Seeking Small Baby Support

My daughter was born three weeks early and weighed 4 pounds, 2 ounces. At a year she weighed 15 pounds. She's perfectly healthy, and always has been, and is now still a healthy 8 year old. Some kids are just small...Nothing to worry about! My son however, is 22 pounds at 10 months...everybody's different...and as long as she's growing, even though it's not that much at a time, it's okay. Hope this helps!

I have a 18 month old son who just made the charts. He is healthy, happy and growing. As long as you have health and growth, you are ok. The Dr. said as long as he continues to grow and is fine--there is nothing to worry about.
T.

My daughter has tiny feet, short arms and short legs for her age. My family says she has tyrannosarus rex arms and she does. I know she's going to be on the little short side. She's 7mos.old and in size1 shoes and they're still big. Aslong as she's growing and making progress is all I care about.

My daughter is short and chubby she'll thin out after she beigins crawling/walking but she'll stay short.

There's such good advice that's already been shared, I just want to add one more thing. It's so easy to get all caught up in the growth percentile chart numbers - remember that those numbers are only useful *relative to your own baby's progress.* This means that if she was in the 80% for weight at 6 mos, and then the 10% for weight at 9 months - that's something to pay attention to. Also, if she were at 10% for height at 6 mos, and then 85% at 9 mos - that you might also want to pay attention to. But saying "she's at the 80% at the 6 mos visit" doesn't actually mean much (other than that she is bigger than 80% of the other babies out there.) Where she falls on that curve at any given isolated point is irrelevant. What the docs are looking for is steady progression - the percentages should generally stay in the same realm (+/- 10%) from one visit to the next - my first was in the 90s for height from the first visit on to this day, at almost 5. My youngest has been in the 25s for height, and 5-10s for weight . . . he's a much smaller kid than his brother was, but he is growing steadily on his own curve, and THAT'S the important part. There does tend to be a slowing in weight gain at the 9-12 mos visits, so you do usually see a small drop in the %s for weight at those visits - but it's usually back where it was again by 18 mos-2 years. So as long as your daughter stays in roughly the same % over time, she's doing fine. That's why your doc isn't worried. Good luck!

I would not worry. My daughter is 3 years old. Since the beginning she has been very tiny (under 3% for both height and weight). However, both my husband and I are smaller people, and my mother-in-law is very tiny also, so none of us are really concerned about it. My doctor has told us that she is just naturally small, and as long as she stays on her own curve than she is just fine. She just will have her own curve. As long as she is healthy and making her other milestones relatively on time, I would not worry at all about size. Just enjoy having a little peanut! :)

I also have a petite child. She will be 4 in 2 weeks and weighs 28 lbs. and is about 36 inches tall. My son who is 7 is about average in height and weight, but my daughter has always been little. I remember she only weighed 16 lbs. at 1 year old. Her doctor isn't concerned and neither am I since she's pretty sassy and has the attitude of a child twice her size! I'm pretty sure she'll be able to hold her own even though she's small. I guess she'll be a good size for gymnastics.
I hope that helps.

My daughter was born 5 days late and weighed 5 lb 14 oz. I am 5'7" and my husband is 6'2" but we both had high metabolisms and were skinny growing up. My daughter has always been under the charts for her weight and about 25% for her height. Her original pediatrician tried pushing me to give her formula to get her to gain more weight, I switched peds. Her new pediatrician was never worried and just said she has a slender build and as long as she continues to gain on her own curve she will be fine. She is now 3 1/2 and is one of the healthiest, advanced kids in her pre-school, still on the slender side. Her new little brother, on the other hand, was also born late and weighed almost 3 pounds more than she did. He is my "chunky monkey" and is about 75% for height and weight. They are both very different. Use your mother's intuition- does she seem happy and healthy and growing to you?

I am 5'4" and my husband is 5'6" and both of our boys are tiny. They are 9 and 12 and have always been around the 15th percentile for both height and weight. Like your doctor, our pediatrician tells us that growing consistently and being in proportion is more important than their actual size. He also says that in this age of alarming obesity he'd rather see them thin. I figure someone has to be towards the bottom of the charts or there wouldn't be charts! I feel a little bad for my older son because he's an athlete and his size is starting to affect his ability to participate in some sports, but he's always made up for his size with speed, effort and knowledge of the sport he's playing. My brother was always very small and didn't grow until the year after he graduated from high school when he grew 4 inches in one year! People didn't recognize him at his first HS reunion. Although with us as parents I doubt our boys will ever hit 6' I do wonder if they could be late bloomers like my brother. So, it sounds like your daughter is doing great and is probably just going to be a petite person. If you are still worried as she gets older they can do x-rays of the growth plates to make sure she is growing appropriately. Good luck!

C.,
My oldest, who is now 18, was never on the growth charts. In middle school, she weighed 56 lbs and was one of the shortest kids in her grade. Even now, she is very slender, even at 5 months pregnant, she weighs 111 lbs. She was by far the healthiest of my 4 kids once she got past the baby stage. We have done the protein drinks, buying her whole milk instead of what the rest of us would drink and still, she is who she is. She did gain height but she is only about 5'4, which makes her the shortest of my kids. I know doctors don't always give us the reassurance that we would like but I would think that if she is healthy, happy and active,she is doing well.
Hope this helps!

I feel your pain :-) Both my kids have always been at the very bottom of the charts if they are on it at all. My family is all average height. My husband is adopted and shorter than me, so we dont know much about his side of the family (other than his mom was 5' 2") I got most offended when people and Drs. act like I dont feed my children. They are naturally just very petite and active. My kids eat like horses, but are thin (they didnt get that gene from me--haha)We all come in different shapes and sizes. You kids will grow normally. I was always the shortest kid in my class until 5th grade. Hang in there--there is nothing you have done or can do to change your childrens size. God makes us all who we are for a reason.

children come in all sizes, my son was a big baby at 9 lbs 2 oz and 21 1/2 inches long now he is only in the 10th percentile for weight but stayed up on the height side. He has a small head too, but at 14 months we walks talks, and problem solves like he is near 2. i dont think that you have cause for concern. Happy Mothers Day, enjoy your perfect little Angels!

I thought my twins were small until I had my third who at 9 mos was around th 3rd percentile in weight and 25 percentile in height. My husband and I are not big people either. We had gone through the whole process of pumping our twins with extra calories once they hit the toddler stage (about 18 mos.) because they weren't gaining as quickly as they did the 1st year. OUr third was a slow weight gainer before she reached 6 mos. So, it seems we have a track record of small kids.

We did what we could (and still do) to add calories to our youngest one's food but have come to realize that it is not about her weight, it is about whether she is happy and developing at the normal rate. I am happy to say that the twins (who gave us so much worry when they started walking and gaining little weight) are at normal weight and height for their age. The baby is still skinny (she is almost 2 now and probably about 21 lbs!) but is otherwise on track, happy, healthy, and extremely agile (probably why she doesn't put on the weight).

I know how hard it is to make peace with this because we worry so much about their development and weight/height is often the first thing we can measure and track well. But as long as your baby is developing normally (happy, healthy, and doing the things she is supposed to do at this age: babble, make eye contact, etc.) you are fine and so is baby.

I can't begin to tell you how much sleep I lost over the twin's weight gain. Now, I look back and think how unnecessary it all was. Everyone develops at their own pace and some kids will just put on weight like crazy while others won't.

Enjoy baby and just make sure she is happy and healthy. The rest will come on its own.

best of luck,

E.

My daughter, Danielle, was born at -0.5 on growth percentile for a full term baby. Naturally she was rushed to an incubator at birth and given a full medical exam because the hospital staff was so freaked out by her size. Granted, that was 22 years ago and doctors and hospitals are much more equipped to deal with smaller babies. Danielle has spent her entire life eating everything in sight while teetering at 0gp. We celebrated when she hit her max at 1% right before kindergarten and we celebrated again when she hit 100#'s as a senior in high school. Needless to say, I have tons of stories about my still very petite daughter. But, the best advice I can give you is to watch her percentile range. The actual percentile will fluctuate, so don't freak out when it drops from time to time. You will find her normal range as time goes on. As a mother, you know when your child is healthy and thriving, so go with your instincts and embrace some of the challenges she will face as a tiny little girl. My daughter is currently serving in the Air Force as a medic; she was top of her squadron at graduation from basic training and is constantly receiving accommodations for her job performance. I absolutely attribute much of this to the fact that as "little girl" she was constantly working (playing) harder to keep up with the other kids her age. Now, she runs circles around them. I am sure you're daughters will do the same!!

Abundant Blessings!
B.

Hi C.
My DD is on the smaller side too. I get comments all the time when we go out about how little she is. At 14 months, she is 20 lbs (17th%) and 28 inches (8th%). She has dropped in percentile at each appointment, but is very healthy and developing normally in all areas. I figure she will just be small! Like you & your husband, we are not big either. As long as she is healthy and developing, I wouldn't worry, even if she doesn't gain weight. My DD has only gained 2.6 lbs and 2 inches in the past 7 months. In my opinion, the worst part about it is not knowing what size clothes she will be wearing in upcoming seasons. I like to bargain shop, and don't want to buy stuff that will be out of season by the time it fits! :) Good luck, don't let people make you worry when you don't need to, and have a great Mother's Day!

Hi C., If your kids are thriving and getting what they need nutritionally and emotionally then they are doing fine. My daughter came home from the hospital at 4 pounds. We were around 5% on all three charts for 6 months. At our two year check up we are still at 23% for weight but we are at 60% for height and HC is 50%.
Discuss it with your doctor to set yourself at ease.
Good Luck - S.

Hi C.-
Both of sons were preemie. My 5 yo was only 3 weeks early and he is the same size now as every one else his age. My 11-mos old was four weeks early and he has been a completely different story. At his 9-mos appt he weighed 14 pounds. I had to take him in to the doc earlier this week to check on a cough and his weight, with onesie & diaper on he weighed 14.2 pounds. So in two months he has not gained weight. You mentioned the growth curves. He is not even on the curves. My docs have searched for everything and anything that might be wrong. They have done a food study (he eats like a horse), they have researched how his body processes the food and his metabolics and even did a close-up chromosome search and finally they just had to admit that there is nothing obviously wrong with him he is just small. He is a little behind on development because he doesn't have the muscle control yet of larger babies but he is sure trying! I have to keep telling myself that as long as he is healthy and the docs have checked EVERYTHING (and I do mean everything) that my job is just to enjoy him! I work with him on progressing with his speech and his crawling but he so interested in everything and his older brother keeps teaching him good stuff like how to make a really big splash in the bathtub with your hands. As long as he is still making progess and isn't stagnating or reversing in development I have made a firm determination to not be worried. Once he gets out there and can run around in the sunlight with his brother I think he will catch up - at least by kindergarten. One other thing - you mention that you are not big adults. I am 5'6" 150# and his father is 6'1" 180#. We are not overly big either - just average. Unless you notice something unusual - your daughter could just be small for now. Also, it never hurts to get a second opinion.....
Hope this helps (my personal email if you want to talk more is ____@____.com) -
J.

Hi C.,

I am in the same boat as you. My daughter is 5 months old, and weighs about 11 1/2 lbs. She is growing, although very slowly. She is sitting about the 3rd % for weight and about the 5th% for height. Her development at this point is right on target, and our ped is not concerned until her development is affected. I am not totally comfortable with that, but I can't argue due to the fact that she is developmentally on target. Feel free to email me anytime.
H.

Is your child eating solid foods and different types of cereals? Look up Celiac disease and the symptoms on the Internet. It is a genetic disease that can run in families for generations as a "silent disease," with symptoms that are not strong enough to trip anyone's radar into looking for it. It is caused by the body being unable to process gluten (found in wheat, rye, barley, and cross-contaminated oats). One of the major manifestations of the disease is the fact that it damages the small intestine, leading to leaky gut syndrome and the body being unable to pull the vitamins and minerals and other nutrients it needs from food, leading to malabsorption and eventually malnutrition. One of the hallmarks in children is failure to thrive, along with short statue, diarrhea (or chronic constipation), and other maladies.

Not saying she has this, but it's something to consider and have checked if you're concerned.

Our older daughter fell off the weight chart around 9 months and just got back on this past month. Our doctor was not too concerned because even though she was not on the chart, she was growing. Her height has always been in the 20-25%. She did have blood, urine, and CF testing just to be sure nothing was wrong and everything came back fine. We had to take her in to more appointments than just well baby ones to check her weight and height changes. Since she just got back on, we do not have to go back now except for well kid checks. We do pretty much let her eat as much as she likes (try to stay healthy most of the time) and she still drinks whole milk for calories. We say that she is our little gymnast because she loves being thrown around and is our little daredevil. One plus to her staying small is that we do not have to buy a lot of clothes. She is 2 and a half and is wearing her 9-12 month shorts from last year!! Something I did not have to go purchase this year. Since she wore the same size for all seasons, her little sister will be able to wear a lot of hand-me-downs for awhile even if she grows faster.
Your little peanut will be great!! If your doctor thought something was wrong, I'm sure he would check. As long as she continues to grow and not go backwards in a big way, she is the way she is supposed to be. Enjoy her growing up and changing and try not to worry about it!!

Hi C.. My son has always been in the less than 10th percentile for height and weight. At his one year appointment, he is still in the 10th for weight but went up to the 25th for height! He started out weighing 6lb, 4oz (8 days early), and he has just remained smaller ever since. He's our little peanut! He will be 13 months tomorrow and weighs close to 20 lbs...he is still rear-facing in the car! My son eats like he would weigh more than 20 lbs for sure, so I know that all of his nutritional needs are being met. Our doctor says he is following right along his curve so even though he is small he is growing right. He did drop off his curve a few months ago when he was really sick and in the hospital, but he has since caught back up. All babies are so different in their development. Whether 10% or 95%, as long as they are healthy and loved that's all that matters! :) Try not to let it stress you out. I'm sure your daughter is just fine! She's just going to be your little peanut for awhile longer! Personally, I am glad that he is smaller than bigger...I don't think I could carry him around as easily if he was in the 95%! Ha! Happy Mother's Day!

My daughter is 3 years old and weighs 27 pounds. She didn't hit 20 pounds until she was 15 months old! She's always been small; but her pediatrician reassures me that she's doing just fine. The doctor even said that in this age of childhood obesity, being petite is not a bad thing! As long as your kids are active and eating healthy foods, don't worry!

i guess the only reassurance that i can offer you is this; if most children these days are overweight, i wouldnt worry if your daughter is small for her age.

shes only 9 months old, and shes happy and active im going to assume. you should never worry about a child being too small unless she doesnt have energy or acts very unusual. each child is different and i dont like those percentage charts because its simply not fair to compare children - each one is different and grows differently.
just respond to her needs, all of them, and stay connected to her. its been said that babies dont grow adequatly if they dont have enough interaction with their parents and if they dont get their needs responded to and fulfilled. i dont know if that applies here or not, obviously, i dont know you or anyting about your parenting.

anyway, good luck, but most likely there is nothing to worry about. each kid is their own person, and in order for there to be an average weight, that means that there has to be kids MUCH heavier and MUCH lighter than that 50% mark. dont worry about where she falls, worry about how she behaves, how she interacts, how she lives. :D if shes a happy content little girl, then there is nothign to worry about!

Hi! I actually also have small children. I especially noticed it in my second child, (and now in my third). She is actually sometimes off the charts for height, the most she's been in a long time is 2%. Her weight is about 5%. She is totally fine and plays sports and dances, is smart and happy and healthy. All of them are. I would go ahead and have all the tests done just to put your mind at ease and rule anything out. There are a couple things that can cause small stature, although if you and your DH are small that's probably it. We had her tested when she was 1 and then again here with her new dr. (he just wanted to make sure before she hit puberty). They actually referred us to an endocrinologist for both sets of tests. The second one wanted to give her growth hormones but after about two seconds of research I realized that wasn't for her. Although I did ask her if she minded being tiny, and if she wanted to do anything about it, and she said, no, as long as she could drive when she was older.:-) I figure, there are so many risks and so much pain and hassle, for possibly an inch or two, in which case she would still be tiny anyways. Besides, it's cute. I worry more about my two boys being small socially. But not enough to give them growth hormones. And the dr.s havent' addressed it in them yet. Hope this was helpful.

I have 3 children - ages 13, 11, and 3. None have been above the 10% while growing. (My daughter finally hit the 50% when she turned 12.) My 11 year old did start around the 90th percential when he was born (9lbs 10oz), but around 6-9 months, he dropped off to the 10th and stayed there.

They are all healthy, happy, active, bright kids. There is nothing wrong with them, they just are small. My doctor told me that as long as they pick a percential after around 9 months and stick to it, they are fine.

C.,

My second son was 9 lbs 7 oz. at birth (he was a 42 week baby). Then by his 2 month appointment he had "fallen" to the 15th percentile for weight... he's been as low as the 10th, but usually falls between 12-17 for his weight, and is about 20 to 25 percent for his height. His brother has always been in the 50-75 for height and weight so of course I worried a ton for the first year and a half. We had weight checks the first few weeks to make sure he was nursing ok, and when I started solids I worried again! But, he is a totally happy and healthy 2 year old and is still on the small side.

I'm sure your daughter is fine, especially if your pediatrician is aware and not concerned.

Jessica

It's so sad that people in general make assumptions about parenting based on the size of babies. My 15 month old is the size of an average 3 year old (33", 28#). He's huge. My 11 month old granddaughter, on the other hand, is TINY - she's tall, but barely hits 17# on the scale. She's thin as a rail, but healthy as a horse. My son recently "dipped" on the weight chart which makes sense - he's growing taller and more active so he's going to slow down on the weight gain. At his 12 month appt the ped showed slight concern for the change in percentile. At his 15 month he showed no concern. Looking at him I'm going to say the ped is going to be "concerned" again at his 18 month because he's more and more active, eating less (teething), and will probably not gain much weight. But he's healthy and happy and children don't pay attention to growth charts. So don't worry about the charts and percentiles so much - if she's healthy and happy then there's almost certainly nothing wrong with her.

All children develop very differently and as long as she's developing and growing and happy then there's nothing wrong with her. She's is just the way God made her.

L.

My daughter was 6lb 2oz whens he was born only two days early - I am 5'6" and my husband is just under 6'. She had always been barely on the growth chart around 5th or 10% percentile consistently. She was always happy and eating well and continued to gain weight an grow at a steady rate - which is what matters. At a year she weighed 18 lbs and could still fit into size 6-9 month winter clothes. I always had to take the waist in with the majority of her clothes as well. When she did turn a year the doctor had us mix formula in with her whole milk, so your doctor may have you do the same.

She had always been ahead on the milestones both physical and vocal. She is now 6 1/2 and had gained some on the charts - around the 15th percentile. She is an active girl, very social, and was chosen out of her class of 21 to be a member of a special leadership group at school and doing advanced reading work for kindergartners. Her teacher says the world is completely open to her.

Our son, on the other hand, was born right on his due date and has always been around and above the 75th percentile. They are two and a half years apart and weight the same and he is almost as tall as her.

So, don't worry. The main thing is that she continues to gain at a constant rate and doesn't jump up quick on the charts or falls drastically. Just enjoy!

Honestly, that is not a small baby and, like your ped, I would not be concerned. If she continues to drop in percentiles, I would be concerned. My dd went from 80% to below the charts when she was an infant, THAT is reason to be concerned. We did all kinds of tests, but nothing was medically wrong with her. She stayed below the charts for years and now, at 6 yo, has made it to the bottom of the charts - but she is healthy and happy and follows her own little growth curve. As our ped says, someone has to be at the top of the charts and someone has to be at the bottom, it just happens to be her. So as long as your child is healthy, developing like she should be, and growing, I would agree with your ped and not be concerned.
S.
mom of 3 and daycare provider

The most important thing is that she is growing. Low on the chart doesn't neccesarily mean anything. I mean, someone has to be at the bottom, right? If she continues a trend of not gaining weight or her growth curve going down, then you'll want to look into why. I had two kids (of four) with this issue, both for different, easily fixable reasons. I will say that a slow growth rate can be an indicator of about a million different possibilities. So, if you start to get too deep into that you may hear some scary sounding things. Just keep in mind that MOST of the reasons for a slow growth rate are relatively easy fixes (more calories, supplements, the like.) Good luck and Happy Mother's Day!

C.. Oh boy can I relate. My husband is 6ft 2 and I am a mere 5'3 . Our (son)oldest child goes from being in the 3rd % to down off the chart. With our girls they all wander from 25th to 40th in weight and around 25th and lower in height. we saw an endocrinologist for our son and had many test and they can only attribute the small stature to the fact that my grandmother and mother were short. One of our options was to use synthetic growth hormones and we chose not to. We asked our son who is now ten if he wanted to do the shots and he said no.The doctors think he will be anywhere from 4'7 to 5'0 tall. He is well aware that his peers are much taller than he and he has only been upset about this maybe one or two times. He actually seems to not care. He even laughs about it sometimes and tells people there are things he can do because he is small that they cannot do because they are bigger. Our son plays football, soccer plays the Viola( wich luckily they do make in a smaller size) and takes dance with his sisters . We do not let his size deter him from anything. Our girls who are now 7,4,2 are starting to slow in the growth and the older two notice they are smaller but with their brothers encouragement they just trudge along. I just tell them all we will be a household of step stool users. Our son absolutely loves to watch little people big world on TLC , he says he feels just like that family. Good luck and keep your chin up . Happy Mothers Day.

If there is nothing medically wrong, she's fine!!! My son's closest friend is so tiny, he's not even on the charts. He's 4 1/2 and weighs less than my 18 month old. My son is over a foot taller than he is. But he's healthy as a horse! He rarely gets sick, plays hard, eats well, and is as lively as they come. His parents are average and his dad is actually a little bigger, but both he and his brother are tiny, tiny, slim, small boys. They might grow into their family, but they might not--and both boys are 100% healthy. Oh--and the "big" boy is still not as big as your daughter; like I said, the other is not even on teh charts.

My just-turned-two-year-old daughter has also always been small. Weight has always been under the 25th percentile, and height, too. But, she's proportional, and her head is huge! I think the proportionality is the key, and that she seems to be on track developmentally. As much as possible, I try to make sure that my daughter's food choices are nutritionally dense: hummus with whole wheat crackers, whole fat plain yogurt with frozen blueberries (and some crushed walnuts), etc. And, I trust that when she says she's hungry, she's hungry; and when she's done (or starting to play with her food instead of eat it!), that she's done. I hope this helps a little. Try not to worry. :)

Thanks for asking for support. We have three kids. Two boys who are at least 60% in height and weight. And then there is our 3 yo daughter who has never been above 10%. She was a 6 lb. newborn and is now 28 lb at 3. She's strong (and strong willed) and fine. She does have some milk allergies, so there are some foods that don't work for her. I'm 5'7" and my husband is 5'10". Our doctor is not worried about her also. He believes that is she continues to grow at her own pace, she'll be fine. I do worry a little and pray that she's at least 5 ft. at her full adult height!

My cousin has a couple of girls that have always been small -- 5-10 percentile -- and are just fine. The oldest is five and was talking in complete sentences by the time she was two, the youngest is 1 and hitting her milestones fine, seems happy and healthy, etc.

I agree not to get too caught up in numbers. Averages are formed out of large groups, which necessarily contain outliers. They're helpful, but not really the most important thing. If your kids are happy and healthy -- and you've double checked with the doctor that they're physically okay -- then everything is probably just fine:)

Happy Mother's Day:)

Our first child was always very tiny. She was in the 25-35% for height, but around the 5-7th for weight. She was only 16 lbs at age 2! Now she is a health 6yr old(almost 7) and doing great. She is slender but doesn't look unhealthy in any way. Hopefully your child just has a super metabalism too and wont have to deal wuth the weight problems that other children now face!

C.,
I have 3 boys 12 yrs old, 4 yrs old and 20 mo. My first child is in the 50% for weight and over the 100% for height. My second is now in the 50% for weight and 25% for height. My third is in the 75-90% for height and 75% for weight. My second child was in the 10 - 25% for height and weight for quite a while. And as you can see my other kids are quite big. There is no need to worry!! If your Dr sees nothing wrong, then go with it! Enjoy your children! They are individuals and if they are meant to be bigger they will get bigger. If you feel in your heart that you need more reassurance go get a second opinion but my guess is that you will get the same answers. Have a happy Mothers day!!!