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Hawaii Babies
redshoegirl
member
age percentiles...can someone explain this to me?
redshoegirl
member
I've noticed that on the X - X Months boards, there seem to be a lot of posts about age weight/height percentiles. I don't really get this. I'm not trying to be snotty, but I don't understand the point? The vast majority of these posts are for babies in the upper range of the chart ("my baby is in the 95th percentile!!!!") so I'm assuming it's some kind of bragging rights thing, but I don't understand why it's a big deal.
My boys are pretty average in height (like 55th percentile) and a little above average for weight (somewhere around 72%, I think). This doesn't surprise me, since Ben and I are both average in height. As for the weight, let's just hope they haven't inherited their mama's metabolism lol.
I guess what I'm saying is that it seems like where your child falls on the chart is pretty much down to genetics, so I'm not sure why this is brag-worthy? As long as your child isn't frighteningly far down the scale (like 1% weight or whatever), does it really matter? Again, not trying to be snotty - I just don't understand the point of the "my baby is so awesome, he/she is at 98%!" posts.
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Re: age percentiles...can someone explain this to me?
I agree, not sure why this is brag-worthy. I guess whoever was bragging about their baby being in the 95th percentile was talking about a boy baby. Maybe they are happy their boy will be tall or something.
I kind of feel the opposite, that I am glad my girl baby is in a lower percentile... But then it's not something I'd brag about, it's more like a fact. And I'm not surprised that she's on the small side... We are average to small sized parents. So, like you said, it's a genetic thing... So I'm not sure why you'd brag about it...
Another thought... Maybe their baby started small (didn't they all?), so they are happy that their baby is growing (as opposed to shrinking?)?
Malia & Dave & Alexa
Happily married since 2-17-08! Three since 9-9-09!
Baby Blog
Oh I hadn't thought of this! No one ever mentions it as part of a post so it never crossed my mind. I guess it's possible that they had problems putting on weight early on?
Or maybe they just think big baby = healthy baby, which you can't really argue with. Not that it's brag-able, but I guess everything can be considered brag-able to moms...
Btw, love your siggy! Your boys are so freakin cute!
Malia & Dave & Alexa
Happily married since 2-17-08! Three since 9-9-09!
Baby Blog
I agree. I use the info more to make sure he's thriving and that I'm doing a good job nourishing and helping him grow. Also, according to our pedi, the percentiles don't tell you much at this point, and they tend to care more about the growth curves (i.e., that baby's making good progress) than any particular numbers. And from my family's experience, I would agree -- a few of us were "predicted" to be very tall from our childhood percentiles, but puttered out and ended up pretty short.
And like pp said, I think it's easy to get excited and feel proud of your kid, even if it's just how tall or heavy they are. I'm sure we're all guilty of something that.
Aw thanks! I like 'em.
Heh, this was me, too. For most of my childhood and early teens I was fairly tall among my peers - the predictions were that I'd probably hit around 5'9" - 5'10". Instead, I grew to 5'6" and then stopped dead. Didn't grow even a smidge after that. So much for being a tall, willowy model-type.
yeah i don't get why parents would brag about this either... someone has to be 5th percentile and someone has to be 95th.... it's not like a test score where the higher the #, the better!!
i do post on my FB page what percentile miss A is...not b/c i'm bragging but more b/c i'm amazed at how tiny she still is LOL....i swear she seems like she is getting bigger and feels heavier to us, but whenever we take her in, she only gains a little bit of weight each time
pediatricians look to see if babies are staying along the same curve or trending upward or downward but otherwise they don't care where the baby falls. and even then it's taken w/a grain of salt. at miss A's 6 month appt she was 10th percentile and at her 9 month visit she was 5th! i thought the pedi was going to say we needed to do something since she dropped 5% but the pedi said that she looks nice and healthy with lots of chub on her so she is fine. she also said "just look at you. i'm not surprised by her weight."
Jaime & Brent
Oahu, Hawaii | Sept. 9, 2005
My Food Blog - Good Eats 'n Sweet Treats
Exactly! I guess that's why I just don't get it. It's not like you get a trophy if they're over 95% lol.
I was really surprised when I read your FB status - I didn't think she was anywhere near that low! She looks healthy and has plenty of baby chub so obviously it's a healthy weight for her (and, like the pedi said, look at you! she has great genes working for her
).
I was going to say that this is what my pedi told me at one of the first visits. They just want to see the trend lines.
The percentiles just helped me understand why DS grew out of his infant seat so fast - he's tall! 75th percentile, so I guess they generally make things to fit the 50th percentile of kids - the average kid, so mine will generally grow out of clothes that have feet, or onesies or something like that, quicker.
I've never understood this either... Bella has always been on the tall skinny side, well except for her 6 month appt when she chubbed out a bit. She then started crawling and thinned out again. I always thought she'd be a chubby little baby because my brother and I both were chubby even though our parents are tall and thin. Bella is also EBF and my brother and I were formula fed... I wonder if that makes a difference.
It seems like I'm always the one concerned because her weight has followed the same curve (besides that 6 month appt) because she's on the small side. I swear the kid eats everything under the sun, you put it in front of her, she eats it! She'll eat just about anything you let her have. I'm surprised that she hasn't gained much. She's SO quick though so I guess I shouldn't be surprised, she burns far more calories than I do with all of the crawling and walking attempts.
Our pedi also says "well she's taking after both of you, tall and slender"... clearly the pedi hasn't seen my gut!
I don't get it either - it is meant to be a tool to make sure the child is growing somewhat on track - for their INDIVIDUAL growth pattern!
I think for those women big=healthy or something. I know my SIL always brags about the percentages for her kids like it's something she has a huge hand in, and not from a genetics perspective.
I think doctors can sometimes be to blame too - jack goes back and for between 50-70% for weight (except for birth when he was 9lb) and our ped has never said anything about the fluctuation - always just says he looks seems really healthy.
However I have 2 friends with babies around Jack's age and both of their peds are always concerned about weight which has caused them to have a complex over it.
Friend 1- has a chubby cheeked little girl and when she went down 5% on her growth curve (she had been steady at 85%!! so she easily had some room for leeway) at her 4mo appt the doctor made a huge deal about it and wanted my friend to immediately start solids (she did) and consider formula so they would "know for sure" how much her child was eating because in his opinion it just wasn't normal that her daughter had not ever had a bottle at that point (she is a WAHM). I was totally shocked that doctors like this existed and (nicely) suggested she look for a new one - not sure what she decided. When she asked why Jack wasn't eating solids I explained our views and said we were waiting as close to 6mo as possible, but letting him lead. She said it must be because he was so big - ummm no, it's because waiting 6mo or so is the recommended age!! And actually, he is on the skinny side for his height if you think about it (95% for height, but only 50% for weight means that lots of babies that are shorter than him actually must weigh more - think?).
Friend 2 - she is a tiny petite woman and her husband is probably 5'5" - so also on the smaller side. Her son is 2 months older and is smaller than Jack - she always comments that she wishes her son was as big as Jack and that her doctor has sent them to a GI even though he has no apparent (or silent) reflux issues and seems to eat a normal amount - the doc was just concerned that he was holding steady at 10% on the growth chart. The baby was born 4 weeks early and only started out at 6lb...
I like how Jaime pointed out - the whole range is "normal" SOMEONE has to be 5% and SOMEONE has to be 95%.
both of those examples are ridiculous. i would totally switch pedi's if that happened to us! DH said that w/the first baby, dropping from 85th to 80th could be just from a big poop LOL and the suggestion to start formula solely for that reason is absurd. and for the 2nd baby that is holding steady at 10th...what is wrong w/that? if the baby is consistently at 10th it means that he/she is growing right on track
Jaime & Brent
Oahu, Hawaii | Sept. 9, 2005
My Food Blog - Good Eats 'n Sweet Treats
I didn't check the percentile chart at ALL with Maya (and the maternal health nurse never made any mention of it either.) I'm pretty sure the MHN didn't think it was anything to make a fuss over, which she'd be right. She strikes me as that kind of person.
The maternal health nurse that checks Sam over now makes a passing mention of it and I'm always curious about where she's placed on it. Again, though, it's always just a curiousity and no big deal. For what it's worth, she's always up the top end of the scale and it doesn't surprise me, given the comments people make:
"Oh, how old is she, dear....? Oh MY, you're a big girl for _ mths, aren't you, AREN'T YOU!?" *Samara cops a chin tickle from grown woman making baby-babble*.
I also was always the tallest kid in my class growing up too! I was head and shoulders above everyone, including the boys I liked (to my dismay). I always got "Oh, she's so TALL for her age. She's gonna be a six-footer, just you wait....!"
I HATED it, hated it. I slumped a lot. I cringed everytime we stood there, waiting to be arranged for school photos and I was always placed at the back and centre of the girls in my class.
I stopped growing when I was 10, at 5"6. Of course, NOW I wish I was taller and DID actually make it to 6 foot!