I went through a similiar experience with my 19 yr old. He disappeared off
the growth charts at about 6 months. Was 6 lb 4 oz at birth, about 12 lbs at
6 months and only about 15 lbs at a year. He was bright, alert, walked at 7
and 1/2 months but was never fat, chubby, with no rolls of fat as an infant.
He refused food of any kind until 10 months of age. If I touched food to his
mouth he would spit and spit. He only took breastmilk. The MD got concerned
at a yr and threated to call Social Services if I refused to let them test my
son because he was 2 SD's off the growth charts ! The MD recommended stopping
Bfing and giving him milk shakes made with ice cream, butter and whole milk (
I told the MD that with my husband's family history of heart disease all that
would do is cause him to be a short, fat kid with a bad heart!). I was also
told to give him bits of Milky Way candy bars cut up small enough for him to
not choke on! We went through bone age x rays, thyroid tests etc for 6
months. They even contacted NIH for info on growth hormones ( back when kids
were dying from those) even though Jason 's hormone levels were normal.
Finally a nurse practictioner noticed the family history--my husband is 5
foot 6 inches, I am 5 ft 3 in and the grandmothers are 5 ft tall, the
grandfathers about 5 ft 8 in, and they finally began to think that perhaps
this child is just going to be small. The threat of calling Social Services
is what made me submit to the tests, and LLL is what kept me believing in
breastfeeding. Some children are going to be small but that doesn't mean they
are not healthy. Jason is now 19 yr old, and is 5 ft 5 in and weighs about
125 lbs. He is very healthy, has not been seen at the MD except for 1 sinus
infection, and 3 sports injuries in his life. He never again made it on the
growth charts but he said there are worse things in the world then not making
it to the growth charts. I always wondered if a child is in the minus 15th
percentile, what does that mean except as a comparision to a bunch of other
children.
Sure we want the children to be healthy but being small doesn't necessarily
equal unhealthy. One advantage I had with my kids is they always wore out
their clothes as opposed to growing out of them. And sometimes, they even
wore the same shoes for 2-3 years! Cody is now 12 yrs old and wears a size 10
clothes. He has worn the same coat since fourth grade!! And that is the same
coat Jason wore for 4 yrs!
Barb Whitehead, IBCLC
Eastern NC ( shaking her head at the milkshake suggestion once again!)
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