Why is your son so skinny? Fructose Intolerance!!

Nate was almost 10 pounds when he was born.
A big, cute, chubby baby.
Nate grew into a cute, chubby happy toddler!
But around 3 1/2 or 4 Nate stopped gaining

weight. As the months went on my big
chubby little man turned into such a skinny,
tiny boy.
"Ewww I can see your bones!"- was what his sisters would say when it was bath time.
"You need to give that boy a sandwich"

Around 4 Nate stopped gaining weight and even lost some

"Wow your daughters healthy, why is your son so skinny?"
"Why is Nathan so tiny?"
"Does Nathan eat?"
"Is Nathan sick?"
"What's wrong with your son, he's skin and bones?"

-this is what I have been asked for the past 4 years. As Nate slowly grew in height his weight just sank. He was the average weight of a toddler when he was in first grade. Teachers asked me why, the rest of our family are healthy and tall. Nathan's sisters are very tall for their age. Nathan was skinnier than the smallest kids in class- he noticed it too.
Nathan was not following his curve- every doctor appointment was about gaining weight- why is he so skinny? It was so scary when Nathan would get the flu too, he couldn't afford to lose an ounce.

When Nathan was 6 we started with the gastro doctors. I blogged earlier about Nate's
symptoms. When you goggle FRUCTOSE INTOLERANCE somewhere on the list you will
see weight loss or read that the symptoms can result in weight loss- now for me that would
be awesome! But for my son it is not. It is dangerous, it is sad, it is embarrassing, it is not a
good thing. Medical issues aside, luckily Nathan has a great self esteem and is an awesome
athlete. Believe me, as his soccer coach I love how fast that boy can run but as his momma-
inside I'm thinking I hope he's not loosing weight- let's make sure Nate eats a lot today!!

We started 2 Boosts a day and DUOCAL (which is given to cancer patients)
Thankfully Nathan has gained 6 pounds!! That's huge and we are on our way to being a
healthy weight!! After finding out FRUCTOSE was the cause of Nathan's weight loss (or the
symptoms that led to it) we are trying our best to eliminate it from his diet.

It still stings a little when people ask me why my boy is so small and skinny, or make a joke about it or when we go swimming and a buddy comments on his boniness( these all happened last week)- but at least I know we are on our way to a healthy weight. If you see an extra skinny kid maybe he does eat- maybe his mommy is trying so hard to make him healthier, maybe it's an allergy and the poor kid feels full after 3 bites but tries so hard to eat to get bigger. I can't tell you all the times I have cried thinking about my poor baby boy eating- trying to gain weight, but his belly just couldn't do it- asking us why? Why his belly can't fit anymore food? Why his sisters can eat and eat without this problem? I'm so thankful we have an answer now.

I'm sure when Nathan's a big strong guy I'll look back at these years and smile.
Thankful that we got through them in tact!
 And thankful to be Fructose free! We love our son so much and good care less if he's big or small. It's about being healthy and feeling good about one's self!!

Food allergies can directly affect the digestion tract, resulting in diarrhea, vomiting and nausea. These common gastrointestinal symptoms of a food allergy can lead to significant weight loss if you are unable to eat and keep food down. (http://www.livestrong.com/article/310277-severe-allergies-weight-loss/#ixzz1zwFePN86)