Should I be worried about ds's growth?

[emilyelf]

My 3 yr and 8 month old hasn't grown a cm in 10 months. He was born 57 cm and was always towering over his peers including last year as he was always tall but this year his peers are towering over him which is normal as they have grown and my son hasn't! I'm tall (5'10) and father is also (5'10). My family are literally like giants and also DH's siblings and father are also tall. He doesn't have too much appetite but has a healthy diet with 3 meals and healthy snacks. Eggs, chicken, beef, Turkey, cheese, fruit and veg sticks such as pepper, carrots and cucumbers and green beans. He doesn't eat stuff like spinach, kale, Broccoli, lentils etc but these are discreetly mixed into his pasta. I give his vitamins everyday. I bf him until nearly 3 and I feel like ever since I've stopped, he hasn't grown. He doesn't drink milk but again i discreetly mix it in his cereal, make creamy milky pasta or use cheese and also mix milk with honey and use a calpol syringe as it helps with his coughing during the winter months and he is ok consuming it like that as he knows it soothes him.

My ds was always in the 99th percentile and now is in the 75 range. This isn't concerning as such but him not growing in 10 months is concerning. He was 102cm beginning of this year and yesterday he was measured as 102cm. His weight is also the same which is 15kg which is low (33 percentile) but he is an active boy and both sides of the family are slim and tall.

I've spoken to his doctor recently when he got measured and they said come back in a in a few months when he turns 4 but I'm worried if there's an underlying issue and we are leaving it too late. My ds still has his baby features like his face, his bones especially the shoulders, legs and arms as if it belongs to a toddler whereas his peers are now looking more like children with their body shapes and face. Am I right to be concerned or am I being over anxious and all will be well? Please share you experiences with me and I'm thinking of looking at a private route if it means a quicker investigation.

Thank you for reading.

Following as my 2 year old hasn't really grown for about 10 months - she's still in the same clothes she was wearing in September 2021! I'm not worried about it as such as the rest of her development is fine but she is TINY compared to her peers whereas both myself and DP are tall (I'm 5'8" and DP is 6'). She too eats a good diet etc. I've no idea whether she'll just have a ridiculous growth spurt at some point or at what point it needs investigating!

My ds had his nativity play last week and all his peers were literally like older children next to them. I've met all the parents and I'm the tallest mum and despite DH being same height as me, he was still taller than most of the fathers there but I'm just really concerned on why this growth spurt hasn't happened in 10 months and if it isn't the genes then what's causing a plateau in his growth development.

It's really stressful isn't it just waiting to see what happens but in the meantime if there's a deficiency, you want to get the ball rolling. I guess I'm just looking for reassurance to hear if other parents had similar worries and then the growth spurt hit and all was well or whether they investigated it.

4 years old is not too late...my friend's son had to inject himself to grow and I think he was just a kid. Maybe 8, it was hard to tell how old he was...try not to worry OP. He will be 4 before you know it and the blood tests etc will give you an idea of whats happening.

I'm just worried just because he is still in the 75 percentile and not short and they aren't going to investigate it but soon if he doesn't grow he is going to drop more as his age grows and I'm worried it might be too late. But I'm guessing your friends kid got this help at 8 and hopefully it wasn't too late for him. I just can't get my head around the fact that he hasn't even grown a cm in 10 months. He also has fish and nuts in his diet frequently which I forgot to mention.

Ask for a referral to a paediatric dietician. Maybe he isn’t eating enough calories for his energy level and age. It’s a little odd that he hasn’t grown in so long when his mother is very tall and is dad is a bit taller than average.

I understand your concern about the lack of recent growth but maybe he's due a growth spurt soon? My 4y3m DS is 102cm and he's one of the taller kids in his class so your DS sounds quite tall for his age

I'm currently looking at private to get the ball rolling. He isn't eating enough which has always been a major battle in our household. I cook from scratch 3 x a day just for him so he can eat. Even when it's his favourite food, he only takes a few bites and his done. He isn't getting enough vitamins and minerals via food so I top it up with vitamins. I just feel guilty as we was bf until nearly 3 and ever since I have stopped he hasn't even grown 1cm. I thought at the time if I stop bf, then he will naturally eat more but it hasn't worked and I couldn't bf until puberty so it was supposed to stop at some point anywayS @polkadotpixie how is your ds's body frame? My ds still has like a toddler back, shoulders and legs and his face still has the baby features. You know you would get a little puffy wrist and ankles and on the face from toddlerhood, he still has that. His knees looks like toddler knees and the elbows still with dimples. It's hard to explain but he looks like a tall toddler rather than a preschooler now.

My son is small for his age and genetics. He's just turned 4 and is 100cm. I'm 5ft 9, my husband is 6ft 1, and my family are all very tall (men all over 6ft 4).

He's not motivated by food at all and has always eaten like a bird. Weaning was a painful process as he barely ate anything. Just wanted breast milk.

I raised it with the doctor, who said that although it's unusual that he's shorter than you'd expect him to be from a genetics standpoint, because he's been following the around about the 25th percentile since he was around 18 months, it's not something they'd be interested in.

I'm interested to see if you get anywhere on the private route as I'm not sure if I want to seek a second opinion. His height doesn't matter but I worry that he's not getting enough nutrition.

I'm definitely going the private route after the New Year as his GP didn't seem too concerned yesterday and I don't feel he will be concerned when he turns 4 and hasn't grown. I will update the thread with all the findings from private though. In the meantime, I had a tape measure where I used to measure him but now ordered a height chart to see if there's going to be any progress in the mean time which I doubt things will change in a month. Also a friend mentioned fish oils help with appetite and I've noticed a slight increase in his appetite. The problem is every time his appetite ramps up a little, he catches a new bug from pre school which takes him out for 5 days where he barely eats and then he ramps up a little and then another bug. So it's literally like a vicious cycle where I feel he is malnourished hence why he isn't growing. Does your ds drink milk?

Just wondered what happened with your DS @emilyelf as I am experiencing the same thing right now except my DS is also on the shorter size for his age

I hope there's nothing to be concerned about and think it might be worth asking for a referral to a paediatric growth specialist.

But...as the mother of a son who ended up a really small adult by male standards, I have to say, it isn't the end of the world and the worst thing anyone can do is make him think it would be. Just don't have an issue with height. DS did, and I was worried on his behalf. But he has no problem finding girlfriends, after overcoming a big confidence problem about his height. He just got a first in his degree. He is working in a very competitive industry, getting good breaks. So being very small barely holds him back at all, except when he goes to gigs! It's social pressure to decide men must be tall. Life doesn't have to be difficult for short men.