Small 1 year old… really worried and had enough of comments!

[anotherworriedmum123]

I’m so worried about my 1 year old, mostly because everyone… and I mean everyone who meets her takes great pleasure in telling my how tiny she is. It’s really starting to affect me.

She has just turned one, weighs 9.2kg and is 69/70cm for length. She has been this length for months. Peads not worried about her length and she’s gaining weight.

She is breastfed and is allergic to dairy and soy. She has started the milk ladder and is tolerating soy through my breast milk.
Because she is breastfed I feel responsible for her ‘small’ size.

She is a good eater but doesn’t eat a huge amount. For example-

Breakfast- small bowl of ready brek with oat milk and chia seeds with a fruit pouch mixed in or crumpets with flora and marmite and fruit.
Lunch- a small ham sandwich with veg sticks and houmous or some sort of egg and toast, will just mainly pick at this.
Dinner- whatever we are having so meat/fish with pasta/potatoes and veg, again- doesn’t eat a huge amount just picks.
Snacks- DF yogurt, fruit pouch, coconut rolls, cheerios, veggie straws, whatever she fancies at the time.

She still breastfeeds throughout the day and overnight.

I feel like I’m constantly under pressure to make her ‘bigger’ and if she doesn’t eat much I feel literally sick with stress.

She is hitting all her milestones, I think it’s the comments of people, it’s literally everyone who meets her, everyone is shocked that she is 1. I’m just getting really upset now :(

My ds was in 6-9 month clothes at 1 and weighed 19 lb on his 2nd birthday.

He’s 6ft now. One year he just shot up through three clothes sizes.

As long as your LO is healthy, and paeds are happy with her growth, i don’t think you should worry xx

Thanks so much.
Theres a follow up appointment whenever that comes through, so i am praying there is some difference in her length.
Im shocked because my son is 4 and he huge, he’s honestly and I’m not even kidding up to my chest already he is MASSIVE. Then I’ve got this tiny baby and I see peoples faces when I tell them her age. I was so upset the other day I told someone she was 6 months :(

Hi Op, my DD was like this. She is TINY - at age 6, she could still fit in 3-4yo clothes. I saw GP after GP, but they said she was fine… she was finally diagnosed with coeliac disease at age 7. I would always trust your instincts. We were palmed off with a toddler’s diarrhoea diagnosis for years, alongside her petite stature (which I know now is indicative of CD). Does she have any other symptoms? Yes, some kids can be small but if you don’t feel it’s normal, push for a blood test.

’Symptoms’ in general- severe reflux from
birth which got better when I removed dairy and soy from my diet. She has been seen from the first fit team and she had some unusual movements and has recently had her 2nd eeg; sandifers syndrome was mentioned- like really bad reflux?
Her poos are normal and she can eat wheat etc. I don’t know much about celiac but I will look. Thank you x

To be honest if doctors aren't worried then I wouldn't. Some kids are small, some are huge. (5 foot 2 mum, married to a 6 foot 3 husband, with a 5 foot 6 11 year old!)

My eldest was tiny, and like a pp in age 6 - 9 month clothes at 1 years old. She was always behind 1 dress size as she moved into older clothes until she reached 10 and suddenly she was in her age clothes.
Don’t listen to other people, everyone has an opinion on everything these days.

People are just making conversation, DD was a giant baby and 5ft 10 at 12 years old, her best friend was older and a tiny baby and about a foot and a half bit shorter. They have both always had comments - particularly if together but it is just that.

You are ofcourse sensitive to it as she's your baby and you are probably worried about her with her food intolerances but if she is eating a varied diet even if not alot and she is hitting her milestones and not lethargic - or is getting help for symptoms then there is no need to worry. She won't stay the size she is forever, she will grow but on her terms

I have a daughter with multiple food allergies and severe reflux. She's 4 and only just gone into 2-3 clothes and still fits in some 1-1.5 y clothes!

I don't get comments about her height but I do get looks for relief when I tell people her age when she's the same size as their 2 year olds but clearly much more advanced than them!

She was only just in 6-9 month clothes at 12 months and less than 8kg. I can't remember how long she was. She's now 25-35th percentile for weight and 2nd percentile for height so she looks sturdy. She's under paeds and dieticians for her allergies and reflux. They are happy with her size she was on the 25th for length at 1 but dropped to the 1st by 2. She is slow moved closer to the 2nd percentile and is now sometimes just over. She had a few extra measurements when she dropped to the first to check she wasn't still dropping but they are happy she's following her lines. It does put her on the edge of overweight at times but they don't seem concerned about that. Her diet is already so restricted with allergies reflux, tooth damage from reflux and toddler diarrhoea I don't think they would want to make any further changes!

My daughter was really tall. She was 5ft 7 at 11 years old. She hasn’t grown since!

I understand people are just making conversation, it’s just hurtful when people say it and keep going on and on! People will say things like ‘oh god! One! I thought she was 6 months, she’s so tiny, my child was double her size’ with a certain look on their faces. Others have said nicer comments like ‘she’s just like a little doll she’s so petite how lovely’. It’s just the way people say things. I would never say, oh your baby is so fat 🤣.

why people even feel the need to comment on her size is crazy. Just tell me she’s cute and carry on!

It will get easier once she's walking and talking and more obvious that she's older.
My daughter is the same size as my friends little boy who's 18 months younger, she's growing at a similar rate as him but it's quite clear she's older.

Some people just want to say something. There was a thread on here not long ago with tall babies who got the opposite comments - how big they are, are you sure they are only 1 they are bigger than my 2yo, shouldn't they be walking and talking now? No they are only 6 months old. That sort of thing

When I was pregnant I was always told how big my bump was but when measured it was only on the 10th percentile. People have poor points for reference too!

My DD is 16 months and wears 9-12 months. She's just gone into these and T 12 months was definitely in 6-9 clothes.

I used to worry all the time about her, especially as my son was a chunk, but I've stopped now as she's meeting her milestones and seems very happy!

People comment and I have become used to it. I'd rather have a little one than a big heavy one to carry on my hip anyway :-)

Don't worry if she's producing dirty nappies and is active.

Every child is different. I had a friend who had 3 dc all of whom started on the 90% centile, and by a year were under the 25% centile. Just the way her dc grew.

People will comment whatever. I had with dd2 "isn't she tiny?" She wasn't. She was 6:14 when born and grew entirely proportionally to how she was born. She was just skinny and tall - and still is in her 20s! She just looked like an older child that was small, if that makes sense. She got a lot of the "like a little doll" comments as a baby. But she was never small - she's been 75% centile or taller all the way up for height.

I remember a doctor making comments on how tiny ds was. He wasn't ever tiny, although he was only 25% centile, he grew along the lines and now is dead on 50% and may or may not grow some more (amount he's eating looks like he might be about to grow).

Just say "yes, she's perfect" and ignore them.

I was just going to add that I had a friend who had boy twins. One took after their 6'4 rugby playing dad, and the other took after their petite 5'1 mum. When I knew them one was literally double the weight of the other, and no one ever guessed they were twins.
Same parents different genetics coming out.