Is there anybody out there?!......With a smaller than average baby?

[Babydaze]

My dd is 8 mths and weighs a petit 12lb 4oz. Took her to Baby Clinic yesterday & they asked me to make an appt with the doc re. her being small. So I did that. The doctor said not to worry & has referred her to a paediatrication. I'm sure I can't be the only one with a lo. But feels it at the mo.

I love the comment about the red book going in the bin,I wish I had, had the guts to do that rather than worrying all the time and getting in a rut. I wonder if my biggest problem was being a first time mum in my 30's (I had a little boy who died 3 1/2 hours after he was born) the worry and terrible fear that there was going to be something going wrong with this new bundle of joy, and very little support. At a time when a midwife/HV could have really helped me I felt as though I was under scrutiny and not feeding my baby enough. I'm only thankful that my GP was so supportive, I don't know how I would have coped without him.

Ah that is so sad Angelmummy. I have absolutely no idea how that must have felt. Everyones worst nightmare I think. That must have been awful.

Babydaze. Yes, my first two were very tiny. DS1 didn't even get onto the centile chart (and still isn't) - was dairy intolerant too which didn't help and DD was on the 0.4th (bottom) line. DS1 now 9 years hasn't even hit 3 stone yet! And it was very annoying (and still is) how people go on about how small they are. DH and I are both tiny and how many times did I say to the 'professionals' "Errrr, look at the parents!!!" Strangely enough baby no 3 is not small and seems huge! (he isn't - he's on the 50th line ie middle) perfectly average but everyone goes on about how 'huge' he is compared to the other two! I can't win!!!!

DD here born below 0.4 centile (IUGR) at 4 lbs 9 oz. so know what it is like to have a tiny one ! At 12 months now she has progressed up the centiles a fair bit (between 9 and 25 centile now) and is just 19 lbs so still on the small side although not tiny.

I have one friend with a ds the same sort of age who has a big thing about dd being small and her ds being big (although actually I would say he is about average) but always goes on and on about it as if its a mark of greatness (being big !). Having had an extremely worrying pregnancy where, at times, we wondered if she would make it, I couldn't care less where she is on the centiles as long as she is growing and healthy so please try not to worry and at least if you see the paed you can rule out anything actually being wrong and then just rejoice in the positives !!

Have just bought my DD a cute t-shirt with 'SMALL BUT PERFECT' written on it. That says it all!

my dd was born on the 5oth centile at 7lb and 14 oz-she has dropped down to the 9th centile. She is tiny-and I have been very worried about her. I have a great health visitor who assured me that she looked great and was meeting all her milestones. Her theory was that she is genetically destined to be petite-she was born on a centile she didn't belong on and has spent her first year readjusting.
If your dd is otherwise fine try not to worry too much x

ds 15half months old weighs 20lb, has food intolerances/allergies so hasnt helped and hes never happy hence still seeing paed

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my little girl is nearly 8. a paediatrician told me-after doing some tests etc-that she has delayed bone growth.this means her bones are 2 yrs behind her age-if that makes any sense?!anyway, he also told me that when her friends stop growing at 16,she will carry on growing until she's 18 which could mean she'll be taller than any of them! her younger brother - year between them - towered above her until recently and her younger sister - 2 years between them - is almost her height. only thing she complained about was last year when she was in year 2 and her sister was in reception..."the teachers keep pushing me into "(sister's name)'s class" and I have to keep telling them i'm not a baby."!!!

At 8 mths my dd (now 3.4y) was 12lbs 13 oz, dd was also very small heightwise, if both centiles re the same then that is less of a worry than height and weight being very different centile wise
My dd has a genetic condition (noonan syndrome) which causes her to be very small, not to worry you, some babies are very small, after all some have to be for centiles to work at all.
But my dd was considered extremely small even with her condition, so well worth getting an overview from a paediatrician to set your mind at ease
And yes the benefits, clothes wear, they look like a baby for longer, they do not break your back carrying them, prams are lighter to push.
If your dd is bright alert, happy, eating regularly and normally, and developing normally, then you have sod all to worry about really

at 3.4 dd is 88cms and 12.4 kgs or about 25lbs.
And she is perfect in every single way

DD is on about the 9th percentile... at 4y+3m she is the same height as the girl next door who is only 2y+8m. I have these moments of thinking she might have Turner's syndrome (not that it would matter), but there's a very strong history in DH's family of children who were very small for age until mid-puberty & then they sprouted up & overtook their peers, but I think DD will be fine if she ends up as a small adult, too.

my ds is only on 2nd %ile & has been called back to see doc in 6 mnonths as he's concerned. Thing is, we feed him well, offer wide variety of different foods. He just doesn't eat loads, sometimes well, other times nothing at all. You can take a horse to water.....
I'm trying not to worry & just wait to see what doc says next visit.

Please try not to worry (easier said that done I know). You just do your best &be glad they're looking after you.

My mil is only 4'10", I'm 5'2" & dh is 5'6", so I can't say it's a huge shock to have a small child. Are you & dh big or small?

hi

my dd was born on due date she was 7lb 11. almost as soon as she was born though her weight started dropping she was bringing all her feeds back at first even breast so we put her on formula to see if it would fatten her up, nut that just made her worse! we tried a few more and finally found omneo comfort which seemed to work!

she has never gone up in the amount of milk though like babes r supposed too, she is 1 on fri and she still only drinks 4 - 5 ozs of milk she only weighs 17lb and she won't sleep through the night she is still waking for at least one feed coz she doesn't get enough in the day!

she too has been referred to ped and had blood tests and a sweat test done which seem to be ok(haven't heard yet, get results next visit, though i'm sure they would have rang if anything serious!)

she is only just getting her top front teeth which doesn't help with the feeding!

she is eating porridge or weetabix with full fat milk now
soup for lunch (if she will take it)
and whatever we have for tea (cottage pie e.t.c)again this is only if she will take it!
i try to give her snacks in between too like cheese or yogurt just to get the calcium in her really!

i'm at my wits end! its so furstrating but she is developing well for her age and is always happy. i have to agree with ernest i am only 5"2 my dh is 5"8 so i suppose this could be it!

my DD1 was only 6 12 born although she had no other problems and has developed well (now 8)
my DS was a whopping 10 3 he too had tummy problems and lost a little but then gained steadily not like DD2 i had steriods at 29 wks with him coz they were worried i would have him early but he then came on time i think that is what made him so big!

ds was born on 98th centile, he is now on 9th at age 4 1/2. But it's just the way he is - he's very slight, and a bit under average height, so I'm not worried. (Obviously was, but am reconciled to it now , especially since forgetting to look in the red book so frequently....)

I like that Piffle! Ta.

Have any of you had the hv do home visits to weigh baby? They asked me to take dd every 2 wks to clinic to be weighed.(I usually go about once a mth but didn't this time due to illness & being away)Then I had phone calls from the hv saying when would I be in so they could call to weigh baby. So I thought, they're def checking up on me!Maybe I'm just a bit paranoid. Do or did any of you attend clinic that often? And if you don't go, do the hvs hunt you down?!

babydaze-my hv who is fab came out to weigh my baby they wanted to weigh her every month to see if she would follow a centile and stop dropping. She used to come to my home as this was more convenient for me and she is nice like that.
Don't be paranoid they are probably trying to make it easier for you as they want to monitor her so closely.

Ds1 was born well over the 50th at 8lb 4oz - steadily over time, he put on weight but dropped to the 9th centile. There he stayed from about 9 months till I'm not sure when - he has just been weighed at school (he is just coming up to 5) and he's gone back up to the 25th.

He's always been a small eater, like me - I was like a little sparrow when I was a child too but now I'm a healthy 5'6 and size 10.

I have a teeny tiny DT1. She's a few days shy of 2 and is in 12month clothes. She's never been above the 9th percentile. They like to keep a close eye to be sure that they are eating, growing etc etc as others have said. As long as her growth is consistent then all will be well. DT1 I think is going to remain weeny for a fair while. DT2 on the otherhand is growing for England lol

when pregnant midwife concerned about small bump had low birthweight baby but healthy stayed on same centile as yours both weight and height she is 2 and still in 12 18 month clothes she has a healthy appetite and dr not worried about her growth as it is consistent although she is short she is a right little pudding she is just going to be petite i do get fed up with people commenting on how small she is

I know what you mean Nulnulcat. A Mum that I bump into at the school usually comes over to me for a nose at DD then shouts around the playground " She's the same size! That Baby doesn't grow!" I always reply loudly "She is growing, just slowly" I just cringe when she does that. Next time she does it, I must smack her with my pram!

one mum was really pissing me off so i just looked at her rather large child and said really sympathetically ah bless she will never be a ballet dancer will she!! that soon shut her up!

and when i was pregnant the people that accused me of not eating coz i had a small bump! including the midwife wouldnt have minded except i was eating for 4 never mind 2!!

Society is too too obcessed with SIZE & WEIGHT. The media is bombarding us with the likes of: Make Me Perfect LOL. They want to turn us (& our babies) into robots. We will not conform. We must rebel..... Of course, I'm already perfect.'