Weight and ht concerns

lilmejo

Our son was born at 35 weeks 4lbs 14oz, from birth I have always been concerened with his size, he was always considerably smaller than other babies his age and has hung out at the 5th percentile for weight and 10th percentile for ht. Around his 1st birthday we had a pretty big weight gain and I was confident that he would start picking up, however after his birthday he is gaining but it seems to have slowed. I have expressed concern to his pediatrician and am assured that as long as he's following the same curve and doesnt fall below or above drastically then he's just small. HIs current wt and ht at 16 months is 20.3lbs and 30inches. He still fits in some of his 9 month clothes, 12 month clothes some fit most are too big unlessI shrink them. I asked her about starting him on pediasure to help him gain weight she said it's not necessary but I can start 1 can daily if I'd like. Anyone else have a small child and if so any concerns or direction

sharinfaith

my dd was born 8lbs, 14oz, and dropped to 5% at 10mo when she started walking and teething at the same time. her pedi wasn't concerned until she got sick and dropped 1/2lb in 2 days. she's almost 16mo and still under 20lbs, but 30in tall. she's now drinking a pediasure 1x a day. she's hitting all milestones though, and VERY active. and a texture eater. i chalk it up to that. he also said the same thing about following the same curve.

armywife7205

My daughter is tiny as well and was full term. She has always been in the 9th percentile for weight. 

I would not be concerned about height/weight as long as he eats well. If he is developing well milestone-wise I would not worry!

chloe071603

My DD was literally the exact same height and weight as your son at her 16 month check up.  Our pedi told me she is perfectly fine, and that in order for there for be a growth curve, some kids have to make up the bottom, lol.  She may be small, but she's hitting all her developmental milestones, and then some.

M&M227

DD is tiny as well.  Around 9 months she started loosing due to her reflux.  So she was on high calorie forumla until age 1, by then she was back on her curve (which is below the 5th for height and between the 5th and 10th for height.  Now, she's 18 months, 22 lb 13oz and 29 inches.  She's picked up in weight but her height is still low.  We don't supplement with anything, she drinks whole milk (sometimes when she feels like it) and eats full fat yogurt still.  Other than that we just follow her lead.  Some days she eats a ton others barely, but when she barely eats she always makes up for it in a day or.  

ASmallWonder

Listen to your doctor.  Some kids are small and it's not a matter of nutrition.  His height and weight percentiles are similar and he's maintaining his own curve.  That means this is his normal.  Now, if he were to drop drastically or shoot up but not gain, those are times to look into changes you could make.  My son is 2.5 and is 27 pounds and 34 inches.   He's just a peanut and always has been.

M&M227

I should add we talked about supplementing with pediasure but pedi and I agreed that it was not a good idea right now.  His concern was that she's following her own curve, if we give her too many calories we could end up with an obesity problem.

lilmejo

thanks for all the info, it's good to hear from other parents that have similar LO's. He eats like a little piggy, but also NEVER sits still so I'm hoping that his fast little metabolism is just keeping him small. I think for now I'm going to do the pediasure every other day, once a day just to give him a few extra calories as the MD suggested we could try, but do agree with PP that I dont want to have obesity problems later down the road either. One benefit is that I rarely need to buy new clothes, as he stays in the same size for quite some time lol

LadyXaverian

elmoali:

Listen to your doctor.  Some kids are small and it's not a matter of nutrition.  His height and weight percentiles are similar and he's maintaining his own curve.  That means this is his normal.  Now, if he were to drop drastically or shoot up but not gain, those are times to look into changes you could make.  My son is 2.5 and is 27 pounds and 34 inches.   He's just a peanut and always has been.

This was my DD at 18 months lol!

OP, like the others, I would trust my doctor on this one. Some kids are just little. Small but mighty.

memali26

Weight gain does tend to slow after their 1st birthday - they can't sustain the rapid growth of the first year forever! And your pedi is absolutely correct that as long as he's sticking to his curve there isn't any cause for concern. Some kids are just small.

I would be concerned by a large drop in percentiles or no weight gain. DD2 at 15 months is 18lbs 7 oz and 30.5 inches. Her height is great, her weight puts her at the 2nd percentile. In 3 months she gained only 9 oz, and her weight percentile is down from 12% at 9 months. Our pedi thinks she's healthy, just itty bitty, but because of the drop in percentiles and drastic slowing of her weight gain, we've been referred to a pedi GI to rule out any issues. Had she stuck to her curve around 10% we would have had no concerns. And really, we still don't have any real concerns, the referral is just our medical groups protocol.

stepheverhart

My son was born at 36w0d at 5lbs5oz. He has always been not on the chart for height and less that 25 for weight. He is 17 months wearing 9 month pants. I honesty wouldn't worry about it unless your dr expresses concern. If your baby is growing at a consistent rate it's ok. The charts are really for "average" babies.

Rosebud2587

I wouldn't be concerned. DD isn't even on the charts. She dropped off at 9 months and I don't see her getting back on anytime soon. The pedi isn't really concerned so neither am I. 

ThatWasAHoot

I wouldn't worry if the pedi says it is okay.  My son was 9lbs when he was born and 19.5 inches.  He was big and always in the 90s for percentile.  Around the same age as your son, he dropped a lot in the percentiles to like 35 for ht and wt!  The pedi just said we could up his milk intake lol.  He is back into the 60s now.  She wasn't worried and as long as yours isn't, I wouldn't be concerned!

suzieq9980

I agree with PPs. I wouldn't stress too much about it just yet.  Your little one is bigger than mine at 22 months.  I was actually referred to an endocrinologist, and she's having her growth looked after.  However, she was smaller than your LO.  She has never been on the charts, and still isn't.  But since your LO is on the chart and is growing, I would watch it for a little bit longer.  If you are really beginning to get concerned, talk to you pedi about referring you to an endo to get it all checked out.

erbear

I have a peanut (22 pounds at 23 months). She's little. She rocks 12-18 month clothes...barely. But she's healthy and fine. Part of it is that she walked very early (9 months) and hasn't stopped moving, but some kids are just small!

I try to give her some higher fat foods (avocado, olive oil, peanut butter) as much as I can. She'll be on whole milk and full fat dairy for a while too.

lukafoo74

I wouldn't worry too much. My son has always been tall and sort of average weight. For example at 12 months he was at about 32" which is the 90th percentile and his weight was at 22 lbs, which puts him at the 50th precentile. If you compare your sons figures to mine, they aren't all that different, some of it is just because of age. If doc isn't concerned, don't be concerned.