Delayed growth in 8-9yo --UPDATE

[mamamo]

Some kids are just short. I know that because I only ever grew to 5'2" myself. But DH is 6'4". So, he's less comfortable that DS#2 has always been rather teeny. But I've deflected concern so far. But now a really good friend of mine with a DS less than a year older than my son (and 10# heavier) has had him thoroughly tested over a period of 6 months. They found out he's hgh deficient and he's now getting replacement therapy. Which made me wonder if my 'some kids are just short' mentality might not be entirely fair in all cases. And I certainly don't want to be unfair to my son if he has a digestion, thyroid or hormone issue.

But a part of me still thinks some kids are just short and looking into this (especially to the extent of blood tests or MRI's) is silly.

DS#2 turns 9 in a couple of weeks. He's 52 pounds and 50" tall. His wrist is 5" around and the largest part of his arm at the shoulder is 6". He has always been small for age. He has virtually no body fat and very little muscle mass (despite 3x/week ice hockey and regular outdoor sports play). He drinks milk daily. Family follows a slightly higher than average animal protein diet. He is not an unusually picky eater other than to avoid seafood when possible. He is not unusually susceptible to illness. All siblings are of average height/weight. He gets OTC pediatric supplement drinks designed to aid growth about 2x/week.

Give me your thoughts.
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Nisha -- Calico Cottage Designs mama of 2 boys 1 girl a and a lab

Quote for the Day: “If you bungle raising your children, nothing else much matters in life." --Jackie Kennedy Onassis

[JBTreasures]

My little sister is really small. She's only 4'11", and she gets it from my mom's side of the family. Has you pediatrician shown concern?
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[scubaj43]

Has he always been small or was there a point that he just stopped growing as much?
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Jenny
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[Shadow]

I've no idea how much my ds2 weighs, but he turns 9 in a few weeks and is a skinny thing. He's no muscle mass at all and is all bones, despite eating almost as much as ds1, who is 2yrs older. We bought all 3 boys watches for Xmas, the same model, he can't wear his as his wrists are so skinny, but ds3 (2yrs younger) can. We're not worried, that's just how he is. I think boys can often be little and then shoot up drastically during puberty. Plus, just because your OH is tall doesn't mean that he'll follow suit, he might have your height genes instead.
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[diggin]

his current size wont really tell you much, what is important is how he has grown over a longer period of time. i am 5 ft. and dh is 6 ft. our oldest seems more or less average for his age, the other 3 are smaller. we have always charted size -- not to look at the percentages, but to see if they follow a curve of their own. the two youngest have stayed more or less on their curve since birth, but my 2nd started out in the above 50 % range for the first nearly 12 months and then suddenly started losing percentiles over a space of less than 9 months when he bottomed out at 0-5%. he has been in the -5% - +5% ever since with the occasional trip up to the 10%. we started seeing an endocrinologist with him when he was about 4 yrs old and go twice a year. they do a blood test once a year and a bone growth scan (x-ray) once a year. his blood work has always been in the normal range, with some areas being borderline. his bone growth shows him to be 1.5 - 2.5 years behind his true age. (he is 8.5 yrs now)
we have been told that he will likely hit puberty a bit later than average and will likely have a nice growth spurt then, but that he will never be a tall guy, but rather a short-average guy.
i think if you have any doubts that it would be worth a consultation with an endo for basic blood work and a bone growth scan -- at least you will know where you are at. if you havent been, start charting height and weight and see at what pace he is growing and whether is stays on essentially the same curve.

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[mamamo]

[krgolden]

All of my children are small. The first 2 were tested for lots of things when they were babies because they stopped growing for a few months and were at the bottom or off of the charts for height and weight. Everything came back normal. Now my ds is 5 and dd is 3 and they're about the same height and weight. People ask if they're twins ALL the time. She's growing normally and he's just tiny.

For us, we just wanted to be sure they were healthy. I would be so upset with myself if we'd just let it go and something was actually wrong with them. Now, I must say though that dd2 is tiny as well. We haven't tested her though bc of the previous experience with the other 2. I don't think there's anything wrong with doing blood tests. Why not make sure, you know? That's just my opinion though
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[oakanwillow]

[diggin]

nisha, i stopped using the american charts early on because they just worried me more -- they expect kids to be heavier than the european ones you dont even have to use an actual chart, just use a graph and chart his own movements -- it will be pretty easy to see if he is steadily gaining on height and weight -- some kids grow faster than others, but what is important is movement, in general.

i wouldnt even really worry about how you sell it to him or feel bad about it. at his age he will get it. simple bloodwork and hand x-rays really are not that invasive and they will give you a guidline to watch him over the next year or two. lodei isnt at all bothered with his twice yearly appointments and actually finds the whole xray thing pretty cool because he gets to see his hand bones

i also understand your not seeing the doctor. we go every year or two for check-ups (the guidline according to age), but mostly because our insurance documents this and if you have kept up with check-ups you are 100% covered if, heaven forbid, something should come up that needs treatment. we NEVER go for illnesses or whatnot
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a.k.a. michi -- mama to 4 dingle dangles: jago 10, lodei 9 solen 7, my baby anoki is 6
no longer selling as my b&m business keeps me more than busy

[JBTreasures]

We never go for anything but the wellchecks either, and honestly, my kids went longer than they should have without seeing a dentist because we didn't have insurance. None of them had any cavities or anything, and we wanted to be sure we had a way to pay for it and a dentist that wouldn't scare the kids.
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[grayspinner]

I'm really old school about doctors - in that pediatricians are trained to catch the early signs of childhood problems. For me, well checks are very important to assure me that my kids are developing properly and to catch problems as early as possible.

When you have healthy kids, well checks can seem like a real waste of time & money. But when you take your kid to the ped thinking they are doing great and discover an early sign of something going wrong while you can still fix it - THEN they seem like the best thing in the world.

If we never went for well checks and only when the kids were sick, we'd NEVER be at the dr. I think between my 4 kids, we might have had a handful of sick visits over the past 15 years.

I also think it is really good to develop a good working relationship with your ped so that when your kids are sick, they know your kids enough to know what is 'normal' for your kiddo. There is trust on both sides too - my ped has known me long enough that I can call in for certain things and he'll prescribe meds over the phone for me. Things like - lice, pink eye - he trust me to correctly dx those things and I don't have to drag us out to the dr for stuff that is obvious.

Anyway, if I was in your situation - I would find a ped and have some tests done. If something IS going wrong, there is still time to help - if everything is fine, then you have your worries relieved. And you've begun the process of developing a relationship with a ped that will be valuable if your kids do get sick.
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[MountianMama]

I think now because you have had that concern raised it's going to be on the back of your mind until it's actually addressed. Or it would if it was me. A check at the ped is worth the peace of mind, even if it does mean a blood draw. If had some fab nurses draw blood where I didn't really notice it as a child.

We don't do well child visits, but DH was a SAHD when he was really sick and DS built a relationship with his doctor that way. It's a great informal relationship that shows DS that he can trust his Dr and that his Dr is a person not just white coat. He now sees a ped because of other issues but the Dr. was quick to see that because of knowing DH and DS. I love that Dr.

EAT: If you do decide to see a ped you don't have to tell your DS it's because he is short but rather you want to be sure that he is healthy. Of course he'll pick up on the cues when you're talking to the Dr but just reiterate it's because you want to make sure he's healthy.
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Megan

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"Our doubts are traitors, and make us lose the good we oft might win, by fearing to attempt". ~Shakespeare

[MamaShells]

I agree that some children are just short, but I'd get him tested just to make sure. I know that sometimes it's hard to see your kids go through blood tests (my 2 y.o just had one to test for gluten intolerance; it was negative and I felt so bad making him get it, but I felt better knowing that wasn't the problem).

The good thing to know is boys epiphyseal plates close at a later age and he can grow until about ~18-25 y.o when they close. He may just suddenly hit puberty and grow significantly in his teens or at least have some significant growth. The important thing now is to get him checked out so that if he is deficient in GH he can start receiving hormone therapy now when his is still a child (since children have the lowest risk of developing problems from the injections).

I would however talk to him about why he is going to the doctor. I would reiterate that there is nothing wrong with being short (I'm 5'2 too), but that you want to make sure that his pituitary gland is working properly. If it is, then you know its not affecting other things, like his height, but if its not producing enough GH, it may be why his bones are not growing as much as they should. If you make him feel involved from the beginning, he will be more confident about the entire process. Additionally, if he did end up being deficient, you would want him to understand that there are options for him, he can choose to get hormone therapy or not. It's a big decision and he should feel involved.

Best of luck, please keep us updated!
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Happy mama to little M and furry M

[mamamo]

UPDATE:

Took DS to a GP. I think he may have been a wee bit confused because when he ran DS's height/weight through whatever chart he was using, he said DS was in the 27th %-ile. Just turned 9yo and still wearing 4T underwear...uh I don't think so, Doc. But maybe the Dr. self-corrected later on that and didn't tell me.

Anyway, he ran tons of bloodwork. I haven't seen the actual results. But enough must've come back questionable that DS was referred to a pediatric endocrinologist. Of course, we don't actually have one of those in our state it seems. There are two from neighboring states that come in for 2 days a month. So, the quickest appt we could get was for August 28th. But whatever. That time lapse might even be valuable for providing a better picture of how he's growing over a known period of time.
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Nisha -- Calico Cottage Designs mama of 2 boys 1 girl a and a lab

Quote for the Day: “If you bungle raising your children, nothing else much matters in life." --Jackie Kennedy Onassis

[kbrown99]

I'm sorry you have to wait so long for an appointment. But I'm glad you were at least able to figure out if more attention was needed.
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