Does anyone else have petite babies

[poppyseeds12]

Hello all,
My LG is nearly 11 months, very active crawling, pulling herself trying to stand but compared to other babies she's very lean and looks very long because of this. She's in the 8th percentile for weight and 61st percentile for height. I'm a FTM and worrying as she's not chunky like other babies I see, plus she's still not eating much meal wise and hoping this will change when she's goes to nursery.
She was also born on the 50th percentile so has dropped a bit.
So does anyone have smaller babies and feel the same when out and about? All the babies in my NCT group are huge

DD was petite. She weighed less than 6lb at birth, and was on the 2nd centile for ages. She has just turned 18, is 5'6" and has a BMI of about 22.

Please try not to worry.

My daughter was 9th centile for weight and 50th for height as a baby, she never had all those little rolls that you see on the stereotypical baby and I used to worry that she wasn't gaining weight properly but the health visitor reassured me that she was following her curve and meeting milestones which put my mind to rest.

She's 5 now and still petite but not much smaller than her peers so it does even out.

My son was about 10th weight and 50th height at that age. He’s nearly 5 now and about 20th for both so totally in proportion.
Is your dd healthy energetic and eating well? If so I’d just wait and see what happens.
My ds never had rolls of fat as a baby which was a bit odd but at 12-18mo the other chubby babies all thinned out and now he looks just like his friends.

My dd is 22 months, only just gone into 12-18 months clothes and wears a lot of dungarees and playsuits as waistbands are huge on her! Me and her dad were tiny as kids too though.

Yes my DS in 1 next week and is only tiny. I am only petite 4"11 size 6. My DS was born 5lb 14 and he has followed his growth line lovely , but only between the 2nd and 9th centile. Last week I took him to get him weighed and he had lost 2oz since his last weigh in 4weeks previous but the MW was not worried at all said it can be normal once in while ....I am I hasten to add have done nothing but worry

And have been advised not to weigh him again and wait fir his 12 month check as they will weigh him, but that has been another 4 week wait of worry until that comes round,and I won't not what to do if he has lost a bit again

He does not sit still he has been walking now for about a month, which makes things worse, as when he is toddling around everyone is so shocked at his age as he is only tiny height wise and not a big chubby baby like all the others. That everyone makes such a big deal about it.

There are babies in playgroup who are 6-7 months and chunkier and taller than him,I get so upset at everyone's reaction to him, but he is so switched on and happy. Some of the other mums even kind of scoff and laugh when I say he is nearly 1, I find that really rude

I am now stressing at how much he eats especially now it's time to look at reducing milk feeds, that worries me. Ian's no one really says what portion size their babies actually eat so I don't know what "normal" so to say.

0.4 for weight and 25th for height, healthy and happy.

Just remember that one in every 10 healthy babies will be 9th or below. She's doing fine and clearly has plenty of strength.

Sorry not Ian's ( he has nothing to do with it )I meant and no one says what portion there children eat, so I don't know what's "normal".
Sorry my previous post looks really long now...sorry

My daughter is 22 weeks.. she was 7lbs born and 53cm long... health visitor still keeps coming back because she dropped percentile but for a few months now carried on along just under the 8th percentile. She's on 4oz bottles 6 times a day and on baby porridge for breakfast. She weights juzt over 12lb .She's small but getting chunky. She's alert and doing everything she should and so happy. No body is the same size. We are all different and that goes for babies. It annoys me when the health professions tell how our babies should be... they are who they are and as long as they are well and eating and doing nappies then please don't won't. You are doing a fantastic job 😊

My LG was 2 weeks overdue and was 7lb 2oz. She's now 7 months and on the 25th percentile. I am so sensitive about her weight. Most bf babies I can remember being around were chunky things! It has really knocked my confidence with feeding. At 8 weeks she dropped a percentile, then recovered then 4 weeks ago stagnated afmgain and gas since recovered. She was also a sicky baby so I was constantly worried about her weight!

She was a little and often feeder but just lately is feeding for only a few minutes 4 ish times a day... when she does feed she is so distracted! She loves her solids though. There's a bit of reverse cycling going on as at the mo she feeds well overnight. But she's crawling and pulling herself up and is as bright as a button.

I'm still very sensitive about her size but I try and tell myself she is just a petite thing given her being overdue and still small. But I understand how you feel and just wanted to say as long as everything else is fine then try not to worry.

I struggle with clothes as she still fits into 3-6 months and also 6-9 months so have a huge surplus of clothes that were given to me. I know what you mean about waistbands some clothes are huge when you have a petite baby. Her Dad is 6'4 and I'm 5'6 so she'll be tall. I guess, I've never encountered small babies at all the groups I attend. Some of the babies I know are on the 90th percentile, however not sure I'd manage carrying a big baby around so it does have its advantages

My 11 year old wears 9 year old clothes and is smaller than my 9 year old. She was always behind in clothes and people used to say she looked like a doll.

I understand the whole waistband thing as his shorts and jeans are all massive round the waist. I think my DS is only 67cm now at nearly 1,they didn't put his length in at birth, I would have loved to have known.

The thing I find with clothes is that if you find vests that are long enough she wiggles her shoulders out the neck hole, or tops that are the right size don't fit over her head.

All my babies were slightly built & long, not chunky at all. They are now grown up & still long and skinny without a pick of fat on them.

@bourbonbiccy my DD is 1 at the end of next month and really just nibbles on her food and hardly putting away much during the day. I'm hoping when she's finally eating that she may go up a few percentiles or at least put a bit more weight on. Her weight gained slowed at about 4 months and it looked like she had finally settled on the 9th percentile only to drop a bit again. People are surprised also about her age, they often think she's younger. I think with your first it's hard, but a good friend of mine had small babies and by the time her second was born (also small) she's didn't worry one bit x

My daughter was born on the 50th line slowly dropped down to the 2nd she's now 9 and doing well although skinny. My 2nd is a bruiser and is going to over take her pretty soon 😂 don't worry too much

Also wondering how long until the following conversation stops happening
Stranger: how old?
Me: x months
Stranger: really? But she's so small
Me (silently): yes really, I remember when I gave birth and have noticed that she's small

Both of my DDs were small at birth (both just over 6lbs full term) and stayed as smaller babies. DD2 was still in newborn clothes at 3 months. They are both healthy, active children now - although definitely shorter than most of their peers. Neither I nor their dad aren’t tall though so I guess that explains it.

I know how you feel

My 17mth old is 9th percentile, tiny compared to all other local babies, and leggings are a pain in the ass. Still wearing several sizes down for those.

I used to be worried sick about size due to allergies and restricted diet, but they are super active, chatty and hitting all the targets so I've managed to scale back on the worrying.

My DS1 was 25th percentile for weight and 98th percentile for height at that age. He's now 12yo, still tall and skinny but very sporty and healthy.

My twin girls were 14 weeks early, and at 27.5 months old, are only 9.7kg (21lbs) and around 80cm tall...They are in 9-12 clothes, just about to start swapping to 12-18 stuff.

They are around the size of an average 1 year old, but are obviously more advanced with speech/motor skills.

It's very funny being out and about, as people think they are very advanced for "their age", but are obviously older than they look.

Dd is vey petite. She’s 19 months and 22lbs, hovering between 9th and 25th centile. She was 6lb11 when she was born and has never wavered from that line!

Agree it’s a total nightmare to buy clothes, she’s just about into 12-18 month clothes, but still fits into some 6-9 month tops with ease.

My only worry is that she’s so little compared to other similar-aged toddlers she does tend to get a bit squished at raucous toddler groups, but she holds her own mostly and I’m always there if needs be.

@Mermaid36 gosh 14 wks early so glad they are doing well and I'm sure they are keeping you on your toes "literally" 😂 X

poppyseeds12 oh yes, 2 toddlers is such fun... we still have one on oxygen, but it's only a trickle and she does everything her sister does, she doesn't know any different!
At least clothes last us ages with them being small!!

@Mermaid36 that's so true, I've ended up with so many clothes. I've got clothes for 12 months and beyond that's all packed away for now and yes clothes last ages. I found a lovely pair of pretty leggings a month or so back and was shocked how well they fitted as some of the 3-6 months leggings are big around the waist. Anyway, I finally found the label and they were 0-3 months! 🙈 really happy to hear about your gorgeous girls doing so well! Xx