Diet for a 44 lb infant boy

CassandraBurgos83

Here's the story
http://shine.yahoo.com/parenting/44-pound-baby-put-diet-why-did-long-193300543.html

As a mom of two underweight kids, I am so used to my doctor telling me all of the healthy and fatty foods that will help them gain weight, not lose it. However, a mom in Colombia has the opposite problem.

Eunice Fandino's 8-month-old son, Santiago, weighs 44 pounds, more than twice the median weight of babies his age. Fandino realized that her son might have a weight problem when the fat folds on his body limited his mobility. It was then that she decided to write to the Chubby Hearts Foundation asking for help.

"I'm worried about his obesity," Fandino said in an interview with RCN Television. "I don't want him to continue like this."

Now the Foundation has transported Santiago and his mother to Bogota for evaluation by medical professionals.

While I understand that Fandino is worried, I'm wondering why it took her so long to seek medical attention for her son. No offense to him, but just looking at him, you can tell that he is overweight. It doesn't take much to tell that he might have a medical problem that needs to be addressed. Although Fandino didn't seek medical attention right away, she did know that she was contributing to the problem, saying that her "ignorance" led to his weight gain because she fed him milk or food every time that he cried. Now her ignorance has set him up for possibly a lifetime of health problems, including diabetes and high blood pressure.

Related: 25 things NOT to do with your baby

My daughters didn't look underweight, yet I took them to their pediatrician and several specialists for months on end doing test after test to make sure there was no medical condition that was causing them to gain weight at a slower pace than others. It was only after all of the tests came back normal that I was able to rest easy. Had I never taken them to the doctor, I would have never known what needed to be done to help adjust their diet to help them gain weight.

Now that Fandino has gotten medical advice from a professional, I hope that her son is weaned from formula and has a diet that consists of fruits and vegetables like they are suggesting. And I hope that she sticks to it. It's our jobs as parents to help keep our children out of trouble, not contribute to it. We all know that parenting is tough. Babies cry -- sometimes a lot. But there is relief knowing that it will only last for a short time in the grand scheme of things. We shouldn't let our insecurities (that might hurt our children in the long run) get in the way.

CassandraBurgos83

I know there are generally two sides the story, but I am not trying to judge the mother on what she has or has not done.

krennie8

he must have some medical condition. I don't think any 8 month old could gain that much weight otherwise.

CassandraBurgos83

That any lack of access to local physician visits or free education tools on nutrition.

Lisa1971

That's incredibly sad.