Percentile question

JmeJoLee83 · August 2014

I'm pretty sure we discussed this awhile back but my babe is the 17th percentile for weight. Doctor didn't seem concerned but it seems so low if 50% is "average".

Thoughts/opinions on percentile. Just wondering is there a "normal"? Should I try to beef my little man up more? :-?

irenewslee · August 2014

Every baby is different and i dont know if "average" really means anything. My pedi doesnt even tell me what percentile my LO is. I always have to ask. My pedi said he doesnt really go by those numbers. As long as LO is growing in a good pace and healthy, the numbers dont matter.

MollySm · August 2014

Children come in all shapes and sizes. Babies in general eat what they need to grow to the size they are meant to be. Not all adults are the same height or weight and the same is true for babies and kids. Unless your doctor has a reason to be concerned (they would talk to you about it if they did), try not to worry. My healthy, normal 2.5 year old started in the 30th percentile, and felt to the

%ile by the end of her first year, and there is nothing wrong with her. That's just how she's meant to be built. One book that really helped me when I was stressed about it was How to Get Your Kids to Eat...But Not Too Much, by Ellyn Satter.

diagonalley · August 2014

The only time there is really cause for concern, as pp mentioned, is if the percentile drops. Babies can jump higher, too. Mine went from the 5th at birth to the 20th at 2 months.

tbmadeamistake · August 2014

Ask for the percentile of weight per height, not weight per age. My pedi finds that more accurate. If your baby is shorter, the lower weight isn't as issue. 10# might be a low weight for 8 weeks by the books, but you could have a short, fat baby or a long, skinny baby at that weight at the same age. My pedi gives me three charts: weight for age, height for age, and weight for height. If the weight and height are in similar percentiles I don't worry about it. If they were drastically off I would question things.

kks4471 · August 2014

DS had his 2 month appointment yesterday, and I have no idea what his percentile is. All the doctor said is that he's growing great, and that's good enough for me. I'm sure your doctor would discuss how to gain weight if he was concerned at all, so I wouldn't worry if I were you.

LaurelJoy91 · August 2014

My LO is in the 5th percentile for weight, and I was kind of concerned, but her pediatrician said that as long as she's still gaining weight, no matter how much or how little, that it doesn't matter how she compares to other babies. The nurse guessed that she is just going to be a petite girl, and sure enough my whole family is small (none of the females are taller than 5 foot, my father is 5'3"). My mom told me that this is about how my sisters and I were when we were babies, so when it comes to my family she's probably right at the 50th percentile.

Also, I like how @babywear phrased it!

flerlgirl · August 2014

Some kids have to be bigger or smaller than average - that's how percentiles work. If your pedi isn't concerned, I wouldn't worry about it.

Unknown · August 2014

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rachel8078 · August 2014

Maybe also check which percentile chart your pedi is using... A is 56th for weight and 97th for length BY AGE, but by the weight for height chart, she's in the 9th for weight. Obviously, the way you look at it skews results

eryale · August 2014

When I was a baby I was off the charts small. Now my DD is in the 8th percentile for weight, 50th for height (shocked!) but as previous poster explained:
1. As long as your baby is growing and staying around the same percentile, thos is his norm and he is fine!
2. If your pediatrician isn't concerned, you shouldn't be

becomingmommyagain · August 2014

My LO is in the other end. He's huge. We're concerned with his rapid weight gain (avg 1 pound per week). The pediatrician says he's OK with it.
Levon is in the 95th percentile. He's 13.5 pounds - doubled his birth weight at 6 weeks.

temursgirl · August 2014

DD is in the 40th for height and 8th for weight. She's growing so the pedi thinks that's fine. It's also my build exactly. People come in a lot of different shapes. Those are just showing averages.

JmeJoLee83 · August 2014

The only reason I'm concerned is I still use nipple shields so I hope LO gets enough milk. I have appt with LC tomorrow.

Rei2metse · August 2014

Another thing to consider is there are different charts for EBF babies vs FF babies. My LO was born petite (3rd %ile) for weight. Pedi vocalized his concerns but did a great job not to freak me out. As previous posters noted, as long as LO maintains his/her growth based on appropriate growth curve, there's no need to worry. It's hard not to worry, when baby is small, I know!

SecondTimeinMSU · August 2014

My pediatrician is more concerned about following the growth curve. She shows us at each appointment his progress along the chart. DS2 was in the 7th percentile at his 2 month visit but she was happy since he'd started in the 1st percentile so that meant he actually had grown more than expected. They are only concerned if they start rapidly changing percentiles then they need to figure out why that is happening

BabyCurtiss2014 · August 2014

Baby boy at 2 months
50% weight (up from 25%)
75% head
90% lenght (24 inches!!)
I'm 5ft so guess he got it from daddy lol

thardin2009 · August 2014

My baby is in the 4th for weight and 7th for height it was a drop for us so they will check again at 3 months if he drops again or he platos off they will move to high call formula how ever he lost 20% of hus birth weight and ended up in the hospital because my milk didn't come in pretty scary went to 3 day apt down 10% then next morning non responsive and once we got to the hospital he was down 20% we even tried giving formula the night before and he wouldn't take it. we have been struggling with his weight for week one.

flerlgirl · August 2014

thardin2009 said:

My baby is in the 4th for weight and 7th for height it was a drop for us so they will check again at 3 months if he drops again or he platos off they will move to high call formula how ever he lost 20% of hus birth weight and ended up in the hospital because my milk didn't come in pretty scary went to 3 day apt down 10% then next morning non responsive and once we got to the hospital he was down 20% we even tried giving formula the night before and he wouldn't take it. we have been struggling with his weight for week one.

I mean this with no rudeness or snark intended - it is really hard to read and understand your post when it is one run-on sentence. I hope your baby is able to gain weight soon and that you find a solution for his eating issues.

MissBHaven1024 · August 2014

As long as they follow their growth curve, there typically is no cause for concern. At Isaiah's 2 month check up last week, his weight went from the 17th percentile to the 3rd percentile. Significant drop and now I'm doing everything I can to increase my supply. We have to do another weight check in 3 weeks.

fsumom · August 2014

My DS was in the 20th percentile for weight at his 2 month appointment. It doesn't surprise me though as he lost a lot of weight after he was born as we had breastfeeding issues. His doctor says he's healthy now and that's what matters!

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