Weight Gain

[liz_sabatino@hotmail.com]

My son is three years old; he was born with a bilateral cleft
lip and palate...although he's 36" tall, he only weighs
24lbs! My pediatrician says not to worry, sometimes kids with
this problem can be prone to "thinness" Has anyone else
experienced this? Also my son was born with a number of other
medical problems, such as: hearing loss, heart murmur, and
clubfoot...would like to know if anyone else has dealt with
raising a child with a lot of medical problems...

[Lisa Matthews]

I too am having a similar problem with weight gain in my 3
mos. old. She was born weighing 8 lbs 4 oz and is now 9 lbs 7 oz.
She has a cleft palete and I insisted on taking her to a
specialist at the childrens hospital. Her regular pediatrician
was very slow in processing the paperwork so I had to step on him
and the medical group. I tell you what I've learned is if you
think something is amiss and your pediatrician does not offer
adequate (to your hapiness) answers find a new pediatrician,
immediately. With my daughter it was that she was not able to eat
enough properly and was burning as many calories as she ate. You
may want to check into a specialist or perhaps check his eating?.




Hope this helps, I know how hard it is to be concerned and no
one seem to take you seriously.

[Amber Hill]

Hello!! My daughter is 15 months old and was born with a
unilateral cleft lip and pallat. She did have trouble eating when
she was a newborn, but now that she is able to eat table foods
she is a chunck. On the other hand my son is 3 and was not born
with any kind of abnormalties and only weighs 26 lbs. I think
some children are just born small framed. He is also a very
finicky eater, but my Dr. says he will eat when he is hungry. I
say don't worry about his weight. Lots of luck!!!!

[Mary]

I have a four year old son with NO unusual health issues that
is still only 27 pounds. My nine year old who was born with many
anomalies was also small at this same age and is now the same
average size as his schoolmates. Some children just start out
smaller, I believe. Others will stay small and be petite adult
men.

[cthompson.wvdhhr.com]

[cthompson.wvdhhr.org]

My son is 3 years old and is 36 inches tall and weighs 29
pounds. He was born with a unilateral cleft lip and palate in
1995. Weight has been an issue since birth. His birth weight was
4 pounds 14 ounces. He also has had multiple medical problems. He
has had ear tubes and chronic sinus infections since birth. Thank
God for antibiotcs. I have stressed over the issue of weight and
since and always kept up with what is "normal"
development for children his age. However, I now just go with the
flow. He is in preschool and does not have any problems
socializing with the other children who are larger nor taking up
for himself. He is a strong child! As I have always said, this is
why God made him this way.....

[Anonymous]

Yes!



I am so glad I found this site today! My son is the same age,
the same height, and the same weight as yours; and after I read
all of the responses your message has elicited already, I feel
much better! Parents of "normal" children try to give
me tips on what to do, but I've always wondered if, because he
had such a problem eating for the first month of his life (it
took the hospital 23 days to figure out which combination of
bottle and nipple worked for him!), that his set-point for hunger
is just a lot lower than average. It's not that he doesn't LIKE
to eat (he's not even a picky eater); he simply doesn't THINK
about it. I spend half my day placing food in his mouth, one bite
after another. Otherwise, he would forget totally to eat.



Oh! I can't tell you how glad I am to hear from people who
are in the same boat!



Enthusiastic new participant,



Alex

[Alex]

Yes!



I am so glad I found this site today! My son is the same age,
the same height, and the same weight as yours; and after I read
all of the responses your message has elicited already, I feel
much better! Parents of "normal" children try to give
me tips on what to do, but I've always wondered if, because he
had such a problem eating for the first month of his life (it
took the hospital 23 days to figure out which combination of
bottle and nipple worked for him!), that his set-point for hunger
is just a lot lower than average. It's not that he doesn't LIKE
to eat (he's not even a picky eater); he simply doesn't THINK
about it. I spend half my day placing food in his mouth, one bite
after another. Otherwise, he would forget totally to eat.



Oh! I can't tell you how glad I am to hear from people who
are in the same boat!



Enthusiastic new participant,



Alex