Severly Underweight

[HndaGirl84]

My 2.5 yo is still breast fed...usually 2x a day.  I am "trying" to wean her but it hasn't happened yet.  She is very underweight and we have seen dieticians/nutritionist numerous times.

I try to feed her high fat foods but we are both vegetarians.

I give her extra vegan butter on everything, avacados, peanut butter, full fat cheese/yogurt, kid fortified soymilk, icecream, everything imaginable.  She loves veggies and fruits and her iron levels are great.  

Any suggestions?

We see a nutritionist in a week.
Thanks!

[Renee Radenberg]

Thank you for the measurements and you are correct. If a child remains in the growth ranges and steadily grows, that is normal, however, if the weight drops in the growth chart, that is a concern. Do you give her the smoothies 2-3 times a day consistently? The higher calorie dense nutrient drinks need to be given every day and in most cases they replace the 'milk' intake of the day so the child is getting additional calories and protein daily over time. Suggest giving her Pediasure (soy based) and/or the yogurt smoothies instead of soy milk intake every day. Not to alarm you and not sure if this was done, but suggest getting her checked medically to rule out any medical issues that maybe causing her to not gain weight. Hoped this helped you.

[HndaGirl84]

Opps the heigh should be 36.

She has dropped from 10th to 2nd in a matter of months.  I have tried all of your suggestions beforehand but no luck with her gaining any weight.  She still fits in 9 mon clothes!

When I did the growth chart for her height/weight this is what I cam up with:

At 30 months:

your child is 25 pounds, and that is
at the 9th percentile for weight.

your child is 36 inches, and that is
at the 53th percentile for height.

[Renee Radenberg]

Her weight is just above the 25th percentile for her age which is still on the growth chart and not underweight. I am not sure if the height measurement is correct because that would bring her very much above the 95th percentile. Here are some suggestions for additional calories and protein: Put melted cheese on her vegetables, and pasta. Try yogurt smoothies (yogurt, fresh fruit and frozen fruit blended together) to give her daily. Add ice cream to it and it will increase the calories even more.