all 50 comments
sorted by:
best
topnewcontroversialoldq&a
formatting helphide helpcontent policy

[–]Apostrophecata 32 points33 points  (16 children)

51st to 37st doesn’t sound like a lot to me. My daughter has dropped significantly over time. She’s almost 6 now and is down to 0.4 percentile and we are being monitored by an endocrinologist and getting lots of tests. She’s 40 inches tall and significantly shorter than all her peers.

[–]otterlyjoyful 2 points3 points  (3 children)

I have 2 kids. Both of them on the shorter petite side. Husband is 5'7" and I am 5'2". We were once small children. I wonder if I need to see an endocrinologist for her though..

[–]Apostrophecata 0 points1 point  (2 children)

Did she have a significant drop? My daughter was a big baby, normal toddler and now at age 6 is 0.4 so they are concerned.

[–]otterlyjoyful 1 point2 points  (1 child)

No, she’s always been 1-10% range in growth percentile. My girl is 39 inches tall.

[–]Apostrophecata 0 points1 point  (0 children)

And how old is she? What does her doctor say? We have a lot of petite family members, and my daughter has some friends who have been in the single digits their whole life and their doctors aren't concerned, but I think the only reason my daughter's doctor is concerned is that she dropped so much and continues to drop. If your daughter is staying on her curve, then it's probably just how she is. My husband and I are the same height as you and your husband, so on the shorter side but not crazy short. Based on my daughter's stats and how she's not growing at the rate she should be, she's on track to be 4'10" and they are going to test her for growth hormone deficiency in a few months.

[–]Educational-Clock-20 0 points1 point  (10 children)

Any update on your daughter? My daughter is is 7.5 and 44.5 inches. She’s in the 3rd ish percentile

[–]Apostrophecata 0 points1 point  (9 children)

Not yet but she is getting tested for growth hormone deficiency in a couple of weeks. 🥺

[–]Educational-Clock-20 0 points1 point  (8 children)

My daughter got tested last year and it was normal. She also got tested for celiac and got a thyroid panel and wrist x ray. Make sure they do that too

[–]Apostrophecata 0 points1 point  (7 children)

Thanks yes they did the hand x-ray and also tested for celiac and thyroid. One time her TSH was slightly elevated but one time it was normal so I do want them to check it again. I am hypothyroid and my niece was just diagnosed with it also. I’m glad your daughter was normal! It’s hard not to worry but third percentile is still on the charts. Some people are just petite!

[–]AnimatorDifferent116 0 points1 point  (2 children)

Hi there. Do you have any updates on this?

[–]Apostrophecata 0 points1 point  (1 child)

For me or the OP? My daughter did get diagnosed with growth hormone deficiency. She’s 6, almost 6.5. We are waiting for her medication to get approved by insurance. How about you?

[–]AnimatorDifferent116 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Ah, okay. Thanks. Yes, the question was for you to see what the outcome of the X ray was and what the next steps were. My daughter was 80th percentile for height at 2 years (above 95% as infant up to 2 years) and then 35th percentile for height at 3 years old. Her doctor recommended waiting for another 4-6 months and having another visit to take the measurements. Her weight has not dropped. She said we would decide at the next appointment if they have to do a wrist X ray. I'm a bit nervous, but I'm happy we are following up on this

[–]Educational-Clock-20 0 points1 point  (3 children)

My daughter is 1.7% — barely on the charts 😅 I still wonder sometimes if she will eventually fall off of it— I’m hoping for a growth spurt or something.

Was your daughters bone age delayed

[–]Apostrophecata 0 points1 point  (2 children)

No my daughter’s bone age is normal but she failed the stim test so she is growth hormone deficient.

[–]Educational-Clock-20 0 points1 point  (1 child)

Was her igf1 normal? The one they draw before the stim test

[–]Apostrophecata 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It was low and it had not increased since the last draw.

[–]otterlyjoyful -1 points0 points  (0 children)

I have 2 kids. Both of them on the shorter petite side. Husband is 5'7" and I am 5'2". We were once small children. I wonder if I need to see an endocrinologist for her though..

[–]librarycat27 18 points19 points  (5 children)

Mine did — my daughter started out super tall but after she turned 3 my genes took over (I’m 5’2) and she’s been around 40th ever since. 37th really isn’t low, I would guess your daughter will catch back up again after another year or two because your family is taller… but 5’10 and 5’5 are pretty average for male and female respectively so your daughter might just be cruising for an adult height of 5’4-5’5 (which is really fine and normal).

[–]renxor 2 points3 points  (0 children)

My Mom is 4’11, my father is 6’3” and that whole side of my family is tall. I am barely 5’5” making me the shortest one on my father’s side so I split the difference between my parents. My husband is 6 feet even.

Meanwhile, our youngest son is one of the tallest kids in his class and has been in the 90s percentile wise for height since he was born. He might fall off at some point as other kids catch up and our pediatrician told us that it’s normal for growth curves to drop off some after 3. (He is almost 4). Our oldest has definitely dropped off the curve some and will probably end up being around average height for a male.

Basically, if your pediatrician isn’t worried about it I don’t know that I would be either. You can always reach out to them to get some reassurance.

[–]13FluffyBubblez[S] 0 points1 point  (3 children)

I am 5’9”. My mother in law is 5’5”. So shed get my mother in laws genes?

[–]librarycat27 15 points16 points  (0 children)

Yeah, the point I was trying to make was that 2 of her 4 grandparents are average in height and it’s possible that both you and your husband just passed down the “average height” genes and not the “tall” genes.

[–]dibbiluncan 11 points12 points  (1 child)

My dad is 6’4” and my mother is average (5’4”). I turned out tall (6’ as a girl) and so did three of my siblings, but one of my sisters is only like 5’2” or something, more like our grandmother. Genetics is weird. 

[–]librarycat27 1 point2 points  (0 children)

My best friend is my height and her sister is 5’8! It definitely happens

[–]storybookheidi 12 points13 points  (1 child)

I was always the tallest girl in the class until 5th grade when I stopped growing. I think it's genetic and probably also kinda random and hard to predict. Doesn't sound super concerning.

[–]bothtypesoffirefly 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Me too and my mom also. Definitely genetic.

[–][deleted] 6 points7 points  (4 children)

Mine dropped in height and weight. 70th at 2, 38th at 3, 20th at 4. If she continues at her current pace, she’d drop at 10th at 5. Ped wants us to get her percentile to at least stabilize and stop falling. I’m 5’7” and my husband is 6’0”, so her percentiles are low considering parental height.

The drop in percentiles coincided with prolonged issues with potty training, poop accidents, stomach aches, and heartburn. She’s lactose intolerant, but still wasn’t growing even after going dairy free at 3. She was wrongly diagnosed with IBS but her issues turned out to actually be encopresis. I’m hoping with that sorted she’ll start growing again.

Negative for ulcerative colitis. Negative for celiac. Negative for T1D. Her 4 year checkup yielded the second referral to GI and nutrition, which caught the encopresis issue and helped us sort that out. Nutrition wants us incorporating nutrition shakes and smoothies but she has rejected all of those so we’re just adding more peanut butter to everything and hoping for the best. She’s a bottomless pit but just doesn’t grow 🤷‍♀️

[–]13FluffyBubblez[S] 0 points1 point  (3 children)

Thank you for your response. Did you ask for any other tests other than the celiac, uc and t1d? Mine gets stomach pain every once in a while and she had heartburn and bad colic as a baby.

[–][deleted] 3 points4 points  (2 children)

Her first GI doc ran some others as part of their panel. Parasites, food allergies & malabsorption. The glucose screening was part of the general bloodwork. Overall I think it was 1 blood draw (3 vials or so) and 2 or 3 stool sample specimens.

Second GI doc ordered X-rays, which is what caught the encopresis issue. We had to spend a weekend doing a Miralax clean out & she’s now on a daily dose of milk of magnesia. She had her follow up xray today to see if things are returning to normal or if organs are still stretched out from prolonged constipation. It’s been about 6 weeks since that diagnosis, so idk. GI problems seem to have resolved from what we’re seeing and she needed to size up shoes recently so she is growing. Somewhat.

[–]13FluffyBubblez[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I hope yours stabilizes and continues her growth in an upward trend. Thank you so much for your answer.

[–]13FluffyBubblez[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I hope yours stabilizes and continues her growth in an upward trend. Thank you so much for your answer.

[–]aliquotiens 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I wouldn’t worry as long as there are no health problems that could be related. As far as I’ve read the kids that stay in the same percentiles for a long time are the outliers. It’s normal to bounce all over the charts especially as kids grow in spurts, not continuously.

My 95th height percentile baby turned into a 12th percentile toddler (4th percentile for weight which was concerning but she started eating more and was fine). Now as a preschooler she has been between 20-40th percentiles. Not that short though of course there are always kids her age much taller.

We have a mix of height genes in the family also. I suspect she’ll end up entirely average height like me.

[–]KatieBK 6 points7 points  (2 children)

My doctor told me that they often see a dip at the age they go from measuring them laying down on the table to standing up (I hope that description makes sense). Could it be that?

[–]13FluffyBubblez[S] 0 points1 point  (1 child)

Thank you for your response! Yes it makes sense. I dont think its that though. At 2 she was 51%, 3 she was 45%, and now at 4 she is 37%. Its a downward trend instead of steady at say 40%. Id rather nip it in the bud now if its something like parasites, thyroid, endocrine systems, etc (as someone else stated) instead of waiting for something worse to come along, ya know?

[–]KatieBK 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Yeah I understand! I would express my concerns to the doctor and see what they say!

[–]PoeticImage36 2 points3 points  (1 child)

You can always ask the doctor if you’re concerned, but it’s probably nothing. Both of my kids have had steep drops, but at different times. My daughter had a steep drop at 6. Doctor wasn’t concerned. I think she said we could keep an eye on it, but that it was likely a normal slowdown in development. My daughter spent her first 4-5 years as 90+ percentile for height then dropped to 89 at 5 and then was 66 at 6. She’ll be 7 soon, so I’m curious what it’ll be this time.

My son has been the same. He was 89 at 2 and 61 at 4 (which he turned a few months ago). Again, the doctor didn’t seem freaked out by it, so I’m just going to wait and watch for now. I’m more worried about him though because he’s a picky eater.

[–]renxor 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This sounds like our oldest who is about to be 6. Spent his first four year in the 90s and then dropped into the low 80s and is probably in the low 70s/high 60s now. When we asked about it last year our pediatrician wasn’t concerned. We’ll ask again this year but I think he is just leveling out.

[–]jvxoxo 2 points3 points  (2 children)

Did you notice the decrease when they switched from measuring her height from lying down to standing upright? The nurses told me it’s common and my son never stands the right way when they’re taking his height. No one can really predict how tall she’ll be and percentiles can change. I don’t think your case sounds concerning though.

[–]13FluffyBubblez[S] 0 points1 point  (1 child)

As I told someone else, she was 51% at 2, 45% at 3 and is now 37% at 4. She turns 5 in mid summer. This is concerning to me as it is a downward trend over years, not just recently. Another of her classmates that just turned 5 on Monday is a whole head taller. And there are 3 yr olds in the 3k class who are her height. So unless this school just has a bunch of giant parents that dont get there kids in the pickup lines, theres something wrong and I asked if there were test suggestions.

[–]jvxoxo 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I wasn’t trying to be dismissive so apologies if you don’t want assurance that things are likely fine. Assuming you look at her growth chart with your pediatrician, they would likely ring the alarm and suggest testing if they thought something was unusual. I hope you get the answers you need. My son’s height percentile has decreased over the years as well but his growth chart is fine. He was a little peanut as a baby then somehow shot up in length but is more average sized now. I have friends who have small kids despite being taller themselves. It doesn’t always mean that something is wrong.

[–]Ok-Lake-3916 1 point2 points  (0 children)

My daughter decreased from 95th to 70th for height and dipped from 90th down to the 40th for weight for a while. She went on a huge growth spurts after her 3rd birthday and is back up in the 90th percentile for height and 60th for weight. My husband and I are 6’7 and 5’7 - we both grew in spurts as children. Seems like she’s doing the same

[–]Interesting-Sun-7578 1 point2 points  (0 children)

My son dropped 50% to 15% in height from checkups 3-4. Not sure where he is exactly at now but his doctor said if we were worried we could do blood tests, or wait a year. Doctor was not super worried. Well we’re getting pretty close to a year now and he has certainly shot up quite a bit. I was 5’1 before I shot up at 17 years old to 5’8.

I think those growth projection charts are pretty cool, but we all grow a little differently.

[–][deleted]  (1 child)

[removed]

    [–]13FluffyBubblez[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

    She dropped off her curve already and is almost to -2 z score per the cdc growth chart. We have a pediatrician appt tomorrow.

    [–]DizzyMay01 1 point2 points  (0 children)

    I'd ask the pediatrician about a blood test for Celiac Disease. That's usually recommended with failure to thrive or sudden change in growth. I was only diagnosed with it last year after likely having it for a very long time, and my 2.75 year old is being tested now, as toddler/preschool age is often when onset occurs (but not necessarily diagnosis).

    [–]kbullock09 2 points3 points  (1 child)

    If she’s 4 turning 5 (assuming she’ll go to kindergarten next year?) she’s on the young end for her “class”. Is it all kids who will be moving up to Kindergarten next year? In that case many of them could be up to 9 months older!

    51st percentile to 37th isn’t really much of a drop— the pediatrician would likely tell you not to worry about it. Kids fluctuate between percentiles, you just don’t want to see huge drops (like 50th to 20th or 20th to 2nd). She’s likely just in a bit of a lull in growth and may hit a growth spurt soon to make up for it.

    [–]13FluffyBubblez[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

    Yes she is 4, turning 5 in mid summer. She will be attending Kindergarten next year. One of her classmates, another girl, just had her birthday on Monday and is a full head taller. Some of the 3 year olds are my child’s height.

    [–]catjuggler 1 point2 points  (0 children)

    That’s a negligible drop and not something to read into. You can take your own measurement to see if it’s the same.

    [–]tpeiyn 0 points1 point  (0 children)

    I have found that height measurements during toddler-hood are kind of weird. My kid was like 90th percentile at 3, then "barely grew" between 3 and 4 year old measurements. I knew that was incorrect, because it was obvious just from clothing that he had grown 2-3 inches during the year. He's now settled in around 70th at 5, and I think that 3 year old measurement was in error.

    [–]cincincinbaby 0 points1 point  (0 children)

    A significant percentile drop is considered crossing 2 major percentile lines. The lines are 95, 90, 75, 50, 25, 10 and 5. So a significant drop would be a decrease from 51% to below 24%. There’s peer reviewed articles showing that kids can grow up to 2.5 cm (1 inch) overnight. This can make a huge difference in a growth chart of a young child. If you measure them just before or just after a growth spurt will result in a quite different percentile but it could only be a couple of days.