DS - 9th percentile: too small?

[Thaleia]

Hi,

My DS is in perfect porportion, being on the 9th for both weight and length @ 16 weeks.

However, I am a bit worried about his length. Both my husband and I aren't the tallest people with 5.7 and 5.10 but looking at the chart for our son, at the moment, he'll only be 5.6 when he's grown up.

As with every family we have tall people (lots) and short people (mainly my husbands dad and brother, the rest of his family is tall too).

If a boy starts out to be small, will he be "forever" small?

Thanks, Thali

My eldest was around the 9th percentile for height most of his childhood - he was off the bottom of the chart for weight - he was a very small, even skinnier child who could eat for england! Now he's 18 and is still slim but is now just a shade under six feet tall.

At this age you really don't need to worry. It's far, far too early to tell. Have him measured regularly and see if he follows his growth curve.

Neither you nor your husband are particularly tall, so no matter how much you wish it is unlikely that your children will be much taller.

My daughter is being investigated for growth hormone deficiency, but she started out above the 90th centile and is now well below the 10th at the age of 3. She's in 18-24 month clothes and is very small for her genetic height - I'm 5ft 10 and my husband is 6ft, and I'm by far the shortest in my family.

But your husband isn’t super tall and your child will be what he will be. Get over the heightism and enjoy being a mum!