I am concerning my 9 month old has been in the 25th percentile in weight since he has been born. My ped. doesn't seem to think it's a problem....he was check for anemia today and he is perfect. Should I be concerned? He takes formula and eats baby food and table food. I feed him 3 meals a day and snacks.....is there anything I can do to help him gain? should I change anything?
Thank you everyone for the responses! Yes he has been in the 25th pecentile since birth....so he is constant. I guess you guys are right he is just gonna be a little guy! THank you again!!
My great nephew is a tiny little thing--he's not even ON the charts. But he's healthy and happy and it's not a big deal.
If he's eating well and stopping when he's full, that's a good thing. We should all be so wise. :)
The key isn't where they are on the chart, but that they don't change too much too fast up or down. 25% is totally healthy. As for the first poster, my kids are and have always been in the 90-95th for weight .. and are not fat... : )
Don't worry about it! My child is the same way and I worried but now I'm not worried. If your son is healthy and eating enough formula, then don't worry. :) And don't change anything. Everything seems to be fine.
As long as he is following a curve he is perfectly normal. I'd be concerned if he had moved down in the percentiles, but since he's always been in the 25% he's fine. My two older boys have always been on the small side of the curve but they always followed their own curve.
I know it's hard, but try not to worry. Not everyone can be in the 50%, or any other, percentile. That's why there's a range. Someone has to be in the 25%. Of course this doesn't mean he'll always be on the small side. My 16yo now measures in the 50% for height, but he still seems shorter than most of his friends who are the same age.
A big plus...he's on the chart. My third child was not even on the chart (small) from about 6 months to 18 months.
Your son is doing fine, and I don't think you need to change a thing. The point of growth charts is to measure a trend, not individual points in time. The doc looks at the trend and evaluates from there. Since your son has always been at the 25th percentile, that is his trend. You don't need to be concerned unless there is a sharp change one way or the other, and that change continues. Some kids are just tiny, and there's nothing wrong with that :) Something else to consider is that growth charts don't take into consideration the parents' body types or family history, which can play a big role in the way your child develops physically.
My brother was always in the 10-25%. He is now a TALL, skinny college kid. As long as the blood work is normal I wouldn't worry. You could try adjusting his fat intake. Example if he's getting 2% milk try whole. If he eats adult type yogurts, try Yo-baby.
M.
I would tend to agree with your pedi. If your child is thriving, growing and healthy by all other accounts, I wouldn't worry too much about it.
Keep doing what you are doing and your child will continue to grow up healthy and strong:)
Those growth charts only used to make sure that your child stays on/around the same curve. It would be a concern if he went from the 75% to the 25% or the opposite happens.
I have a friend that has had two children in the 10%. BOTH of them run around like crazy, eat till they are full (which includes good fats like avacados), drink plenty of whole milk, breast fed, all in all very healthy children. There is just a family history of bean poles. Unless your child was lethargic, not eating, and not gaining weight, I wouldn't worry.
My son is the opposite. CHUNKY as all get out, tall, hardly eats, but still runs around like crazy. Every baby is different and will always be that way.
The percentile chart is mostly to track gaining, losing, or abnormal loss or gain of things. I wouldn't worry to much.
I hate those percentile charts and I hate even more when other moms brag about what percentile their child is in...as if to imply their child is somehow better than mine or someone elses. The charts, from my personal understanding, are based on national averages of formula fed babies. My babies were breastfed, so naturally they did not rank very high compared to those national averages. My ped was never concerned and never made me feel the need to be concerned because they always gained weight and got taller....and they were happy babies as well ~ All good indicators that I was doing everything right. In fact, I always told my ped not to tell me what the percentile was...just tell me that my baby is growing nicely. That is all that matters to me. Your baby is only 9 months old. He's growing and will continue to grow. Stuffing him with foods or snacks that he doesn't need just because you are concerned will or could likely result in having an overweight child in time. I don't know about the area which you live in, but I am seeing a lot of fat babies and children. It's horribly sad! What ever happened to just allowing a child to eat and drink when they are hungry and thirsty? I see so many posts on this site asking for help to put their babies/children on a feeding schedule. I can only speak for myself here but I have always fed my babies when they were hungry...not because I thought they were too thin. Don't change anything you are doing UNLESS your ped specifically encourages it. You don't want an overweight/obese child in the future.
Has he been in that percentile range since birth? If so, no need to worry. He is probably just a smaller kiddo. If he was in the upper percentiles and took a severe drop, then I would be concerned. Our first ranges from 4th -12th, but that is HIS normal.
4 kids here, 2 girls, 2 boys, one of each at the top of the chart, one of each at the bottom or under the curve. All are "normal" height and weight now. My pediatrician scolded me for not feeding my last one better, he was so small he was diagnosed with failure to thrive. He's now 14 yo, 5'7" and still skinny but healthy. My daughter whose growth line barely landed her at 5;-0" is now 5'-4". Personally, I think they should throw away those percentile charts.
He's fine. I know a lot of moms brag about their babies being in the 95% percentile for weight - you know what that means? They have the fattest babies. As a young child, I doubt any parent would be thrilled to know that only 5% of the population is fatter than their child but when it comes to infants parents get all kinds of nutty over this. (I should add that both of my boys, as infants, were also in the 95th percentile)
He's healthy and he's thriving and 25% is not a bad thing! If there are 100 babies 9 months of age and they line them up from lightest to heaviest, it basically means that your son is 25th in line. He's a little lighter than average but that is no need for concern. I doubt he needs to gain an ounce, especially of the pediatrician isn't worried.
The main thing is that your son is growing at a consistent rate. Meaning, he didn't *start* in the 97% and is now in the 25% That would be a little concerning.
He may just be a more 'petite' child. But I wouldn't worry....I'm sure he'll be eating you out of house and home by the time he's 12 ;o)
The question really is, is he following his pattern? If so, then don't worry. My DD has always been small and at 18 mo. the pediatrician looked at me and said, "We might be seeing genetic predisposition here." I was so small that when I was 4 my parents had me evaluated for growth disorders, but I was just small. My daughter is trending the same way. BUT she is staying on her growth curve and she IS growing and developing. I wouldn't focus on the %tile. I would focus on if he's growing and meeting his milestones. He'll be fine as long as he's making progress. The percentile is just where he relates to other kids his age. It just means that he's bigger than some, and smaller than others.
He's perfect just the way he is. If the ped is not concerned then you have absolutely nothing to worry about. My son was always tall but in the 30% for weight. It was consistent throughout so there was no need for concern. Today is is still skinny and tall. Everyone's got their own body type. It would be different if he started out at 100% and then made a sudden drop to 25% but that's not the case. Sit back and relax, he's perfect.
As long as he is staying consistant on his own growth curve and not dropping down I wouldn't worry. My DS even dropped at one point from 75% to 25% and once he hit two he is back up to 50%-75% and perfectly healthy. I am not a huge fan of the "charts". These are based on what the norm is for society at whatever given time. As we see, our society is becoming bigger and bigger every year, more 7 more overweight/obese and obesity is even a growing problem in babies and toddlers. So just because the national averages are rising it may place your perfectly proportioned and healthy child in a low percentage....as long as they gain weight and grow on a upwards curve (not losing weight) then I think it is just right .
he is fine mine is in the upper 95% and has been since 6 months old and he is not fat just short. yours may be thicker and just taller. he will eat when he is hungry now if he was 2 and 60lbs I might worry. but mine is 2 and 39lbs
My youngest son has been in the 50% for height and 25% for weight consistently since he was born. Like others have mentioned, our doctor has always said that as long as he is growing consistently he's fine. Also look at your family. I'm very short and thin. My husband is very tall and weighs what he should. Our youngest son seems to be taking after me. If your pediatrician isn't concerned and your son is eating fine, I wouldn't worry. Enjoy your healthy baby. :)
I wouldnt worry about that.....once they dip below (gosh I forget the percentage) but like 15% or something, then they get concerned if something else could be wrong. The key is being consistant...if he was in teh 60% last time and then dipped down to 20% then they would raise an eyebrow....your guy may just be a little one when he gets older...doesnt mean there is anything wrong...just means he may be smaller than some other kids his age.
To gain weight, keep up the high fat food...and let him eat his heart out....he may dip even further down once he starts walking..mine did.
My two daughters were always in the lower than 5th %ile. My son was always over 95%.
I now have a very normal 5'3" 115# 15 year old, and another very thin, 5'4" 100# (on a good day) 13 yo.
They caught up and some day your's will too. :o)
He doesn't need to gain and you should not change anything.
You don't have anything to worry about. Most of the time, a baby will stay around the same percentile for years and the only time there's a medical concern is if they start dropping in % and there may be some concern about a consistent amount of development. If they are gaining/growing steady it's all good.
