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Hi, my niece has a 15 month old daughter that is very small. As a family we are concerned that our niece is not feeding her enough. The dr. sent her to a specialist because of concerns of her size & little weight gain. She doesn't have teeth yet. My niece is a know-it-all & has control issues. She will not take advice from anyone. We don't think she gives the baby much protien. Our concerns are growing. She is suppose to feed her every 3 hours but we have observed her going 4 hours with nothing. She gives her very small amounts. She breastfeeds too. She is extrememly over protective & very defensive if anyone says anything about her daughter's size. Could this be a type of Munchhausen? She is quite narcissistic. Thoughts?
km, I've been wondering how the baby is doing. It sounds like the doctor is really trying to walk the fine line between being aggressive enough and not too aggressive that she actually moves away with the baby or something.
It does seem at this point that hospitalizing her for a few days would be the way to go since the mother seems uncooperative - it's just too hard to figure out what's going on in a situation like that.
I hope you keep us updated -
It does seem at this point that hospitalizing her for a few days would be the way to go since the mother seems uncooperative - it's just too hard to figure out what's going on in a situation like that.
I hope you keep us updated -
thank you for the update and may I say I applaud you for your caring attitude towards your niece,is it niece, there is no doubt that sometimes we have to take action when we see something is not right,children and animals cannot speak up for themselves they have to be protected ..Glad she is taking a few steps , Is there any reason the mother wont take her daughter to a specialist ?
Just updating. The situation is continuing without improvement. My great neice did not make the weight gain that the dr wanted for her last month. He wants my neice & her husband to go for genetic counseling which she won't do. He wanted a GI test which they tried to do last week but the baby needed to drink 4 oz of berium & she would only drink 2 oz so they couldn't do the test.
A few days ago my sister who was a nurse all her life tried to talk our neice & she just went off on her. Any concern we express is taken as an attack & we just can't get anywhere with her. She has a lot of denial & anger. We have tried to encourage her to take her to a pediatric specialist that deals with FTT but she hasn't. We are hoping that her dr will hospitalize her very soon & get some answers.
She had 2 teeth break through finally & is trying to take some steps - yay! She is now 16 months. My neice says she doesn't want to eat. She is obvoiusly frustrated & stressed. It does seem there may well be a medical issue compounded by my neice's own issues. We all just want the baby to thrive.
Kittycat - please reserve your comments here as they are negative & you do not know what you are talking about. I would appreciate you not posting.
Everyone else - thank you for your continued support & positive thoughts! Kathy
A few days ago my sister who was a nurse all her life tried to talk our neice & she just went off on her. Any concern we express is taken as an attack & we just can't get anywhere with her. She has a lot of denial & anger. We have tried to encourage her to take her to a pediatric specialist that deals with FTT but she hasn't. We are hoping that her dr will hospitalize her very soon & get some answers.
She had 2 teeth break through finally & is trying to take some steps - yay! She is now 16 months. My neice says she doesn't want to eat. She is obvoiusly frustrated & stressed. It does seem there may well be a medical issue compounded by my neice's own issues. We all just want the baby to thrive.
Kittycat - please reserve your comments here as they are negative & you do not know what you are talking about. I would appreciate you not posting.
Everyone else - thank you for your continued support & positive thoughts! Kathy
Hello.No i have never had any problems with cps.It just bug's me that if this baby was so sick and all why has the cps not been called?Family or not if the mother is not going by what the doc has said then yes it would be abuse and neglect i don't understand what the hold up is on getting the baby healthy the doc isn't stupid and if the mother is not feeding her baby then he would know because the baby is loosing weight and not gaining they have to call cps it's the law if he think's the mother isn't feeding the child and is neglecting her. something just dosen't sound rite to me im sorry.And to say it hit a nerve and maybe i have had probs with cps is not the case yes it is hitting a nerve why isn't something being done NOW why let the baby suffer like i said it would not matter to me who it was if a child is being abused u act now not later.My mother use to say how my 11 yr old wasn't talking rite etc.. pissed me of she was just trying to caue trouble and alot of ppl now day's are like that they have no life so they get in someone else's bussiness. Anyway again if the child is not being taken care of call the cps it's so simple. And yes if a child is being abused it hit's a big nerve in me and for the family to talk abt it dosen't seem to be doing the baby any justice @ all and that is why i come bk to some ppl don't have anything better to do.And im not saying that is the case im just sying again something dosen't chime when i look over this.So ok. I hope everyone can just listen to my opinion it's only one out of many!I hope this little girl is doing better and the doc has figured out the prob if there is one.Kitty
Kitty - on re-reading my post to you it sounds harsh - sorry didn't mean it too I'm just curious I guess why it struck a nerve! But didn't mean it in a nasty way.
Best Wishes.
Best Wishes.
Kitty - sounds like this has struck a nerve close to home for you? Have you been in the same situation as the mother and had services called to you perhaps? I don't understand why else a group of people trying to help a child would make you so angry!! And I think the main problem is that although she's been taken to the doctor - the mom is not following the doc's advise.
OP - You're right - it sounds like the doctor is concerned too - but the doctor may not be aware that the mom is not following his instructions - but he'll figure it out when she still dosen't gain weight even despite the supposed treatment.
Best of luck.
OP - You're right - it sounds like the doctor is concerned too - but the doctor may not be aware that the mom is not following his instructions - but he'll figure it out when she still dosen't gain weight even despite the supposed treatment.
Best of luck.
The cop's and protective service's are 2 diffrent thing's.And if the doc was concerned abt the mother not taking care of the child by law they would have to turn her in.So show's to me they are not blaming this on the mother there is something wrong and hopefully they will figure out what. So saying my comment's are Ridiculous well that is what the forum is for comment's if u don't like mine like i said that's fine with me.Im only sayin my opinion it's just 1 amongst alot of other's. You taking offence to it tell's me enough.Good~bye.Kitty.
RockRose, I have been reading about FTT (failure to thrive) & I do think it is both problems - some neglet & a metabolic problem. And you are right that if this continues the dr will probably hospitalize her & do a feeding tube. Even her head is small. She does say a few words & can feed herself finger foods. Proper nutrition is so important in the first couple years. She is seeing the dr this week & we will follow up to see what is said. I am concerned for the baby that can't speak up for herself. Thank you all for your comments & input. We will stay on top of this. km
That is VERY true, Allmymarbles. That's why taking the very simple step of making the doctor aware that the family has seen instances of when the baby is not being fed every 3 hours is the step to take - that way, no harm no foul if there's been a misunderstanding.
A note of caution. Sometimes second-hand information is not very accurate. Note: The baby is under a doctor's care and is being breastfed.
You are doing the right thing by concerning your self with this matter for your niece, too many people prefer to be in denial and thats how things happen to children they slip through the cracks. The fact she doesnt feed even the small meals on time tells me it isnt enough regardless of structure of her body.and I think you said others were concerned so go with your gut feeling ,it is everyones business if any child is in danger , the specialist said she should be fed more , if we close our eyes to everything ,more children will be abused . good luck I see you care and thats what matters .
Im sorry to say but u all ar so drama!My son is 8 and also eat's like a horse.Children are all diffrent some small some bg some in between.It is a little odd the baby has no teeth but as i said all children are diffrent and anyone that has kid's know's that.The reason i said abt the cps like everyone else is because if it was so bad why has this women NOT called them and that is why i say she is full of drama and who know's what else.Ppl know rather a child is being abused most of the time if i thought for 1 sec that a child was bing abused i would call the cps not run around tellin everyone. it's simple if the child is abused call them cps.Sorry for being so ugly but it's so irratating to see ppl that mind other's business.Im not saying that is what is going on with this here but alotof ppl are just flat nosey. Kitty
Yes, the same things concern me about the toddler. We need more information. As to the not walking, if that were the only thing out of sync, it would not be important. One of mine did not walk until 15 months, but otherwise was right on target.
allmymarbles, I too was painfully thin as a child. When I was 6 my brother was born and our wrists were the same size. : (
But this child isn't walking yet, has no teeth and recently lost a pound. This is a huge concern, IMHO.
But this child isn't walking yet, has no teeth and recently lost a pound. This is a huge concern, IMHO.
I am one of five children. My family is naturally light-boned and slender, one of my brothers and myself even more so. I can't count all the letters from school berating my mother about our low weight. The fact is we ate normally and were healthy as horses. My siblings and I are now all in our late seventies to mid-eighties (which tells you something right there). I have all my body parts, and have never had an operation or been hospitalized (except for childbirth).
Some people are naturally lightweight. I don't know about the toddler in question. She is described as tiny, not skinny. But the lack of teeth is strange. It will be interesting to get more information.
Some people are naturally lightweight. I don't know about the toddler in question. She is described as tiny, not skinny. But the lack of teeth is strange. It will be interesting to get more information.
I also think that you have to take this further whether its the Doctor first or another close family member, it does sound like the mother needs some help and counselling.If no on will do anything then yes I think child services are the people to speak to so thay may send a welfare worker round to check on the child .
km, this is worth getting child protective services involved.
At her age and size, losing a pound is a terrible warning sign. I think you should call her pediatrician first, and although he/she can't give you any information they can take information FROM you and act appropriately.
The doctor is apparently already alerted to the belief that this is a problem, and would be interested to know that she is not feeding the child as directed.
Best wishes.
At her age and size, losing a pound is a terrible warning sign. I think you should call her pediatrician first, and although he/she can't give you any information they can take information FROM you and act appropriately.
The doctor is apparently already alerted to the belief that this is a problem, and would be interested to know that she is not feeding the child as directed.
Best wishes.
Well, my children run small and I get to hear things form the doctors about how I should feed them more, etc. But my youngest is 12 months and 16 pounds (the pediatrician is on the edge of making me feed her more - except my other kids grew this way). So, I know that 16 pounds at 15 months is actually VERY small. Is the child of Asian descent? Asian children tend to run very low on weight/height charts - usually low enough to be off the curve.
I'm very surprised her teeth haven't come in. Late teeth run in my family (I lost my last baby tooth when I was 15), but all the kids have had teeth by 12 months. Do you see this child often? Is it possible that her teeth were injured and/or pulled due to injury?
You mentioned sitting and standing... how are her other milestones? Does she wave? Can she feed herself finger foods? Is she saying any words - or anything that is obviously close to a word? Can she follow a simple command?
I'm very surprised her teeth haven't come in. Late teeth run in my family (I lost my last baby tooth when I was 15), but all the kids have had teeth by 12 months. Do you see this child often? Is it possible that her teeth were injured and/or pulled due to injury?
You mentioned sitting and standing... how are her other milestones? Does she wave? Can she feed herself finger foods? Is she saying any words - or anything that is obviously close to a word? Can she follow a simple command?
She weighs 16 lbs. Her bones don't stick out. No meat on her bones. She is just really tiny. She sits up & now stands. Not walking yet. She wears 6 -9 months clothes & diapers. She says the doctors want her to feed her daughter every 3 hours & 100 calories each time. They also want her to have coconut oil for the high calories. Recently she lost a lb.
What is alarming is that the baby has no teeth. What did the specialist say? How much does the baby weigh? Do her bones stick out? Can she sit up? Walk?
All this is by way of saying that we need more information.
All this is by way of saying that we need more information.
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Here's the thing - from the doctor's perspective.
The ped has noticed this child has FTT - failure to thrive. She's terribly small, isn't hitting milestones and now worse, she's actually losing weight. That needs attention.
Often in cases of FTT, there is a combination of problems - neglect AND a metabolic problem. Sometimes there's only one problem - neglect OR a metabolic problem.
So the first and easiest cure is to try to feed the baby more. If that works, great, problem solved.
If it doesn't work, and the baby doesn't gain normal weight and size, the ped will go one of two ways.
1. Believe the mom is doing everything possible. At that point there will be more invasive testing to find out what the problem is.
2. Believe the mom hasn't fed the baby as ordered, and then the baby will be hospitalized or removed to foster care to see if feeding the baby properly solves the problem.
The bottom line, km, is that thankfully the doctor is on this. When she brings the baby in for the next appointment if she hasn't gained weight the doctor isn't going to just say oh well we tried. More will be done. And it would help cut to the chase and find the best answers if the doctor knows upfront the mother has not fed the baby as directed. That makes it easier to find and repair the problem.
Best wishes. I know this is hard, to consider going over a family member's head but caring extended family is often the only way to make sure kids are healthy.