weight gain issues

[Nicole]

Hi everyone,

I have not posted in a while but I still read the boards.

My 5 yr old (6 in June) with CF weighs about 52 pounds and is almost 4 ft tall. He is not a small kid by any means. Lately he has struggled with weight gain. For a few months he was gaining nothing and then he put on about 2 pounds. Since the day he was born all I've heard is how many calories he needs to eat. Like most kids he can be picky but he also has severe food allergies, the biggest challenge being wheat. He eats really well for a kid and I'm tired of trying to force the issue and get him to eat more when he's already full. The problem is when we go to clinic they see that the trend in his BMI is going down because of the difficult time he has had gaining lately and they get concerned. They expect him to continue to grow around the 90% like he did when he was a baby/toddler. Neither my husband or I are big-- he's 5'7", I'm 5"2. I have two other kids, one who has always been at about 25% and one who is about 50%. He tends to be more like the smaller one. We add extra calories whenever we can but he is a very active kid and is not into eating a whole lot. Am I stressing myself out too much by worrying about this? The clinic has hinted that they may like to try an appetite stimulant, but she warned me that it could make him very sleepy. He's already on so many meds and I really don't want to add any more. Even though I hate and am terrified of the idea of a g-tube, I feel like that may be a better option that trying to force him to eat all the time if things get to that point. I guess I'm just looking for thoughts about whether your clinic/drs are a little too focused on weight gain.

 

[Nicole]

Hi everyone,

I have not posted in a while but I still read the boards.

My 5 yr old (6 in June) with CF weighs about 52 pounds and is almost 4 ft tall. He is not a small kid by any means. Lately he has struggled with weight gain. For a few months he was gaining nothing and then he put on about 2 pounds. Since the day he was born all I've heard is how many calories he needs to eat. Like most kids he can be picky but he also has severe food allergies, the biggest challenge being wheat. He eats really well for a kid and I'm tired of trying to force the issue and get him to eat more when he's already full. The problem is when we go to clinic they see that the trend in his BMI is going down because of the difficult time he has had gaining lately and they get concerned. They expect him to continue to grow around the 90% like he did when he was a baby/toddler. Neither my husband or I are big-- he's 5'7", I'm 5"2. I have two other kids, one who has always been at about 25% and one who is about 50%. He tends to be more like the smaller one. We add extra calories whenever we can but he is a very active kid and is not into eating a whole lot. Am I stressing myself out too much by worrying about this? The clinic has hinted that they may like to try an appetite stimulant, but she warned me that it could make him very sleepy. He's already on so many meds and I really don't want to add any more. Even though I hate and am terrified of the idea of a g-tube, I feel like that may be a better option that trying to force him to eat all the time if things get to that point. I guess I'm just looking for thoughts about whether your clinic/drs are a little too focused on weight gain.

 

[Nicole]

Hi everyone,

I have not posted in a while but I still read the boards.

My 5 yr old (6 in June) with CF weighs about 52 pounds and is almost 4 ft tall. He is not a small kid by any means. Lately he has struggled with weight gain. For a few months he was gaining nothing and then he put on about 2 pounds. Since the day he was born all I've heard is how many calories he needs to eat. Like most kids he can be picky but he also has severe food allergies, the biggest challenge being wheat. He eats really well for a kid and I'm tired of trying to force the issue and get him to eat more when he's already full. The problem is when we go to clinic they see that the trend in his BMI is going down because of the difficult time he has had gaining lately and they get concerned. They expect him to continue to grow around the 90% like he did when he was a baby/toddler. Neither my husband or I are big-- he's 5'7", I'm 5"2. I have two other kids, one who has always been at about 25% and one who is about 50%. He tends to be more like the smaller one. We add extra calories whenever we can but he is a very active kid and is not into eating a whole lot. Am I stressing myself out too much by worrying about this? The clinic has hinted that they may like to try an appetite stimulant, but she warned me that it could make him very sleepy. He's already on so many meds and I really don't want to add any more. Even though I hate and am terrified of the idea of a g-tube, I feel like that may be a better option that trying to force him to eat all the time if things get to that point. I guess I'm just looking for thoughts about whether your clinic/drs are a little too focused on weight gain.

 

[Nicole]

Hi everyone,

I have not posted in a while but I still read the boards.

My 5 yr old (6 in June) with CF weighs about 52 pounds and is almost 4 ft tall. He is not a small kid by any means. Lately he has struggled with weight gain. For a few months he was gaining nothing and then he put on about 2 pounds. Since the day he was born all I've heard is how many calories he needs to eat. Like most kids he can be picky but he also has severe food allergies, the biggest challenge being wheat. He eats really well for a kid and I'm tired of trying to force the issue and get him to eat more when he's already full. The problem is when we go to clinic they see that the trend in his BMI is going down because of the difficult time he has had gaining lately and they get concerned. They expect him to continue to grow around the 90% like he did when he was a baby/toddler. Neither my husband or I are big-- he's 5'7", I'm 5"2. I have two other kids, one who has always been at about 25% and one who is about 50%. He tends to be more like the smaller one. We add extra calories whenever we can but he is a very active kid and is not into eating a whole lot. Am I stressing myself out too much by worrying about this? The clinic has hinted that they may like to try an appetite stimulant, but she warned me that it could make him very sleepy. He's already on so many meds and I really don't want to add any more. Even though I hate and am terrified of the idea of a g-tube, I feel like that may be a better option that trying to force him to eat all the time if things get to that point. I guess I'm just looking for thoughts about whether your clinic/drs are a little too focused on weight gain.

 

[Nicole]

Hi everyone,
<br />
<br />I have not posted in a while but I still read the boards.
<br />
<br />My 5 yr old (6 in June) with CF weighs about 52 pounds and is almost 4 ft tall. He is not a small kid by any means. Lately he has struggled with weight gain. For a few months he was gaining nothing and then he put on about 2 pounds. Since the day he was born all I've heard is how many calories he needs to eat. Like most kids he can be picky but he also has severe food allergies, the biggest challenge being wheat. He eats really well for a kid and I'm tired of trying to force the issue and get him to eat more when he's already full. The problem is when we go to clinic they see that the trend in his BMI is going down because of the difficult time he has had gaining lately and they get concerned. They expect him to continue to grow around the 90% like he did when he was a baby/toddler. Neither my husband or I are big-- he's 5'7", I'm 5"2. I have two other kids, one who has always been at about 25% and one who is about 50%. He tends to be more like the smaller one. We add extra calories whenever we can but he is a very active kid and is not into eating a whole lot. Am I stressing myself out too much by worrying about this? The clinic has hinted that they may like to try an appetite stimulant, but she warned me that it could make him very sleepy. He's already on so many meds and I really don't want to add any more. Even though I hate and am terrified of the idea of a g-tube, I feel like that may be a better option that trying to force him to eat all the time if things get to that point. I guess I'm just looking for thoughts about whether your clinic/drs are a little too focused on weight gain.

 

[Mommafirst]

We have struggled with this issue a great deal, so I feel your pain. There are two contradicting things to keep in mind. 1) Research has found that those with BMIs closer to 50% are much more likely to have better pulmonary function as they get older. 2) Centers are compared by the CFF on their average BMI scores. Taking these two things together, it is better for the center to have as many compliant patients as it can to have higher BMIs. As a result, I do think that they are "over weight conscious" because the higher the BMIs the better they seem and if you have a son who has hung out in the 90% they don't want to lose that boost to their overall average. I'm not saying they aren't concerned about your son particularly too, I'm certain they are. But please take it with a grain of salt.

My 6.5 year old only weighs 38 pounds. He does not have CF and while he's pretty small on the percentage scales, he's really not extraordinarily tiny compared to others in his class. Your son is just a little younger than mine and weights a good chunk more. So it sounds like he is doing great. I have a kid with a feeding tube, so I can sing the benefits all day, but I just don't feel that your son is a good candidate right now.

I'd suggest just backing off of the food push. Enjoy your meals, let him enjoy what he wants and finish when he's done. Relax on the stresses and you just may find that he will eat better in the long run. I know its stressful, but it sounds like he's doing great -- trust in yourself and him and try not to get stressed about it, it just makes it worse on everyone.

 

[Mommafirst]

We have struggled with this issue a great deal, so I feel your pain. There are two contradicting things to keep in mind. 1) Research has found that those with BMIs closer to 50% are much more likely to have better pulmonary function as they get older. 2) Centers are compared by the CFF on their average BMI scores. Taking these two things together, it is better for the center to have as many compliant patients as it can to have higher BMIs. As a result, I do think that they are "over weight conscious" because the higher the BMIs the better they seem and if you have a son who has hung out in the 90% they don't want to lose that boost to their overall average. I'm not saying they aren't concerned about your son particularly too, I'm certain they are. But please take it with a grain of salt.

My 6.5 year old only weighs 38 pounds. He does not have CF and while he's pretty small on the percentage scales, he's really not extraordinarily tiny compared to others in his class. Your son is just a little younger than mine and weights a good chunk more. So it sounds like he is doing great. I have a kid with a feeding tube, so I can sing the benefits all day, but I just don't feel that your son is a good candidate right now.

I'd suggest just backing off of the food push. Enjoy your meals, let him enjoy what he wants and finish when he's done. Relax on the stresses and you just may find that he will eat better in the long run. I know its stressful, but it sounds like he's doing great -- trust in yourself and him and try not to get stressed about it, it just makes it worse on everyone.

 

[Mommafirst]

We have struggled with this issue a great deal, so I feel your pain. There are two contradicting things to keep in mind. 1) Research has found that those with BMIs closer to 50% are much more likely to have better pulmonary function as they get older. 2) Centers are compared by the CFF on their average BMI scores. Taking these two things together, it is better for the center to have as many compliant patients as it can to have higher BMIs. As a result, I do think that they are "over weight conscious" because the higher the BMIs the better they seem and if you have a son who has hung out in the 90% they don't want to lose that boost to their overall average. I'm not saying they aren't concerned about your son particularly too, I'm certain they are. But please take it with a grain of salt.

My 6.5 year old only weighs 38 pounds. He does not have CF and while he's pretty small on the percentage scales, he's really not extraordinarily tiny compared to others in his class. Your son is just a little younger than mine and weights a good chunk more. So it sounds like he is doing great. I have a kid with a feeding tube, so I can sing the benefits all day, but I just don't feel that your son is a good candidate right now.

I'd suggest just backing off of the food push. Enjoy your meals, let him enjoy what he wants and finish when he's done. Relax on the stresses and you just may find that he will eat better in the long run. I know its stressful, but it sounds like he's doing great -- trust in yourself and him and try not to get stressed about it, it just makes it worse on everyone.

 

[Mommafirst]

We have struggled with this issue a great deal, so I feel your pain. There are two contradicting things to keep in mind. 1) Research has found that those with BMIs closer to 50% are much more likely to have better pulmonary function as they get older. 2) Centers are compared by the CFF on their average BMI scores. Taking these two things together, it is better for the center to have as many compliant patients as it can to have higher BMIs. As a result, I do think that they are "over weight conscious" because the higher the BMIs the better they seem and if you have a son who has hung out in the 90% they don't want to lose that boost to their overall average. I'm not saying they aren't concerned about your son particularly too, I'm certain they are. But please take it with a grain of salt.

My 6.5 year old only weighs 38 pounds. He does not have CF and while he's pretty small on the percentage scales, he's really not extraordinarily tiny compared to others in his class. Your son is just a little younger than mine and weights a good chunk more. So it sounds like he is doing great. I have a kid with a feeding tube, so I can sing the benefits all day, but I just don't feel that your son is a good candidate right now.

I'd suggest just backing off of the food push. Enjoy your meals, let him enjoy what he wants and finish when he's done. Relax on the stresses and you just may find that he will eat better in the long run. I know its stressful, but it sounds like he's doing great -- trust in yourself and him and try not to get stressed about it, it just makes it worse on everyone.

 

[Mommafirst]

We have struggled with this issue a great deal, so I feel your pain. There are two contradicting things to keep in mind. 1) Research has found that those with BMIs closer to 50% are much more likely to have better pulmonary function as they get older. 2) Centers are compared by the CFF on their average BMI scores. Taking these two things together, it is better for the center to have as many compliant patients as it can to have higher BMIs. As a result, I do think that they are "over weight conscious" because the higher the BMIs the better they seem and if you have a son who has hung out in the 90% they don't want to lose that boost to their overall average. I'm not saying they aren't concerned about your son particularly too, I'm certain they are. But please take it with a grain of salt.
<br />
<br />My 6.5 year old only weighs 38 pounds. He does not have CF and while he's pretty small on the percentage scales, he's really not extraordinarily tiny compared to others in his class. Your son is just a little younger than mine and weights a good chunk more. So it sounds like he is doing great. I have a kid with a feeding tube, so I can sing the benefits all day, but I just don't feel that your son is a good candidate right now.
<br />
<br />I'd suggest just backing off of the food push. Enjoy your meals, let him enjoy what he wants and finish when he's done. Relax on the stresses and you just may find that he will eat better in the long run. I know its stressful, but it sounds like he's doing great -- trust in yourself and him and try not to get stressed about it, it just makes it worse on everyone.

 

[Tcole]

i agree. i have twin 6 yr olds (7 in june) and they weigh 52 lbs and 54 lbs and my step d just turned 6 and she is 43 lbs. All don't have CF. I think he is at a very healthy weight. I used to let the doc's get to me about grayson's(w/ cf) weight. We HAD to be 50% or above or i felt like a failure. Im now excited to be between 25-40%. Doc's are very please with her progress also. All my kids go thru a stage where they don't want to eat for days or a week or two. But then they start eating like crazy. You know your child best so if you feel he is doing the best he can then sit back and relax and have fun family time. Best of luck to you and your family.

 

[Tcole]

i agree. i have twin 6 yr olds (7 in june) and they weigh 52 lbs and 54 lbs and my step d just turned 6 and she is 43 lbs. All don't have CF. I think he is at a very healthy weight. I used to let the doc's get to me about grayson's(w/ cf) weight. We HAD to be 50% or above or i felt like a failure. Im now excited to be between 25-40%. Doc's are very please with her progress also. All my kids go thru a stage where they don't want to eat for days or a week or two. But then they start eating like crazy. You know your child best so if you feel he is doing the best he can then sit back and relax and have fun family time. Best of luck to you and your family.

 

[Tcole]

i agree. i have twin 6 yr olds (7 in june) and they weigh 52 lbs and 54 lbs and my step d just turned 6 and she is 43 lbs. All don't have CF. I think he is at a very healthy weight. I used to let the doc's get to me about grayson's(w/ cf) weight. We HAD to be 50% or above or i felt like a failure. Im now excited to be between 25-40%. Doc's are very please with her progress also. All my kids go thru a stage where they don't want to eat for days or a week or two. But then they start eating like crazy. You know your child best so if you feel he is doing the best he can then sit back and relax and have fun family time. Best of luck to you and your family.

 

[Tcole]

i agree. i have twin 6 yr olds (7 in june) and they weigh 52 lbs and 54 lbs and my step d just turned 6 and she is 43 lbs. All don't have CF. I think he is at a very healthy weight. I used to let the doc's get to me about grayson's(w/ cf) weight. We HAD to be 50% or above or i felt like a failure. Im now excited to be between 25-40%. Doc's are very please with her progress also. All my kids go thru a stage where they don't want to eat for days or a week or two. But then they start eating like crazy. You know your child best so if you feel he is doing the best he can then sit back and relax and have fun family time. Best of luck to you and your family.

 

[Tcole]

i agree. i have twin 6 yr olds (7 in june) and they weigh 52 lbs and 54 lbs and my step d just turned 6 and she is 43 lbs. All don't have CF. I think he is at a very healthy weight. I used to let the doc's get to me about grayson's(w/ cf) weight. We HAD to be 50% or above or i felt like a failure. Im now excited to be between 25-40%. Doc's are very please with her progress also. All my kids go thru a stage where they don't want to eat for days or a week or two. But then they start eating like crazy. You know your child best so if you feel he is doing the best he can then sit back and relax and have fun family time. Best of luck to you and your family.

 

[Nicole]

Thank you for the replies! I'm glad to know that I'm not the only one with the issues/feelings. For the past month or so I have really tried not to press the eating issue. He eats what he wants, usually cleans his plate, and in a reality it's a lot for a 5 yr old. I would be full eating what he eats. Another thing I am trying is to set a timer for a reasonable amount of time to finish his food. Right now he thinks it's a great game to "beat the timer" and it's working well for us. We all try to beat the timer so he doesn't feel like the only one. His weight has been hanging around the same number for the past month but we're doing the best we can.

 

[Nicole]

Thank you for the replies! I'm glad to know that I'm not the only one with the issues/feelings. For the past month or so I have really tried not to press the eating issue. He eats what he wants, usually cleans his plate, and in a reality it's a lot for a 5 yr old. I would be full eating what he eats. Another thing I am trying is to set a timer for a reasonable amount of time to finish his food. Right now he thinks it's a great game to "beat the timer" and it's working well for us. We all try to beat the timer so he doesn't feel like the only one. His weight has been hanging around the same number for the past month but we're doing the best we can.

 

[Nicole]

Thank you for the replies! I'm glad to know that I'm not the only one with the issues/feelings. For the past month or so I have really tried not to press the eating issue. He eats what he wants, usually cleans his plate, and in a reality it's a lot for a 5 yr old. I would be full eating what he eats. Another thing I am trying is to set a timer for a reasonable amount of time to finish his food. Right now he thinks it's a great game to "beat the timer" and it's working well for us. We all try to beat the timer so he doesn't feel like the only one. His weight has been hanging around the same number for the past month but we're doing the best we can.

 

[Nicole]

Thank you for the replies! I'm glad to know that I'm not the only one with the issues/feelings. For the past month or so I have really tried not to press the eating issue. He eats what he wants, usually cleans his plate, and in a reality it's a lot for a 5 yr old. I would be full eating what he eats. Another thing I am trying is to set a timer for a reasonable amount of time to finish his food. Right now he thinks it's a great game to "beat the timer" and it's working well for us. We all try to beat the timer so he doesn't feel like the only one. His weight has been hanging around the same number for the past month but we're doing the best we can.

 

[Nicole]

Thank you for the replies! I'm glad to know that I'm not the only one with the issues/feelings. For the past month or so I have really tried not to press the eating issue. He eats what he wants, usually cleans his plate, and in a reality it's a lot for a 5 yr old. I would be full eating what he eats. Another thing I am trying is to set a timer for a reasonable amount of time to finish his food. Right now he thinks it's a great game to "beat the timer" and it's working well for us. We all try to beat the timer so he doesn't feel like the only one. His weight has been hanging around the same number for the past month but we're doing the best we can.