will drink them from a cup. She likes her milk in a bottle.

3. Is she consistently at the same percentile on the growth chart? She is consistent on the growth chart.

4. Has the Dr. considered WHY she's so small and loses weight? Has she been tested for Celiac, etc? (I have Celiac myself, was diagnosed 3 years ago so I do have experience with that) Her bio mom is 5'2, 115lbs so he thinks her being small is mostly explained by that.

 

5. You sound like a great mom! I have 4 kids, two of whom were adopted. Each child is so different and you have to consider their needs first, sometimes even over your own ideals (ask me how I know!). Sounds like you are doing that. :)

Thank you so much:D, since my boys were pretty similar it is sometimes a challenge to think outside the box and think of them as individuals:tongue_smilie: I am thankful for their differences though!

[MotherMayI]

I would ditch the bottle. Have you tried her on the little pediasure or ensure bars? They are like cereal or granola bars. My DDs would never eat them but they were pathologically picky and I think most kids would eat them. My DD is 3.5 and about the size of your DD. Mine is about a pound lighter but I'm not sure how tall she is. She never took a bottle, ever, and would never drink anything other than water from a cup since she was an infant. She has also always been well below the 3rd percentile but she looks good and is healthy. Her pediatrician recommended not fighting her to drink milk but to give her all of the yogurt, ice cream, cheese, and oatmeal she wants. My older girls had food issues and were small and were on 2 pediasures a day for a while so I do remember going through all the concern and struggles.

 

You could also replace the pediasure with lots of things (that are also cheaper). We were told to take powdered supplements like slim fast, carnation instant breakfast, or even powdered milk and add it into yogurt, ice cream, oatmeal, macaroni and cheese, and even baked goods. The powdered milk can be put into almost anything to add calories and my picky eaters never noticed. I think the pediasure may actually be reducing her appetite and paradoxically making it appear that she needs it even more. It is very filling. The bars and powders mixed into other foods, are calorie dense and not very filling so she may end up eating more calories throughout the day then she does with the liquid pediasure. Have you seen a nutritionist? They could work with you based on what your dd likes to eat to maximize her calories.

 

Thanks for all the great suggestions! I didn't even know about the pediasure bars. I think she would like them- I will get a box. I do agree that (after reading all the responses on this thread) that the pediasure may be reducing her appetite. I have felt stuck because so much of her caloric intake was from the pediasure- and that is why I got nervous when he told me to ditch the bottle. I think this is the perfect time to wean the pediasure out replacing it with better options that are actually food!

[MotherMayI]

Let her have the bottle - it's no big deal.

 

Thanks for this! I think I was making more of it than I needed to. I sucked my thumb till I was in 5th grade:001_huh: and I turned out ok...and you wouldn't know it from the looks of my teeth.

[MotherMayI]

Speaking as the mother of a 22 lb. 3 y/o girl and a 34 lb. 6.5 y/o boy I'd ditch the bottle and the Pediasure altogether. My kids have never even made it to the bottom of the growth charts!

 

If the goal is to get her to eat more then that's never going to happen as long as she's getting her belly filled with Pediasure instead. We gave my ds Carnation Instant Breakfast with whole milk for a couple years. Finally we quit when we realized he didn't eat because he was holding out for the yummy sweet milkshake-like drink instead. Once we cut out the instant breakfast he started eating a more reasonable amount (although he's still a light eater, neither of my kids have huge appetites.)

 

Our doctor contends that there is nothing wrong with a 22 lb. 3 y/o or a 34 lb. 6 y/o (barring any health issues) as long as they are relatively height/weight proportionate. A healthy weight for my 6'1" girlfriend would be quite heavy on my 4'11" aunt. Likewise a short kid is naturally going to weigh less.

 

Some people are just petite and there's nothing more to it. Small and thin does not necessarily equal unhealthy.

 

The bolded part really didn't occur to me until this thread. I agree! Thanks for pointing it out!

 

You are right, for 364 days of the year I *get* that she is petite- and perfectly normal. On the 1 day that we see the pediatrician I start to question everything! If you didn't see in an early response, I am 6'2- and so my very petite dd confuses people. They just do not understand how she could be so tiny if mama is so tall. My dd is healthy, active, and happy. Perfect in fact:). Thanks so much!

[MotherMayI]

My advice (I'm an RD) is ask for a consult with a dietitian.

 

Would you try some of the suggestions of adding calories/fat before taking this step? I now see that the pediasure is replaceable- and dd is a good eater generally.

 

As a RD, what would your concerns be?

 

Thanks! I hadn't even considered a dietician.

[MotherMayI]

My DS3 will only drink milk from his "bottle" which is actually his bottle with a Born Free Sippy spout in it, the 6month soft spout. He will drink juice from a hard spout sippy and a cup, but not milk. :)

 

My DD's orthodontists says to let DC have a pacifier to sleep over their fingers or thumb, he isn't concerned until they are 5 because of the damage sucking on fingers and thumbs does.

 

Thanks for this. This is why I asked what the issue was with continued bottle use. I don't think a bottle a day is going to ruin her! Moderation!:tongue_smilie: Take care!

[MotherMayI]

Continue with the bottle.

 

That said, what is she eating? Is there any way you could up the calories with foods rather than the Pediasure? I have a tiny dd as well. She is my first girl after three very large boys. So, this was a shock. She didn't hit 20 pounds until she was 2. She's now 5 and weighs 28 pounds. Tiny.

 

Anyway, when we were off the charts small when she was a toddler, our doctor told us to feed a lot of avocado (she wouldn't eat it); pastas with fatty sauces - oils, cheese, etc; yogurt; fruits with dips - yogurt, cream cheese, etc; hummus (she didn't like this either!); meats. You get the idea.

 

My doc said he just wanted to see that she would gain weight. If she hadn't, then we'd do further testing. She gained a little and he was fine. She's been our healthiest child. But a mom still worries! She's smaller than her 3 yo friends!!!

:grouphug:

 

Thank you. My dd is a pretty good eater and will try most of the things you listed. I think you hit it on the head with "a mom still worries!" My story is very similar to yours- 3 big boys, and then a very petite girl. I know that she will always be small, and I look forward to shopping in the petite department in the future, something that I NEVER could do!:tongue_smilie:

[Pippen]

The powdered milk can be put into almost anything to add calories and my picky eaters never noticed. I think the pediasure may actually be reducing her appetite and paradoxically making it appear that she needs it even more. It is very filling. .

 

I did this with my youngest. I'd make pudding from scratch and add extra milk powder to it to add calories.

[Ellie]

Why Pediasure instead of upping her caloric intake with good, solid food?:confused:

[MotherMayI]

Why Pediasure instead of upping her caloric intake with good, solid food?:confused:

 

We started the pediasure when she was about one and had lost weight due to an illness. The doctor recommended we continue. I am embarassed to say that it hadn't occured to me to up her caloric intake with *food* until this thread. Now that I am out of my pediasure induced haze I see it is time for a change:tongue_smilie:.

[MotherMayI]

As long as there are no teeth problems I would have no problem giving a child a bottle. That is assuming she is drinking from the bottle, and not just sucking on it off and on for hours.

 

She slurps down a bottle of milk quickly, so dragging it out all day isn't a problem. I think I will work on weaning, but use a bottle when she hasn't gotten her milk in for the day. Thanks!