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i am going through the same thing with my 16 month old.But i think it has gotten better a bit so far. It does seem like my whole life revolves around what she will eat as well. Are you giving enough starches?meat?snacks?

Oh, I offer everything, but as any mother of a 2 year old knows...no means no. I can't force him to eat without a full-force tantrum. He prefers to eat small portions instead of full meals. Breakfast is the best...he will eat a handful of Cheerios, a package of flavoured oatmeal, 1 slice of apple or orange, and a cup of yogurt. Sometimes I offer him scrambled egg instead of the oatmeal, but then some days he will eat it and others not a bite. He also likes french toast with syrup. Lunch is a hit and miss...he may have a package of flavoured tofu, a few pieces of cheese, some crackers or 1/3 a piece of toast. Dinner is the worst...he often eats nothing at all. We serve him what the rest of the family is eating...it is always a combo of meat/starch & veggies. If he does eat he only takes 2-3 bites. He is never eager about food. We usually have to distract him to get food into his mouth. He very rarely self-feeds. He refuses to do it. If we don't spoon-feed/fork-feed him the meal will go untouched. This has been going on ever since he was about 15 months old. I am waiting for things to start getting better. The only advice my doc had was to keep him on homo milk and to offer him a variety of snacks all day long. As fo snacks...he will snack on mid-morning but won't take anything mid-afternoon.

my dd is 19mo. and she weighs about 21 lbs. fully clothed. But, she has always been in the bottom 5th percentile so this is nothing new for her. She is in a size 3 diaper and this morning I put her in some 18-24 capri pants and had to double roll the waist to even get them to stay up! But, with your son, the most alarming thing is that he has actually lost weight. I know that during this time they don't gain much, but to lose weight is a little different. If I were you I would try and monitor a bit yourself at home and see if he continues to drop and if so then I'd definitely look into testing. If all goes well then maybe he'll just be a high-metabolized person, don't we all wish it was this way for us??? PS- I still give my dd a bottle of formula at bedtime. When I told dr. this she just said its probably a good idea for her. Its the 9-24 month formula and I do it before bed so that it doesn't interfere with her meals. She always downs the whole thing! Granted, it goes to bed with her......

You're not alone! My dd is 28 months and weighs about 22 lbs. She has gained about 2 lbs since she was 1 year old. She is a grazer but horrible at dinner. I give her the Enfamil Poly-vi-sol to be sure she is getting the vitamins she needs. She hates milk! She still fits into 12-18 month clothes and size 3 diaper. She is in the 10th percentile too but dh and I are small framed too. I would not worry too much unless he starts acting letharic. All yo can do is keep offering him food over and over. I understand your frustration. It is a good idea to have his thyriod checked to rule it out. Try not to stress, toddlers are way more stubborn than we are.

i'm so glad to have found this post. i'm going outta my mind with my son, he is 26 months old and he weighs only 22lbs as well and he wears size 3, fits 12-18 mths clothing. he gained 2 lbs in a year. he is in the 3rd percentile. he is 33 inches tall, my husband is 6 feet and i am 5'7", he is a horrible eater, only eats when he wants to. we are so frustrated, i feel horrible, like its my fault due to bad parenting. we finally convinced his ped to investigate it further, we did blood work and urine and he is having xrays in a couple weeks. How tall are all your little ones??

Hi, it's so frustrating having a toddler who hates eating. I fear his bad eating habits are rubbing off on his 11 month old brother who is also now refusing to eat. *sigh* Ds1 - who is now 27 months old - weighs in at 25.5lbs. joejay: My son is 35in. I am 5'5" and my husband is 5'8" so we are average. We never expected our kids to be big either but it is concerning when they grown so slowly. I believe my ds1 is in the 7th percentile for weight and about the 40th for height. My doc didn't want him dropping below the 5th so we are keeping an eye on his weight gain. He also goes in to see my family doc every 6 months to do a full physical. They are keeping a new 2nd year growth chart to make sure he is at least maintaining a curve. It seems like my ds1 goes in cycles where for a few days he will eat really well, and then eat horribly for the next few days. Right now is a horrible phase...he eats minimal. At our last visit my doc suggested I put him on a multivitamin, so we bought Enfamil "Poly-Vi-Sol" which I add to his last cup of milk every day. At least I get that peace of mind...hopefully these toddlers outgrow this!

Okay so last night I put 18-24mo. pajamas on my dd (now 20mo)and the top is a dress!!! She looks so funny! We're still at 21 lbs and although I don't remember exactly how tall she is she was in the 25% for height and 5th for weight. But, dd has always been in the 5th percentile, even before birth. They monitored her since 28 weeks because of this. So, even though she's small, she has continued to grow and be consistent at 5% so dr. isn't worried. I wouldn't get too freaked out about the kids eating pattern. Unlike us adults they only when they're hungry, not because they're bored or it tastes good. They listen to their bodies. One day they will discover how good food is:) With my ds who is 9 he really began to eat at about 7 and now its the opposite, with me trying to get him to pay attention to his body and what he needs to eat vs. want. Now I regret ever tempting him with all sorts of c___p to eat!!!

Oh mommies please don't worry and don't let your docs make you worry. If your child is happy and energetic and eager...then all is well! Think about it this way. My 3 silly explanations: 1) Kate Moss who is world renowned for being top model is easily below the 2nd percentile in every measurement : ) 2) Over 70% of adults struggle to lose weight and 1 out of every 5 four year olds is overweight 3) When you think in months and years of toddlers one pound here one pound there makes a difference but in adults we accept all shapes and sizes. So what I am trying to say that each child has its programmed genetic potential and if you are offering HEALTHY food and drink when your child hungry then you are doing the best! I have 3 daughters who have gone through phases of eating hardly a pea for weeks on end...but they are happy and healthy. Good luck !!!

Thank you for all the commments ladies! In the last 3 months ds1 has gained 2lbs which is excellent. We are very happy about his weight gain. I am giddy over it! He is somewhere within the 10-15th percentile now! He is still tiny and skinny as ever though...all bones. The extreme lean machine! hehe

Hey DDT! My son is 3 1/2 now and he was exactly like your son. He was very finicky and had like 2 things he would eat. I just made sure he took a vitamin everyday and I would still offer him everything. At about 3yrs he finally started trying new things. My daughter is almost 2 and I think by him watching allllllll the things she eats, he has become more willing to try things. He is still small (like 15%) but he eats tons of fruits and veggies and all kinds of other meals now! So I am guessing he is just going to be one of those scrawney kids..lol! Goodluck!