My two-year-old has stopped growing

[maximillion]

My two-year old daughter has only grown a few centimetres in the last year and not at all since her 2nd birthday in April (she is now 82cm). I have been worried about it for some time as I noticed she looked smaller than all the other kids her age in the nursery. Now even the younger ones are overtaking her in height!

I am 5ft 6 and partner is 5ft 10 so not exactly tiny. DS was 7lb 15 at birth so not particularly small baby either. DS doesn't have a huge appetite but eats a fairly balanced diet with a little bit of everything.

I have talked to the HV about it on numerous occasions but just got the usual flannel about 'all in her own time' etc etc. Finally last week she came round to the idea that all might not be rosy (as my DS is now disappearing off the growth chart) and has referred me to the hospital paedriatrician.

Whilst I am waiting for the appt to come through I wondered if anyone else has had a similar experience & any comfort to offer?

Sorry Maximillion I have no advice to offer, but just wanted to send you some good vibes at what must be a worrying time for you.

There are lots of people on MN who are full of good advice, I'm sure someone will be along soon who has something more constructive to say!

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My 2 year old hasn't put any weight on for months, he has had diarrhea since new years, he's got an appointment with the peadiatrician week after next. We think it may be coeliacs disease, which my younger sister also has. does your dd have any other symptoms?

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Hi happy1

My dd doesn't have any other symptoms and is very healthy and well-developed in other ways e.g. language and social skills. But she has never eaten very much and is quite picky, as I suppose most toddlers are. Anyway I am hoping that at least when the appoitnment comes through that they can reassure me that nothing is wrong. Hope all goes well for you and yours.

Do let us know how you get on, Maximillion.

FWIW, I too was very tiny as a child - don't have a growth progress chart from when I was young but my mum tells me I was always v. small for my age. I grew about 2 inches between the age of 12 and 18 - am now a grand total of 5'2" tall! Although my family aren't tall I'm the smallest by a long way. I have to say it has never bothered me or stopped me from doing anything. HTH.

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My ds put on only 1kg between 2 1/4y and 3 1/2y, yet continued to grow in height at a more-or-less consitent rate. Naturally he became very skinny! He has also always been a picky eater and perfectly healthy. With hindsight I put it down to the stress of having a new little sister, because his weight seemed to start going up again aroundabout the time that he and she started playing together. He put on a wopping 4kg in 5m and is now pretty much where you would have expected him to be had he put on weight consistently, without the hiccup.

Absolutely follow it up with paediatrics, but please also rest assured that it can be a perfectly normal phase.

It's the second time this has happened to my ds, the first being his first bout of teething at 8m, and that time the same thing happened, that he continuted growing and his weight caught up with him when the 'stress' was over.

As for being a picky eater, I was terribly bothered about my ds and got into all sorts of food fights (despite swearing that I never would! ), until dd started eating. When I compared the huge quantities that she eats with the tiny quantitities that her big brother eats, and they are both healthy and well-developed, then I realised that ds just has a small appetite and eats as much as he needs to eat.