My child is tiny!!

[Chazzi]

My gorgeous DD is 20 months old, and she is tiny.
She wears 9-12 month clothes still, some with room to grow.
I keep thinking she's grown a little bit but I think I'm kidding myself. I weighed her today and she's like 18lbs and then I checked her height and it's 78cm.

She was born small, between the 2nd and 9th percentile, but me, DH and DS are probably all on the slightly taller side of average so we were not expecting a miniature DD.

She's wonderful, clever, saying loads of words, sociable, moved well etc, just absolutely tiny.

I think the calculator I used online today says she's 1st percentile!

Anyone else have similar?

My DC have always worn clothes a few sizes below their actual age. DD is 7 now and a big mixture. Her school pinafores are age 7 for length but the other day she was happily wearing an age 3-4 tshirt that still fitted fine.

DS is 9 and most of his stuff is about age 7.

Neither of them are particularly small though. Shorter than some in their classes but not tiny. When DD had her year 1 measurements she was 50th centile for height and weight.

I've never had clothing for either of them that's lasted less than 2 years.

Both of mine have been small, I'm only 5ft3 though and DH isn't tall so to be expected. DD7 is only just in the right size clothes for her age, she's always been a couple of years behind and then had a growth spurt a few months ago. DS3 has only just gone into age 2-3 clothes and he still fits in some 12-18 month tops.

My DD was born small. Then dropped down the centiles. She is and was perfectly healthy but remained small for many years. At age 8 and in Y4 she has suddenly caught up and is now taller than many of her peers. She is still slim tho and I caught her wearing a dress age 4 the other day. Of course it was more of a top, but she could still get in it because she is slim!!

If a HCP has checked over and said they are fine then I would try not to worry

I was small as a kid and no one realised I had coeliac disease and was malnourished. I still feel pissed off about it

Yep my DD turned 2 last month and still fits in a fair few 9-12!! Mostly 12-18 but a lot still come up big on her. My son was always small for his age too and is still on the smaller side but not by loads any more (4 years old and in 3-4 clothes)

My dgs is small, so is his dm. However European clothes tend to fit him for his age as opposed to UK clothes that seem to be designed for big for their age dc.
I think the UK are more used to dc being big.
I was the second smallest in class until I hit 13 then I shot up.

Dd was exactly the same .
Born on the 2nd centile and was in tiny clothes much younger than her age for years !
Dh had to buy tiny baby clothes so we could dress her the day after she was born as everything swamped her.
She's 19 now and 5'5,a healthy weight for her height although only just as she's a very petite frame still.
It's just how she's built!
When she was a baby I did really get upset as every day someone would comment on how tiny she was but she was healthy, happy but small!
She's never eaten a huge volume of food from birth to adulthood but she's gorgeous as I'm sure your dd is .

I know I should stop worrying, but it's hard not to.

But you haven’t worried enough to get her checked?

We've never taken her to the GP because no one has ever said we should.

That worries me. You need telling?

My dd was also very little but was under a dietician and our GP monitoring her regularly. It turned out that she was just small built but I can’t imagine not having her checked.

What!

My daughter is tiny too. She has been under paeds and dietician since 4 months due to multiple food allergies and severe reflux which has been reassuring.
She was 9th percentile for weight and 25th for length as a newborn. Once I started removing allergens from my diet she jumped to the 25th-50th percentile for weight and stayed on the 25th percentile for length. Although there is a large error in length measurements. She was measured at 15 months 4cms shorter than she was at 14 months! Some time between 15 and 24 months she her grow slowed and she tumbled down to the 1st percentile. She was in 9-12 months clothes for over a year! We had a few extra measurements in the months afterwards to make she was growing and not actively dropping. She stayed on the 1st percentile until 3 then moved to the 2nd percentile. The charts change at 4 and she's now on the 4th percentile. She is 4.5 now and on trousers and long sleeved tops is starting to outgrow 2-3 clothes but in short sleeved tops is still in 18-24 months!
Her weight is brilliant by comparison and still 25-50th percentile. I was concerned that this at its extreme was on the verge of overweight but was reassured by the doctors that she didn't look overweight and as she doesn't eat well and has a very limited diet they didn't want to mess around. Currently she's closer to the 25th percentile and 4th percentile for height her BMI is around the 70-80th which makes me feel better.

The hardest part has been the transition from toddler to child. We had to delay potty training until she fitted into the smallest knickers I could find. Non poppered vests were tricky to find post potty training too. She started school at 4 and a few weeks and the first set of 2-3 uniform I bought her from m and s was massive and still doesn't fit her 6 months later. Lucky 2-3.in Sainsbury's was smaller and just about fitted.

It might be worth giving your HV a call and asking to arrange a length and weight check. Just to make sure under 2 it's length and not height and there is a few cm discrepancy between the two measurements.

DS was comfortably in his 12-18 month shorts three summers running till he was 4.

My youngest was tiny as a baby and is small as an adult. Perfectly formed, very cute and loves being small

Ive got a boy who goes through phases of being skinny, he has fit small sizes sometimes but they are old clothes he's actually kind of stretched / loosened. It could be she's not as tiny as you think if she's on old joggers, for example, that are 9-12 months :)

I’m sure she’s fine.

If there were any concerns the health visitor would have likely picked up on it.

Is she developing well in other areas and in line with kids similar age to her?

If you are worried then take her to the gp. But it could be that she’s petite.

My son was born at 6lb and had to be born early due to restricted growth issues. I was forever in and out of hospital. He's now nearly 9 and still small for his age. He used to be in clothes 2-3 years younger but now he's in clothes 1 year younger. It's definitely been a worry but he's a happy and healthy boy.

My DD (6) is on the 2nd centile - born on the 50th. She has always had a tiny appetite from birth. Even now she will have 10 pieces of pasta and feel stuffed.

School nurse highlighted her height and weight. We've had investigations under GP for all things - blood tests to make sure she isn't malnourished and growth hormone tests. She's just tiny. I am 5 ft 3 and DP 6 ft. It took a while for us to accept she'd never finish a plate of food and would rather graze.

Sorry forgot to add! I never buy DD clothes because she has outgrown them - instead they are tatty. We don't have to buy new uniform every year either. It caused some anxiety in the early years but she has loads of energy and bright as a button, just in a small form

My DD was very similar weights to what the OP has mentioned, and I've never gotten her checked out by a GP for her weight! She's just small. She's reaching all her milestones. She's heading for 3 now and weighs just over 10kg.

I would take her to rule out allergies etc. But take a look at her holistically, energy levels, academic, socially, emotional skills etc. Are they in range for her age. Bar any SEN. Does she eat a wide variety of food? Despite the world getting taller and heavier, the little ladies of this world do still exist 👋🏻 ha ha. Me included overweight as pregnant atm. But I'm definitely a pixie 😊. Complete contrast to my mum and sister though genetics like to keep us on our toes. My baby scans both showed short femurs on my kids. And they are nearly as tall as me aged 6 and 9! So it's a complete ballgame!

@Chazzi this is my eldest DD completely - she's now 3years and 7 months and is a dinky dot. She was born at 37 weeks + 5 days and weighed a tiny 5lbs 3ozs - we'd been told she'd stopped growing and was born with umbilical cord around her neck. She is an amazing little lady though, her speech and language is fantastic and always has been. She still has 6 monthly growth checks at the hospital, they've suggested that they may do some blood tests to check her hormone levels at the next one. She is starting to accelerate in growth - just at a much smaller pace than her peers. I've recently given birth (4 months ago) to her baby sister who was a whopping 9lbs 5ozs!! Blown our minds to go from a teeny baby to a big one! We tell ourselves that our eldest is perfect as she is - most of my side of the family are small! As long as she is happy and healthy try and not let it worry you, I know that's easier said than done as I've had people comment on my daughter's petite size her whole life! It drove me mad at first!! I still can't imagine her starting school in September as she's so little but I know she'll thrive and is so ready for it. Sorry this is a rambling response!

It's hard not to worry. As parents we do that a lot. My daughter was 6lb born and was very slow gaining weight. She also wasn't a big eater so I worried lots. But as others have said some children are just smaller. My daughter is 20 now, full of energy and life but still petite at 5ft1 with size 3.5 feet!

So take her to the GP?

A 20 month old wearing 9-12 month clothes is very very very small. She needs to be checked over as something doesn’t sound right. There are plenty of growth disorders that don’t affect intellect or motor skills, so her speech milestones etc don’t really prove anything.

Whaaaat?

Holy moly!!!

My DD is little too. She was born 3lbs 9oz at 36 weeks (IUGR). She started reception last September and is the shortest in her class, but bonus is her clothes last a lot longer!

Just checked back on her stats and she was 78cm at 20 months too but weighed 22lbs.

Yes. My son is 3 and a half and in 9-12 months trousers and 12-18m jumpers - he’s always been small but proportional. I don’t have concerns but it can be difficult when people think he’s much younger than he is although I think he uses it to his advantage (I’m just over 5’ tall and do the same sometimes!)