2 year old diagnosed failure to thrive

[7costanza]

Has anybody's child been diagnosed FTT as a toddler? My son was a big baby, 75-90th-ish percentile for weight and height, but when he started daycare at 12 months he was sick constantly from about September-May and stopped growing as quickly. He just had his 2 year well child appointment, and is now 15% for weight and 6% for height. his ped diagnosed him FTT and referred us to a specialist. I'm interested to hear others experiences, I'm pretty worried about him.

[Deleted]

My dd was diagnosed FTT around a year. She dropped from 50% to 3%. Long story short(er) we saw GI and allergist, did bloodwork, did colonoscopy/endoscopy (to check for celiac among others) and in the end everything came back normal and she's just small. No reason why she had a huge drop like that.

Her dr wasn't overly concerned because she hit all physically and developmental milestones on time/early (walking at 9.5months/full on talking before 15months) so she was always encouraged.

She also had a period of like 6 weeks where she was really sick and just kept getting different infections and illnesses back to back so that was a little concerning but again ended up being nothing.

Now at a little over 3 she is still small but not tiny and doing great! My one year old son weighs as much as she did at 26 months, no concerns with him

Hugs!! I really hope you end up with a similar result as us!

lauranicole91 also dealt with this

[Deleted]

DS1 wasn't diagnosed with FTT but went from 90th percentile for weight and height at 6 months and all infant checks, to a low of 8th percentile for height, 40th for weight at 20 months. He was sick a lot from 10 months until 2.5 years when he got his tonsils and adenoids out plus ear tubes put in. He's now 50th percentile for weight and height.

Not sure this is helpful but anecdotes?

[lauranicole91]

My daughter was diagnosed FTT at her 1 year check up. She was consistently in the 15th percentile until 9m when she fell off the chart completely. They weren't too concerned at her 9m check. They assumed it was because she had just started walking and was so busy. But when she didn't gain much come 12m they started to worry and labeled her FTT. They told us to really push more solids and lots of fats and that if she didn't gain a sufficient amount we'd have to do some tests.
Well at her 15m check up she still wasn't on the chart or where they wanted her to be. So we got sent to a GI doctor. They tested her for about 7 different things and everything came back normal.
Then we got sent to feeding therapy. She did that for about 9 months while also following up with the GI doctor every 2 months. Between the GI doc visits and her pedi wanting to do weigh checks, we were basically seeing a doctor once a month.
Anyways, when she was in feeding therapy she was diagnosed with a low oral sensory issue. Not only was she having issues feeling textures and tasting flavors (aka food was boring to her), but it was affecting her hunger cues. Basically she didn't have them. So not feeling hunger+all food tasting bland=toddler not eating enough food to gain properly. There was a 50% chance she would grow out of the sensory issue, and luckily she did. She eats way more than she used too, but she is still tiny tiny tiny and not on the growth chart. She is 3.5 and 23lbs and 34in. Around her 2nd birthday her doctors finally just said, okay she is just tiny, and released us from the GI and extra weight checks.
Somewhere within all that they put her on a high fat/calorie prescription pediasure. And we were really strict about giving her foods that were high in fats and calories. It was exhausting and stressful, but turns out this is just who she is.
I hope there aren't any further concerns with your son and that maybe he is just going to be petite as well.

[stretchad]

DS was diagnosed FTT at 1 year. He was a preemie, so always on the small side. At a year, his weight gain had slowed a little, but his height started to slow too and that's what was the tipping point. Went to GI specialist, did a slew of growth hormone tests which came back negative. We switched diets to add in pediasure, cream/butter into everything, powdered calories. Added in an appetite stimulant which helped a little. We would have a good appointment with nice weight gain catch up, then a not so great appointment, but still generally tracked below, but at the same rate. At one point we went to OT to be evaluated for feeding sensory issues, but no issues there. Ultimately, GI released us in April at 20 months, as DS met developmental milestones for his ACTUAL age (not adjusted), which is great. GI Doc wants us to do more regular weight checks...quarterly after his 2 year check. He's just tiny. I don't know his weight right now...we go in on Friday for his 2 year. My guess is ~20lbs. <1% on the weight chart. Peanut sized for sure.

[7costanza]

Thank you all for sharing! I'm glad it seems many issues resolve over time, and/or are just because the kids are small.

We have been trying to feed him high calorie foods for months - let him drink cream, butter in everything, etc but he just doesn't eat much, period. I'm still nursing him 2-3 times a day so at least I know he's getting some good nutrients.

[sunflower19]

DD was diagnosed with FTT when she was a little over 1.5 years old. She's always struggled with gaining weight but had fallen off the chart at 1.5 years. We found out she also had gastroparesis after our GI doctor recommended an upper GI study. We tried her on medications for her gastroparesis but eventually stopped when I felt like it wasn't really helping. She's a little over 2 now and back in the 10th percentile at 23 lbs. She's been receiving feeding therapy weekly which has helped with textures. It's a constant struggle but I make sure she eats frequently and try to give high calorie foods when I can.

[gibbinator]

Ds1 wasn't diagnosed FTT but dropped from 75% to 3% after his first year, and his height also dropped below average. We were referred to a nutritionist in addition to doing a special diet for 3 months to see if we could force him to gain weight. He ended up 3lbs up over that time frame so he was subsequently diagnosed as just a skinny kid and we didn't have to do blood tests.

[lizlemon19]

My 2yo son was, and was a healthy weight as an infant. He stopped gaining mainly because he was sooooo active, plus a combo of some other factors. At the time he had gastro issues (fat absorption, diarrhea) and had a dairy allergy he has since out grown. He is now 4 and still on the small side but no longer FTT. My son also was born addicted to opiates and treated for withdrawal, so that can affect weight gain and increase activity level.

[lauranicole91]

Aug 6, 2015 0:23:23 GMT -5 7costanza said:

Thank you all for sharing! I'm glad it seems many issues resolve over time, and/or are just because the kids are small.

We have been trying to feed him high calorie foods for months - let him drink cream, butter in everything, etc but he just doesn't eat much, period. I'm still nursing him 2-3 times a day so at least I know he's getting some good nutrients.

I hope your doctor is more supportive of your nursing relationship than my daughter's doctors were. They were so convinced her lack of interest in food was due to filling up on my milk. But after she turned a year old, I was always sure to offer food before milk. And in the thick of everything I even started using nursing sessions as rewards for finishing her food. Haha.
Now DD is nearly 3.5 and still nursing and her eating improved without weaning, so I'm glad I didn't.