My baby is not underweight. She is on lower range of recommended wt for her age. She is active and fine otherwise. I always hear and read the same thing that if your baby is fine do not worry about weight. The doctor, family and sites like this all say the same thing. But when i look at healthy babies (by healthy i mean more weight) i feel sad. My baby looks thin infront of them.

As a mother i want my baby to be cuddly, with little fat like those healthy babies and if i feel like that, what is wrong? Why are we discouraged? I am not worried or tensed about my baby. But if i have the time and energy to invest in making him healthier why not do it? Some babies are so healthy and some are thin why does this happen, there must be some reason behind it which can be worked upon. isnt it? I hear baby's tht are very very active dont put weight but i hv seen healthy babies also very active. I dont agree.
I want my baby to be healthy why am i wrong to think so? and what should i do to get that? is it that thats not possible at all and it will unnecesarily bother the child so i shd leave it? in that case i am ok. Just want to know.

Hetal seems busy and her date is very near. I m expecting other mothers to come forward and start answering till she is away. Pls help me. Ramani replied. ST: I was not aware about the facts you have told in your reply. I feel good now. Thank you. Shyama, you really took out time to write all that and the details are eye openers. I m really glad. Thanks to u too. Mom of three. replied. i wanted to share my experience with 3 kids.

kid 1 was always low on % acc to weight. but he is very healthy, active and he likes activities that are running around, jumping and never wants to sit and play. i can say that he has a bee on his bum !
kid 2 and kid 3 are better at weight and i sometimes feel that may be i am taking more care for them. But that is not the case, i care of all of 3 in the same way. they all now eat same foods, same quantity.
kid 2 and kid 3 are not much interested in physical activities like kid 1 that i have observed. kid 2,3 like to sit and draw, read books and do moderate physical play.but not like kid 1.and my kid 3 is lazy bhum.
i too had the same thinking like you are having. and now my kid 1 is 4years old.
i had posted this query some 6-7months back to hetal, i don't have the link but i saved her reply to me.
here is the feedback i got from her and also what i think along with hetals feedback :

--baby fat level and body mass not only depends on his own body makeup but it also depends on hereditary factors.

--baby being chubby, having thick deposits of fat at thighs, his intelligence, gender, personality,manners, nature and everything is decided the day mother concves, which means that its already decided by the combination of genetic link from parents how baby will grow by weight and by other factors.
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if i consider this, there is possibility that this pointer is true for me because i have good body mass and my husband is on average weight, so it seems that kid 1 has taken body type of my husband and kid 2 and kid 3 have taken my body type.
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-- health factors and how baby responds to each of his milestones after cruising and his interest in physical activities affects his fat levels.
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this particular pointer holds true for me.kid 1 always keeps jumping, wants to play outside, run around compared to kid 2 and kid 3.
kid 1 was early in walking, kid 2 and kid 3 were 1month late compared to kid 1 walking milestone. i think it was because they were more weight than kid 1.kid 1 suffered from loss of apetite during teething all the time. while kid 2 and kid 3 just had mild fever and loose motions.
so i tihnk it might be true in my case.
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-- one of the causes of chubby cheeks and good fat in babies have mothers bm or feeds of formula. it also depends on how baby was able to absorb those fats to maxima level and thus shows in their body.
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if i consider this, for my kid 1, i could not breastfeed because i couldn't latch him properly.so my milk supply had stopped in 1st month itself.he was on formula from 1st month. his intake was always average but he never seemed to be hungry. so doctor also accepted that it is his apetite.
after i started solids for kid 1, he was good eater.
while in kid 2 and kid 3, i breastfeed them until 9months and 13months respectively.when i started solids at 5th months and onwards, they were never good eaters when i started solids. itz only recently that they have started eating properly.
for kid 3, his intake of formula or breastmilk was always high but he used to take feeds in longer duration of hours. while kid 1 was a sparrow.
so i think that might have affected to some level. i don't know the reasons behind it.may b breastmilk has good body fats compared to formula. and i think breastmilk is light to digest so i think all fats are digestable than formula fats. i am not sure if i am true in thinking like dis.
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-- baby apetite, acceptance to solids and fat foods. if baby likes and dislikes are of the foods that consists of fatty fruits and vegetables or sugary treats,,,,baby is quite likely to gain more weight.however, the baby on just fat foods might or might not reflect good health. because itz not the fat that shows good health of baby,,itz the nutrientsand vitality on face that shows the child is healthy.
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if i consider this pointer, then its quite true. my kid 3 is very good in weight% and i have noticed that when they all play together or run together, kid 3 often gets puffing and looks as if he is straining more to get into same physical activity that kid 1 and kid 2 are involved.
so i had put this concern to my doctor and also had asked hetal. Both agreed that kid 3 is very sensitive to any food that contains fat which means, that if i give mac and cheese to all of my kids, kid 3 body type is able to absorb maximum fat from it while kid 1 and kid 2 are not much affected by fat foods.
it was my observation that after my kid 3 eats any heavy food he will not like to eat his next meal. while kid 1 and kid 2 are always hungry bears. kid 1 is like a sparrow, ever ready for food.
whatever they eat they will eat properly during their next meal. i had talked about this with hetal, she was of opinion of that kid 3 is full with heavy meals as his body was able to absorb all fats so for him he will either less in next meal time or might even skip it.
while kid 1 and kid 2 are not able to absorb all the fat from the meals offered which is why they are always hungry.

she also asked me if kid 1 and kid 2 has more regular bowels compared to kid 3, which was quite right ! so what i do is for kid 3 i offer him low fat cheese and milk so that he eats well. it has worked for me that way.

--- if your baby is having good weight % and is very active, it means he is getting all the nutrients, all the required fat levels and he is able to absorb them to the maxima level. it means that you can try to plan their diet in such a way that they not only eat good but also are able to absorb all the nutrients from it. ---
if i consider this, then with all my efforts on diet plan for all kids, the diet i offer it seems is perfect for kid 2. she is very active, is better than kid 1 in fat and she is lower % of weight compared to kid 3. also i was told that being girl itz sometimes that gender of baby affects fat levels. boys tend to loose more calories and gain more calories compared to girls body.----
if i consider this, it might be true. my kid 2(girl) she is active, good at weight, and doesn't get tired much like kid 3(boy) does. also, she eats well compared to kid 1(boy).i always feel like i hope my kid 1 and kid 3 health is like kid 2.
but i think for my kid 1, i strongly believe that he has taken my husband body type and my other kids have taken my body type.

so, what my thinking according to experience i had with them and my concerns about their health now i have to admit that it depends on baby own body type and nature. if your babies are above 2 years you can start them on low fat milk or cheese so that they are able to eat well and balance their fat levels. but if you think that your baby is not of good % then i think for you you have to continue them on full fat milk or cheese like i do with kid 1 and kid 2. only kid 3 on low fat milk and cheese.
so i can say dat, you can to change his diet and see if it helps you like in my case it helped kid 3 to eat.

put this concern to some nutrionist or even hetal in feeding board. she is these days more responsive to bowel and bladder board and feeding boards. if it helps your baby to gain good weight, it means he needed some good diet plan otherwise like my kid 1 his body makeup is like that only. no matter how much you struggle, he will be the same in weight %.
for hetal reply, you might have to wait because we all know she is not able to sit longer and reply all the queries at one time. as far as you get the reply, i wuld say itz worth it.

so that was my personal experience with my kids.
Best of Luck
Shyama(mom to samir, sreeja and sujit)
ST replied. Dear Ramani,

\" Health\" is a term which means many things other than weight alone. Doctors have a range of body weight which is considered \" normal\" for a child's age. In the US they give the percentile in which your child's weight and height fall under. As long as your child follows his/her growth curve pattern, there is nothing to worry about. For example, if your child is in the 25th percentile for weight at one checkup, as long as she stays in that percentile, it is considered \" normal\" for her.

I have two kids. My son (4 yrs) has been in the 25th percentile for his weight since he was a year old. My daughter has been in the 80th percentile for weight all along! I have given them the same diet. They are just built differently.

The cuteness of chubby kids is definitely hard to resist. But I find that more and more doctors are now stating that chubbiness might not be as desirable as considered before. I feel that my goal as a parent is to see if my child is eating reasonably well and is happy, active and staying away from frequent infections.

You can no doubt try to increase the calorie content of the foods which your daughter is consuming. Or, increase the number of healthy snacks. There are so many tips in Indiaparenting itself. But if it will bother your daughter, then you should try not to worry. But I know that it is easy for me to say. You have every right to worry about your little one. I just wanted to share my thoughts.

ST