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

My DS1 was and is light for height as it were!
He was born 25th for weight and 75th for height , dropped to the 5th centile quite rapidly ( and below by 12 weeks) and just stayed there. He is a rangy , lan man now and a great clothes horse but all through school I would get letters regarding his weight.he strongly takes after a branch of my family and once he added babyhood and was clearly going to stay that way I stopped worrying. As it happens he was always a great eater. My other children were and are resolutely 50th centile , verging on the sturdy!

Dd1 was 2 weeks over due and was 5lb 2
25 years later and she is six foot and a size 10

Dd2 was 2lb 13 and 10 weeks early, 22 years later and she is 5"5 size 6 but still has tiny feet.. size 1

Spooky I have just started a thread about my small baby.

He was born an average weight 7ibs 14oz, but is now only 13ibs (6 months) and is around the 0.4th centile.

After not being weighed for ages I am in panic mode after the HV recommended a paediatric referral, nice to hear off lots of other people with tiny babies. Everyone I know seems to have babies on the 95th Centile.

Ps, thinking about the school uniform thread, DS1 could kee clothes going for years. He had to have elasticatef waists/( and later belts) , and shorts were more successful than trousers but he kept his school shorts for the 4 years of juniors with no problem!so there can be unexpected advantages!

@Palendrominca we're seeing the Paediatrician/dietician however not related to weight as such because we thought she had CMPA after a bout of diarrhoea that lasted 3 wks - that's when she dropped just below the 9th. To be honest, it was good to see some professionals and discuss her weight and diet. Plus we requested blood tests as well and they agreed to check her iron/ vitamins levels/ blood count ect and they were all fine, so for peace of mind you actually may find it reassuring. Anyway, she doesn't have CMPA and I've been able to introduce dairy again which is great as I can put her back on a healthy high fat diet.

@Palendrominca forgot the say if you do get referred. They'll also measure babies length and head circumference, so you get the complete picture which we don't when just dropping in at weigh-ins. I think it's helpful to see everything in proportion, but of course we still worry it's in our DNA as mothers x

@poppyseeds12 that’s reassuring, glad your DD is doing well, I keep panicking that I should’ve got him weighed sooner, but he’s such a happy little soul and I thought he was just a little bit small, not dropping off the scale small!

My rational side keeps telling me that some babies are small and some babies are big, so don’t worry, and yet I worry. My friend has a 12 week old who is 3Ibs heavier than my 6 month old, i keep wanting to ask what the secret is!

DD spent the first 9 months clinging onto the 2nd percentile line but is now comfortably on the 9th centile at 15 months.

I feel guilty that my breastmilk obviously wasn't quite enough given that she has gone up a line since eating three meals a day.

I'd like to ask others what you do about pyjamas if your DC is tall and skinny like DD. Even pyjama bottoms in 9-12 months won't stay up on DD's skinny waist at 15 months. At the moment I'm buying footless sleepsuits but she won't be able to wear sleepsuits once she's potty training. Also footless sleepsuits are hard to find (and footed ones a trip hazard).

Daytime clothes, DD lives in dungarees, rompers and dresses so that waistbands aren't an issue.

We're off to France for a week in September so I'm hoping to find some narrower waist clothes there!

@Palendrominca please don't worry, the likelihood is that even if you got him weighed sooner he would of still dropped and it's unlikely the HV would recommend a referral at that point. It's probably more precautionary now than anything else, I'd take the opportunity of being referred as a general health and well-being check, plus it's an opportunity to ask any questions beyond what doctors can tell you

@INeedNewShoes you've got me thinking about clothes down the line now and because DD isn't walking yet - didn't think about footed PJ's being a trip hazard good point. Dresses and dungarees looks like the way forward. Be interesting to hear from others about clothes as you suggested x

@BumbleBerries yep, I have exactly the same thing. And every time someone new pops to our play group sessions, it's the same conversation again. I almost feel like I have a script now of the standard response, then the rest of the questions that follow.
@poppyseeds12 what a great thread to start, thank you it's good to know you're not on your own xx

@bourbonbiccy I get “Aw, he is so tiny, how old is he?” followed by the look of shock when he is considerably older than their baby.

Sorry for killing the thread. 🙈

I’ve updated my thread as well, but as you guys were really supportive (and understand my worries) thought I’d give a quick update here.

I took my son to the doctors today as the HV requested, the doctor was really good, weighed my son again on the same set as 2 weeks ago and he’d put on over 100g, so I was really pleased. We discussed the referral, but as there aren’t any other concerns about by DS we decided to keep with the original plan and get him weighed again on a few weeks to see how he’s getting on now he’s on both the ranitidine and solids.

Feeling much happier and relaxed, thanks guys.

I have tiny kids too, all at the very bottom of the charts (some kids are bound to be at the bottom though, just as some are bound to be at the top)! Mine were/are all in about 4 sizes below their actual age.

Mine just carried on wearing sleepsuits though, even when walking and when toilet training, I just undid them when they said they needed to go (or take them off when they first asked to go and then just get them dressed for the day).
Mine never seemed to trip/struggle walking in the sleepsuits (you can get some with sticky pads on the feet too).

My DD is now 3. Narrow little thing, dropped from 25th to 9th with CMPA in 1st year.

Never had fat rolls is now a wiry 3 year old and still in 9-12m shorts and wears 2-3 leggings as loose trousers. 12- 18s fit nicely as Capri length leggings - so mostly in narrow necked dresses as these work despite lack of width.

One tip with baby vests is get vest extenders (easiest found on cloth nappy type sites) which mean you can extend the life of vests so you don't constantly find naked toddler with hands in nappy...

@Palendrominca aw don't worry, it's great that you had your own thread.

So pleased to hear it went well at the docs! Actually great they have scales unlike my doctors when visited a while back 🙄
That's a good plan, I take my little one to be weighed every month still and she's approaching 1, however she's crawling all the time, I think her weight might slow again.
I'm sure all is fine, but if you do get referred in the end honestly don't worry, it's just extra support that's good and put your mind at rest. X

@randomsabreuse thanks for the tips about vest extenders, I didn't know that 👍🏻

DD was incredibly petite as a baby. She was 5th percentile and in the end I had to stop taking her to weigh ins as there were suggestions of failure to thrive etc. I knew she was healthy and full of beans and really thriving but she just seemed to be not much of a feeder. She has continued to be fine boned and petite and is now 16.

She is as strong as an ox, she is fit, healthy and full of life. She is still a tiny eater and is a size 6 and 5ft 8.

There have to be babies and children who are tiny & petite and who are on the low percentiles - otherwise the percentiles would have to change!!!! IYSWIM.

Gosh yes everyone wants huge babies because there's this weird belief that small babies look underfed or something?

My largest was 6lb12oz. Big enough thank you! Smallest was 5lb2 but he was a touch early. He's now the tallest in the family.

yes.. 13 month old DD is about 18lbs. Is on 9th line for height and weight, and still in some 6-9 month clothes! Eats like a machine though, and just never sits till so must be burning it all off!

Still fits in her fist size car seat with a handle so it makes getting out and about a bit easier - silver linings and all that!

I do worry about it though - neither my or her dad are small people, so I don t quite know how it's happened!

Hey there parents of small babies!

My two DDs were both tiny yet were on time (5lb11 and 6lb 4) and were just below 0.4th centile for weight. I totally sympathise as we too got lots of questions and comments verging on the rude (the delivering midwife actually asked me if I was one if those 'executive' ladies who worked all the time and never ate lunch when I was pregnant )

I also had a Gp referral by HV who told me I wasn't breastfeeding 'well enough' and risked my DDs mental development - but GP took one look at my alert, smiley, attempting to crawl baby and told me to disregard the HV and it was just a precaution. My babies were just small and they followed the small curve all through their weigh-ins.

The pros - they are much easier to pick up and clothes last ages.
Cons - finding uniform is a headache (age 3 school skirts anyone??) even at secondary yr7 the uniform dwarfed my youngest, first shoes were a nightmare too, one shop told me they don't make shoes size 1 as no-one that size is actually walking ... enter stage right toddling DD1, age 12 months and size 1 feet!! I still have the Startrite shoes we had to order specially ... soooo cute.

Anyway I am trying to say don't worry, my two DDs are teens now and tho DD2 is still petite (but growing taller) they both have figures to die for, slim, with the right curves and can eat anything. It all comes good in the end!

My dd was under six pounds when she was born, but 19 inches long. A very skinny bean. She remained below the growth scale until at least two years; I stopped paying attention to it. At one year, she was almost walking and weighed 13 pounds! Seriously 13 at her first birthday! She ate tiny amounts but wasn't a picky eater.

Today she's a senior in high school (US) and eats like an average person. I've included a picture of her at eight and one at 16. Until she hit puberty she was the tiniest skinny thing. She's still thin but has filled out.

I think as long as they eat and drink, eliminate and are active it's fine.

I should add that she was born on time and had no health issues!

Oh and I forgot to say that DD2, especially, never worries about being the smallest (& youngest, Aug birthday). She came out screaming and has never been one not to make herself heard!

As Shakespeare puts it
'And though she be but little, she is fierce'

Wow lovely mummies thanks for the replies, especially taking the time out to explain and it's great to see your little ones, not so little anymore 😍 all grown up and clearly nothing to worry about.
I was thinking my little girl will have lovely long legs and look sporty as she grows up. I actually found a picture of myself when I was 17 and I'm completely forgot that I was soooo skinny back then, my other half said I looked like I was a long distance runner, I wasn't though 😂 I was super active and rode horses loads in my younger years / teens.
Still slim today with some baby weight to lose, but I think my little one does take after me. Mind you here in the UK they keep talking about how children have become over weight in recent years so hopefully my little one will stay healthy and active xx