Parenting Toddlers (1-3) Support Group

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Does This Sound Normal?

joleneLS
joleneLS
My sister thinks her son's habits are normal, but I'm worried and I wanted to see if anyone else had any input.

He is 18 months, and he is a BIG boy. He wears size 3 clothes and occasionally a size 3 item is to small. He has always been big...by three months he was wearing 12 month clothing. He keeps growing at this rate.

You would think a kid this size would always be eating. But Julian doesn't eat. I watch him for about ten hours a day, and I'm lucky if I can get a few bites of mac n cheese in his mouth. His mom can't get alot more in him either. And he drinks so much liquid! He has a bottle before he leaves his moms, one when he gets here, and she packs about three other cups, which he will all drink in the ten hours, plus, I refill them with water for him. If I deny him a drink he throws a fit and a half.

He has bags under his eyes all the time, and he doesn't pee as much as expected from a kid who drinks that much. In the ten hours at my place, we may go through two diapers max.

I'm a little worried, but I only have one kid and no great experience with something like this. Does anyone else have any experience? Does anyone have a kid like this?

Thanks
HeidiRenae
HeidiRenae
I don't have experience with this, but I think you're right to be worried. That much liquid and only two diapers. I would say he definitely needs to be checked out pronto. Always better safe than sorry.
deleted_user
deleted_user
Yes, absolutely. The one thing I'm thinking is perhaps kidney problems? I have a friend who only has one kidney and her symptoms sound a lot like his. Or diabetes, which could explain the weight gain and the constant thirst. Does he see a pediatrician or doctor regularly? I'm surprised it hasn't been addressed yet.
deleted_user
deleted_user
I agree with alh, with diabetes you are more thirsty then anything, and it could be a kidney problem if he doesnt have many wet diapers, diabetes and kidneys go hand in hand. But on the other hand, if he is drinking too much then he wouldnt be as hungry b/c his belly is full of liquids. I would recommend your sis talk to his doc and see what the doc thinks.
When we took dd off of her bottle at 18 or 19 months she was drinking less milk and she started eating a lot more, but she also lost weight b/c the whole milk was packing on the lbs. And I was told they will eat when they are hungry, dd eats like a bird but she eats often, when shes hungry enough she will let me know!
deleted_user
deleted_user
I agree with everyone else.

I do have a few questions, is he getting whole milk in all those bottles and cups? If so, she really should switch him to either Low Fat, 1% or 2%. That's is probably where he is gaining some of his weight from.

I remember my brother was chubby growing up because he drank a lot of milk. However, it definitely sounds like there are some other issues going on here.
joleneLS
joleneLS
In his cups he gets whole milk, egg nog, cranberry juice, orange juice, grape juice. Pretty much anything. When he get's chocolate milk it's 2% because they don't make whole chocolate milk but in general he drinks mostly juices.
deleted_user
deleted_user
Well that's probably where some of the weight is coming from. Most of what you've listed is either high fat (i.e. the egg nog) or sugar (the juices). Whole milk, or 2% milk, at least has good nutrition in it. He needs to have less sugary/empty fat drinks and more water/good nutrition drinks. And I agree with Jnhaney, he's not eating because he's sloshy with all the liquids.
deleted_user
deleted_user
I just want to make one comment here. Children under the age of two should be drinking whole milk. While it MAY cause weight gain, they need the fat for brain development. Only after two should a child be given skim, 2 percent or 1 percent milk. However, it is a good idea to avoid sugary drinks as much as possible.
joleneLS
joleneLS
When he stays with me his drinking is limited. His mom packs an upwards of three drinks and he may get the milk and a juice, then I make him drink water. And not within an hour of lunch. He's actually slimming out incredibly fast, he's really tall. I'm going to sit her down and bring up diabetes and his kidneys. My fiancee had a kidney transplant at 18, but they said his kidneys went unnoticed for almost 12 years, if he would of waited another six months he would of been dead. I don't want to watch my nephew go through the hell my fiancee describes.
deleted_user
deleted_user
I think it is super easy to fill a child up with fluids without even realizing what we are doing. I serve 1 cup of milk (yes, whole until age 2 unless a dr. tells you otherwise) with breakfast, lunch and dinner and very diluted juice with morning/afternoon snack. It's water the rest of the time. I think if you cut back on fluids and offer healthy meals/snacks. even if it seems he's not eating much, he will be getting what he needs. They can get by on surprisingly little! The bags under his eyes could be allergies - my youngest has noticeable dark circles under his eyes a lot, and so do I - for us it's allergies. Regarding the pee - not sure, but disposable diapers do hold a lot of pee, but I might mention it to the dr. The dr. can also tell you if he is overweight or just a big boy or growing fast.
deleted_user
deleted_user
Oh, and maybe broach the subject of switching from a bottle to a sippy cup with mom, if you are comfortable, and if not, the dr. may mention it.
joleneLS
joleneLS
He's on sippys, I sort of did that without telling her....I thought he was already on them part time so I would give him a sippy here and one day she commentedd that it was weird Julian wouldn't drink from his bottle anymore. To wich I replied "he still used a bottle?" Oops.

Her doctor is just a GP. It is almost impossible to get a ped here. And to boot, he's fresh out of medical school. So I may see if I can get her into my doctor, or see if the same doctor who caught my fiancees kidneys, will take a look at him.
deleted_user
deleted_user
I think it would be a good idea to have him checked by a pediatrician. It is unlikely to be diabetes as symptoms of type 1 diabetes are extreme thirst accompanied by passing large amounts of dilute urine, weight loss and lethargy ( I know this because I have it). Possibly kidney problems or thyroid, but would need to be tested and assessed by a doctor for a proper diagnosis.
deleted_user
deleted_user
I limit the amount of juice I give the babes b/c of the sugar in it, but we buy sugar free koolaid and my babes love it! It is sweet but not sugar sweet. That could be an alternative to sugar filled juices.
joleneLS
joleneLS
He doesn't pass large amounts of urine, but he sleeps about fourteen hours to eighteen hours a day if you let him. He lays on the floor in the middle of playing and closes his eyes. I have to make him get up and try and get him to play. Well, as long as I'm not the only one who thinks its abnormal I feel better cornering my little sister to tell her that she should have her son checked.
deleted_user
deleted_user
I'd say this sounds abnormal. for that much fluid he should have greater output and heavier diapers. Sounds like he's retaining most of it and that is certainly not good. I'd suggest having him evaluated