[helenahu]

My DS is 15 months now. He still can't walk. He is always under-weight which is under 3rd percentile. He doesn't eat too much.
He has 3 bottles of 150ml milk during a day. One in the morning, one in the afternoon after sleep, and one before bed time.
He can have 1 weetbix when he was 8 months, but now still one for breakfast...
It's hard to feed him, always fuss during lunch and dinner.
What kind of food do you prepare for your kids like this age? any suggestion?
Ta

[bunnee]

Could he perhaps be filling up on milk and is therefore not hungry at meal times?

My child at this age had 2 weetbix and milk for breakfast, a sandwich (ham & cheese or similar) and fruit for lunch, and whatever we had for dinner (as an example chicken breast and vegies) He also had morning & afternoon tea (fruit, rice crackers, cheese or similar)

I also let him feed himself which I found made him eat more but meal times are really long (usually about 45 minutes to an hour)

Have you taken him to the GP or Paed? I hope you get some answers/results soon.

[~*hiptobesquare~...]

My dd2 is 14 months and isn't walking yet either ( DD1 started walking at 10 months) i'm not too worried as a lot of kids can start walking anywhere from 9 - 18 months.

DD2 is also quite a small baby, always has been. She eats quite well
( finger foods, i don't have much success spoon feeding her) as long as she is rising on the graph charts and not declining in weight i'm not too worried at the moment.

She also has roughly 3 bottles a day sometimes she will have 2. And these are at nap times.

My Mchn tried to push the weight issue onto me but as i said to her, my partner and i are not big people and DD1 was very similar weight at the same age.



Have u spoke to your Mchn or Gp in regard to his weight ?

[Jenflea]

Does he eat fruit or snacks? My daughter prefers to eat lots of small meals during the day, mostly fruit. Maybe he's too hungry at meal times to eat, or too tired so he fusses a lot.
Is he feeding himself or are you spoon feeding him? By now he should be feeding himself most foods unless it's soup or too liquid) which might help.
If you look under baby led weaning(BLW) here you should find some good food ideas for his age.
My daughter hardly ate breakfast either at the same age, and now at 2 she still wouldn't eat more than 1 weetbix and HATES sandwiches, so I give her vegetables or leftovers instead.

[mummy.to.one]

Has he been on time with other milestones? The upper end for walking is 18months so he is still well within the range.

DS grazes alot during the day, he only has two bottles of milk now (morning and night), but has 1.5 weetbix with banana for breakfast, a hot lunch and dinner, plus snacks all day usually made up of a piece of fruit, fruit bar, biscuit, rice cracker with Vegemite. Lately he hasn't wanted much of his lunch, so I just make sure he eats other things later.

Have you seen a gp or chn about his weight? Are they concerned, or has he always been small?

If you are still feeding him, maybe give him a spare spoon and let him play with it to get the hang of feeding himself.

Our DS has developmental delays and is still not walking, or feeding himself FYI.

[melanieb530]

How big are you and your husband - if you are both under average in height and weight then your son might not be as small as you think.

[NoMoreGuilt]

I don't have any advice about being underweight or the not walking yet issue (except to concur with a PP in that walking can start anywhere between 9-18 months). However to give you an idea of what other toddlers are eating here is what my DS 14 months ate today (typical day).

Breakfast: 1 weetbix with 1/2 cup milk and one banana
Morning tea: Fruit + slice of raisin toast
Lunch: Zucchini slice with veggies
Afternoon tea: Piece of cheese + crackers
Dinner: Spaghetti Bologanaise , Yoghurt for dessert
Plus 1 x 200ml bottle in the morning and another before bed.

[Jenflea]

Is he pulling himself up to stand at least? Does he cruise the furniture as well? If he's not doing THOSE I would worry a bit more than just not walking. My daughter didn't walk properly till 17 months but she'd been cruising along the furniture for months beforehand and could take a few steps here and there from maybe 14 months.

[neaka]

My first thought is that is alot of milk and that could be putting his appetite off?

My child at this age had 2 weetbix and milk for breakfast, a sandwich (ham & cheese or similar) and fruit for lunch, and whatever we had for dinner (as an example chicken breast and vegies) He also had morning & afternoon tea (fruit, rice crackers, cheese or similar)

We were pretty much the same as this, but just prior to this i did have to cut his milk down from 200ml x3 a day to 150ml twice a day, and i feel this helped alot.

I think its very normal for them to go through a fusy stage with eating and really you just have to persevere and youll get through it. I wouldnt bbe concerned about the not walking, kids develop at different rates but if you are worried about his weight i would take him to a paed to have a checkup.
good luck!

[mayahlb]

Walking is anywhere from 9-18 months, so he is still in the average range. If you are worried you can ask for a referral or organize to see a physio and they can give you some activities and exercises to encourage muscle development and walking.

On the food side and the weight issues. Have you been seeing someone, a GP, nurse or pead? Has he always been small and followed the same curve and how is it in proportion to his height? It is more important then just saying he is underweight because he isn't average. If he is following the same curve then this is most probably just the way he is suppose to be, it is when they drop down the graphs that there is usually something to worry about (I have had one child that was failure to thrive for almost a year due to weight gain issues, he dropped from 75th percentile to sitting under the 3rd percentile on the graph over the course of the first 3 months of his life and has now crept up to the 30th).

On the weetbix, well some kids will eat more then others. My eldest might eat 1/2 of 1 if I am lucky and he is 3 adn has never eaten more then that, whereas my youngest with eat 2 no problems (21 months). I would also be changing breakfast to something more protein rich, like scrambled eggs, porridge made with LSA (as long as he is fine with nuts as he is fine with nuts as it has almonds in it) and cream, baked beans with Avocado toast. Also I would only be offering milk after he has eaten what you consider a good amount and at least 30 mins after he has eaten (you are probably already doing this) and cutting it down to 2 x 150mls or 3 x 100mls as he might be filling up on it. Also if you want to cut it further just offer more dairy in his lunch and dinner as cheese, yogurt etc. I know my youngest screams for milk all day at the moment but he only get his 2 x 200mls a day (ok sometimes he gets a 3rd 200mls but that is normally before bedtime and this is only because he is severely intolerant of dairy and soy to doesn't get much calcium in his diet and is on a special formula).

I would also be trying to make each meal or snack as protein and good fat rich as possible (you can look these up via google, but things like egg, nut meals, Avo, canned fish with bones like sardines and salmon, cheese etc). Also it is extremely common for them to be fussy eaters at this stage (though my eldest is still not outgrowing it yet at 3)

I hope that has helped a little bit at least.

This post has been edited by mayahlb: 08/05/2012, 11:42 AM