4Th Percentile for 15 Month Old Son?!?

As long as he is healthy and active and has some color in his cheeks, I wouldn't worry. My younger daughter is tiny for her age, and my husband and I both are (way) taller than average. We put that poor child through every test you can imagine, and it turns out she's just genetically smaller than average. Nothing wrong with her at all. So, try not to worry. Some children are bigger than average, and some are smaller. That's why it's called an average.

That being said, I would not try to feed him more fattening foods, or cram him full of food, or teach him to eat when he's not hungry. He may be blessed with a fast metabolism now, but that may not always be the case, and the habits he forms now will last his whole life. Feed him several small meals a day, but do not cajole, bribe or otherwise try to get him to eat more than he wants to eat. I would not, under any circumstances, make several different things and then let him decide what he will and won't eat. That's a slippery slope, mama, and three years from now you'll have a kid who will only eat mac-n-cheese. Just feed him normal, healthy food, and let him decide how much he's going to eat. He will be absolutely fine! You're doing great!

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What about that enfamil stage 2 or whatever. Also maybe try the meal replacement bars on days he doesn't eat. He may just have a fast metabolism (lucky boy). He seems happy and healthy so don't worry yourself to death.

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The percential ranges mean that your son is in a group where 47 percent of the kids are at that height and 90 percent have that size head. Those numbers don't seem that bad to me for his age.

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My son has always been in the 3d percentile for his weight... some kids are naturally small! It sounds like he is getting nutritional food, so I wouldn't worry.

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Just try adding more good fats in his food and every small meal time. Like with his oatmeal, is there any fat with it, add flax seed oil,nuts or even a little olive oil. With soups it is probably no fat, so add some buttered bread. with his apples add soy butter, almond butter or something similar. Avocados are great for fat. Does he like tofu? You could cook up some tofu in olive oil.

Also not sure how much juice you give him in a day but if you stay within the recommended 4-6 ounces a day, he may be hungrier for some bigger meals.
Good luck.

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I think the doc will be more concerned with the "pattern" of his growth and gain. My great nephew is like that he'll be 5 in Feb and wears a 3T pants and they fall off his little bum. What, really, can you do? You can't force feed him. Just keep trying to find HEALTHY foods he DOES like. I would favor homemade mac & cheeses, soups and pastas over the processed stuff--which is junk.

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You mention that he eats Vietnamese food at your MIL so I am guessing that he is 1/2 asian. You should check the vietnamese growth chart and see how he fits into that. http://www.adoptvietnam.org/adoption/growth-chart3.htm

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My daughter was 7lbs12oz and 19in at birth but didn't hit 20 pounds until she was 18 months old! She is two and a half now and just hit 24 pounds. She is in the 50% for height and under the 5% for weight - but she is healthy as a horse, active and busy, and smart smart smart (aren't all our kids???). Don't worry about it, he is growing at his own pace!

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One of my best friends has a daughter in the 0 percentile. She's just tiny. She's also very healthy, very smart, very active. Nothing wrong with her. Eats healthy, but not a huge appetite. The doctors are on my friend's case to have her daughter gain, but no luck. (On a related note, our oldest hates to eat and is declining in percentages, so we're also getting the nagging from doctors about forcing eating more.)

The way I look at it is that some kids are going to fall in the smaller percentages. If the child is healthy, developmentally on track and doesn't have any issues of concern, he or she may just be on track to be a smaller person. It sounds like you're doing all you can (and daycare can certainly feed him regularly if you ask), so I wouldn't stress about it.

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I have to agree with the others. There is really nothing to be concerned about. He is active, eats well, and is pretty healthy.
I have two daughters that were in the less than 5%. ONe of my pediatriians wanted me to give my oldest all sorts of added protein shake kinds of things. I refused. Both my husbands grandmothers are tiny ladies so I thought maybe the girls would be too.
At two they both weighed less than 20#. At three my older one weighed maybe 22-24#. The younger one hit 30# at 5. That one is now 12, 5'4" and still under 100#. The older one is 5'3" and 116# they caught up.

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mine is in the upper 95% on weight and skinny no dont worry

my oldest was in the tiny tiny bracket till he hit 8 then he went into the hefty bracket and has stayed there.

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You mention being concerned that he won't eat enough at daycare. You may find that being around other children actually helps him eat better. The only problem I can see there is that he won't be given a lot of choices. What they have on the menu, (unless the daycare has you send his food) is the choice he has, so he may start learning to eat a bigger variety of things. They do have to feed the children snacks, so it's a little bit like haveing five meals a day. However, I've never seen a snack at daycare be much more than crackers and juice or some other smaller portions of something. The only rules governing snacks are that they are to be fed so that the children are eating something approximately every two hours, and a snack needs to consist of items from two different food groups. So, you may want to check out both the meal menus and the snack menus at his daycare, so you'll know if they are providing adequately for your son's particular needs. If you think they are not, you should be able to talk with the director and teachers and request that his meals and snacks be supplemented in some way. Some daycares will do that themselves and others may ask that you provide the supplemental foods.

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Honestly, as long as they continue to gain weight, most doctors aren't concerned as long as they are eating and thriving and gaining some weight. All babies have a weight curve on their growth chart. Some gain faster than others but the curve should always go up, even if it is a little bit. My daughter was below the 2% until now... she just turned 3 and is finally at the 10% for weight and has always been 80-90% for height. She eats a lot and is VERY active... I think that she just burns the calories because she is so active. I wouldn't wory too much if you know he is eating and gaining weight, even if it is a little bit at least he is gaining. :)

I hope that helps! Good luck!

J.

To piggyback on everyone else, I've never understood how there can be one general growth chart for every type of child. There are a variety of races, sizes, shapes, activity levels, cultural food eaten, and I could go on for hours about the differences in children. Why we should judge each based on an outdated general percentile system is just silly.