weight gain and speech for 18 month olds

[sharn]

Any suggestions on how to help an 18 month old gain weight? My daughter Megan has fallen off her growth curve and we're supposed to be working on having her gain weight. She has always been small but following her curve (3-5%). Now she is down to less than 1% for weight. She is 19 lbs 4.5 oz. Her twin Emma is 22 lbs 8 oz in comparison. They were 4 lbs 10 oz and 4 lbs 12 oz when they were born but their weight has been getting further and further apart each appt. They are fraternal twins.

On another subject, and suggestions for encouraging speech? Emma only says about 4-6 words total. We're going to be referred to for hearing and speech evaluations in a couple of months unless she starts talking more. Megan speaks in 2 word sentences. Emma's placenta is the one that abrupted, so I worry about whether she'll have problems as a result.

Thanks!
Shannon

[hotpinkmomma0811]

For speech the pediatrician can refer you to the First Steps program to get her jump started on her speech. They can evaluate both twins. If you qualify you may a a low to zero co-pay on based on your income. Cody went through the program from 18 months to 3 years of age. There was huge improvement. My daughter Sophia is tiny 15 lbs 5 oz @ 1 year. The pediatrician isn't concerned however, I hear good things about Boost and Pedisure drinks to help children grow.

[runningmomofmany]

I have had some little kids, and my experience is that they are just little. 2 of them eventually dipped down below the 1st percentile. All my kids slowly dropped percentiles over their first few years. My current 14m old is at the 6th percentile, which compared to her next oldest sister seems big anyway, I would just offer her a variety of calorie/nutrition dense foods. You could request a visit to a nutritionist, though I didn't find that all that helpful. The one I saw with my son when he was a tiny toddler said togive him marshmallows as a snack.

[CamaLamaMama]

For speech the pediatrician can refer you to the First Steps program to get her jump started on her speech. They can evaluate both twins. If you qualify you may a a low to zero co-pay on based on your income. Cody went through the program from 18 months to 3 years of age. There was huge improvement. My daughter Sophia is tiny 15 lbs 5 oz @ 1 year. The pediatrician isn't concerned however, I hear good things about Boost and Pedisure drinks to help children grow.

Just wanted to say I agree, but keep in mind the names of these programs vary from state to state. Special education services at elementary schools often do early intervention screening. Idk much about the weight though.

[Gwenn]

For speech the pediatrician can refer you to the First Steps program to get her jump started on her speech. They can evaluate both twins. If you qualify you may a a low to zero co-pay on based on your income. Cody went through the program from 18 months to 3 years of age. There was huge improvement. My daughter Sophia is tiny 15 lbs 5 oz @ 1 year. The pediatrician isn't concerned however, I hear good things about Boost and Pedisure drinks to help children grow.

Just wanted to say I agree, but keep in mind the names of these programs vary from state to state. Special education services at elementary schools often do early intervention screening. Idk much about the weight though.

Yes, the names vary but they are usually under the heading of Early Intervention. It is federally mandated but run individually in each state. Some states fully fund services, some have a sliding scale, so it will really depend on where you live.

It Takes Two to Talk is a great book with ideas to help with language development. Not cheap but check to see if your library has it.

[caitlinsmommy]

I agree that some kids are just smaller-my DD Caitlin is 2.5 years old and weighs anywhere from high 23 to low 24lbs depending on the day. She was 7lbs 10oz at birth and dropped off the charts all together around 18 months (like below 1%). We do give her pediasure chocolate drinks throughout the week to try to encourage weight gain but try not to stress it other than that.

[anonsouthernbell]

I wouldn't be too concerned about the words. Speaking in two word sentences at 18 months is advanced. I would also not worry about her weight. Keep offering healthy meals and if there is still a weight issue at 2 years (or an in b/n appointment) then I would discuss it w/your pediatrician to rule out other causes. If no "red flags" then it just means that she is small for her age.

[Flynn08]

How do you feel about Megan's intake? My guys started 7 oz diff and its up to 4 lbs at 2.5yrs. The smaller one actually eats more foods & especially more protein rich food but he is constantly in motion. I'm not too concerned b/c I know eats good food & lots of it. Speech delays are very common in multiples but several families that I know have had good results w/ early intervention. GL!

[Gwenn]

I wouldn't be too concerned about the words. Speaking in two word sentences at 18 months is advanced. I would also not worry about her weight. Keep offering healthy meals and if there is still a weight issue at 2 years (or an in b/n appointment) then I would discuss it w/your pediatrician to rule out other causes. If no "red flags" then it just means that she is small for her age.

18 months is the average age kids start using two-word sentences. So not advanced, really.

[anonsouthernbell]

18 months is the average age kids start using two-word sentences. So not advanced, really.

I was just basing that off from most things tat I have read that say that kids should do that by age two.

http://kidshealth.org/parent/growth/...on/c12yr.html#

[Gwenn]

I was just basing that off from most things tat I have read that say that kids should do that by age two.

http://kidshealth.org/parent/growth/...on/c12yr.html#

You are partially right. If they don't start combining words before two, they are definitely behind. Like most kids walk around 12 months but they aren't delayed if they start to walk at 13 months. You might not become concerned until around 15-18 months, but that doesn't make walking at 12 months advanced. It's normal. Two years is a red flag if they haven't started combining words. 18 months is average.

[emma1978]

My ds has always been tiny (like under growth curves for weight) and despite lots of dr appt, work up nutrition appt, nothing has helped. He is super picky eater!!!

[soniabee]

I don't have little ones, but do you constantly have a snack out? or set eating times. For those that need the extra nutrition, have snacks out during the day and encourage them to eat a snack vs. sit down for a meal.
I always felt better knowing that kids won't starve themselves. When they are hungry they will eat and some kids are just small try not to stress.

[pumpkinseed2011]

Shannon- my DD just had tubes put in both her ears due to fluid, not infections. Her language exploded within the first month and now is back to just 4-5 words. And those words are not the full word, like dog is missing the end g... We constantly just keep using the same words over and over and hopefully at this 18 month appt we will not have any flags from the Pedi. I've been working with the B sound and some times she says it, but mostly not. Pedi has never been worried, but I'm the worrier.

As for weight gain, I've heard great things about avocados. DD will eat them, in small qty, but that is just her. A small qty eater. Good luck! And it is good to see you (we were in the due date room together).

[babybluesash]

I know if California we have Early Intervention and its before pre-school they normally service your child for free in your home until age 3 years old. Cole is gettting ready to transition from EI to Pre-School and they help so much. As far as the weight, I also recommend high nutritional foods, like avocado, kale, etc... rather than things like sugary snacks.

[Ky'sMom]

No advice regarding the speech, but my DD also had weight gain issues. She was 6lbs 9oz at birth so was always a little bit little, compared to other babies in my family especially (my son was 8lbs at birth and until my DD he was the smallest baby in the family for instance lol). She went to about 1-2% on the percentiles at 9 months. She weight 16lbs for at least 6 months, probably longer. Only recently has she started to put on weight and she just turned 4. She is now 33lbs!!! Which is exciting for us. My son weighed 32lbs at 1 year so it is amazing to me the difference between them.

To encourage her to keep her weight the same (as she went back and forth between 16lbs and 18lbs for a long time) I gave her lots of her favorite foods. She wasn't really picky as she would try things but she would only really eat oatmeal, chicken strips/nuggets (homemade), and broccoli. I put tons of butter in her oatmeal. I also put butter on her broccoli. I started to fry instead of bake her chicken nuggets lol. I also gave her ice cream almost every day. When she got to 19lbs I think she was around 2 years old and I was so excited about that!!

Another thing I did with her was notice when she was hungry. I would practically stuff her when she wanted to eat. Elle still only likes to eat during the morning hours and early afternoon, which I think is a good thing. She got 2 breafasts and a snack and 2 mini-lunches per day as she would rarely eat anything after 1pm. She would take one bite for dinner so I made sure to get as much food in her I could in the morning. Sometimes she had 3 breakfasts lol. For extra nutrition I made "green shakes" with full fat greek yogurt, raw spinach, frozen blueberries, honey, sugar, and whole milk (she ALWAYS drank whole milk until she got to 30lbs actually). They were filled with calories and had some good antioxidants. Sometimes I made peanut butter shakes too when she started liking peanut butter. They had the same ingredients as above except blueberries would be replaced by a few tablespoons of peanut butter and a frozen banana. She still loves her shakes.

And FWIW, when she was 3 she really started eating more of a variety of foods and she started putting on more weight and growing really fast. She is now in the 30th -40th percentile, which is the biggest she has ever been. Last time I weighed her at home she was 33lbs and she was about 40 inches. She grew about 2-3 inches over the course of last year and I know it was because she actually started to eat more. She is bigger now than what she looks like in my siggy. Let me see if I can dig up a pic

playground 2.jpg

That is the only one I could find but she is much bigger and eats almost everything now (except melted cheese, which she always used to eat - this includes macaroni and cheese and grilled cheese sandwiches and cheese burgers, she will eat non-melted cheese so go figure).

Erin

[tanyachap]

You are partially right. If they don't start combining words before two, they are definitely behind. Like most kids walk around 12 months but they aren't delayed if they start to walk at 13 months. You might not become concerned until around 15-18 months, but that doesn't make walking at 12 months advanced. It's normal. Two years is a red flag if they haven't started combining words. 18 months is average.

THat's a very good example. Yes, 4-6 words at 18 months is a big red flag at the evals here. I live in Cali and there is serious budget deficit for our EI, regional center. You dont qualify unless there is 50% dealay in 2 areas but your insurance might pay. They most definitely dont come to your houses unless there is serious delay and diagnosis. We qualified for one on one speech throught our insuarance and special preschool with developemental compontent, Group OT and group language developement from the regional center. Now once we went to the school district, we only qualified for speech until recently when I made him reevaluate him and qualify him for OT as well to get him ready for school.

In my experience, the earleir you get help, the better. But some people prefer to wait. In your shoes, I would be worried and seek eval.