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Behaviour/development

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Original poster

Length and weight - should centiles be the same?

17 replies

Benjaminsmummy · 20/05/2004 12:47

DS is nearly 6 months and is long and thin.

His weight is on the 9th centile and has been for most of his life (birthweight was 2nd centile).

At his 8 week check he was 50th centile for length - he doesn't get his length measured again until his 8 month check but as other people often say he looks long, I decided to measure him and he seems to be on the 91st centile for length.

As his weight is fine and he is lovely and healthy I'm not worried about his length (except for wondering when he'll be taller than me - I'm only 5 foot 4) but was interested in whether there are any other babies/children like him?

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prettycandles · 20/05/2004 14:58

Length is very difficult to measure accurately in the first few months until the baby 'straightens out'. My ds apparently shrank 7cm between birth and his 8week check-up! He was obviously fairly bog-standard size at birth, fitting neatly into the Newborn size clothes, although at 8lb7oz everyone said he would go straight into the 0-3m sizes. Until he was about 2yo his height was on the 91st centile, and his weight varied between 50th-75th. Similarly dd's lenght centile has always been 'greater' than her weight centile, and she went straight into 0-3m clothing.

These centiles are certainly interesting, but can lead to a lot of grief for mothers, IMO and IMExperience.

Marina · 20/05/2004 15:06

Benjaminsmummy, we own a piece of string who is on the 20th centile for weight and the 92nd for height. Cue pursed lips from HV at her 9 month check...maybe they thought we'd been stretching her on a rack or something.
Like your little man she is healthy, with rounded limbs and bonny cheeks - just on the slender side as far as body is concerned. How I wish I was...
Ds was also on the long side (25/75 at nine months) and he is now strictly average for nearly five. You don't necessarily have a 6'6"-er in the making!

BlossomHill · 20/05/2004 18:43

My 6 year old son funnily enough had his School Nurse check yesterday and came out 91st centile (125.5cm) for height and 91st for weight (25 kilos). He has always been on the 91st centile since birth (for both) and apparently it's good thing if the 2 are the same.
I always used to worry that my son would turn out obese as he was quite a chubby baby but he is absolutely fine and as my dad is 6'4" and my husband is almost 6' it makes sense.

SofiaAmes · 21/05/2004 00:27

At 6 months my dd was 50th percentile in weight and so long that she was off the chart for length. A little odd as I am 5'4" and my dh is 5'11" so both of us are very average and there is really no one particulalry tall in either of our families.

colinsmommy · 21/05/2004 00:31

My son has always been in the 95th centile for height, and fluxuates in weight. When he was 6 mo, he was in the 95th centile for height and dropped to 45th for weight. Dr. said nothing to worry about. He just had 9 mo. checkup 2 days ago and went to 60th centile for weight. I was happy, but Dr. said it really didn't mean anything, and would have been fine if he had stayed in 45th.

californiagirl · 21/05/2004 16:54

At birth, we were told DD was 50th centile for weight, 75th for height. At her two month check-in we were told she had been 25th and 50th but was now 50th and 75th. (I looked it up on the charts. Truth is, she was between 25th and 50th and is now solidly at or above 50th, and much the same for height)
Apparently I was the same way, and am now average height and rather plump. But long-legged.

Piffleoffagus · 21/05/2004 16:58

hv's get less panic stricken about babes if the height and weight are same centile
my dd is 25th for height 75th for head and well below the 0.4 for weight...
They stress... I don't!!!

SofiaAmes · 22/05/2004 00:46

At my ds's 2.5 year check the hv seemd very concerned that he was above the 50th percentile for weight and below it for height. Despite my pointing out that there were no tall people in my family and that ds ate a very healthy mediterranean diet, she seemed ready to put him on the rack and stretch him. I'm not quite sure how else she thought I was supposed to rectify this "anomoly" in his growth patterns.

Levanna · 22/05/2004 21:31

My DD (2yrs) is around the 75th centile for height and about half an inch under the lowest centile for weight. According to paediactric consultant (AND ME! ) she's absolutely fine .

Tommy · 22/05/2004 21:38

My DS1 is on 91st for height and about 75th for weight - nothing wrong with him - he's just tall (really tall compared to his mate who's the same age and on the 9th for height!)

Posey · 22/05/2004 21:40

Same here! Dd is, and always has been, tall and slim with a big head. Ds looks like he's heading the same. Just like their father. If your ds is healthy and thriving, then don't worry about it.

zebra · 23/05/2004 20:21

I'm sort of surprised... If only because my kids have almost never had their length measured, at all. I thought that they almost never bothered in UK. Do they do it more nowadays? The only definite time I remember either had length measured... DS was 2yo and came up as 7th %tile for weight, 25th for height (HV only measured height because I was curious and asked!). HV looked perturbed, but all I could think was "BFD!", I have better things to worry about!

Snowbell · 23/05/2004 21:12

My DD, 2.5 yrs, is on 99th centile for weight and nearly 91st for height. Both HV and GP have said they think she looks fine. She is much broader across the back than other toddlers. It's just the way she's growing right now.

dinosaur · 24/05/2004 12:44

This reply has been withdrawn

This has been withdrawn by MNHQ at the poster's request.

lindsay7777 · 28/05/2004 20:33

DS was 98 centile for height and weight (both) at birth, and now (9 months) he is 91 centile for height, and has steadily dropped to 50 centile for weight. HV said not to worry as he's extremely active (obviously burning it off).

If there are tall and skinny adults, I don't see why there can't be tall skinny babies, as long as your DS doesn't look or seem malnourished I really wouldn't worry.

wiltshire · 29/05/2004 02:17

My HV measured my DS (8 months)and made it 66.5cms. The visit before (1 month) was 70cms. Me & hubby made it 72 from top to heel.

God knows who is right but I really don't believe that there is anything wrong with my DS.

Also I asked my HV when it was ok to take my DS swimming as per his injections. She told me to ring the swimming pool and ask what their policy was.

After telling her that I thought that she ought to know this sort of stuff, I made up my mind that I would not visit these people again as I think that they are (in my own words):-

a bunch of arseholes who are telling people less aware than me a load of crap

Rant over.

wiltshire · 29/05/2004 02:21

Sorry, but have to refresh this, can you imagine phoning the Swimming Pool to get some young person training as a receptionist. AND then asking them when it is safe to take your little one in the pool. NO I didn't think so either. I am very pissed off with HV's (And there were more than one in the clinic).

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