Does baby percentile predict adult size?

[Cardiffclare88]

Dd was average at birth but now quite long (over 95th percentile) at 8 week visit last week. Is she likely to be very tall? What were your DC percentiles and did they stay on that curve? Just curious, DH and I both have tall families but we are the runts

IME centiles are pretty much meaningless - unless both sides of your entire family are dead average, maybe.

DD1 was below 10th at birth & throughout childhood & adolescence; ended up, eventually (very late grower, never had a growth spurt) 5'7 with size 7 feet.
DD2 was above 75th throughout; also ended up 5'7 with size 7 feet!
DS1 was 50th - he's about 6'1 now, size 10 (hobbit feet).
DS2 was 90th - he's 6'4, size 11s.
All completely different builds.

My mother's family is very tall, my father's mixed (but his mother was tiny).
DH's side is small to average.

So basically you never know...

Thank you @GiantKitten that's quite a range!

DS was a very long 11lb baby and was always above 95th percentile, he's now 6ft 3 with size 11 feet but slim

Is there not a bit in the red book about predicting your dc adult height?

My son was on the 91st centaile at births but dropped to the 25 by 5 .where my daughter was on the 0.2 centaile at 2 but 5 foot 5 by 16

Ah yes there is. Ah average height for that centile

Dc1 75th centile birth, 50th centile adult height.
Dc2 90th centile birth, 75th centile adult height.
Dc3 99th centile birth, still 99th centile preteen.

I don't think it correlates. DS1 right down the middle of the chart at 50% but once at school shot up and is now well over 5 foot at 11years. Ds2 funky tiny baby and now also taller than his peers at 9.

Dinky not funky!

I like the idea of a funky baby IluminatiParty

I don’t think so - I would just go by the size of the parent!
I’m 5’4” and DH is 6’2”. I’m around 52kg, not sure how much DH weighs, but he’s not overweight.
Dd was born on 9th centile and pretty much followed that line perfectly until she had a massive growth spurt around her 3rd birthday, and she’s been on the 25th ever since.
DS was born on 2nd centile, dropped down to 0.4th and was barely clinging to the chart (multiple food allergies!), then came back up to the 2nd centile and has been there ever since.
They are both on 75th centile for height, so I think they will take more after their dad than me in the height department

Funky baby sounds fab

I doubt it. Our DS is off the charts tall now but both of us are average so am expecting him to slow at some point!

For us, yes. Both children were 98 % on length at birth, and both dc (dd and ds) are now over 6 foot tall, and very slender

My ds as a baby was always on the 25th percentile, he was always smaller than his peers at primary school. He's 12 now and recently had a growth spurt, he's more on the 50th percentile. I'm 5'4" but his dad and some members of my family are over 6'. Dd1 is 10 and always been between 25-50th percentile. I've always thought boys have more 'spurts' of growing, there were a couple of years where I'm sure he didn't grow much atall but they don't always have them at the same ages. At 12, mine ds is only just catching up.

Dd2 is only 9mths, her dad is shorter about 5'7" but she's my biggest, consistently charting above 75th percentile! So you never know!

There is a formula in the back of my DC’s red books to estimate adult height, based on birth centile and parents’ heights. I imagine this is pretty indicative with a large Patton of error, rather than accurate. In y family, DS was 91st centile height at birth and has been 91-95th all his life (he’s 10). Dd(7) was 75th centile height at birth, went upwards off the charts when she was 2, and has been off them ever since. DH and I are tall-ish (5’8” and 6’2”), so we’ll just have to see what hspiebs, but I suspect both children will be well above average height.

I was going to be fairly tall according to the charts ( over 6ft) but I am not. Ds (11) has been following the charts perfectly for a number of years. It will be interesting to see where he is when we go to the hospital next month.

Baby length measurements are really hard to get accurate, so I don't think you'd get a very accurate prediction. I know of a baby who appeared to shrink 2cm when measured a few weeks later.

Ds1 was born 25th centile but is now 6 foot 2.

Quite a range! Sounds like not necessarily a predictor by maybe a tall baby will go on to be a tall adult?

I don’t think so. My DC were all between 95th and 99th centile for weight and length from birth onwards. They’re not short by any stretch but they’re not huge (aside from DS’s feet which are off the scale ).

DS1 75th centile at birth, age 19 now 6'0" and skinny as a rake with size 8 feet
DS2 50th centile at birth, age 16 6'2" and more solidly built with size 12 hobbit feet!
DD1 50th centile at birth age 7 is one of the smallest in her class bless her. Not sure why she's the teeny one!

So yes, the centile measurements don't seem to be a reliable predictor for individuals. And agree baby length measurements are very difficult to measure accurately

In the UK babies are usually only weighed not measured, and because newborns are so curled up measuring them yourself isn't accurate. Birth weight is as much to do with gestation (37 weeks full term but so is 42!) as genetics.

My kids haven't hit adult size yet do the jury is out. Eldest was 9lb at birth and a very average 5 ft 4 at 13...