Pediatrician called my toddler overweight

shakinros · September 2014

Opposite problem from the post on skinnies, lol.

DD had her 2yo checkup today. She's 36 inches tall and 32lbs. Big kid. She was mismeasured at first by the nurse who obv didn't give a flip about her job, so when the doctor first came in, we were looking at a height/weight chart for 35in/32lbs, which puts her around 80th percentile height, 95th weight. Even after we got her height corrected the doctor was saying "well she's on the cusp of being overweight. Make sure she eats lots of fruits and veggies blah blah blah." My growth app says she's 93rd percentile for both measurements

Honest to god, the worst thing this kid ever eats is a nutrigrain bar for snack (2-3x per week) and French fries once a week. We don't have cake or cookies at home. She's on 2% milk. She'd live on fruit, fruit and more fruit if we let her.

Behind all my angst is that DH and I are overweight. He's borderline obese. The only time in my life I've been skinny since puberty was when I had an eating disorder in high school. I don't want DD to inherit our weight struggles. I also don't want to create body issues for her by introducing food restrictions.

Help! Does anyone have suggestions for how to keep an eye on her weight (as pedi suggests)? Or is this a non-issue brought on by an incorrect height measurement? Is this too ridiculous to even worry about?

vvvvvfee · September 2014

i honestly wouldn't worry about it.

she's eating a balanced diet and she's a taller kid. i would definitely not restrict calories/fat at this age. toddlers need fat for growth and development. offer a variety of healthy foods and let her eat until she's full (that's what toddlers will do, without any of our weird adult hangups about food, or emotional eating or whatever else).

which growth chart were they looking at, the CDC or the WHO? there is some variation between the two. if you look at both, it might give you some perspective.

(all that said, i don't think the measurements they get are even accurate! at DS's 2 year visit, he was being super-clingy and emotional, and he stepped on the scale for about 2 milliseconds, and weighed 2 lbs less than when i had weighed him at home. then he refused to let them pull down this measuring tape onto his head to get his height, so they had to measure him lying down while he was squirming and he consequently was measured as being super-tall. :P it's a total crapshoot.)

HoneyBunn24 · September 2014

My nephew has similar measurements. He's a big kid, but seriously? He's just a big kid. He eats well and lots fruit, but he's just a beefy kid. He's not fat, he's solid.

I wouldn't read into it. Your LO is healthy...NOT fat or overweight.

sdlaura · September 2014

My DD is the exact same height and weight (36 inches - maybe it was 36.5), and 32 lbs. We were told she was 96th percentile for height and 95th for weight. All we got from her doctor was very positive reinforcement about how healthy she is. If I were you, I wouldn't worry about it. I'm not planning to stop feeding DD plenty of high-fat foods, because they are all 'whole' foods like avocado, yogurt, etc.

shakinros · September 2014

sdlaura said:
My DD is the exact same height and weight (36 inches - maybe it was 36.5), and 32 lbs. We were told she was 96th percentile for height and 95th for weight. All we got from her doctor was very positive reinforcement about how healthy she is. If I were you, I wouldn't worry about it. I'm not planning to stop feeding DD plenty of high-fat foods, because they are all 'whole' foods like avocado, yogurt, etc.

That's good to hear. I'm kind of pissed about the whole thing today. We don't need 2yo kids labeled as overweight and introduced to dieting.

sdlaura · September 2014

I'd be pissed too. FWIW, I saw a toddler at the airport yesterday who was really obviously overweight, and she looked so different from my DD's dimensions.

DaisyHeadMayzie · September 2014

I lurk every once in a while but thought I'd chime in today. My DD is even bigger....36.5 inches and 34.5 lbs. Her pedi just said she's the size of an average three year old but healthy as could be. On a side note - she eats like a bird! The only things she will put in her mouth these days are fruit, tomatoes, pickles, and cheerios. Pretty sure we're not on the road to obesity with a diet like that.

It's Tuesday, right? Your pedi could win the waffle award this week

ccam · September 2014

DS had very similar measurements at his 2 year appointment and the Dr made no mention of it. He has always been in the 90th percentile (besides when he was first born and I was apparently starving him!) so I didn't even think twice about it and neither did the Dr. He eats a balanced diet with a few snack foods thrown in, but he's just a big kid, solid. I wouldn't worry about it.

brandyleighxx · September 2014

I weighed DS at work last week, he's 39lbs. and probably 35" tall. He's a giant, almost as big as his 5 y/o brother. He is just a big boy, not fat. I'll be interested to see what the pedi says at his 2 yr checkup tomorrow.

Beevol · September 2014

Our pediatrician has been very clear with us that she wants the percentiles to be "symmetrical" so if she's X% for weight she should be X% for height (give or take). If your kid were 20th percentile for height and 80th for weight, I'd be worried, but 93 and 93? That sounds perfect to me.

I have also struggled with my weight my whole life, as have all of the women in my family, and I too am very concerned about monitoring the messages my kid hears from me and others. Right now, my two year old thinks that "big" is a compliment (the other day she told me that I was "a big girl" which at 6 months pregnant took me a minute to realize that she was just using the same compliment I give her all the time). We are also trying to be mindful of "pretty" and other looks based adjectives - she knows that she looks "pretty" when her hair is up in pony tails/pig tails and that those are extra, but that having her brushed is required hygiene.

Msbean22 · September 2014

Eff that, she's perfect.

westie27 · September 2014

I wouldn't worry. One of my daughters (twins) was 37.5 inches and 32 pounds at her 2 year checkup. She was 99th height and 80th weight. No concerns from the pedi at all.

Reilly626 · September 2014

My son weighed 37 lbs at his 2 yr and is very tall, he's the size of an average 3 year old. He is so active I'm not worried, I'm sure your daughter is just as active, he's just a big kid! I did notice when we switched to skim milk at 2 he leaned out more. Can you do skim milk? My doctor is strict and says no juice or carb snacks, like only 8 Goldfish at a sitting Bc they create fat cells. Do I completely follow this no! I have weight issues myself so I monitor closely. I think you are doing fine and don't worry!

Reilly626 · September 2014

Ps he has a twin sister- I feed them the exact same except he does like more milk or he finishes hers, and she weighs exactly 10 lbs less than him and is a little shorter. He's just going to be a big strong boy. It started at 4 months old- he was starving and wanted more milk! The only thing my ped said was that he is above the 99 percentile and borderline but switching to skim helped that.

shakinros · September 2014

Reilly626 said:
My son weighed 37 lbs at his 2 yr and is very tall, he's the size of an average 3 year old. He is so active I'm not worried, I'm sure your daughter is just as active, he's just a big kid! I did notice when we switched to skim milk at 2 he leaned out more. Can you do skim milk? My doctor is strict and says no juice or carb snacks, like only 8 Goldfish at a sitting Bc they create fat cells. Do I completely follow this no! I have weight issues myself so I monitor closely. I think you are doing fine and don't worry!

Wow. Your doc sounds kind of extreme! No carb snacks at all?

She drinks 2% milk now. We probably could switch it down to skim. She eats lots of avocado so she'd still be getting some good fats elsewhere.

jessalynn521 · September 2014

Seriously punch your pedi in the throat. Just do it. As a fellow overweight parent (who is working on things but still insecure of what I pass onto my boys) I would have told that pedi to F off. It is FANTASTIC if your kid is eating well right now. SO many parents are dealing with kids that pick and won't eat anything to sustain themselves. And your pedi wants to complain about weight? In a 2 year old? nnooooo. I am sorry but that is inappropriate. If your kid was 40+ pounds, maybe I could see looking into dietary habits and making modifications if it makes sense, but seriously? She is tall.

Throat punch to that pedi.

chillypenguin · September 2014

I don't normally post here, but DD was 36 inches and 33 lbs at her 2 year check up. Our doctor wasn't concerned at all, DD had followed the same growth curve since she was tiny. We did switch from whole milk to 1% and we are trying to limit her milk (she would drink it all day if we let her), but I'm not worried about it. She is active and eats decently, so I just try to give her healthy options and we'll see how things go.

shakinros · September 2014

Thanks everyone. I've been trying to watch what she eats this week and though she won't let a vegetable pass her lips, I feel ok about the rest of her diet. We're going to focus on learning to like veggies and screw worrying about weight or her other dietary habits. She's healthy.

Kikabell · October 2014

I agree with everyone else. I wouldn't bee too worried about it. I was told when my DS was one that he was too skinny and too short. First. The nurse measured him wring and second she weighed him on a standing scale and he could barely stand still. After that appointments went and found another pediatrician. They did not have any concerns as he is eating a lot and is eating healthy. As for the height both my husband and I are under 5'3" along with most of our family members so the likelihood DS will be tall is slim. This new pedi seems to care. More and ask more questions so you might consider changing if you can just to get another opinion.

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