Is it normal for children to get thinner as they get older? Yu Junxian, deputy director of pediatrics at Taipei Tzu Chi Hospital, said that under normal circumstances, children will not get thinner and thinner, but will gain weight during their growth. A 4-month-old baby weighs twice as much as at birth, and a 1 year-old baby weighs about three times as much as at birth. From birth to 4 months, babies gain weight very quickly. From 4 months to 1 year, the weight curve becomes relatively flat, but the height continues to grow, so there will be a feeling of being stretched visually, which will make parents think that chubby babies become thinner.
Extended reading: thin nose? Be careful not to grow taller! Growth curve chasing height x weight x head circumference
What weight secrets does the growth curve reveal? The baby is getting thinner and thinner, and parents are so worried. What should I do? Dr. Yu Junxian emphasized that if the baby does not gain weight after 4 months, especially before 6 months, if the baby does not gain weight 1 month, or the baby does not gain weight for 3 months from 6 months to 1 year, it is a problem; On the other hand, it can be observed whether the baby's weight gain deviates from the two percentile intervals of the growth curve. If there are these situations, you should go to the hospital and ask a pediatrician for evaluation.
In fact, the baby's weight has not increased, and even decreased. The possible reasons can be divided into organic, non-organic or both. Due to organic reasons, infants may suffer from perinatal complications, congenital anomalies and cardiopulmonary diseases, such as congenital heart disease, hepatobiliary and digestive tract diseases, kidney diseases, endocrine and metabolic diseases or nervous system diseases. Any organ disease may cause an increase in energy metabolism, and if the calorie intake decreases, it will affect the weight. Due to non-organic reasons, such as child abuse, neglected children or poor and fragile families, infants may become thinner and thinner if they are not properly cared for.
Does the baby whose growth curve is below 3% need to worry?
Dr. Yu Junxian explained that if the baby's length and weight are below 3%, it should be evaluated by a pediatrician. After excluding organic and non-organic reasons, pediatricians usually suggest tracking the baby's growth regularly to confirm whether the baby's growth catches up with or at least follows the original growth curve. If the baby's growth continues to deviate from the growth curve of 3%, it needs early intervention and further in-depth evaluation.
Does defecation frequency affect baby's weight? The situation of baby's stool is the focus of many parents' concern. There are usually several aspects to evaluate the baby's stool, namely, frequency, shape and color. Dr. Yu Junxian explained that the frequency of defecation in newborns is relatively high, which may be as high as seven or eight times a day, two or three times from four months to 1 year old, and rarely more than two times on average from 1 year old to 2 years old. Basically, it is normal to defecate three times a day or once every three days. Clinically, when the stool frequency exceeds three times a day, the stool characteristics change (the water content increases), which is called diarrhea. There is no absolute correlation between defecation frequency and weight, and whether defecation frequency affects children's growth is the focus of evaluation. If the baby defecates a lot (more than three times a day), but his appetite and activities are normal and his weight is steadily increasing, parents generally don't have to worry too much.
Further reading: don't force your child to breastfeed! "4 tips" make picky eaters fall in love with eating
Baby is undernourished, will it become thinner? In addition, lack of nutrition will make the baby thinner and thinner? Dr. Yu Junxian pointed out that short-term micronutrient deficiency in children will not immediately affect their weight, but it may be long-term.
Iron deficiency The older my baby is, the thinner he is. What should I do? Doctors and nutritionists teach you to check your child's nutrition. Zinc deficiency is a trace element. Zinc should be scarce as long as the baby can get enough calories from breast milk, formula milk or solid food (non-staple food). Zinc deficiency may be caused by baby's partial eclipse, picky eaters or bad eating habits. Or the baby has special diseases, such as gastrointestinal diseases or chronic diseases, which affect the absorption of zinc and lead to zinc loss. Zinc deficiency will affect taste and reduce appetite; Affect immune function, leading to repeated infections; It may eventually lead to weight loss and growth retardation.
The main function of calcium deficiency is to strengthen bones and enhance bone density, which is not directly related to weight and height. Most parents are worried about the baby's calcium deficiency. Infants and young children within six months normally consume enough breast milk or formula milk powder, and do not need extra calcium supplementation. If you are exposed to the sun for 0/5 to 20 minutes every day, the human body will synthesize vitamin D by itself to promote the absorption of calcium in the intestine.
Non-staple food is not good, and it is getting thinner and thinner. How to improve? Dr. Yu Junxian said that the baby began to eat non-staple food (solid food), which is a process of gradual learning/trying, and also needs the cooperation of other neural development maturity, so few babies can eat non-staple food from the beginning. Parents are usually advised to start adding non-staple food when the baby is 4 to 6 months old. Because at this stage, the baby's weight is usually twice the birth weight, and the intake of breast milk or formula milk has exceeded 1000 ml, so he can sit without shaking his head and neck, and his salivary glands are more mature, his taste is immature, and his acceptance of different tastes is higher, which can train the baby's chewing and swallowing ability. Therefore, adding non-staple food should be fed with a small spoon alone, instead of adding non-staple food to a bottle. In the process of feeding, if the baby pushes out the non-staple food/spoon with his tongue (the tongue-spitting reflex has not disappeared), it means that he/she is not ready, and parents can stop for a few days and try again. If you are worried that your baby can't eat non-staple food well, wait for more than 6 months before adding non-staple food. Although the baby's nerves are more mature, the eating habit of relying on bottles has been developed. When the taste is more mature, he will choose delicious food (such as sweets), so the chances of the baby successfully transitioning to a solid food diet are even lower.
The baby vomited after eating. Are you sick? The baby often spills milk or vomits, is it the reason why he is thin? Dr. Yu Junxian explained that the structure of the gastroesophageal junction of newborns, that is, the spout, is not fully developed, so it is easy to overflow milk, so almost all newborns have symptoms of gastroesophageal reflux. Normally, 80% of infants will improve after 1 year, and 15% will continue to improve until 1.5 year. After some babies start adding some non-staple food/solid food in 4 to 6 months, the situation of spitting milk will be slightly improved because of the viscosity of food. However, some babies, at the stage of 4 to 6 months, will turn over and press to the abdomen because of the mature nerves, which will lead to an increase in vomiting after feeding. In addition, the baby vomits after feeding, which may be food choking or food allergy. If vomiting symptoms lead to loss of appetite, weight stagnation or emaciation, or chronic cough, repeated pneumonia, etc. It should be further examined and evaluated by a pediatrician.
Children recommend plenty of nutrition every day. How to distribute children's nutrition? This is a concern of every parent. Hou Yizheng, a nutritionist at Taipei Tzu Chi Hospital, provides children aged 0-2 with the amount of nutrients they need every day, so that parents can check their diet.
The baby is getting thinner and thinner, what should I do? Doctors and nutritionists teach you to check your child's nutrition. Can drinking more milk really make children grow taller? Drink more milk, and the child will grow taller? Nutritionist Hou Yizheng reminded that the nutrient of milk is calcium, and calcium supplementation will indeed increase, but at most two cups a day, once more than three cups, osteoporosis may occur.
Lactose intolerance, can I drink milk? Milk is the best source of calcium supplement, 1 has 1 mg of calcium, but can children with lactose intolerance drink milk? Nutritionist Hou Yizheng clarified that it is a myth that lactose intolerant children can't drink milk because lactase can be induced. It is recommended to practice drinking slowly from 50 every day. If you don't drink milk for too long, the lactase in your body will gradually degenerate, and you will have diarrhea as soon as you drink milk. If the children at home don't want to drink milk, parents can use solid bean products instead of milk to supplement calcium.
Drink a bottle of milk before going to bed, right? Many parents think that their children are too thin and are used to giving a bottle of milk before going to bed, hoping to supplement their nutrition. Is this correct? Dr. Yu Junxian explained that during sleep, the body is at rest and the metabolic rate of the body is reduced. Eating before going to bed can easily lead to heat accumulation, turn into fat, and lead to obesity; Saliva secretion is reduced, sugar/food sticks to teeth for a longer time, and the probability of tooth decay is greatly increased; In addition, gastroesophageal reflux is prone to occur when sleeping. If the child has sufficient nutrition intake during the day, it is not recommended to drink milk before bed. Some parents secretly feed a bottle of milk when the baby is half asleep or asleep because the baby doesn't drink milk during the day and is worried about malnutrition. Maybe the baby has gained weight, but it also increases the chances of tooth decay and gastroesophageal reflux. These babies have also formed the habit of going to bed when they are hungry, instead of eating/drinking milk when they are hungry.
Refuse children to be picky eaters, mommy has a coup! Children's picky eating habits give parents a headache. How to make children not picky about food? Hou Yizheng nutritionist provides several parenting tips to make children fall in love with eating!
Trick 1: When you meet something that children don't eat, you can attract their attention in a competitive way. For example, the reason why children don't eat fish is that there are fishbones in the fish. Parents can compete with their children. Whoever picks more fishbones can make the children feel interesting in the process of eating and then accept the food.
Trick 2: Tell your child the benefits of this food. When they don't like drinking milk, tell them the benefits of drinking milk, such as growing taller. By letting children do experiments, let them try to drink two cups of milk every day, and measure their height after one week or even one month, let them find that two cups of milk every day really grow taller.
Trick 3: Use "external force" to increase willingness. "External force" can be the power between peers or the products around the animation series to attract children's attention. Children are easily influenced by peer strength. If a classmate eats this food and looks taller, he might as well try it. In addition, cartoon series such as car chopsticks or other tableware combinations are used to increase children's fun and willingness in the process of eating.
Does the child need to be supplemented with nutrition if he is too thin? Many parents choose to supplement their nutrition with supplements because their children are picky eaters. Nutritionist Hou Yizheng reminded them that it is recommended to get enough nutrition from natural food for one day. But if their children's food does not reach the nutritional level one day, they can eat some supplements. For example, they have drunk two cups of milk today, and although they get 50% of the recommended daily intake of calcium, they don't like to eat solid bean products, so they can't supplement calcium from solid bean products, so they can eat a few calcium tablets to get it. But if you don't drink milk, don't eat soy products, and only eat calcium tablets, it is the practice of putting the cart before the horse. Dr. Yu Junxian suggested that children should enjoy eating. It is best to control a meal within 20 to 30 minutes. If children don't want to eat, there is no need to force them to eat. If you are worried about insufficient nutrition, you can take comprehensive vitamins appropriately when necessary. However, although nutritional supplements are effective quickly, we should pay attention to the dosage. For example, group B can be excreted through urination, but vitamins A, D and E are fat-soluble, and excessive supplementation may not be metabolized, which will have adverse effects on the body.
Vegetarian children eat like this, not afraid of no nutrition! Want your children to be vegetarian together, but worry about the lack of nutrition in meat? According to the nutritionist Hou Yizheng's analysis, both vegetarian children and meat-eating children can get milk nutrition like egg yolk, while beans, fish and eggs just lack fish and meat, and they can also be used to supplement the required protein, so vegetarian children can have a balanced nutrition like meat-eating children.
Supplementing children with nutritious snacks with snacks is the time that children like and look forward to most. How to choose nutritious and delicious snacks? When to eat snacks will not affect children's appetite for eating? Nutritionist Hou Yizheng believes that children should not be given snacks near dinner time, and should not excessively affect the next meal. Try to choose natural foods, such as fruit, milk, red bean soup or mung bean soup, which are all good sources of snacks.