Help - Kids not gaining weight! page

[teach2183]

My daughter will be 4 on 4/14, my son will be 2 on 5/30. We eliminated wheat from our diets mid-January and are slowly moving towards a fully primal diet (with occasional cheats). My kids are small to begin with, but they seem to not be able to gain weight lately. My daughter is 32lbs (40") and son is 25lbs (33/34"). I know my pediatrician is going to say something at their check-ups. Neither are very picky eaters and have been enjoying eggs, sausage, bacon, tuna, lettuce, cheese, apples, bananas, oranges, chicken, ham, peppers, mushrooms, brocolli, green beans... you get the idea. I cook using coconut oil and olive oil, sometimes put butter on veggies but we're used to plain. They drink whole milk, but usually opt for water. I'm home with them all day.

What can I feed these kids to get them to help them put on weight? They are very active and strong.

[Linny]

I know what it's like to stress about your kids and whether they are gaining weight. My DS has never been on the growth chart he's so tiny. Since it's only been a couple months, I would talk to the ped about another weight check in 6 months. It could be your kids are losing their wheat bloat and adjusting to a new position on the growth curve and will start gaining weight soon.

[slowcooker]

My son seemed to be stuck on 40# for a year and a half. I think it's normal for kids to go through stretches of not gaining weight and then quick growth spurts. I try to give him lots of carbs, mashed potatoes, mashed sweet potatoes and califlower and put tons of butter in with that. I also make him 'kraft dinner' once a week or so with rice noodles and again lots of butter / cream. Don't be shy with the carbs in addition to all the good fats.

[lardomuncher]

are you feeding them paleo friendly carbs, potatoes, sweet potatoes, rice, etc..

I don't think growing kids that need to gain weight should be on a low carb diet, the things that you listed in their diet seem pretty low carb.

[Grumpycakes]

These things sometimes come in spurts. What do you mean by "lately?"

[Heidi]

I plugged your kids' numbers into a growth chart and they're both in the normal range. If you're looking to make sure they don't go off the charts, try adding more starchy foods, like others mentioned. Otherwise, your kids sound so healthy with how you feed them. Congrats!!! (I wish I could say the same for my kids. Too many people close to them who live by the SAD and sway their taste buds away from primal.)

[teach2183]

Yep, potatoes, sweet potatoes, bananas (1-2/day for DS), quinoa, carrots. I made meatloaf with green beans and mashed potatoes (w/butter) and both kids ate 3 servings of meatloaf but barely touched the potatoes.

DD seems to have been stuck at 32lbs for 3 months. DS has gained ~2lbs since his 18m check-up, so in 4 months, but seems to be stuck at 25lbs for the past 3 months. I'm just trying to figure out what I'm going to say when they look at DD a week from Monday and tell me again that she's skinny.

[Sandra in BC]

If they've always been lean, don't sweat it. If they are healthy in all other ways the Dr. will be able to tell. The growth curve slows remarkably after 18months. It could be that your DD is just poised for a growth spurt. Most kids don't grow in a steady, linear path anyway. There are many other ways to tell if a child is thriving.

Neither of my kids had those adorable chubby baby legs and arms, both were under 20lb at 12 months, but they were (still are) vibrant and engaging, rarely sick enough to bother seeing a Dr., and met all the milestones at appropriate times. My 12yo dd was 75% percentile in height and 25% in weight until she was about 10. My 8yo son has always clung to the bottom of the height and weight growth charts with white knuckles. Thats his "normal"....and there's absolutely no chance of him 'failing to thrive'. One ear/throat infection in his life.

Unless you are seriously concerned about their weights, I wouldn't bring it up. Let the Dr. bring it up...if he even notices. If he asks what they're eating, tell him the truth and list all the healthy, clean, whole foods you all eat, and stress that they aren't picky and eat a good variety. And that your family "avoids refined grains and sugar most of the time." (what Dr. in their right mind would have a problem with that???) Don't set off alarm bells by telling him you drastically overhauled the family diet recently.

My challenge is always finding ways to add more calories into my son's day. He can put back alot of food when he's in the He's very active and doesn't like to 'waste' his time eating (his words) when he could be jumping on the trampoline or playing hockey on the patio or running around at school with his friends. And he doesn't like bacon (wth????). So I put extra butter on his rice and potatoes, and an avocado in his chocolate coconut milk smoothies, and feed him ice cream, cheese, peanut butter, meatballs, nuts, all the salad dressing he wants (and he loves salad), etc. My kids arent' full primal so they still eat a little bread and cereal and baked goods, but otherwise the amount of processed crap food they eat is minimal.

If you check out the blogs of primal/paleo parents and cookbook authors you'll see that their kids are pretty lean and fit.

[Uncephalized]

It sounds like you're doing everything right to me--and if you are offering them starches and fruit, but they are *choosing* the meats and fats for themselves, sounds like that's what their little bodies want at the moment. I wouldn't worry unless they actually start dropping to the bottom of the weight charts, or your Dr. notices anything amiss.