Small toddler - will she grow

[Worried3000]

Hi, I was just wondering if anyone had any reassuring stories. My 2 year old is very small for her age (0.4 centile for weight and height). She was a reflux baby and has never eaten much. At first her height was better relative to her weight so we weren't so worried but now her height has slowed too. She isn't really growing. She has had loads of tests and they haven't found anything wrong yet. Me and her dad are quite tall so generically the doctors wouldn't expect her to be little, it seems to be because she doesn't eat enough. We've seen dieticians etc and do everything they suggest so I am not really after advice about that.

I was hoping for stories of kids like her who eventually started eating and growing and maybe had a growth spurt later on and ended up a more average height. I know some people are just small but I feel like that isn't the case for my daughter. Anyone??

Who has advised you it's because she doesn't eat enough ?

That's the doctors working hypothesis at the moment because all the other tests have come back negative so far. She doesn't eat very much really but not terrible, So I don't know if that's it or not.

No one? 😔

My daughter was tiny. She was still in 3-6 month clothes at 12 months. She had lots of tests too which ruled out some of the possible reasons. She had feeding issues due to allergies and reflux. She started school in an age 3 uniform and that was big on her. She was the smallest in her class by a noticable amount. 3 years later she is the 2nd tallest and totall missed out wearing age 6-7 clothes jumping from 4-5 to 7-8.

Her growth spurt coincided with when she started sleeping better and eating more, which led to mor energy for playing outside. She's quite athletic now and wouldn't be singled out as unusual in any way.

Hope that reassures you a bit.

I think it's hard to judge when they're only toddlers. DS was tiny when we got him at 9 months and he had quite long period of not eating very much but at around 11 yrs old he shot up. Now he's 14 and about average height for a man, so likely to be quite tall eventually if he grows another few inches. We don't know what his birth father's height is but his birth mother is quite short so we thought he would be too, especially as he started out very small, so it was a bit of a surprise when he suddenly shot up.

My DD was 8lb 2oz at birth but on the 2nd centile by 12 months of age, and investigated over the following year for poor weight gain/growth. She was a skinny tiny toddler/preschooler. She was always the smallest in her year all through school and up to puberty and then started to catch up around 15. By adulthood she was 5ft 5, a size 10, and at age 26 remains a healthy, strong, fit and hour-glass shaped woman. It's hard not to worry, but please, don't worry.

@PanannyPanoo @Hellhath @BlackAmericanoNoSugar Thank you so much for your reassuring replies. It has really helped me. Of course we will still keep checking if there is another reason behind it but if not then I will hold onto your stories with hope.

Both my DDs were tiny as babies, toddlers and young children, always wore clothes several sizes smaller than they were.

DD1 had a terrible appetite and eating habits, she also had severe reflux and constipation issues, she's now 14, and just suddenly changed around 12, she's now 5ft 5, in size 6 clothes so I think she'll always be slim but she's always hungry!

If medical issues have been ruled out try not to worry, I'm much more relaxed about DD2 as she's now 9 and although she's still very small compared to her peers I can see the she's starting to grow.

My friend was tiny at school, by y7 she was literally a foot smaller than I was, and very skinny. She was eventually diagnosed with coeliac disease which was a contributory factor, but she did catch up by her late teens and is now 5'7" (still very slim).

Thank you @TillyTheTiger @UncomfortableSilence that is really reassuring

It is so hard not to worry isn't it. Coeliac has already been ruled out (although I assume it could also develop later on). But I will try hard not to worry

Was she born small?

If she's not dropped more than 2 percentile lines since birth I was told not to worry about it.

If she's dropped more then that's potentially a concern as it possible she's not getting enough nutrition.

In answer to your question about personal experience. My parents are of aveeage height (mum 5ft 6in, Dad 5ft 7in). Despite being premature and having a lot of surgery as a toddler I was tallest girl in my class until I was 12 then I stopped growing (5ft 2 inch) and my friends continued. I was one of the shortest by the time I left school.

My husband had the opposite. He was smallest boy in his class until he was 16. His brother is two years younger and on photos he towers above my DH until he was 14. Then he stopped growing (5ft 10) and my husband carried on. He's now 6ft 2inch. His parents are both shorter than his brother.

I guess my point is that children grow at different speeds. Also the genetics of height are not linear so although two tall parents are more likely to have offspring who grow tall it's not necessarily the case.

My eldest hasn't grown much since he was 3, he's now 7 but many of his clothes are size 3-4 or 4-5. But on height and weight charts he is in proportion. My youngest is 4 and almost as tall as his brother. I used to worry but I'm now just presuming they'll be similar to my DH and BIL.

Thanks @MummyBear2352. She was born a bit small but has got relatively smaller, yes gone down a couple of major centile lines which triggered the doctors appointments. That's reassuring to know about how it's worked out in your family, thank you

Hi op, you probably know about it already, but have you had a look at the child growth foundation website - that has lots of info and looks as though they have a phone helpline as well.

Are you seeing docs at a hospital clinic - it sounds as though you are from your op? What are yours and your dh's heights - have the docs calculated whether dd's is in the expected range (which by the way is very wide - wider than people usually think!) for those parental heights?

What tests has she had? I ask as my DS wasn’t growing and by the age of 2 he dropped to 0.4 too and we got him referred to an endocrinologist where he had tests which included an MRI and he was found to have an abnormality in his pituitary. Was commenced on growth hormone and took a few years to catch up with his peers. Interestingly as he started growing he started eating. Don’t be palmed off , we are a very tall family and we knew something wasn’t right.

DS was born at a fairly average weight and length, but was on the second centile for weight and fourth for height (or maybe the other way around?)

He was very skinny and easily smallest in his year at school. As an August baby, he started school aged just 4 wearing age 2-3 uniform.

After moving to secondary he started to fill out to the extent I had to buy plus fit trousers for him, especially frustrating the I couldn’t use the trouser turn downs as he always needed the next size to fit his increasing girth.

Suddenly, in the last year, he has grown about 3 inches and slimmed down and could now buy him regular fit trousers. He is almost 15, and about 5’2”

DH is 5’6” tall, i’m 5’7”, my dad was 6’2”, my brother is 6’3” so still hoping he grows some more

Mine we tiny, at 2 they could still wear 3-6 months dungarees! Both of them so obviously just the way my kids grow, slowly. Dd1 is now an inch shorter than me, (age 20) her younger sister is also probably fully grown but a bit shorter

Thanks everyone. I appreciate your replies.

@aweedropofsancerre that's interesting no she hasn't had an mri. The consultant is still insisting it's because she doesn't eat enough. But are you saying that your DS also didn't eat much? But that the eating wasn't the problem, more of a symptom?

Worried3000 exactly. My DS was small and hadn’t changed shoe size for 2yrs and didn’t well at all. My OH was very clear that their was something not right and pushed for tests. We also did have other kids to compare to and they are all tall and were 99th centile and remain so. I remember the consultant saying two tall adults one small child it’s just one of those things. My OH studied genetics and they both had a very fierce conversation about that statement. Anyway tests done and treatment started. It may not be he case for your little one but if she is already having tests I would be pushing to ensure they are not missing something. People don’t understand growth hormone issues and simply put it down to one of those things. However hormones are really important and not just for growth. My DS is on daily injection and thyroxine and is being monitored every 4 maths as he goes through puberty to ensure he doesn’t need assistance with that too. Hopefully for your little one it isn’t this but worth checking.

Have you asked for a referral to a dietician? There are milks and shakes etc specifically for children who can't or don't eat much due to health issues.