15 month old on 9th percentile: any chance he'll grow taller than 5'7''?

[Azrael]

DS1 has been on the 50th percentile in weight ever since he was 3 months old. Length-wise though, he's always been on the 9th percentile.

He's been bf until he was 7 months old, then went on to soy formula as he was diagnosed with milk allergy (skin prick + blood test done by a private pediatrician/immunologist). Aged 1, we changed to fully hydrolised formula and oats milk. I researched but found no scientific evidence that soy formula may prevent growth. DS has got medium/strong eczema all over his body. All the other signs of developments are ok (babbling, walking, pincer grip).

Today I saw a friend's baby for the first time in 2 months; the last time we saw them, DS was the same size as her baby! The parents of that baby are both short - shorter than me or DP. I'm Caucasian, 5'5'', DP is Chinese, 5'10'' tall.

The prediction for a baby on the 9th percentile is 5'7'' adult height. Should I just accept it as a fact of life or is there a chance that he might have a growth spurt at some point?

[savoirfaire]

Just out of curiosity, is there a reason you're worried about this?

I'd love to have an answer for you - both my DCs are 9th Centile (one male, one female). I do know some kids who have moved up centiles at older than your DC so either way, I guess things aren't set in stone yet anyway.

We also had the CMP allergy with DS, eczema, plus iron and vit D deficiencies (despite supplements) and he's significantly shorter than peers (nearly 4 now). Never had soy milk but did have hydrolised formula after I stopped BF at 7mo.

[takeaway2]

It sounds like both of you are average height and if anything your dp is slightly taller then average for his race.

Fwiw I'm 5ft3 and Chinese. Dh is 6ft2 and Caucasian. And my DS is 5 years old and 50th percentile. He was 70-90 percentile since birth till now. He's similar height to many of the other boys in his group of friends. He's got a super tall friend who is half Dutch (dad is averagely tall for a Dutch but his mother is 5ft 10 at least so she's v tall). He is wearing the appropriate size clothes for his age (5-6 tops and 4/5 bottoms).

My dd is smaller than her brother was and seems v dinky.

Both of them were v good weights though when they were born - 8 and 8.10!!

[BabiesAreLikeBuses]

Isn't it double the height of dc at 2.5 years is their adult height?

Fwiw, ds at this point was at the 91st, aged 5 he is on the short side of average, all boys in his class taller or the same height. I expect him to be on the short side of average as an adult based on parental heights, maybe 5'10 ish, which his 1 year results wouldn't show. Think it's too early to predict.

[Fantail]

At 12 months, DD was on the 50th centile for height. At 2 she was on the 91st, so yes growth spurt is possible (and will cost you a fortune in clothes and shoes).

It isn't just parent genes that determine height. My Mum is 5ft 5. Her father 5ft 6 and her mother 5ft 3. She has two brothers, one 6ft 5 and another 6ft 2.

Is his growth consistent? If you are worried I would consider a visit to the GP, perhaps ask for a referral to a dietician to make sure there aren't any gaps in his diet and also a dermatologist to help with the eczema?

[duchesse]

Those charts are bolleaux. You have very little idea how tall your DS will end up from red book charts. The centiles are just lines on a piece of paper, not actual typical growth curves. You get a better idea from your height and your DH's. There was a site that someone listed on here once that turned out to be scarily accurate for my now late teenaged children (basically got them spot on). If I remember what it was I'll be back.

[Azrael]

Ahh thanks everyone.

Savoirfaire: well, no reason really (DS is a chirpy, inquisitive cutie), until this afternoon when I had the feeling that he was almost scared by these bigger, burlier babies.

Takeaway2 and Babiesarelikebuses: thanks for sharing.

Fantail: his growth is super consistent (ie: 9th centile since he was born). We've seen a dietician who said his diet is good (suggested taking him off soy, and has just put him back on it since his skin hasn't improved). We're also being seen by a dermatologist, who's taking care of the eczema (or isn't, since there's nothing we can do about it apart from slathering DS in ointment and using steroid when his skin flares up).

Tugamommy: that's exactly me - obsessed with these bl**dy centiles!! So good to hear that your DS has jumped two centiles around age 3!!

Duchesse: Thanks for sharing, would love to see this site if you can get your hands on it. I'll try and research too.

[Jinty64]

I have 3 ds's. Ds1 (17) was a big baby, a tall toddler but by 12 was much smaller than his peers. He had a growth spurt at 14/15 and is now 5'11. Ds2 (15) was a slightly smaller baby, a tiny toddler, went to school at 5 wearing age 3 clothes with trousers that kept falling down. Within a couple of years he had caught up with his peers but we thought he would always be short. He has had a growth spurt over the last few months and is now 5'9 and still growing.

I don't think you can tell when they are little.

Have you tried wet wraps for his eczema. It worked well for ds2.

[Azrael]

I've not been on this thread for a while and realise you replied a while ago, thanks.

Jinty64 - Fabulous to hear about the different growth spurts of your DC, it's so reassuring!

[Jamz823]

Hi @Azrael what is your DS height now? Thanks

[NotReallyaNurse]

Hi there, ah let me measure him and get back to you! But what I can tell you right now is that I have become less and less worried about his height. Yes he's definitely not one of the tall guys, but it seems that every year, it becomes less and less of of a topic. He's now roughly the same size as some of his mates. But I will come back with a number :)

[crosstalk]

It's all an unpredictable mish mash. My DPils were around 5'10 (father) and 5' 9" (mother). They had five children. Girls were all around 5'8, one boy 6'4 the other 5'11. Similar birth weights apart from smaller boy who was born at 12lbs.

My daughter was 95% percentile born at 10lbs. She is slightly taller than me.

Just don't worry about it and make sure they're happy with their size and health.

[Jamz823]

Thanks for your reply ☺️

[Jamz823]

@NotReallyaNurse thanks for your reply ☺️