Hi, all.  I'm emerging from lurkdom, again, to add my experience  with slow gaining babies.  I am approx. 5'6" and my husband is approx. 5'5".  Our first two kids, both girls, were 8lb.4oz. and 9lb.8oz. at birth.  Both grew well and we never thought too much about the growth charts.  Number three child, a boy, weighed 9lb.11oz. at birth but slowly started sliding down the growth chart.  (Height was lower than weight.) He sucked his fingers a lot but was happy and the military peds. clinic doctors said not to worry, Dad is short, he's likely to be short.  He was slow to be interested in solids (approx. 10 months) and did have some eczema with solids but we didn't worry.  Moved to another state when he was 13 mo. and I became pregnant with #4.  New family practice resident decided something was wrong with his growth and decided to run tests and do a developmental workup.  I continued to breastfeed him throughout my pregnancy.  I think the family practice doc thought I was really!
 nuts and she had us going in ve
ry frequently to assess me and my son.  Drove me absolutely crazy!!  And of course I'd wake up at night wondering if I'd caused his slow growth.  Baby #4, another boy, weighed 9lb.15oz. and stayed high on the charts for a while then slowly started going down.  Both are now close to, if not the shortest ones in their classes.  Dad always was, too!  They're now almost 14 yrs. and just turned 12yrs. (yesterday!), both very active in sports, in the gifted program, and being chased by girls, most a lot taller than them!!  My girls, at 16yrs and 18yrs are both between 5'5" and 5'6", now.  We're still hoping the boys will have major growth spurts but if they end up to be Dad's height, so be it. (Besides, Dad says short people are healthier and live longer!) Bottom line is yes, they're short, but healthy and smart!  And I agree with Leslie's comment, that if it ain't broke, don't fix it!
Cherie Price, PA, LCCE, IBCLC, LLLL, Virginia Beach, VA

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