Growth Issues

Remember the growth charts are based on the Average...not all children are average, and that is perfectly ok. Sometimes their bodies are just resting for a bit, you have to admit that for the last couple years he's been doing a LOT of growing and changing. Just wait and see! As long as he's acting normally and eating he is perfectly fine.

I would not place too much importance on growth charts. My older children were off the chart. My youngest is skinny, skinny and tall. Everyone is different and if he is healthy in all the other areas everything should be good. It is important to get things cleared up with the tests and I hope it all turns out good. He is probably a lot more active now then he was before.

I was wondering if one of the tests was for Celiac Disease. Celiac is an auto immune disease where the body rejects gluten. My daughter was tested for it at 3 yrs old. It has MANY symptoms which often makes it hard for doctors to diagnose. It's a simple blood test though. One of the symptoms is failure to grow. She grew 4 inches in one year after being on the gluten free diet.

I hope the tests come back okay. I think it's a great idea to do them just to check. The concern is that he has dropped two standard deviations. That's huge. We've been through many tests for lack of growth. If you run into anything you don't understand or need encouragement on, let me know. I'm glad to help. I'd be willing to bet, though, that in a few months, he'll be back to normal. I just can't even imagine a 3yo in the 95th percentile. My almost 3yo is barely on the weight charts on a good day and even he's heavy for all the snuggles he wants. Let us know how it turns out.

Even though average is preferable to extreme on size, the worrisome thing is how quickly it all changed.

Still, he's average, AND he's technically growing.

I would personally just measure him every three months, and as long as he's growing, I wouldn't give it another thought. Perhaps his siblings eat more high-calorie foods (like juice and chips) than he does, and he eats more fruit and vegetables than they do? That could easily explain the difference.

My son is ADHD so we have to watch his weight closely-his meds are an appetite supressant. He's never been a tank, so when he'd actually lost 3 lbs in 4 mos I was worried. The doc said to bulk him up, he'd need to increase his fat & protein intakes. We switched him to whole milk & every morning he got "chocolate milk" to start out his day. I bought the off-brand Carnation Instant breakfast & instead of the amount they recommend (it would be paste!) I put one scoop in his cup & mixed it up. It took 2 containers of CIB to get him back on track but he's actually started gaining weight. Make sure you're giving him plenty of fiber or juice to counteract the cheese effects, but start giving him string cheese for snacks (cheese doesn't stop my boys up but it does some people) & throw some extra PB on his PB&J.
Definitely still get him checked out though! The doc (jokingly) told me that if I didn't want him to get any taller, his weight loss was no big deal. So if he's not gaining weight, he's also not going to get taller so you need to get him back on track.
Good luck!!

Some kids taper off around three, I am surprised your Dr was very concerned, as long as they are growing mine has never been one to be too concerned. My daughter does spurts in a month then won't show any progress for another year! She is going on 8 and now just growing a little more. She has always been petite and under 25 percentile and there has never been a concern. She finally just now grew 1 and a half inches in less then three months and that was HUGE for her, it wiped her out! :) My son on the other hand seems to constantly be growing.
All kids are varied, 50 percentile means he is right in the middle so I see no reason for concern.
If he did not grow in the year then worry. Kids start doing things in longer spurts after toddlerhood. So he isn't 95 percentile, I wouldn't worry.
My son is HUGE for his age, I see him very much in the next year or so just kind of hanging and not shooting up anymore as we just don't have tall people in our family. However if I were to go by statistics with his growth already he will be 6'3~! Don't worry, as long as kids are healthy, full of energy, sleeping and eating well it isn't a biggie.

All children grow at different rates so this may be something as simple as he will have a big growth spurt soon. My son just experienced a growth spurt where he shot up about 3 inches in just a couple months and he is 4.

It is good to do the tests, just to be sure it is not a problem, but try to think positive.

Have a GREAT day!

S.

I just took my boys for their well check-ups, they are 8, 6 & 4. The older two are in the 90th percentile and proportionate for height and weight (tall & thin). The doctor was a little surprised that the youngest was below the 50th since they look like stair steps of each other, but not concerned because he is growing and gaining weight just not at the same rate as his brothers. He's the picky eater though and really takes his time. Even when we go to McDonalds and the other boys are done eating and playing, he'll just sit there and take his time until he's done. The doctor said that's actually healthy because he's listening to his body for indications of when he's full. (I could learn from him) :) I had a friend whose little boy dropped off the chart and wasn't gaining weight, then I would be concerned. 50th percentile is still pretty average and I wouldn't worry about it. Good luck!