Any advice on how to fatten up my 1 year-old?
Posted by jlspencer on Jul 26, 2007 · Member since Oct 2005 · 2 posts
My 1 year-old was really sick for about 2 weeks, so he lost a lot of weight. When we took him his check-up yesterday, he weighed only 18 lbs putting him in the 5th percentile for his age. So, now the doctor says we need to get him back up to normal weight. She gave us a list of foods that are high in fat that will help him gain faster...of course it was mostly animal products. The only things on the list we would give him is avocados and olives. So, here's where I need help. The only other things I can think of is olive oil and flax. Any ideas would be appreciated!
Thanks =)
How about coconut or coconut milk?
is your child allergic to peanuts? i know that some folks recommend keeping toddlers away from it but your situation sounds pretty serious...:-( Also, give yummy snacks like Tofutis? Soy protein powder into stuff like applesacuse, pudding, etc?
Poor baby... its horrible when they're sick. I'd rather be sick then have my kids sick. :'(
Definitely avocados. My one son is 5lbs heavier then his twin solely because he LOVES avocados.
Hummus with lots of Olive Oil.
Muffins with extra fat.
Nuts aren't a good idea for little ones because of allergies, how about sunflower seed butter (its what my kids eat) or tahini?
Soy yogurt.
Smoothies, you could sneak the avocado into a smoothie if he doesn't like eating them plain.
You could make his rice cereal/pablum with "milk" instead of water.
Are you Lacto-Ovo? Cheese and eggs (can one year olds have eggs, I can't remember anymore?)
Hope he turns into a "chubby" monkey soon!!
K^2
Try these:
http://vegweb.com/index.php?topic=8706
(My daughter LOVES this one, and has since the first day we had it. It goes easily with rice, and can be mushed with a fork easily, if your one year old needs a less solid consistancy)
http://vegweb.com/index.php?topic=7939
http://vegweb.com/index.php?topic=8295.0
and
http://vegweb.com/index.php?topic=15209
Because what kid doesn't like noodles! (Or "doodles" as they were known in our hose for a while... I love the way kids talk!)
The only way I know to fatten up anyone is fattening liquids in addition to food. My 2 cents is smoothies with wheat germ, silken tofu, fruits and even avocados because it will only turn the mixture a pretty green if mixed with other fruits. You can load these up with healthy ingredients and even add a little extra virgin olive oil for the fats in that too. The point is, you can pack it full of calories that really count, make it pleasantly naturally sweet and because it is liquid, it will be utilized more quickly.
If your child is only 1 you are hardly going to get him to eat more. There is only so much chewing and swallowing they are going to do in their day. He is not that far off the bottle or breast that he wouldn't be amenable to sucking a straw to get nice tasting, healthfully fattening liquid food.
Thinking back to when my kids were tiny... they tended to get runny poops (tmi) when I gave them smoothies too often. Perhaps my body can take 1/2cup blueberries at once, but theirs couldn't :o
K^2
Thank you all for your ideas! I can't believe I didn't think of hummus lol...all full of olive oil and tahini! I'm defiantly going to have to try out some of those recipes soon and find out how much coconut milk costs. We're on pretty tight budget right now and avocados cost more than $1each, yikes! Anyway, thanks again =)
Lol, I wish I were in that baby's position right now... with someone racking their brains trying to come up with yummy, healthy vegan dishes to fatten me up!
Maybe I should call home... "you know, mom, weirdest thing, I've lost fifty pounds this past week..." :D
Hi JLSpencer,
How old is your child, in months?
Are you breastfeeding?
If not, what type of formula is he/she on?
If on formula, how much does your child get in one day?
What is you child's height?
Do NOT give your 1 year old nuts or nut butters, seed butter only, until age 2 to prevent nut allergies.
Use rice protein or soy protien powder.
I do not suggest soley relying on olive oil to fatten he/she up. Though it would be fine to have some more in hummus etc. like Lady Dragonfly mentioned... But too much oil would just be a quick superfical fix.
Add flax seed to everything you can.
Do not let your child drink juice, he/she will fill up on juice (even 100% juice lacks fiber and is almost just sugar water) and not eat the protein that he needs. If anything give the juice to them half-way through the meal or after the meal.
Always provide and offer snacks even if it's not a fattening thing... like fruit.
Remember:
Doctors get 2 hours of nutritional training in med school, if that.
Unless your child isn't lethargic it is not a huge concern.
5th percentile is in comparison to peers... peers who eat hot dogs, fast food and drink whole milk....
It can't hurt to gain some healthy weight but again I wouldn't resort to a pure fat diet.
Sounds like you've got it down though. :)