Toddler height/weight

[BashfulBunny]

So this has been bugging me for a while, but I can't work out if I'm being silly.

My boy is 2.10. He was born at the 75th for weight and height. Since then he has slowly tracked down the centiles. His weight has plateaued at 25th since about 6 months old, but his height has continued to go down and is now around the 11th centile.

Both biological parents are 5'9" and the men on my side are all 6'3"+. We don't know the family heights on the male side.
My instincts feel this is not right, but people keep saying it's nothing to worry about. I'm not so worried that he might be short per se, it's just it seems a bit concerning.
Does anyone have any experience of something similar?
Tia

[BashfulBunny]

Bumpy bump

[Roseotto]

You should go to the GP at least - crossing two centiles can be a reason they will refer for further investigations, certainly in older children, so worth discussing your concerns with a professional.

[adoptmama]

You should ask for a referral to a pediatric endocrinologist to check levels of growth hormone and monitor his growth. If you wish to go private (and he's not particularly expensive) you could try someone like Dr. Stanhope for an evaluation rather than fighting the NHS (not always that responsive over matters related to growth). There's a facebook group - Child Growth Foundation - where parents with lots of experience can advise you, give support and provide you with contact details of Dr. Stanhope or others.

[BashfulBunny]

Thanks both. I'll take your advice. Having used the calculators online he's actually 27th by weight and 8th by height.

[Notrightnowww]

Hello, sorry that this is worrying you. IME the NHS only consider a problem if a toddler is below 2nd centile (my dc was referred and once she was accurately weighed/measured she had just met 2nd so was discharged straight away and not seen since! Red book calculation estimates my dc should be above 75th for height).

At different ages, growth is triggered by different things - nutrition in early days, then growth hormones, then other hormones after puberty.

You def have a case for raising with your GP as he's crossed so many centiles, but be prepared that you might not got any action from them. Also being put on growth hormones is quite a big deal, one that I was happy to avoid. My dc is now on 9th centile, so still nowhere near her theoretical height centile, but no one is worried about it anymore.

[adoptmama]

Please do keep in mind though that if your child is growth hormone insufficient or deficient then GH is a medical necessity. It is not about improving final height but about ensuring they are actually growing normally, which they cannot without adequate GH. This can affect things such as bone growth, puberty and fertility. It is therefore vital that you do seek medical opinions if you are concerned about your child's growth and that you insist if necessary on a referral to an endocrinologist. The Child Growth Foundation FB page is full of parents who will tell you how they had to battle for years to be taken seriously. We were lucky in that our GP recognised immediately our concerns were valid that DD2 was not growing at all and was not just 'small'. Others however have had to fight for years as growth problems are medically rare and so often the signs and symptoms are not recognised by GPs. If in doubt it is always better to seek expert opinions even if it means shelling out the 500 quid to see someone like Dr. Stanhope - ultimately you have nothing to lose except the time spent in the waiting room.