OP- I have fraternal twin dd’s- age 2.5. They seriously have the exact same diet and eat about the same amount of food. One is 6 pounds heavier than the other and two inches shorter. It’s most likely genetics and my pediatrician agrees.

Anonymous wrote:I hear you, OP. My kid is also heavy and tall at 22 months but not quite that big. I try not to get anxious about it...there’s so much talk about “obese toddlers” and what an epidemic it is, but I feel like it just makes those of us with naturally big kids feel like crap. I mean, mine has never had juice, has only had a few bites of sweets ever, and eats an incredibly healthy diet. And gets minimal screen time and lots of active outdoor playtime every day. What are we supposed to do, starve our high-percentile children? Obviously not, but it’s hard not to get anxious about it.

Honestly I never got anxious about it. My babies were born big and got extra big fast on breastmilk alone. Honestly I found having huge babies to be very reassuring that I was doing things right.

I’m sure it’s genetics. Her diet sounds great. Try not to be concerned because she does sound proportionate and it’s consistent with her growth projectory. Also I know it’s so hard but try not to compare her to others!!!

Anonymous wrote:This is OP - thanks for the replies. I guess I am just feeling anxious after Thanksgiving being with all her "normal" sized cousins who are around her age and hearing all the "whoa! she is so heavy!" comments from aunts, uncles, etc. that picked her up. It's so hard as a mom to not feel that I am doing something wrong or setting her up for a lifetime of eating issues. I'll try to chill!

PP here - I know it. It's all cute baby rolls when they're littler, now it's "ooof, she's huge!" as a toddler. But she IS huge, and that's neither a good nor bad thing in a kid that age. It just is what it is. We have a friend with a kid a week older who is even bigger than DD, so I don't feel totally alone when comparing DD to other kids her age.

I hear you, OP. My kid is also heavy and tall at 22 months but not quite that big. I try not to get anxious about it...there’s so much talk about “obese toddlers” and what an epidemic it is, but I feel like it just makes those of us with naturally big kids feel like crap. I mean, mine has never had juice, has only had a few bites of sweets ever, and eats an incredibly healthy diet. And gets minimal screen time and lots of active outdoor playtime every day. What are we supposed to do, starve our high-percentile children? Obviously not, but it’s hard not to get anxious about it.

My kids we’re all like this- heck one was 21 lbs at 3 months and over 34 by 12 months. They are all normal skinny athletic kids today.

Anonymous wrote:I would focus on her BMI. That's what my ped looks at.

If she's tall, she's going to weight a lot more. Lucky her, it looks like she got your DH's tall genes.

OP here - LOL yup! I will certainly be the shrimp of the family. If you double DD's height at 18 months (what many people say is a predictor for female height at adulthood), she will be 5'10"

Currently pregnant with her sibling. Wonder if we will have another tall one!

I would focus on her BMI. That's what my ped looks at.

If she's tall, she's going to weight a lot more. Lucky her, it looks like she got your DH's tall genes.

This is OP - thanks for the replies. I guess I am just feeling anxious after Thanksgiving being with all her "normal" sized cousins who are around her age and hearing all the "whoa! she is so heavy!" comments from aunts, uncles, etc. that picked her up. It's so hard as a mom to not feel that I am doing something wrong or setting her up for a lifetime of eating issues. I'll try to chill!

My 22 month old has also always been really big (though not quite that big) and disproportionate (much higher on the weight percentile than height). I also worry to myself about her health/weight long term since some of DH's family are pretty "big boned" people. But she's not even two and her brain growth is MUCH more important than anything else at this age. So I feed her healthy, whole foods, but don't restrict fat or calories yet. I expect we'll have a conversation at her 2 year appointment, but her pediatrician has noted, but not expressed any concern over her weight so far. The only advice the pediatrician gave me was not to give juice, which we don't anyways.

Offer fruit and veggies first, avoid "snacky" foods and sweets, buy cheap clothing, and stay away from leggings. Seriously, leggings are a disaster on my kid's big booty and thighs.

Sounds like she's proportionate with the weight and height, so there's no real cause for concern. Our DD is pretty large (37 in and 36 lbs at 2.5 years old) and our ped advised just to give her large quantities of healthy food if that's what she wants. DH and I are tall (6'4" and 5'10"), so I imagine this is how it will go for a while.

I don't have a lot of experience with little kids, but I have never seen a kid eat cup after cup of plain steamed broccoli with such a hunger. It's wild. As long as it's healthy,I say let the kid self-regulate as much as possible.

Remain calm. My DD gained loads during the year she was 2. They are growing so quickly! Then, as she approached 3, she starting gaining inches going UP and stopped eating. Like she went from eating adult sized meals a lot of the time to eating a huge meal once or twice a week and basically eats 5 bites at every other meal time. Her sweet round belly is flat and she is for sure turned from chunky toddler into legit little KID.

Kid's bodies are very good at self regulating food intake. Offer healthy food for the most part and step back and let your kid decide what she needs. Chances are this will level off a bit after age 3.

Sounds like it's just genetics at work. My son, who also wasn't a huge eater, weighed 40 lbs at 2, and at 3, and at 4. He is now a very tall and skinny 8 year old who weighs around 60. People who knew him as a toddler always laugh about the contrast between the husky tank he was then, and the long and lean boy he is now.

Yep! My kids were huge at that age, but they didn't stay huge. My advice is to buy cheap clothing because they go through it fast and not worry about it. This isn't a problem, so it doesn't require you to do anything.

Oh, and give her full-fat versions of things. It will help fill her up; recent research says that dairy fat protects against heart disease and we should all be eating it; and toddlers especially need the fat for brain development. Ask the ped, and he/she will confirm.

Had to take DD in for a sick visit today. She has always been very tall and heavy (off the charts in both since her 4 month appointment). She stepped on the scale today and it was 37.5 lbs She is 22 months.

At her 18 month appointment she was 35 inches tall, so I'd guess she's probably 37 inches tall by now. Her dad is extremely tall, I am completely average size (5'4'', 135 lbs). She eats normally, stops eating when she is full, but does ask for a lot of snacks on the weekends. I usually try to divert her attention but I do give her snacks when she asks repeatedly (skim string cheese, peanut butter with banana or almond butter, greek yogurt). During the week she eats what her classmates eat at daycare and then dinner with us at home. She doesn't have any juice or sweets and she has 12 ounces of 2% milk a day.

I don't want to set her up for a lifetime of food issues, but I am not sure what to do. Today was a sick visit, so didn't get into this with the ped but will bring it up at her 2 year well visit in January. Anyone have a really huge toddler and have advice?