Abdominal distension and poor weight gain

Published May 1, 2007

7 Posts

I have a question about my daughter (I am a NICU RN and so I am lacking in older Peds stuff!!). When she was 12 months, she weighed 17 lbs 4 oz. Now at 15 months, she weighed only 17 lbs. We have had concerns about her weight gain since birth, but most of it was chalked up to reflux (she was on Zantac till 12 months). She has always eaten very well, no problems with appetite. She eats very healthy and drinks at least 16 oz of whole milk a day. Our Ped wants us back in 6 weeks for a weight check and wants us to make some dietary changes before we go for the labwork. We changed her to whole milk yogurt instead of lowfat, added peanut butter to her diet and make sure she gets meat every day. In retrospect, my husband and I have noticed these things about her: her arms and legs look very thin (not boney, just thin), after she eats her stomach is HUGE - regardless of how much she eats and pooping decreases it only slightly), she has regular stools - some loose but not always, her hair is very slow to grow (I can't even put a bow in it), but she is HAPPY, very active, very smart, talks alot, good fine motor and gross motor skills - I have no concerns about her cognitive development at all. Do you think there could be something GI going on with her? Perhaps some sort of malabsorption going on? Any ideas from you Peds nurses would be great!!