{"id":6080,"date":"2019-10-01T23:05:42","date_gmt":"2019-10-02T03:05:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.daniellebinns.com\/stagingsite\/?p=6080"},"modified":"2019-10-07T17:35:04","modified_gmt":"2019-10-07T21:35:04","slug":"is-your-child-underweight","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.daniellebinns.com\/stagingsite\/2019\/10\/is-your-child-underweight\/","title":{"rendered":"Is your child underweight?"},"content":{"rendered":"

My first little girl is one of the biggest reasons I started helping families five years ago.<\/p>\n

I experienced motherhood with an underweight child who just wouldn’t gain weight or grow.<\/p>\n

My daughter was 4.5 pounds at birth and every single day for the next few years of her life, her weight consumed me.\u00a0 I chased her around the house with a spoonful of food. I packed snacks with me everywhere I went.\u00a0 I let her eat in front of the iPad and while I distracted her with toys. She was BELOW the 0 percentile on the growth charts and labelled as failure to thrive.<\/p>\n

That’s a term that no parent wants to hear, because I know how it impacted me.\u00a0 I interpreted her failure to thrive<\/em> to mean that I was failing her as a mother and a nutritionist.<\/p>\n

Her weight was also the reason I created this long list of 60 High Calorie, High Nutrient Foods for underweight kids<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Having an underweight child makes feeding our children so much harder and much more stressful.\u00a0 You’re always wondering, ‘what if he\/she isn’t getting enough calories?”.<\/p>\n

Those weigh-ins at the paediatrician’s office were the WORST memories for me as a mother. I left in tears 80% of the time.<\/p>\n

But that was 5 years ago and thankfully, we are in a much better place.\u00a0 My daughter is no longer failing to thrive – in fact she is thriving in every aspect of her life (except for bedtime – she hates going to bed that little bugger!).<\/p>\n

Here’s my daughter getting measured at the age of 3.<\/p>\n

\"underweight<\/p>\n

Here’s my daughter getting measured this year (at the age of 6!).<\/p>\n

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As a mom of an underweight child I wanted to touch on this subject, because it’s near and dear to my heart.\u00a0 And many parents I work with are worried because they are in my former shoes.\u00a0 With a child who who doesn’t gain enough weight.<\/p>\n

We know that children come in different shapes and sizes and grow at different rates.\u00a0 A child at some points during their growth may be taller, shorter, heavier or lighter than other children their age and that is usually a-okay!<\/p>\n

Keeping track of a child’s growth is important because it can tell us a lot about their health.\u00a0 If a child is growing too fast or too slow, this may be a sign that there is something going on with their health and\/or nutrition.<\/p>\n

But please don’t become obsessive about it or even do it at home.\u00a0 That should be the responsibility of your child healthcare provider.<\/p>\n

Understanding the Terminology:<\/span><\/h2>\n

There are so many different terms that are used for a child that is underweight such as failure to thrive, malnourished, SGA, smaller than normal. We know it can easily get overwhelming and so I wanted to take the time to simplify it all.<\/p>\n

Underweight:<\/h3>\n

According to the Cleveland Clinic,<\/a> a child who is considered to be underweight<\/strong> is a child who is in the bottom 5th percentile<\/strong> for weight compared to their height.<\/p>\n

Failure to Thrive:<\/h3>\n

A child is considered to be failure to thrive<\/strong> (FTT) according to HealthLink BC<\/a> if they seem to be growing in height and weight at a slower pace<\/strong> compared to other children of his or her age and sex.\u00a0 However it’s the other symptoms that can suggest a child is FTT:<\/p>\n