Anyone's baby not grown properly but it's all been ok in the end?

[GeckoPerson]

I'm looking for some reassurance about my baby's growth here, if anyone has any. My little girl, R, is now 5.5 months old. She is happy, chats a lot, constantly wriggling, and (importantly) chunky. But her growth has not been following the curves.

She was born on the 9th centile for length and the 25th for weight. Her length was ok, dropped slightly then maintained for a few measures. Her weight did not follow the curves; the HV weighs her every month, and she's now between 9th and 2nd lines. But she maintained the same curve from month 4 to month 5, so the HV cancelled the dietician referral, and said she thinks she is just small.

I was looking at her a couple of nights ago, and realised she doesn't seem to be outgrowing her 3-6 month clothes. So i stuck together a couple of A3 sheets, and her Dad and I measured her. I put a hand on her head, to hold her still, thrn gently but fully stretched out her leg. Dad quickly marked her crown and heel. I'm confident it was a true measure. She was last measured by HV at 4 month, so 6 weeks ago. She has grown 4mm in that time. Is there any way that this can be not a worry? She is now on the 0.4 centile for length. And i think her nappies are looser than they were so I'm not confident about her weight gain either (but she still has rubber band wrists and chubby legs).

The HV will be back in 2 weeks. Should I be worried about this until then, or is this normal? Thanks 😊

Ah, I remember the days of worrying about a baby's size and weight! It's hard. If you've got a concern, call your HV and ask for a referral to a paediatrician, OP.

My baby was referred to check her growth, and it was reassuring to have her checked over. They did a urine test and looked her over. All was fine, she remained quite small until recently (she's 9) and she's just taken a spurt and is now normal height (although slim, but that's fine).

It's very hard to check a baby's length accurately, I found. Being just a little off makes a big difference to what centile you get.

As a baby, my DC dropped right down the chart for weight until about 6 months old. The height curve went up and down and I think some of the checks must have been off. I was more worried about the weight. It was incredibly stressful and there were a bunch of tricky issues like reflux and a posterior tongue tie. We never quite got to the bottom of it though. We had to work really hard with feeding and had lots of checks.

After the baby started sitting and eating some solids, things gradually righted themselves. DC is now fine, with a slight build but totally within normal ranges. A very healthy and active kid.

Is there somewhere you can go to see the health visitor sooner, rather than having to wait for their next visit? It is always worth asking about if you are worried and two weeks is a long time to wait when you are concerned.