My little one is so small!

[IamLoved]

Hi

Our sweet little girl is all raw vegan. She is almost 19 months old (tomorrow, the 28th is her anniversary). She is TINY and I mean tiny. She weighs between 17 and 18 pounds. She is very petite. I am concerned about her being so small. I wonder if she is getting enough calories.
In a day she typically eats (not in this order)
2-3 bananas
1 avocado
fresh apricot (1 or 2)
grapes ( a bunch or so)
cherry tomatoes
sometimes she will have some cashews or raisins or dates for a snack. When I make green smoothies I give her those.
She typically eats 2-3 different fruits for breakfast, has a midmorning snack, then lunch (more fruit) then nap then supper (avocadoes, tomatoes, lettuce, cukes ect.)

I don't want to take her to the doctor. I know what they will say.
What do you guys think about this? She is a beautiful, smart, energetic, happy baby girl. She is just teeny weeny.
Thanks for listening!

[Lay-Lay]

I was pretty much an all raw baby and I was teeny weeny. I would never grow out of my clothes, my mother would finally get tired of them and throw them out. I am not sure about your child. I would be hard pushed to give my opinion over the internet about a child that I have not seen in person. Sounds like she has a good diet. Have you thought about some raw nutritional supplements?

[MaddMelon]

If she seems to be fully developed mentally, and is happy and energetic, then it seems like you have a healthy little girl. I might try taking her to a homeopathic doctor. I wouldn't even say anything about what you are feeding her, or that you think she is small. I'd wait to hear what the doctor has to say. Typically if you go in to a doctors office and tell them something "unusual" they are more than ready to have a hissy fit, and overexaggerate issues they wouldn't have otherwise exaggerated.

Because she growing, maybe try giving her more fats. A very smoothe nut butter on some soft dehydrated apple chips, or on bananas?

If she's happy, and energetic, I wouldn't worry too much, but take her to a doctor, let them evaluate her, you might even want blood tests run to see if she's defficient in anything, and then wisk her back home and keep the quacks at bay! lol

[Ariella]

genetics would also play into this. are you and your hubby small? if so this could just be her size. if she is happy and energetic she is probably getting enough food. if you want you could add nut mylks to her food intake, that would help with some added fat if you are worried about it. or nut butters. green smoothies are great also. sounds like you are doing wonderful with her.

Ariella

[Rawkinlocs]

All of my children (even the older ones who were raised on the SAD) were on the small side of the percentile charts in the docs office. For us, it IS genetics...I'm only 5'4" and my husband 3" taller than I...his mom and sisters are all shorter than I...so the kids were bound to be shorter. As for weight-wise, they were small there too! Like iloverawfoods' kids, mine stayed in the same sizes for a LOOONG time and I rarely had to buy new clothes due to them growing out of 'em! :)

But the older they are getting, they are filling in and out and getting taller and are now "normal" on the charts. My 3-year old concerned me for the longest after we started eating raw because was weighing in at 28.5 lbs since age 2. He finally made it to 30 lbs and I even weighed my niece who is the same age as he and she was only one pound heavier at 31 lbs. and she eats the SAD way. My 7-year old is also very short and petite compared to other 7 year olds. But I also keep in mind that MOST kids are SAD eaters and probably overweight (not necessarily obese/overweight) so I kinda try not to gauge based on other kids too much if I can help it. I have noticed lately, though, that she is getting "meaty"...her thighs are getting thick and they're very firm and she's very muscular and not "boney"...so I feel she is doing great!

I do give them nut milks, avocado-based chocolate pudding, and other fatty foods along with green smoothies with sesame seeds added (sometimes) and they are healthy and thriving so I don't let the weight thing concern me as much anymore.

[cassidy]

My daughter is 16 mos old and is veg. with just a few excetions... that being organic yogurt and??? hmmm... I guess just the occasional something else! She is pretty small too. She is 20lbs... has been since she was 1. I take her to all her checkups and the doc. has no problem with her weight. She typically eats yogurt blended with kale (or any green) with fruit for breakfast. She'll have a banana, rice milk for snacks. She LOVES nuts - especially pistachios. I give her avocado with sprouted bread or some kind of raw bread that I have. I mix in flax seeds with her guagamole. then for a snack I make "ice cream" with frozen bananas, frozen carrots, frozen something green, dates and almonds - I homogonize all of this and she eats it all up and LOVES it. She will probably have some more rice milk tonight - I like to put coconut water in it if I have some. Your daughter might like coconut meat as well. It is high in calories and very nutritious. Mine loves "yogurt" made with coconut meat, cashews, a little banana and dates. mmmm.... I am sure you are doing just fine. You may want to think about supplementing just because of the B12 issue.

[Rawkinlocs]

My daughter is 16 mos old and is veg. with just a few excetions... that being organic yogurt and??? hmmm... I guess just the occasional something else! She is pretty small too. She is 20lbs... has been since she was 1. I take her to all her checkups and the doc. has no problem with her weight. She typically eats yogurt blended with kale (or any green) with fruit for breakfast. She'll have a banana, rice milk for snacks. She LOVES nuts - especially pistachios. I give her avocado with sprouted bread or some kind of raw bread that I have. I mix in flax seeds with her guagamole. then for a snack I make "ice cream" with frozen bananas, frozen carrots, frozen something green, dates and almonds - I homogonize all of this and she eats it all up and LOVES it. She will probably have some more rice milk tonight - I like to put coconut water in it if I have some. Your daughter might like coconut meat as well. It is high in calories and very nutritious. Mine loves "yogurt" made with coconut meat, cashews, a little banana and dates. mmmm.... I am sure you are doing just fine. You may want to think about supplementing just because of the B12 issue.

Cassidy, I've been strongly considering supplementing my kids (especially the younger ones) for a while just to be on the safe-side...what do you give your daughter supplement-wise or do you not bother because she has the organic yogurt?

[cassidy]

I don't give mine anything because of the yogurt, like you said. She will sometimes have some of her Dad's food on the w/end as well: chicken, cheese... whatever he's eating. So I think she is fairly well rounded and is doing good with her vitmamins/ minerals etc. Good luck though! Sorry I can't help more.

[Green Life]

I wouldn't worry.

Some people are short
some are tall
some are large and
some are small


Nobody is the same :)

Will she drink fresh celery parsley carrot and spinach juice? I read somewhere that is an excellent protein drink.

Green life

[IamLoved]

Thank you all so much!

I appreciate all of your answers. Yes, my husband and I are small. I am 5'1" and he is 5'6". My mom is 4'10" , my grandmother is 4'11", his mother is 5' and his father is 5'4". Both of his grandparents are 5'4 or less. So yes, we are short people. My other children (who still eat some SAD foods are small for their age but not nearly as much as she is.) She is not even anywhere close to the chart. I know that the chart is for SAD children most of whom are overweight. I just want to make sure that my baby is ok and get some input from you all.
Cheri - my 3 year old is 28.5 pounds. He has been stuck at that weight forever it seems. He is a little guy too and he is not all raw.
Anyways thanks again. Sometimes you just need that affirmation that your doing ok.
I have also been very blessed in the fact that all of my children love carrot juice and beg me to make some. I have done carrot and spinach but never the other one. Maybe I will try it. Thanks again!

[Lunar*Fey]

I just wanted to say that my family is made up of mostly tall people (my mom is 5'9 1/2, my uncle is 6'4, etc.) and yet when I was two years old I weighed about 18-20 pounds and I was quite healthy and energetic and everything. So, even though many have already said this I believe you have nothing to worry about, as long as she being allowed to eat until she doesn't desire more and not "rationed" and also as long as she is mentally developed.

[Spectatrix]

I know that the chart is for SAD children most of whom are overweight. I just want to make sure that my baby is ok and get some input from you all.
If most kiddos are overweight according to those charts, is it *really* designed for SAD children? ;)

But I agree with the others here... if she seems happy and energetic, she's probably fine. Nut milk might be a good addition to her diet, or "milkshakes" made with nut milk. I find almond milk sweetened with honey (you could use agave or dates too) to be particularly yummy. :)

[eachpeachpearplum]

My son has been raw since birth and is still breastfed. He is in the bottom 3% for weight and the top 98% for height. He has just had his second birthday and is 20lbs. I am 5' 10" and my husband is 6' 4".

He eats very lightly and always has. I was concerned at first but I realised he just does not have that drive to eat that cooked food eater do. He nibbles all through out the day and is very satisfied.

He is bright, happy, energetic and healthy. He is slim but not skinny with great color and bright eyes!

This is what he had today:

green smoothie - about 4 cups through out the day
grapes
mango
strawberries
cucumber
coconut maccaroon
breastmilk x 3
tomatoes
Vanilla cream - coconut, cashews, agave, vanilla
spoonful of Udo's oil

He eats more at times, almost always before he has a growth spurt. He is never shy about asking for his food or eating when he is hungry. He will also eat avocados and drink nut milks and nut butter just from a spoon.

This is him last week eating Maraw's soup:
http://www.rawfoodtalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=15782

Also try this recipe!
http://www.rawfoodtalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=14775

I also have a friend who's daughter is 3 and weighs in at just 20lbs, she is SAD but her parents are petite.

Dont worry! :p

[eachpeachpearplum]

I wanted to add that my son also likes bread & Jam. I use the recipes from
G. Coussens book and make them flat on the dehydrator then slice into squares. I serve with nut butter and my home made jam. I make the jam by mixing frozen defrosed berries and soaked dates in the food processor. It keeps forever!

As he is little I cut the bread into bit sized pieces! However he usually just has fruit or a smoothie for breakfast.

email me if you want the bread recipes. :)

[adrienne]

i could have written this thread myself!!!
i have a petite 23 month old who eats a lot of raw, "sprinkled" with cooked vegetarian stuff
i am always sensitive to her size since her 9 month check up when her pediatrician told me what i was doing was "not enough" (breast feeding and slowly introducing fruits and veg). he always furrows his brow after looking at the dot on the chart, seeing that she falls in the 20-ish percentile. it is always a stressful experience, one in which takes weeks to recover and weeks to mentally prepare for!!! and this is a child who is never sick and very alert, smart and evenly-keeled, just like missionarymama's DD.
why are we so sensitive? our healthy, smart, small kids aren't big and boogery like the rest??? all filled up with hormones from milk and toxins from the SAD diet?????????? it is so frustrating and when i am not in a strong frame of mind i question my very existence as a intellegent, intuitive human being.
BUT, thanks to this site and these threads, i know i am not alone and can count on the support of other and i hope MM feels the same way
it is about health and well-being and that is what we have to keep in mind (note to self, of course)
:)

[Migrou]

Buy the Breaktrough DVD from The Garden Diet, it is very helpful and informative. They are raising 4 healthy kids on an all raw diet. I bought the pack of 10 e-books and the DVD for $20 and I am very satisfied.

[eachpeachpearplum]

Buy the Breaktrough DVD from The Garden Diet, it is very helpful and informative. They are raising 4 healthy kids on an all raw diet. I bought the pack of 10 e-books and the DVD for $20 and I am very satisfied.

I was considering getting it, thanks for the recommendation!

[NuttyRawMom]

Buy the Breaktrough DVD from The Garden Diet, it is very helpful and informative. They are raising 4 healthy kids on an all raw diet. I bought the pack of 10 e-books and the DVD for $20 and I am very satisfied.
I second this!! This DVD and the information in the e-books were the very thing that gave me the inspiration to try 100% raw for our family. I find the books reflect the same laid-back, quiet commentary style of the DVD. Not what you would find in a normally published book, yet informative and useful all the same. The DVD is beautiful and peaceful, not quick and fast-paced. Something you can, and should, sit back and relax with.

That said, I also have small children. The stats: Husband 5'11", Me 5'2", 3 babies born heavy, but lost weight within first couple weeks and stayed small. 6 Yr boy, now average, as baby doc always concerned about weight. I was so worried! We ate SAD then. Went high raw/vegan during 2nd pregnancy, girl now 3 1/2 and 28.5 lb, always very tall and very, very thin. Doc wasn't very concerned since our son was also thin. (She was even lighter than him.) Since then we have been in and out of all vegan, veg., sad, but mostly vegan. 3rd pregnancy, girl, now 15 mo. and 17 lb, raised vegan/high raw, also very light. Moved to new town, new doc, concerned again, yet not me this time. I know our family traits and seeing my daughter happy, healthy, very very active with early physical development, I am not worried. I just grin and bear it. I take his prescriptions for iron supplements, flouride tablets and the like and throw them away after we walk out the door. (We live in Austria and 5 checkups are required up until 15 months. Just had the last one...yeah! No more of that!) She eats a lot and I offer food several times a day. My first 2 were breastfed until 14/16 months respectively, and I am still nursing our 3rd.

Sorry, lots of information. I tried to abbreviate to simplify. My point is that even on sad, my first baby was on the lighter side. Each of my children have experienced different eating patterns and they are all slim.

As for suggestions, we love green smoothies and I always sneak in the 'heavier' stuff there: tahini, almond butter, coconut, avocado, flax oil etc. (not all in 1!) My little one will guzzle the smoothies, begging for more, even on a full tummy. Another favorite is almond butter and banana puree. I use a hand blender to make all her baby food, but at 15 months, she still eats a lot pureed. I find that she eats more when it is blended than just eating by hand. Maybe you could add more of that for a while. I also add some of the above listed fillers for smoothies in her pureed food.

One last note, as someone also asked about B12, I use b12 capsules. I just open it up and dump some of the powder into our smoothies or her baby food. Hope this helps!

[spicyfull]

I would just add more oil to her diet. Olive Oil, Avocadoes, nuts etc...........

[light food]

One thing I noticed that she's not eating is nutritional yeast, it is full of vitamins and protein (8g per tablespoon). They always say to eat this to have more breastmilk, so I'm sure it would help with growth.

My hubby hates the smell of it and once I eliminated it from our diet because we were going through marital stress and I think eliminating it may have caused my daughter's growth to slow, she is cooked and raw mostly vegan. I noticed her growth slowed up a little and I put it back into her diet To be fair, there were other factors involved, she had excema at the time and a lot of things weren't in her diet because they caused her skin rashes.

Another thing to know is that growth (like detox) happens in spurts. So she may stay the same for awhile and then shoot up a lot. And she has lots of growth spurts ahead of her! My doc says that the important thing is not where they are in the percentile chart, it's that they continue to follow the curve.

[IamLoved]

Hello and thanks again for all the replies.

I was also interested in getting Jingees book about their family, Right now we don't have the money for it. I do get her daily emails and I followed a link in one of them that showed pictures of her children. Seeing her 22 month old made me feel better. I said to my husband, "look honey, he looks just like Ireleigh (our daughter) looks." She has the same look, the thin lanky looking limbs. I don't think there is an once of fat on her. BUT they look healthy. I have decided not to take her to the doctor. I know why she is small. She is small because I don't feed her hormone enhanced food that will plump her up artificially.

I would love to have that recipe for bread.

Thanks again everyone!

[NuttyRawMom]

In the Breakthrough DVD, there is a scene where they filmed a visit with their children at the doctor's office. Storm and Jinjee discussed the weight issue with the doctor and she did not seem concerned. She agreed that genetics plays a big role in the height and weight of children. I couldn't believe that she was so relaxed about it!

What are the ages and stats on your other children? Is the youngest the only one raw? How do the others compare at the same age? Of course, if they were on a different diet at that age, it might not be a good comparison, but it may help to think back and see if she 'fits' in with the others at the same age.

[ambiguous]

I agree that you shouldn't get too worried, but it would probably be a good idea to add some more protein to your daughter's diet; I think that Spectatrix's suggestion nut milk is a great idea. Adding seaweed to just about anyone's diet would be a great addition, as it has lots of minerals. Dulse requires no soaking, tastes great, and also has a pretty good amount of protein. Vitamin D is also very important for growing children (and everyone else), so make sure your daughter gets some sun or supplementation. Insufficient amounts of vitamin D can cause growth problems. I have a book that tells me that dandelion greens, vegetable oils, alfalfa, and parsley all have vitamin D if you're against supplementation--and parsley is high in lots of other nutrients, like calcium, iron, magnesium, vitamin C . . .
I also advise checking out Shazzie's journals (http://shazzie.com/raw/journal/). She's raising a raw baby, and discusses what she eats. Also, earlier this year she found out that her daughter was slightly anemic, and Shazzie has chosen to supplement her daughter's diet, as well as adding more iron-rich raw foods.

Sorry for the dissertation, but I really don't want to see anyone's baby suffer from malnutrition. If she is missing something, her body will make sure that her brain gets what it needs before anything else. Hence she might be happy and energetic, but lacking the nutrients for bone development. I'm not trying to scare you or suggest that there's something wrong with your daughter, but I think we all need to be on the extra-safe side when it comes to children's nutrition. Best wishes to you and your baby.

[Apasaraw]

I'm with Migrou. The DVD is pretty fun. It's a documentary of their lives plain and simple. Jinjee and Storm have a section in which they film the kids going to the Dr. for a visit which is interesting. They are such amazing, smart and creative children! Truly beautiful kids / family. My favourite part is seeing Jinjee pregnant and 10 days afterward looking fab with healthy baby. I also like the story of the footprint on the back of Storm's shirt as his son ran him over during a race....

[IamLoved]

Hello!

My other children are also small, but not like her. They were small as children but she is much tinier. She and I are the only ones who are 100% raw vegan. I went raw vegan when I was still nursing her. I am trying to get the rest of the family eating this way too. It is a process.

I am looking into supplements. I want to make sure she is getting all she needs. I emailed Shazzies site to ask her what supplements she is using and what she would reccomend. I know that our soil is so deprived of nurtients which makes our food supply also void of many nutrients. Adding seaweed into her diet is an excellent idea. I have dulse and nori. I have made the crab cake recipe from Alissa's book and Ireleigh (our baby) loved it so I think I will make some more of it.

She has not been a huge smoothie drinker yet. Maybe I am making them too thick for her sippy cup. She likes almond milk sometimes.

Thanks again for all of your replies. I really appreciate it!

[eachpeachpearplum]

Hello!

My other children are also small, but not like her. They were small as children but she is much tinier. She and I are the only ones who are 100% raw vegan. I went raw vegan when I was still nursing her. I am trying to get the rest of the family eating this way too. It is a process.

I am looking into supplements. I want to make sure she is getting all she needs. I emailed Shazzies site to ask her what supplements she is using and what she would reccomend. I know that our soil is so deprived of nurtients which makes our food supply also void of many nutrients. Adding seaweed into her diet is an excellent idea. I have dulse and nori. I have made the crab cake recipe from Alissa's book and Ireleigh (our baby) loved it so I think I will make some more of it.

She has not been a huge smoothie drinker yet. Maybe I am making them too thick for her sippy cup. She likes almond milk sometimes.

Thanks again for all of your replies. I really appreciate it!

When I first introduced smoothies neither kid liked them so I made them different consistancies - thinner - and that helped. I also started my son (2yrs) at about 9mo on green juice then slowly added solids to make a smoothie. I made sure not to have then too sweet so he didnt expect sweet all the time. He is still breast too. I gave hime the Green lemonade juice recipe from The Detox Diet by Natalia Rose:

In a juicer:

1 lemon - peeled
1 head romain
nob of ginger
4 apples/pears

Then over time I added with juice in blender:

Spinach or kale or chard

Then I started adding in:

tropical fruit blend - frzn (costco)
fresh pinapple. mango, bannana
peeled orange
berries work too but he does not like to seeds!

I eventually did a post with pictures and recipe. He drinks this everyday - about four sippy cups!

http://www.rawfoodtalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=10680

[dogmd]

Buy the Breaktrough DVD from The Garden Diet, it is very helpful and informative. They are raising 4 healthy kids on an all raw diet. I bought the pack of 10 e-books and the DVD for $20 and I am very satisfied.


Love this DVD and e-book set as well!!

My little one is 13 months now and I am looking to feed her better! thanks for these wonderful posts!

[eachpeachpearplum]

Hello and thanks again for all the replies.


I would love to have that recipe for bread.

Thanks again everyone!


Did you want MY recipe??? :) If you email me your address i will photocopy all the flat bread recipes i have - I would go loopy trying to type all of them!! :eek:

[Live Free]

I am only 5 ft tall and my husband is 5'3. When I took my baby to the doctor at her last checkup, the doctor said she was shy of a few onces on her weight. My daughters weight is in the 3rd percentile on the growth chart and I think she may have been in the 5-10% in height.

The doctor said as long as she was moving up on the chart she is fine. I do supplement my daughter with a multivitamin and antioxidants.

The doctor wanted me to supplement her, but the supplements that she recommended were not acceptable.

I think as far as toddlers go, my daughter eats well enough. I was logging everything that she was eating when we first went raw, but not lately. I have heard that no matter if the toddlers eats SAD or RAW they just dont eat all that well.

If I had to compare my daughters diet to my neighbor's daughters food. I am scared to death that my neighbor will grow up and have physical problems. This girl doesnt like vegetables. Her consideration for a vegetable is canned green beans and potatoes. She told me today that she kept eating and eating more of her food because she was having a growth spurt. Perhaps, it wasnt a growth spurt but a lack of the body getting any nutrition from pretzels and cheese, a jelly sandwich and a drink with just water, sugar and food colorings in it.

Even if we werent RAW I wouldnt feel right about feeding my daughter foods that didnt give her a well rounded taste bud. There would not be any junk food in my house, as there wasnt any junk food in my mothers house when I grew up.

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y253/zzewok/6-5-2006PM.jpg

[Live Free]

My daughter isnt quite 3ft tall yet and she is nearly 3 years old, she weights about 22 lbs.

I can see her getting taller, but the weight just isnt adding up yet. However, every time I pick her up she is feeling more and more solid.

Take care,