If your infant/toddler was 95% and above, come in

[beachdweller]

Please help me here. My DD was 9 lbs 1 oz when she was born, and has remained in the 99th percentile for both height and weight consistently since birth. She is 29 lbs and 34 inches now at 15 months. DD is a great eater (clearly but we don't feed her unhealthy food. She does not drink juice or sugary drinks. If your kiddo was off the charts during the baby toddler stage, did they stay that way through childhood? If not, when did the growth level off? I worry obsessively about DD being obese and having related health problems, but don't know what I can do other than feed her good food and encourage activity. I am probably overthinking this, but some of the literature I read discusses future obesity problems for kiddos over the 95th% during the infant/toddler years.

[sugarbear]

Some kids are just big. I think if you're feeding her a clean diet and making sure that she's active (as much as is developmentally appropriate), then you've got nothing to worry about.

DS has always been "off the charts" big. He was 29lbs. at 12 months and is 37lbs. at 2 years. He's got a giant head, too, lol. We feed him fruit, veggies, cheese, WCM, protein muffins that I make with whole oat flour sweetened with dried fruit, and meat. He eats some almond butter sandwiches and lots of dried fruit. We aren't worried about him being fat at all, as long as he stays active and his diet continues to look like this (which it will, as far as we're concerned...).

Don't worry! Maybe she'll be a basketball player!

[ijack]

I wouldn't worry about it at this point - let her eat healthy food and encourage her to be active. I think if you try to limit the amount she eats that you're setting her up for issues down the road.

[Deleted]

My kids were big at birth (8 lbs. 8 oz. and 9 lbs. 5 oz. respectively) and grew fast as babies. I worried about it but they ate a healthy diet and were always very active. Anyway, both naturally started to slim down a lot between 18-24 months. Now they're both over 80% for height and around 50% for weight. Our doctor never had any concerns.

[statlerwaldorf]

What does your pediatrician say? I don't think it means much at all. You have to look at her height compared to her weight. If you have someone that is 180 lbs and 6 feet tall, they are not overweight, but someone 180 lbs and 5 feet tall they are obese. DD was underweight as a newborn and worked up to the 95th percentile in weight and is now in the 75th percentile. She's always been in the 99th percentile for height. Her pedi just started tracking BMI since it is something that concerns me, but her BMI is slightly under the normal BMI. BMI just isn't a very good indicator for infants and toddlers either. As long as she is eating healthy and active, I wouldn't worry about it.

[mollybrown]

My children were both born small, and shot up the charts as babies. I don't worry about it. DS is 95% for weight, and has been since he was about 6 months old. No one would look at him and think that he's overweight. He's 90% for height, and looks pretty slim and proportional to me. He just looks like a 5 year old instead of a 3 year old

If the height and weight percentiles are not matching up, I would ask your child's doctor if there is a concern. But as pp said, some kids are just big. Someone has to be at the top of the chart, and my children's doctors haven't been concerned because they followed the same growth curve consistently.

[rootbeerfloat]

My kids were both fat babies, but followed different trajectories...

DS was exactly that weight at birth and stayed at the 95th for the first 6 months. Then he gradually dropped percentiles and by 2 years, he was at the bottom of the charts. This is a different problem, obviously, but he basically stopped gaining weight once he got mobile and transitioned to real food. (I joke that my BM is really ice cream.)

DD was average at birth, then quickly went to the top of the charts like DS, but stayed there until maybe 2 years. She also slimmed down in toddlerhood, but remains around the 75-80th percentile.

I would just keep offering healthy foods and encouraging activity. Genetics matter, too.

[atouchofklasse]

I just went to my pediatrician today and he said they like to see the weight at a lower percentile than the height (70% and 97% respectively for DS).

I know you said you don't feed juice/sugary drinks, but do you give her a lot of WCM? If she's a great eater she may not need it.

Is she walking? DS lost some weight since he's started to walk.

[beachdweller]

Thanks, everyone -- that makes me feel better. Don't mean to sound like some crazy weight-obsessed mom -- lots of people comment on DD's size and it starts to get under my skin sometimes and I start to worry about it. I am certainly not going to restrict healthy food or set her up for body issues. To answer the couple of questions, the pedi thinks its fine as long as height/weight percentiles stay consistent and suggested maybe moving to 2% milk at 18 months and making sure she stays active. In terms of genetics, I am 5'8" and my DH is 5'11. We both have healthy BMIs. I know I am/was overthinking it.

[ijack]

It's hard when people make comments about their size - small or large. As long as they're healthy and happy I wouldn't worry about it too much

[cjeanette]

H is 105% height and 95% weight. His pedi says he is fine. He has followed this chart since birth. Weight or height are not crazy off. She looks more at gain year over year. My kid is a rectangle who is active and healthy.

I think he eats healthier than my 10th percentile kid.....

[atouchofklasse]

Jun 25, 2012 16:45:45 GMT -5 ijack said:

It's hard when people make comments about their size - small or large. As long as they're healthy and happy I wouldn't worry about it too much

This is true. My big kid now was 5lbs13oz at birth and only 8.5lbs at 2 months. People made comments then about how tiny he was and now it's about how big he is.

[Deleted]

I have never worried and neither have any of her doctors.

[ijack]

Jun 25, 2012 16:50:10 GMT -5 atouchofklasse said:

Jun 25, 2012 16:45:45 GMT -5 ijack said:

It's hard when people make comments about their size - small or large. As long as they're healthy and happy I wouldn't worry about it too much

This is true. My big kid now was 5lbs13oz at birth and only 8.5lbs at 2 months. People made comments then about how tiny he was and now it's about how big he is.

damn!! why don't my kids grow like this??? Q was 6lb15oz at birth and is only 16lbs at 10 months???

[hannamarin]

My nieces were the fattest babies ever. 95%ile and they love to eat. They still do. They are 5 and 8 now and people wonder if their mother starves them. They have knobby knees and do ballet and look the part. Somehow, one day, they just stretched out. They are both still tall for their age, but they are super skinny. Not even average...skinny!

[anna7602]

DD had doubled her birth weight by 2 months of age and hit 20 lbs. (and outgrew the infant car seat) by 4 months.

Her weight leveled out a bit after she started crawling/moving around, but she was still in a really high percentile (can't remember exactly) until about age 2 or so. Now, she's still tall for her age, but is a lot leaner than she used to be.

[pinkdutchtulips]

DD has always been a 95+ in the height dept and 55-65 in the weight dept. We've never been worried about the percentiles matching.

[Deleted]

My DD3 was ~9lbs at birth....She's stayed 90-98% in height but weight gradually went down & now she's less 50th% in weight at 37months. She's not a great eater at all...shes your DDs same weight but well over twice her age. She's had to see an OT & a nutritionist due to sensory issues (some related to food). I wouldn't worry unless the Doc says something.

[SusanBAnthony]

Both my kids were huge babies but then barely gained from 15 months to 2 or 3. DD weighs almost the same now (1 lb more) as she did at her 12 month WBV. So that is also possible.

[Deleted]

DS has a friend that was huge all through pre-school. In K no other kid came up to her shoulders. Now after first grade, she's thinned out a bit and isn't nearly as tall (comparatively). I suspect she'll be one of those kids who is the tallest in the 6th grade and the shortest in the 9th grade.