DD underweight, thoughts?

[basil]

Just took DD to her annual physical today...The doctor was worried that her weight percentile had dropped from 29th %tile to 11th %tile. Her height is stable at ~25th %tile. She is 5 years old and weighs 35 lbs with clothes on.

She is my non picky eater...so I hadn't been worrying about her as much as I worry about DS's eating. She eats a lot of vegetables and fruits. But when I actually analyze the amount she eats it's just sometimes not a lot.

This is a typical day for her:
Breakfast: egg sandwich (2 slices bread, 1 fried egg, 1 slice cheese), ate 1/3 of sandwich
Lunch: PB&J sandwich, ate 1/2 of sandwich, side of pickles, tomatoes, blueberries
Snack: cold green beans
Dinner: haddock sauteed in olive oil, ate 5 tiny mouse bites; pasta with pesto, ate maybe 3-4 bites; banana, strawberries, blueberries

She will sometimes eat whole milk greek yogurt with honey but usually doesn't finish the individual serve container, more like half. She drinks milk but usually doesn't finish the 6 oz glass. I admittedly usually serve lower fat proteins with dinner (wild salmon, haddock, shrimp, chicken thighs, ground turkey) as it is DH's preference to not eat red meat. She doesn't love avocado, and she won't eat potatoes at all except for mcdonalds french fries. She will only eat hard boiled egg whites, not yolks. She will eat nuts like cashews or pistachios but usually they ruin her dinner and she'll eat nothing after that.

I'm switching to whole milk and will start putting olive oil or butter on her veggies but I'm really not sure how much to push her to eat if she's not hungry, which just seems unhealthy?? I think she has never really finished a plate in her life and I generally don't push her all that much to finish if she's done.

DH is (predictably) freaking out like he did 7.5 years ago with DS's low iron when I was breastfeeding and wanting to switch everything immediately. I had always figured on the theory that as long as healthy food was put in front of them, they would eat if they are hungry, and now I feel like I'm being proved wrong

[trales]

This has been the story of my life for 12 years. On the chart at like 12%, then off the chart, then back on the chart, but height has always remained steady at 25%. Mine's diet seems like yours. All the fats in our house our full fat, whole milk everything. I remind her to eat a snack when she comes home, I send snacks for sports practice, often she does not eat them. If I did not actively put food in front of her and we did not have sit down breakfast and dinner, I am not sure she would actually ever eat. Food is never on her radar.

After a very long nordic ski race, I did take her to a restaurant and she ate 2 adult dinners. I know she can.

I let her make "trail mix" She picked the nuts, and dried fruits from target and traders joes. It has all her favorites, so she is taking that and snacking all day.

I hear you and I have no answer for you, it seems to come and go with us, this winter was super tough, this summer we are doing awesome.

[doberbrat]

dd1 was underweight till she hit 11ish. then she started piling on pounds and is now a very respectable 138 at 13. Personally I would continue to go with healthy variety as while we were trying to inch her up the weight chart we lost that and now its a battle to get her to eat 'healthy'

[candaceb]

I am so there with you with the put the food in front of them and they will eat what they're supposed to... until they fall off the growth chart and then all the sudden it's a panic.
Don't panic, but start thinking about how you can pad her calories. I am at a double disadvantage because my DS is picky and lactose intolerant and won't even touch lactose-free milk. He will eat ice cream though with lactaid, and it is offered every single night after dinner. Sometimes he chooses fruit, and I don't make a big deal over it.
When I make a grilled cheese, I use a ton of olive oil; when I make banana pancakes with Kodiak mix for breakfast, I add a tablespoon of canola oil. Whole milk yogurt wherever I can stick it.
Plain fruits and vegetables are not a snack for an underweight kid. You need a fat and a protein. Think veggies with a dip made from whole milk greek yogurt. You can do the same thing with fruit - add honey to greek yogurt to dip the fruit in.
She's not an adult who needs to lose weight/maintain weight - she's a kid who needs to feed her brain and grow.
I hope this isn't too harsh but I have lived this for the last 1.5 years. We go to the nurtritionist for a follow-up next week and I'm optimistic that he's going to be back on the charts based on the weight I got at home yesterday.
One thing that I really have to watch, especially with my mom, is adults talking about the benefits of eating "only". Or being "good" by not eating something. My DS really absorbs those words and takes them to heart.

[StantonHyde]

Will she drink smoothies? You can put cream or ice cream in those or butter. You could also make an appointment with a nutritionist which might also calm your DH a little.

[bisous]

dd1 was underweight till she hit 11ish. then she started piling on pounds and is now a very respectable 138 at 13. Personally I would continue to go with healthy variety as while we were trying to inch her up the weight chart we lost that and now its a battle to get her to eat 'healthy'

I agree with this approach! If she is meeting milestones, healthy, and eating good food I wouldn't worry a bit. You're a doctor, right? The one thing that I worry about with weight loss is type 1 diabetes but I bet you're clued in to symptoms of that one, including extreme thirst and frequent urination (and later ketone breath and vomiting). But really, being thin is not a bad thing. I say carry on!

[georgiegirl]

I wouldn’t worry at all so long as she’s eating well, happy, and energetic. Like really, don’t worry.

[ArizonaGirl]

I could write your post. My DD, who turned 7 today, is maybe 41 pounds. She doesn't really like meat, won't eat potatoes and loves fruits and veggies. We did a year of feeding therapy and sort of failed out because of lack of progress. We have talked of a FT, only because she would rather starve than eat something she doesn't want and has a very, very limited diet. We are trudging along tho. Not much advice, just commiseration.

[KpbS]

She sounds fine to me but I would work on her eating more at meals. Maybe 1/2 or 2/3s of breakfast sandwich? More bites of protein at dinner, etc. I would ask her if she can eat some more bites or finish the reasonable fish serving on her plate.

[roobee]

None of this sounds like a problem to me. The percentage drop might be a red flag, but I'd just keep an eye on it rather than trying to do much about it.

DD is 14 and still doesn't always finish a kids meal when we go out to eat. She'll eat one, maybe two, pieces of pizza when her friends are sitting next to her eating their fourth slice. She's 5 feet tall and weighs 84 pounds, which might sound like a problem, but she's literally always been like this. She never really stopped eating like a toddler.

DD has consistently been about 5-15% on the growth chart. Her cousin that's the same age has always been in the 80% range. Not much to be done on either end, if you ask me. Just keep offering healthy foods and encourage a few more bites.

I do have a friend whose DD was diagnosed with Celiac disease when both her height and weight stopped increasing because her body wasn't able to absorb nutrients.

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