Do you think she weighed my child wrong?

Nurses LPN/LVN

Published

Okay please give me your best advice... All 3 of my children have been suffering from diarrhea with (I know its disgusting but hey, were all looking too be or in, the medical field here!:) green, very smelly, runny stools. Up to twice and sometimes 3 times a day. It has lasted almost 2wks now and is JUST starting to look better. Thats it, no fever, no abdominal pain or dehydration. BUT I took my children to the er last Saturday night due to the fact I was AFRAID that it was the Rota Virus. My daughter weighed in at 21lbs. I had no questions about it nor did they address this issue so i didn't think twice. She is only 1yr and 6m. I was told to get some specimen samples and then proceed to give it to their pediatrician. Well luckily she had a wellness checkup this last Mon. At her wellness the nurse weighed her in at 19lbs. Thats 3more lbs than my 6m. old! But now that I look back,it dawned on me that I was holding her arms up to keep her steady on the scale. I FRIEKED. She is suppose to be triple her birth weight by 1. (8lbs 15oz at birth) She has always been small for her age but NEVER this small. Her diagnosis was Diarrhea and ANOREXIA. Well the grandparents came over and we weighed her again and again. 21lbs. Still very low but not as low as she had been weighing. She doesn't look anorexic but she is skinny. Well they tested the specimens and that of her other sister and brother and it came back neg. for the Rota Virus. They are still testing and I won't know the results until Fri. What in the world is going on? What could this be and do you think she was weighed wrong? Since then she had gained 1lb and we have been feeding her everything under the sun to get her weight back up. Cross your fingers everyone. Thank you!:mad:

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Anorexia just means "loss of appetite." It has no psychiatric connotations when used medically. Anorexia NERVOSA is a psychiatric diagnosis.

She was dehydrated. Diarrhea'll do that.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in HH, Psych, MR/DD, geriatric, agency.

First of all, take a deep breath.

It seems you are freaking out over the dx of anorexia. Your little one was not dx with an eating disorder. Its a dx secondary to the diarrhea... meaning she may not want to eat because she doesn't feel well.

As long as she's eating, don't worry about it. I know... easier said than done.

Hope your little ones feel better soon!

Up Vote Up Vote ×

one is a symptom one is a disorder

3X birthweight is an average..my 3# weight was 18# my 9# was 24#

there are too many things to worry yourself about when raising kids., if they look good love them

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in cardiac/critical care/ informatics.
one is a symptom one is a disorder

3X birthweight is an average..my 3# weight was 18# my 9# was 24#

there are too many things to worry yourself about when raising kids., if they look good love them

:uhoh3: so if they don't look good then... don't love them...:lol2: (JK)

Up Vote Up Vote ×

There could be a difference in the callibration of the scales.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Registry, all over the place.
Okay please give me your best advice... All 3 of my children have been suffering from diarrhea with (I know its disgusting but hey, were all looking too be or in, the medical field here!:) green, very smelly, runny stools. Up to twice and sometimes 3 times a day. It has lasted almost 2wks now and is JUST starting to look better. Thats it, no fever, no abdominal pain or dehydration. BUT I took my children to the er last Saturday night due to the fact I was AFRAID that it was the Rota Virus. My daughter weighed in at 21lbs. I had no questions about it nor did they address this issue so i didn't think twice. She is only 1yr and 6m. I was told to get some specimen samples and then proceed to give it to their pediatrician. Well luckily she had a wellness checkup this last Mon. At her wellness the nurse weighed her in at 19lbs. Thats 3more lbs than my 6m. old! But now that I look back,it dawned on me that I was holding her arms up to keep her steady on the scale. I FRIEKED. She is suppose to be triple her birth weight by 1. (8lbs 15oz at birth) She has always been small for her age but NEVER this small. Her diagnosis was Diarrhea and ANOREXIA. Well the grandparents came over and we weighed her again and again. 21lbs. Still very low but not as low as she had been weighing. She doesn't look anorexic but she is skinny. Well they tested the specimens and that of her other sister and brother and it came back neg. for the Rota Virus. They are still testing and I won't know the results until Fri. What in the world is going on? What could this be and do you think she was weighed wrong? Since then she had gained 1lb and we have been feeding her everything under the sun to get her weight back up. Cross your fingers everyone. Thank you!:mad:

I think that's okay, my daughter weighed 19 pounds when she was 1 (5 pounds at birth), she turned 2 yesterday and weighs in at a whooping 27 pounds. She eats plenty and is developing normally, I think that's what matters, it's all relative. Her cousin weighs 27 pounds also, but he's 10 months old.:o But according to growth charts, your daughter is right in the 50th percentile, I wouldn't worry about it.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

if your dtr was holding your hand to keep steady that will change the weight. it takes very little pressure to change it by one lb. even if it didnt seem like you were holding her up much you could have been.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in ER.

Don't have a cow.

It could be the scales, it could be you holding her hand, it could be she needed to poop or pee, could be a different time of day. You said she stopped having diarrhea, was negative for rota, is eating and playing and being her normal self. She's healthy.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
+ Add a Comment