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We had a similar experience with our son at his 4 month appointment. We got referred to a pediatric endocrinologist, who did blood tests and everything turned out to be fine. Here’s a link to my thread on it; let me know if you have any questions about anything!

https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/experience-with-growth-deceleration

I have small children - if a child went from 55 to 50% no one would be concerned but when they’re under 5% doctors like to watch it. We never went to an endocrinologist but our dr checked blood for thyroid levels and celiac and that was it. Everything was fine

We had similar issues too. Here’s the post where I asked for advice.

https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/failure-to-thrive

He did wind up as ftt after dropping to the 0%ile around 5 months. He’s 2.5 now, still in the 0%ile but doing fine. We ran a ton of tests with our dr and GI doctor. But everything came back normal. Turns out he’s just tiny, and doesn’t really like to eat.

My son has always been small. He hovered around 5% then fell off the curve for awhile then came back. He hit most of his milestones but ended up getting PT bc he was a late walker but not related to his size. I wouldn’t worry too much, I just think he’s a small kid. I’m small and my husband is tall but very thin.

My doctor always says (about my tiny peanuts) that someone has to set the bottom of the curve. Of course, the trends are important, but I often fell off the curve as a child (I didn’t really grow until late high school, and now I’m above-average height.) She also said that she believes 6 months is when genetics really kick in, so babies often change their trend lines at that point.

Did you see this thread? Linked under yours.

https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/would-you-be-concerned-ebf-baby-amp-percentiles

@YogiRunner: weird, it says it’s deleted, but I don’t think I deleted it

Anyway, all his blood results came back normal, so it looks like he’s just small. They were more concerned about his height than weight. His weight has been in the 20th percentiles, but his height was dropping after starting out in only the 7th percentile...they thought it was odd since DH, DS1, and I are all tall. We have a follow up with the endocrinologist 4/9... I’ll try to remember to update here after that.

My LO is the same age and has dropped from the 70th%ile to the 13th over the first 5 months. Her head circumference is actually no longer on the charts. The doctor isn’t worried since she’s meeting her milestones and my neurologist friend told me that when kids drop like that but are meeting their milestones, they are likely just finding their intended genetic size. The women in both of our families are pretty small, and my mom had a small head, so I’m hoping that’s all it is.

My daughter was born in the 80th percentile in weight and over the course of her first year dropped down to the 12th. Every appointment we kept an eye on it and the doctor measured her milestones closely (which she was meeting). At her 1 year appointment, we did additional blood tests and her doctor sent us a to several specialists just to check. Endocrinology, Immunology, and Gastroenterology. Tests led us down a path to get an lower intestine scope and we did discover that she has celiac disease which was contributing to her slow growth. Since she has been on a gluten free diet she is moving up the growth curve again. She never had an gastro issues, her slow growth was the only indication that something was wrong. Her gastro doctor said many, many kids are being diagnosed this way. Not saying this is the case with your little one, but thought I would share my experience. We didn't have a history of it on either side of our families so it was a surprise, but it has straightforward treatment and has been much easier to accommodate than we expected.

There’s nothing wrong with being small! My son is almost three and is consistently below the 1%... born full term, healthy, just small. He will be 3 in June and isn’t quite 24 lbs yet. My 6 year old daughter is only 35 lbs. Someone has to be on the top of the scale and the bottom. ️

My son was born small and was a slow grower and fell off the growth chart. Per one of the many doctor's we saw about it, the real concern - aside from him being small due to a medical issue - was that he wouldn't be able to withstand getting ill and that even a small cold could potentially land him in the hospital.