16 month old 91st percentile for weight and 50th for height 🙈 should I be worried?

[Theladypatience]

Just updated his red book. He was weighed recently in hospital and they said he was 12kg. Nobody commented on this

I decided to try and do his height today to see if he has grown and plotted it in his red book and he seems to be bang on average for height but a few points under the 91st percentile curve for weight

I’ve never worried overly about these things but I had it loosely in my mind the percentiles should be the same?

He was a very tiny baby but then chunked up quickly so he’s not following the same curve he was at birth as he was tiny then jumped up the percentiles rapidly

Anyone had the same? I don’t really want to speak to health visitor unless I have to as ours are really alarmist generally and I could do without the stress unless there’s actually a problem!

One of my DC was 91st for weight and 50th for height, even before birth when I was having having growth scans they were on these centiles. I got a lot of grief off the HV for it who told me to cut down her portion sizes until I showed her what DD eats and she agreed you can't really cut down on things like one Weetabix, half a sandwich, a boiled egg, etc. When we last saw DDs paediatrician they did height/weight and weren't bothered by it. When I mentioned that the HV had told me to reduce her portions they said there was no need and that these are just her centiles, she was on them before birth and stayed on them ever since. They said that while centiles can be useful in tracking growth they don't take into account individual characteristics and the paediatrician herself said that the reception age health check and the year 6 health check are the two to pay attention to. She said the centiles would even themselves out and eventually meet in the middle.

DD is 4 now and in nursery school ), she got weighed and measured at a check-up a few weeks ago and was still 50th for height but is now 75th for weight.

Thank you! He does eat a lot but is getting a bit fussier now and it’s a lot of home cooked healthy food.

I’ve just realised he was weighed with his nappy on and holding his blanket in the hospital so that would make a difference as well!

His dad is 6foot one (although my side are all short and stocky!) so he might end up with a growth spurt later on

I just wasn’t expecting them to be quite so different!

I suppose it might be slightly more worrying as he was small at birth (born at 37 weeks but right on the cusp) but he did start jumping up the percentiles by hid ten week check

Has he been walking long? My ds1 was very similar, 50th for height, 91st for weight at that age. He wasn’t fat, just a big, chubby baby. He started walking at 16 months and evened out. He’s 3 now and I’m not sure what centile he is on but he looks average size and is much slimmer that when he was a baby.

Not intending to criticise your measuring...but getting an accurate height for a 16 month old is not easy and a small error will potentially make quite a lot of difference.

@Squirrel26 yes it’s impossible! He may be even shorter, may be taller I seem to get a different measurement each time but he’s definitely close to what I’ve got as I’ve tried a few different methods

He’s been walking since 13 months so I was expecting him to lean out a little bit by now but he’s not properly running yet so maybe that will come

Maybe I’ll try to get rid of his afternoon snack or make it a lot smaller and see how we get on as he eats quite big meals so maybe I’m over feeding him a bit!

The paediatrician did also say that a good poo can be the difference between one centile and the next

My DC all leaned out a lot between age 2 and 4 when they got really active, were using the pushchair less, climbing, running, etc. Growth-wise that's when they lose their baby-shape and take on a child-shape, I sound like a weirdo describing it but it's that change in their centre of gravity from being head heavy, they lose the baby chub around their arms and legs, their gait changes, all that stuff.

@Bearfrills that’s the perfect description! He’s all chubby arms and legs but hasn’t got loads of fat rolls IYSWIM he’s got the toddler tummy and he’s still in 12-18 month clothes mostly although they are getting a bit snug!

We are getting out and about more now so he is starting to spend most of his time outside weather permitting

Honestly, once he starts properly running around and playing etc, the weight is likely to drop off. My DS was 9lb at birth (albeit two weeks overdue) and now at 3, he's a stick of a thing - can barely keep his trousers up - because he never stops moving.

16 months is barely out of being a baby. As long as you're not feeding him a load of junk he sounds fine.

They also don't keep putting on weight at nearly the same rate once they get past 2yrs old, so he won't get exponentially heavier either. Enjoy the squish!

He has some prepackaged snacks but usually when we are out and about. Doesn’t have chocolate and crisps, only the occasional handful of baby puffs.

He does eat quite big meals I think so maybe I need to review that - I find it really hard to judge how much to give him but when I asked the HV she said if he isn’t being sick I’m not over feeding him

He tends to have things like porridge oats with Greek yogurt and raspberries, rice cakes with hummus as a snack or some kind of homemade fruit or veg flapjack or omelette bite. Lunch is usually a one slice sandwich with cream cheese or tuna or mackerel or avocado with some fruit and something I’ve made like a lentil bite, omelette bite, sticks of cucumber or some cubes of cheese.
He has an afternoon snack, usually something like peas and sweetcorn so he can pick, but often things like blueberries with some cheese cubes (depending how much cheese he’s had that day), some other fruit, a handful of Cheerios, a homemade tuna pastry puff with yogurt that kind of thing

Dinner is usually what we have, pasta with veggie sauce, lamb and rice, risotto, chicken bake, spag Bol, cottage pie, and something like fruit and yogurt or a third of a baby custard pot.

He also has whole milk in the morning and milk before bed.

I just don’t want to be one of those blind parents who can’t see they are over feeding their DC! He doesn’t look fat to me just chunky, sturdy and stocky.

I do love the squish!

I wouldn't worry. I posted the same about my 8 month old and loads of people told me I should be concerned. He is now 2 and a half and absolutely fine

@OhToBeASeahorse oh what a worry for you back then! Glad he’s evened out :)

Was yours a big eater too?

Yes he was but same as you nothing bad..I did cut out things like rice pudding and I had a baby weaning book that was big on chia seeds and coconut milk and things so I cut a lot of those out too but other than that I was led by him. He still has a massive appetite

Aren’t chia seeds and coconut milk healthy?

He does have a fair bit of cheese and things like hummus and yogurt but I struggle really with what to give him, he doesn’t partcularly like eggs or any raw vegetables apart from tomatoes, they have to be in something. He’s a bit hit and miss on meat but will eat mince, I try to give him lean Turkey mince but he does have lamb and beef as well. But also has a good amount of fish like tuna, salmon, mackerel.

He does seem to have a lot of carbs like rice, bread, couscous, mash (usually sweet potato though) but I’m feeling a bit uninspired as to what to make lately. All the baby recipes seem to have lots of cheese, milk, oats or yogurt as well (for snacks I mean)

They are but they are also v high in fat.

For snacks I used to make DS baby bounce balls. Grated carrot and ground almonds with a bit of vanilla extract and cinnamon then rolled into balls and rolled in ground almond. He used to love those. Or apple slices with peanut butter on? I just buy the 100% peanut stuff

Great shout. He can’t have nuts unfortunately because I am so severely allergic to all types we can’t even have them in the house :(

I wonder it I could do something similar though - I do something similar with lentils and he likes that

I think I’ll ditch the baby custard and try to find better snacks and just watch his portion sizes with meals

Yes if his weight is good I'd keep custard to a treat or just not everyday.
Sorry about the nuts. DS is dairy intolerant and its equally hard!

Cucumber and hummus makes a great snack. It sounds like he is doing a ok. My argument with the HV was that they had never measured his height before and his weight had stayed on the same centile since birth.

If you were feeding him unhealthy stuff it would be different but it sounds like you are doing brilliantly. Parenting is such a worry!!!

I do worry he has too much fatty stuff but it’s so hard to get a balance. He does eat a lot of good stuff and I don’t give him junk food.

I find portion sizes so hard!

I guess my concern is he hasn’t been on the same curve because he was small at birth and had issues with weight gain initially and then we haven’t had a check for ages! So I’m not sure if he’s followed the same curve for the last eight months or not but I’ll keep an eye on it now

I really hate those percentile charts, I know they’re useful for flagging things but they seem to have caused me worry - at both ends of the scale!

Children need fat and calories for their brain development.

He sounds fine I wouldn't put him on a diet. That's only two centiles above which is normal. They don't need to strictly be on the same one for both weight and height.

My ds was like this as a baby and toddler, although possibly a little taller - maybe more like 75th centile. But there was definitely a difference between his weight and height. He’s 8 now and has changed a lot. He’s one of the tallest in his class and very slim. Once he got older and started running about more everything seemed to even out. He plays sports 5 times a week now and definitely isn’t overweight. I’m sure your child will be fine in time.

This is him just so you can see what I mean
Lovely chubby legs but he doesn’t seem fat if that makes sense, just normal baby squash

If you're worried about centile charts I'd defo recommend reading the training guidance for health care professionals on how to use and interpret them. It's not very complicated and it should help ease any worries :)