Is this normal?
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Anonymous
| I just realized my 4 year old has gained 5 pounds since his annual appointment in February. Is that normal? Actually - he had surgery in March so he gained even more than that. He weighed 44 pounds at his 4 year appointment in February, had surgery and lost 3 pounds and went down to 41 pounds and now in May he weighs 48 pounds. Should I be concerned? |
Anonymous
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I might check a few more time. The checkup day might have been a lowish day for him and your most recent check might be a highish day. I know my own weight can edge up from some extra salt or ?? But two days later it is one.
Also 44 to 48 is only 4 |
Anonymous
| Ask the pediatrician. |
Anonymous
| Op - yes I will ask just wondering if anybody else has a 4 year old who has gained this much this quickly. |
Anonymous
| I don’t know; I never weigh my 4yo. The best person to ask here is your doctor, especially if there’s something going on that requires surgery. |
Anonymous
| 4 to 5lbs per year is normal. 7lbs in 3 months is abnormal. |
Anonymous
Op - thanks I will bring it up to my pediatrician. He also grew like 5” this past year. |
Anonymous
|
Growing 5 inches and gaining 7 lbs in a year sounds fairly normal.
Talk to your pediatrician. |
Anonymous
Have you looked at a growth chart? |
Anonymous
| Op - yes he is 99th percentile for weight and height. 48” and 48 pounds. |
Anonymous
The growth calculator I put that into puts him at 13th percentile for BMI. Has he been roughly tracking that percentile or is this a big shift? Either way, this is definitely something to talk to an actual medical doctor about. |
Anonymous
| I have never weighed my kids often enough to even notice a weight anomaly like this. |
Anonymous
Op - I only did because he had surgery. |
Anonymous
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Please keep in mind that most home scales are only accurate to a pound or two. And I wouldn't count the surgery weight loss as a "real" weight loss, the first few pounds of re-gain were just getting back to his normal weight. So 5 pounds, plus or minus a couple pounds for scale accuracy ... sounds like a lot, but not out of the range of a typical growth spurt.
Growth curves always show a steady curve - my kids never grew like that. They'd put on 10 pounds in 6 months while maintaining height, then shoot up 4" in height over the next 6 months without gaining another pound. So I'd say it's worth watching and checking in with the doctor, but not something to worry about unless the doctor gets concerned (based on whatever the surgery was for, or other individual factors not discussed here). |
Anonymous
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OP definitely ask your ped, but I'd think of it as gaining 3-4 lbs as opposed to 8 given that he lost weight prior to surgery. He had to catch up.
Also, people in general can fluctuate a pound based on whether they're hydrated, if they've pooped etc. |