Worried about baby's percentiles

[Anonymous]

My baby was born in 5% in both height and weight, therefore causing this first time mom to be very worried about his eating and growth. Do 'small at birth' babies typically stay at that percentile in the first year? Do other moms have experience of a small baby at birth but then growing to average or higher percentile? At what point did that occur -- 1 year? A few months?

[Anonymous]

I totally hear you. DD was born in the 2nd percentile and I was so worried about her those first several weeks. She is 2.5 now and in the 25th percentile - she got up to that pretty quickly, maybe within a couple of months? Follow your pediatrician's instructions on feeding. Our DD was very sleepy and our pediatrician had me wake her up to feed at certain intervals up to 4 months (I was nursing).

[Anonymous]

My babies were all born about 50th %ile, climbed sharply into the 80s or 90s, and then slimmed down by twelve-eighteen months. In my experience, the pediatrician is looking to be sure your child has adequate intake and that they stay on their growth curve, which means that they are gaining weight at an appropriate rate even if they’re small.

How old is your baby now? I mention my kids only because they’re born totally average and get big, so climbing the charts does happen, but some people are just small and that’s okay as long as they’re growing.

[Anonymous]

OP all my babies were this.

Two are now 6'4" and 6'2".

Mine grew a lot after 12 months.

Key is to keep seeing growth. Hitting milestones.

[Anonymous]

My third percentile baby has stayed third percentile

[Anonymous]

Someone has to be in the lower percentiles for size - that’s how numbers work. Why would it be bad if your child were healthy, happy, and small?

[Anonymous]

Mine was a preemie not on the charts until 3 months and stayed in the 6-10% range for weight and 10-15% range for height until age 3.

At 3.5 she has shot up to 50% height but is still a skinny kid at 8% weight. As others will say, as long as your child is growing, and not losing weight, it typically is not an issue at all. Enjoy your baby!

[Anonymous]

My older DD has been hovering around 5th percentiles for both height and weight since birth. She’s nearly 6 and is a healthy and happy Kindergartener. Our pediatrician always stressed that the most important things to watch were that she was hitting milestones appropriately and staying on her curve even if that curve was at the bottom of the chart.

I know it can be stressful, especially as a FTM. I got SO many comments from friends, family, even random strangers about how tiny DD was and how I needed to do this or that to “fix” the “problem”, and all it did was contribute to my PPA and PPD. Unless your pediatrician has concerns, try not to focus on it too much.

[Anonymous]

My daughter was in the 5th percentile at birth. She's bounced around a bit, but now at 15 years old is still around the 5th percentile. I'm not sure why that's a bad or worrisome thing? The pediatrician was always happy as long as she was staying on her growth curve.

[Anonymous]

I had a 5th percentile baby. She chunked up around 6 months but was always pretty short. Now at 6 she is 20th percentile in height and weight.
I’m guessing she’ll be on the petite side her whole life which is hilarious bc I am huge.

[Anonymous]

It's not worrisome as long as there is growth between well visits. Ask your pediatrician.
I had a 5th percentile for weight baby. Now 5 years old and still skinny, around 30th percentile for weight, but tall, so really looks like a string bean.

[Anonymous]

My 6' tall athletic teen was not even on the regular baby growth chart until 8 months. They eventually grow according to their genetic instructions, unless something major interferes.

[Anonymous]

It is actually less concerning if your baby is born at a low percentile and then stays on that curve than if they are dropping percentiles. Both my babies were normal birth weight but fell off the growth charts by 2 months due to allergies they later outgrew. Both were technically deemed failure to thrive until about 6 mos when feeding issues improved. It was super stressful with my first, but once she was holding the curve, my ped was not concerned even though she was 3rd percentile. She was always long too, so looked super scrawny for a while and it stressed me out.

She’s 3 now, a good eater with a narrow frame, so is 70th for height and 20th for weight. Never gets sick, very outgoing, ahead on milestones, etc., and it is hard for me to believe she was so scrawny at one point.

My son has followed a very similar trajectory and is 7th percentile for weight now.he never fell off the chart but has been between 3 and 10. Super easy and engaging baby with scrawny chicken legs and a big smile. I resolved this time I won’t worry til there’s a reason to do so bc I don’t want to be robbed of my joy when they’re little for such a short time. I know how hard that is on the first go but please do what you can to keep perspective. Everyone likes to see a fat happy baby. They are cute and we know they are getting plenty of nutrients. But it’s not the only path to healthy!

[Anonymous]

My first born hung out in the 15th/20th percentile for height and weight and my pediatrician when she was a baby. My pediatrician basically kept telling me that somebody has to be on the lower end of things that main thing to focus on is whether she's making consistent growth

[Anonymous]

mine shot up the charts from < 1% to ~50% in the first year or so - and she started making headway quickly after birth. But she had growth restriction in utero. you should talk to you pediatrician - they know your situation best. You are doing great.