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Original poster

10mo 98th centile for height and weight

53 replies

paintedfences · 09/09/2019 18:40

Hopefully you can help me stop worrying about this - my 10 month old ds is very very tall for his age, 98th centile. (There are a few six foot + men on both sides, but he’s apparently on track to be 6 foot 2 or 3.) But he’s also 98th centile for weight and I read that from age 2, if he was still on this curve he’d be considered overweight.
I was very overweight as a child and I’ve always said my children will never be allowed to get overweight, so I’m worrying about it.

I give him a very good diet so I know it’s quality food he’s getting, but I am stressing a bit. I really don’t want him to struggle with his weight like I did. Am I being ridiculous? Any advice?

OP posts:
BarbariansMum · 09/09/2019 20:12

Height and weight percentile should rarely be the same in older children if they are at a healthy weight but I wouldnt give it any thought at all at this age. Check again at 2.5 when he's been mobile for a while and is in full food refusal mode

Probablygreen · 09/09/2019 20:23

@funinthesun19
It depends on how different the centiles are. My son is 0.4-2 for height, 25 for weight and 98 for head circumference. He has just been diagnosed with craniosynostosis and is listed for surgery. If you’re concerned speak to a GP as if he does have that it’s better to get it sorted as early as possible, surgery is easier when they’re younger.
My son is almost 4 so has to have the more major surgery rather than the endoscopic option 😔

Rowgtfc72 · 09/09/2019 20:37

Dd was 99th centile at birth. She's always been 99th for height and weight. She's now 12, 5ft 9 tall, size 9 feet and slim but solid.
I have taken her to the doctors over the years to keep an eye on her growth but they have always said as she's very tall she will weigh more and they have no problems with her weight or height.

Merryoldgoat · 09/09/2019 20:41

My son has been on the 99.6th since birth. He’s 6 now. Supposedly overweight according to the BMI charts but the doctor said he’s clearly not. BMI isn’t great for particularly tall kids.

My son was 5kg and 60cm at birth. Went straight into 3-6 month clothes and size 3 nappies.

He grew 5cm in about 4 months this year.

AskingQuestionsAllTheTime · 09/09/2019 20:56

Back in the prehistoric past when I took my son in for his official weighing and measuring at eighteen months (I think it was, may have been younger, one forgets over time) the nice woman doing it noted his height and weight and then looked at her chart. Then she started to giggle. I asked why, and she said, "Well, according to this he's going to be seven foot two and weigh three hundred and twelve pounds when he's eighteen."

That was in the days when they took birth weight and height and extrapolated using them as the base-line, and I think that may have been a bit hit-and-miss. But if I had let it worry me and tried to keep him from getting fat (he ate like a horse from day one and was always hungry, whilst being skinny from about age three) he'd have been constantly underfed for the first few years of his life.

At thirty-five he is six foot three and weighs about a hundred and ninety pounds, I think. Thereabouts; he may have gained a little weight this past year or so.

newyeardelurker · 09/09/2019 21:04

My DD was 98 centile and over 99.5 head circumference. She was overweight according to the bmi taken at school at 5, we got a letter telling us she was obese. She's 8 now, tall (but not tallest) and slim. We did watch her diet more after the letter and monitor her weight but I'm sure it was just the way she grew.

For the poster concerned about head measurements my GP at my 8 week check said the head circumference was probably just big at birth due to a long difficult labour.

Hope that helps.

notyourmummy · 09/09/2019 21:06

Don't worry @paintedfaces. Laddo was off the charts for length and weight at birth, by 2yo he was off the chart for height but 75th centile for weight, which is where he's stayed. Now aged 8, he's a skinny rake of a lad!

Bloatstoat · 09/09/2019 21:14

Another one who had a 98th centile height and weight baby - by 2 he'd dropped to 75th weight still 98th height, and he's still tall now as he's in 5-6 clothes at 3 but HV have never had a problem with his weight. I used to really worry as well but I think bigger children are just going to be high on height and weight centile. I now have a 6 month old who is 98th for weight, they haven't done length but she's bursting out of 12 month clothes, I'm not so worried this time!

funinthesun19 · 09/09/2019 21:14

Probablygreen
Aw I’m so sorry to hear that about your DS Flowers Hope everything goes ok.

Well, my dd is 50th for height and weight and 90th for head circumference. So I’m not sure if that’s a concern or not. I only found out this today after going to the baby clinic. She’s 11 months old.

Anontodayandfedup · 09/09/2019 21:26

Oh OP! Fear not!!

98thcentile for both weight AND height, means he is exactly the perfect weight for his height!

Even if he wasn't - all is still well!

My DS was 98th centile for weight (and 50th for height - so really quite 'overweight') from 3 months old til he was 2. He then started moving! He is 7 years old now and 40th centile for weight (and 50th for height! - so actually a little underweight!)

He needed food all the time as a little one. At 7 months old he actually ate a whole kids meal in a restaurant - fish fingers, potato and beans!! and ate the whole thing!!! He just had a huge appetite (and was even 98th centile while still exclusively breast fed!)

They change as they grow.

Give him healthy food and allow him to move when he reaches that stage. Pretty sure he'll be fine! I don't think you should worry about centiles til they are about 4 or 5. Reception/year 1 time is when you start to really notice who the tubbier kids are, and it's then that I think parents need to take positive action to monitor food and exercise ....

Fishbiscuits · 09/09/2019 21:30

I have a question. What if the weight and height is the same but the head circumference is higher? This is the case with my baby and I’m a bit concerned. Is this normal?

It’s fine and won’t even be questioned if everything else is ok, as far as I know. My dd1 had epilepsy when she was younger and the paediatric neurologist at the hospital did comment on her head size when she was being assessed for her development, as she is around 15th percentile for height and weight and her head was 95th percentile. They then measured DH and my heads and found I was 95th and he was 98th. They just put down in her notes that we are a large headed family.

BeanBag7 · 09/09/2019 21:33

He is only 10 months so another 14 month before you need to worry about it. Loss of babies that age are chunky but their body shape changes once they become active and re wlking/running round.

BeanBag7 · 09/09/2019 21:34

My DDs head circumference hasn't even been measured since birth Confused

Minxmumma · 09/09/2019 21:36

He's proportional so don't worry. I'd be in more of a flap if one measurement was 98th and the other 50th.

My dd who is nearly 3 still sits on the 98th, yes we're a lanky family, but also very active. She eats for england and looks like a bean pole and is wickedly healthy.

I tend to ignore the dreaded HV, they'd have a hissy fit if they saw my dd when we're camping. She us almost feral and it's gorgeous. All dirt, ginger curls and welly boots and she is never happier.

He'll even out as he grows. Keep an eye but don't overthink it.

Flicketyflack · 09/09/2019 21:46

My daughter was on this centile
She always looked larger than other babies at toddler groups
I am 6 feet tall
My husband is 6 ft 3
My daughter is now 15 and tall 5ft 7 and slim (size 8) with size 7 feet and still growing
Make sure your son eats well and by that I mean healthy food
He should be tall
Ignore any negative comments about his size Wink

NearlyGranny · 09/09/2019 22:11

DS had a massive head at birth, well so did his twin sister. At a 16 week scan their heads were big enough for the consultant to try to revise my dates but I knew and wouldn't budge.

He was on the 100th centile at birth and by 9 months had gone way above it and in fact reached the 50th centile for a 2yo.

My GP didn't think anything was wrong but said it would be wise to scan for hydrocephaly before the fontanelle closed. Finding was a healthy little boy with a big head and a big brain inside it.

All mine had big heads and so do my DH and I. There is loads of variation within normal.

DD 1 is under 5'6" and petite. When she graduated, she needed the smallest gown size and the biggest cap they had.

They all joke that we don't have foreheads in our family; we have five heads!

WellLetsSayHesSquare · 09/09/2019 22:57

Honestly don't worry. As long as the centiles for height and weight are around the same he will be fine. I spent half hour arguing with my Hv about my little boy being "severely underweight". She said she had serious concerns as he was only on the 2nd centile. She couldn't grasp that that was ok as his height is on the 0.2. He has growth disorder which means he will always be short and this means he will never weigh what his peers do.

Honestly. She couldn't grasp it. "But it says that by age two he should weigh between blah blah blah."

He is the size of a 9 month old you moron!

Sorry bit of a rant there

Op your boy sounds like he is perfectly in proportion to me.

Sceptre86 · 10/09/2019 06:49

Yabu but understandably so. My ds was 98% percentile for height and weight when he was born up till he was 15 months. Then he started teething went off food got poorly went off his milk and dropped his weight percentile to 75. He is 2 now and a very tall boy so may well go on to be as tall as his dad (6ft 2) however the main point I am trying to make 8s that they don't always stay on the same percentile forever, some kids go up and down. Try not to worry about stuff that is out of your control!

swingofthings · 10/09/2019 07:04

DS was 60cm at birth, ie. the average height of a 3 months old baby. Head circonference way outside the highest point. Weight was 75 percentile at birth but went out of the scale at 6 months. He weighted then the same than his sister had at 18 months!

The weight fell off by the time he started walking at 14 months and he was a normal weight child, put on a bit during 2ndary school. He is now 16, 6'3'' and normal weight, although could lose a few pounds. His head is totally normal size. I'm only 5'2''.

Nothing to worry about.

Spanneroo · 10/09/2019 07:48

DD1 was over the top line of the centile charts for weight until she was about 3.5, and still sits just above it for height at 5 and a quarter. She wears age 9 clothes and has size 2 feet. Her dad is the smallest of five children at 6 foot 6, and although I'm not tall, I have international rugby players on my side of the family. Some kids are enormous. That's how centiles work.

If height runs in your family, I wouldn't worry. Also, he's 10 months! A HELL of a lot will change in the next year and a bit!!!

AquaFaba · 10/09/2019 08:04

My DS was 59cm at birth (92nd percentile) but only 40th for weight.
Now aged almost 2, he is still 92nd percentile but 65th for weight.

Loves his food, especially meat, and very active. I’m 5ft7, DH is 6ft.

Booboostwo · 10/09/2019 08:26

The only thing to give you pause for thought in these measurements is the height. Height over the 97% centile MAY indicate a medical issue. Many young children who are that tall will be perfectly healthy but some will have rare endocrinal disorders, so this is the only thing I would ask my GP about. It would be just to exclude a rare possibility, rather than something to worry about.

This is an overview for clinicians:
www.aafp.org/afp/2008/0901/p597.html

As I said, these conditions are rare, and most tall children are just genetically tall, but there is no harm in asking the question of your GP.

I only know all this because my DD has a rare bone disease and diagnosis involved excluding some of these rare endocrinal conditions.

AMAM8916 · 10/09/2019 08:42

My son was 98th centile for height and around the same for weight until he was about 1 and a half. Now he is still 98th centile for height but is more like 50th centile for weight. He is tall and slender at almost 3.

Bare in mind your son will start to walk, run and be mobile soon so he will likely drop down the weight centiles

AMAM8916 · 10/09/2019 08:44

Just wanted to add that my husband is 6ft 5 so this is where my son will get his height from. Also, my fil is about 6ft 1 and my dad is about 6ft. All the males in both familys are tall

PseudoQuim · 10/09/2019 09:26

I haven't read the full thread, but I thought this might help.

My son was born at 91st percentile and quickly increased until he was literallynoff the chart for both height and weight (i.e. 99.9th percentile, the highest you can be). Height and weight were always in perfect proportion and his consultant (he had CMPA, severe GORD and DGE) was very happy with him and said he was "doing well". At 10 months he weighed 13.1kg Shock

He's now 2y4m and weighs 14kg! He is still tall, but very slim albeit solid. Height and weight are still perfectly proportional as he's just had his 2 year check and the HV was very happy with him. I think it's too soon to worry about your child as once they start walking everything changes!