What am I doing wrong?

[December86]

My daughter is about 16 months old, and though she doesn't look malnourished or anything, people always comment on how skinny she is.  To me, she just looks slender and "fit" (she runs around and jumps around a lot, so she doesn't really have much "fat" on her, just mostly a little on her thighs).  To say the least, the doctors are hassling me a little on this, saying her weight is in the lower 25, and looking at me (I'm a little overweight, myself, always have been) like I'm the one that's been eating her food.

Anyways, to the question -- usually for breakfast she has french toast, or yogurt; for a snack later on some graduate puffs or cereal; lunch is typically hotdogs or some other finger food; a later snack is typically some fruit or yogurt if she didn't have it for breakfast already; and for dinner she eats chicken or if I'm not eating, she'll eat some jarred baby food; later in the evening she may have a little bit of a Popsicle (it helps her teething) or one of those small individual cups of ice cream before she goes to bed.  Of course her daily intake may vary on days where we can't get in a snack or something, but that's her "typical" day (as for liquids, I forgot to mention, she has about 4 - 5 oz of juice, and whatever milk and water she wants [I let her choose which one she wants by putting them in two different containers and she sips them and keeps what she wants]).

My suspicion is that her activity level is what keeps her from "getting fat".  She is very active, quite smart (she doesn't talk yet, just babbles, but can still communicate in different ways), and she isn't lethargic or sickly.  She seems perfectly healthy.

I guess what my real question is (to the point, finally), is should I cave in and try to chub her up, so to speak?  Or should I just continue what I'm doing and let the nurse blow her hot air?

[Renee Radenberg]

Her weight is just above the 25th percentile and her height is just below the 90th percentile for her age. She may appear thinner then she is due to her being on the taller side for her age, however, she is normal for her age. The guidelines for 15-24 month old child should eat the following on a daily basis with the amounts: Dairy 3-4 feedings a day – Milk (4oz), cheese (½ oz), yogurt (½ cup), or cottage cheese (¼ cup). Starch 4 feedings a day – Cereal (¼ cup), pasta (¼ cup), rice (¼ cup), bread (½ slice), or crackers (2). Fruits & Vegetables 4 feedings a day – Fruits (including 100% juice limited to only 4-6ozs) & Vegetables (¼ cup). Protein source 2 feedings a day – Meat or fish (1oz), egg (1), or beans (¼ cup). She should eat 3 meals and have snacks between meals using the foods.

[skepticalpeach]

My daughter has been in the 3% scale for her weight all her life and 50% for her height. Her doctor has not been worried about her because she looks healthy. I am also a petite woman so I'm not concerned about her. She eats a lot and has plenty of energy.

She is lactose intolerant so we started giving her Pediasure and that helped her gain a little bit more weight. She looks just a little bit bigger. It was hard to find her pants that fit because she has such long legs, but a small waist. I also breastfed her and her doc said that is another reason she is so petite. There's nothing wrong with being small!

[December86]

Edit on the height -- I was guessing on the height earlier.  I couldn't find her height chart offhand...but 35 almost seems too tall...it may actually be closer to about 32 inches.  Sorry for the messup.