Infant Sliding down Growth Chart

We had the opposite problem - both of our kids were/are giants which made us worry about over eating.

Our neighbors have boys about 18 months apart - one is like yours, the other is like ours. For now, there is no concern because he's hitting his developmental milestones.

I'd keep on your pediatrician if you continue to be concerned, ask for a referral to a pediatric endocrinologist (if needed) to check Human Growth Hormone levels, and continue to encourage him to eat well (healthy though he may need more fat in his diet than the average child - your pediatrician should advise you properly there), and encourage him to work on all the developmental milestones the rest of us fret over with children at that age.

Good luck!

At 9 months old the docs are still measuring the babies while lying down. There is a lot of room for error when they measure this way. My oldest daughter, according to the measurements actually "shrunk" between visits. When I stated that she actually measured shorter the nurse said it had to be a wrong measurement the previous visit after she remeasured her and confirmed her height. (fyi...my youngest from birth to age 2 continually slipped down in the weight percentile to the 5th percentile where she has been for the past couple of years). Hope this made you feel better. Chances are everything is fine and if the docs have a real concern, from my experience, they do not mess around and will immediately send you to a specialist.

Seriously! Don't sweat it. Both of my sons were tiny infants. We were and still are in the under 5 percentile for height and weight. More so my 17m old is in the 1% for height and weight. I'm not worried. I know that he eats good and often. I also know that my first son was in the 5% for 2.5 years and at his 3.5 check up he was in the 30% so they really do grow at their own pace.

I"m surprised that your Pedi told you that they wanted to do testing. Kids growth slows down after they become mobile, which might be where you are right now. Dr's have to weigh on the more cautious side because of law suites. You always have the right to say no to a suggestion if you feel you are doing everything right with his eating habits. Just give your little one some more time.

Personally i would not worry about it until the 2 year age.

Best of Luck
J.
Mom to 3.5 and 1.5 year old sons

I remember being SO upset after a well check up when my son was about 3. The ped kept flipping through his chart saying "hmmmm....hmmmmm" I want to re-check his height in 3 mos...we may have to xray his legs....Hmmmm.
Guess what? It was NOTHING. I told her about it to and she kind of blew it off like "I didn't mean to cause concern..." Really?
I'm no expert but your son sounds like he is proportionate with his height and weight. Continue to feed him healthy meals and snacks and TRY not to stress over this until you know there is actual cause for concern. Good luck & God Bless!

The same thing happened to our child until she reached 2 years when she finally hit 45th percentile. I agree with the others, it's really probably nothing....especially if you &/or DH are petite. Try to find comfort in knowing you are providing your son with the nutrition he needs and children grow at different rates.

Is your little guy developing mentally? I was always told by all of the drs. I have had my children to that children either grow physically or mentally; they can't do both at the same time. I was very concerned with my older daughter because she was over 14 months old and still wasn't walking. However, I was assured that she would be just fine because she had been been concentrating all of her efforts on developing her little mind (she knew the entire alphabet by that age). I would not be so concerned just yet. You have another whole year for him to prove himself. After that time is up, and the situation continues, then there is cause for concern. I wouldn't worry just yet though. Best of luck!

Hi A A, I found this .gov site that offers a few explanations. http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/003021.htm

While it may be nothing and it seems others have had similar experiences, it is good to try to educate yourselves in preparation for any questions on your next doctor visit.

Our son, 20 months, is in the 4th percentile. He was born at 9lbs 1oz, then kept dropping in his weight. Turns out he ended up having acid reflux and a milk/soy protein intolerance...those things didn't help.

With all of that said - our pediatrician isn't concerned as he has stayed right around the low teens in percentages. He said that his growth curve is consistent. He would be alarmed if it plummeted. Also, my husband and I are average height and weight now...but we were "late bloomers" as kids - always the smallest in the class. So the dr says that our son is probably following in our foot steps.

9 months is when kiddos start to finally get mobile - crawling, scooting, walking...many times you will see a drop in weight. I'm surprised that your dr is so alarmed.

I didn't read the previous responses but my daughter started out at a normal weight and height (6lbs 8 oz. 19") but gradually just fell off the growth chart. She is 7 now and at less than 3%. She doesn't even hit the chart. The most important thing is that he still follows the curve, which my daughter did. Are you and your husband smaller? My husband and I are not big, strapping people so we knew are kids weren't going to be either. I would just what and see what happens...if it makes you more comfortable to get the blood test then you might just for reassurance but I'd bet my money since he is developing normally in all other ways he is just not going to be a big kid!!! Best of luck! :-)

That has happened with both my sons but the second one has had lots of medical problems that seemed to exasperate (sp?) the issue. He went from the 50% to off the charts (not even 1% - like way off) by his first birthday. We did testing for him because he had all these other issues, but he is fine overall. He just has bad acid reflux and breathing problems and seems to have a difficult time retaining weight no matter how many calories he was consuming because he needed more in general.

Most of the time it seems to be nothing to worry about. I did realize the doctors concerns with him though because he dropped so much off his weight curve. They actually are more concerned with how they grow in relation to their own growth curve. When there is a drastic drop, it can signal a lot of issues, but oftentimes the kids seem to be fine. My almost 4 year old is just hitting 32 pounds and my now 2 1/2 year old just hit 25 pounds and the doctors have calmed down about the issues.

(BTW both my kids had wonderful appetites). You can always give him things like Greek Yogurt (not the 0% fat kind but the full fat kind - it's 15 - 18 g fat per cup) or Pediasure if you are really concerned, but otherwise a lot of times if you wait it out, they will be fine:).

Good luck!

As long as his height & weight are both falling I wouldn't worry too much. Both my boys were in the 90th percentiles at birth & the first few months. By the time they hit one year they were both down in the 50th. The doctor said they were probably just getting to their true normal size. My oldest is now 2 & 1/2 and he has been holding steady at the 50th.
Good luck.

This happened to my nephew -he just stopped growing for a few months at around a year(he was always on the small side and my whole family is very short so that wasn't so surprizing). He did not gain any weight and gained very little height. He did begin to grow again at a somewhat more normal rate after about 5 months. They never did any testing so no one knows why. I don't know if your family or his father's family is just genetically predisposed to be small. Of course, follow your doctor's advice and provide that best nutrition like you are doing, but for my nephew at least, it turned out to be nothing.

Give him tablefood and see what happens from there. I would have him tested for issues if he does not gain weight. My son is not big either. I would say if he does not get bigger then I would have him tested. May be he will go through a growth spurt. Don't fret take it one day at a time.

Ok, so as I understand it, the problem isn't that your little one is small, it is that he's getting smaller. Most pediatricians say that what ever percentile they are at at 3 months (or so), they should stay about there. So I understand why your pediatrician is concerned. You pay your pediatrician for his or her advice, so I'd go with it. Testing is no big deal-- a blood test. Depending on what he finds, you may want a second option about treatment, but for now I'd go with what your ped says. Do your best to make sure that your son is eating, and who knows-- you may find he's had a big growth spurt by the 12 month visit.

One thing you have to remember is that at that age they will slow down significantly if they are a very active child. When they start crawling, creeping, walking etc..., then they will not gain as quickly as they did in the past. I am assuming that your son has probably gotten more active recently. So I would just keep an eye on him but as long as he is progressing fairly normal then you kind of have to wait and see for awhile. Those growth charts are not accurate. Most times by the time they turn 2, those problems seem to magically disappear. I think that they are so skewed that it's really hard to know at that age what is really bad or not.