Another 'small' baby/toddler one

[ToshTosh]

DS has been sitting pretty between the 25th and 9th percentile lines since he was around 1 month old.

He was EBF and is now doing well with his food (most of the time) whilst still BF at bed time. He is consistently gaining along his curve and growing out of his clothes. He is 14 months old and quite nicely fits into 12-18 clothes (they are sometimes loose but the length is fine). He is very active, walking and climbing every where too.

I have been paranoid about him being small previously and managed to shrug it off. However, today at a local toddler group a group of women commented on how small he was. One of them even said ' You're kidding, I thought he was only 9 months!', after stating his age.

What is the obsession with babies/children being big or being higher up on the percentile chart? It is damaging. So many I know worry about it, because for some reason it seems to have negative connotations (you must not feed your baby enough, your milk supply is low etc). Some babies and children are average, some are big and some are small. DS is healthy and happy and I focus on this when the worries come along.

Just wondering if anyone can relate I suppose. All my babies are on leaner side, I guess it's genetics!

Babies are born bigger now than they used to be, that in conjunction with childhood obesity (these kids often grow up before going out) and I think a lot of people expect everyone to have whoppers.

Well he sounds perfect.stop worrying mama and ignore silly comments perhaps have a comeback such as 'lucky we are all different ey?'

If it makes you feel any better my 3 year old wears 18-24 months m. Do I care? Nope because my child eats well and hits thier miletosnes

People like to have weird brags about their children being big. Especially boys IME. For some reason the phrase that really irritates me is “he’s such a little chunk” “oh he’s a right chunk!” Also “Oh he loves his food he’s such a big boy!” Etc 🙄 often followed by “oh he’ll be a rugby player like his daddy!” when they’re literally talking about an 8 month old or something. I don’t know why it annoys me so much but it does. I suppose it’s that people act like it’s some sort of achievement?

Just ignore them OP. Nobody really cares. It’s just something for people to talk about.

@Chaosx3x I know, I just find it weird and I think they caught me a on a bad (sleep deprived) day 😅

My DD is very slim, 9th centile for weight but 50th for height. As a family we were all slight children and slim adults.

I've been on the receiving end of similar comments and it's really annoying.

x

Coming late to this but found it after looking for assurance/advice. My DD is almost 18 months old. She was born 2.9 kg and was quite thin but also long — 25th centile for weight, 75th centile for length! She’s always been petite/slim but was combination fed, still loves to BF and also eats well (demonstrates healthy appetite at meal times and loves cows milk). But I’m also conscious of the same looks/comments about her build vs her age. She was never a chubby baby but always followed her curve. Also she still wears a lot of her old baby clothes — some body suits for 6-9 months and lots of things that 9-12 months still fit her!! This perhaps gives me more anxiety than the other stuff because it makes me a bit sad when I’m shopping for her, I want to feel like she’s progressing but when the 12-18 mo sizes look massive it makes me wonder whether the other mothers know something I don’t.

Have you had her weighed and measured recently? Even if she followed her curve as a baby, they can jump up or down centile as they grow. It might be worth a quick check by the HV, even if its just to put your mind at rest.

Lots of parents are overweight, produce big babies, overfeed them because they don't know any better and end up with fat kids. The last thing you want is a baby on the 99th centile, unless your life ambition for your child is "type 2 diabetes". Ignore them (or give them some version of the above if you're really pissed off).

I used to ger this. My 7 yr old is now 25th centile for weight and height. We dont get comments anymore. I think my fuck off face is strong though.