New Here-need info.

Hi I'm new here and I have 3 1/2 yr old boy/girl twins. They have ALWAYS been very small compared to all the other kids there age. I'm 5' tall & dad's 6'-2". Well, I forgot to bring them in for there 3yr. physical (imagine that!!) so I did so 2 days ago and now the pedi. is concerned about there growth charts. Katherine is really tiny(with a big attitude),she is 23lbs. and 34 1/2" tall she has never been on her growth chart always right under 5th percent but always consistent about it every year. Jacob, on the other hand, has never been really big for his age always between 15-25th percent but now he is about 15th on weight but barly on the chart for height. He is 28 lbs and 35 1/2" tall. Our pedi. is concerned about this and wants me to see a specialist about it. Has anyone else had this experience??

I always knew that my twins were a little bit smaller than other children but I was never concerned about them not catching up. Now I'm getting alittle worried because the pedi. is thinking that my son might need growth horomones. Is there anyone else that could relate to this.

Thanks,
K

 

Okay really, there's no one else that has small twins that may need growth horomone injections? I'm staritng to feel like I'm the only one. It seems like the more I look around these boards the more I notice that my twins are the size of 2 year olds. Any advice would me reassuring.

Thanks

 

I just wanted to say that I would get a second opinion before starting any growth hormones. They sound a little on the small side, but you are also on the small side. My nephew is almost 4 & he is very small compared to his brothers.

 

I agree with pp, definitely get a second opinion before considering any growth hormone injections. According to this information sheet, to be outside of "normal" height a child would be below the 3rd percentile or above the 97th. This has some good info either way.

 

Thanks for the response you guys! I will definately get a second opinion before any treatments. I was kind of shocked when the pedi suggested that he may need growth hormone injections but the more I think about it the more I realize that she is just concerned about his growth chart. Last year he was around 25th percentile and now he's more like 5th percentile. I will try not to worry about it until I talk to a specialist. He will probably just end up having a later growth spurt and be over 6' tall like his dad. He already is a "mini me" of his father.

B)

 

A friend of my MIL's had a preemie little girl, she weighed a 1 lb 12 oz at birth and at 3 years they suggested hormones to her b/c she was smaller. My MIL asked me if I thought it was a good idea (I research alot of things!) and after researching it, my answer was NO WAY! My girls are small for their age too but absolutely no way would I consider growth hormones. I would definately seek out a second opinion if you like but honestly, I dont see the point. Your children are healthy, just small, they will catch up. Think of all the major growth spurts you had growing up?? One day you would be X tall, then next you would be 2 inches taller. Nature has a wonderful way of taking care of her own.....

 

QUOTE(angie7 @ May 18 2007, 07:56 AM) [snapback]260128[/snapback]
A friend of my MIL's had a preemie little girl, she weighed a 1 lb 12 oz at birth and at 3 years they suggested hormones to her b/c she was smaller. My MIL asked me if I thought it was a good idea (I research alot of things!) and after researching it, my answer was NO WAY! My girls are small for their age too but absolutely no way would I consider growth hormones. I would definately seek out a second opinion if you like but honestly, I dont see the point. Your children are healthy, just small, they will catch up. Think of all the major growth spurts you had growing up?? One day you would be X tall, then next you would be 2 inches taller. Nature has a wonderful way of taking care of her own.....




I agreewith you about not wanting him to take growth hormone injections but I am also concerned that IF they say it is necessary (they, meaning more than one specialists opinion) and I still don't want him to take them what the consiquences would be. I don't think it would just effect his stature but also other areas like smaller *****,undescended testicles,short arms,etc. I think I would wait and see what happens for the next few years before I seriously consider the injections. I just want to find out all the information I could before I meet with the specialist. I'm not really worried about my daughter because I am a really small person (5' tall,size 00 clothes and a shoe size 4) I have always been this way. I did not like how I was always much smaller than all the other kids (always got special attention because of it). And I still do,everyone says I'm like a "miniture person". I don't always like it but I live with it and so will my daughter but what about my son. I don't think he would take that as a compliment. Just some of my worries!!

 

I'd definitely seek out a second opinion before I did that. Have you tried adding extra calories into their food? My nieces have Cystic Fibrosis and there's some sort of powder with a huge amount of calories that a doctor can write for (can't think of the name of it). My sister adds it to a lot of my niece's food.

I do have a niece, on my DH's side, who has been given growth hormones. She's 5 years old and I don't know her weight or height or anything, but she's tiny. I'd say she's wearing a size 2T still (and my girls are one and wear 18 months). She was adopted and has other issues due to her birth mother taking drugs and drinking while PG.

 

Definitely see a specialist.
But there's nothing wrong w/ using growth hormones if a specialist recommends it. They don't make a sudden drastic change in growth, it's gradual so there's not a weird chance that you'll end up w/ giants or anything. It's expensive however, but it could just be recommended for a year or so until they reach a more comfortable height.

I have a friend w/ quads {surviving trips now} and she's seen some really great improvement in 6 months.

 

QUOTE(Amanda @ May 18 2007, 09:26 AM) [snapback]260241[/snapback]
Definitely see a specialist.
But there's nothing wrong w/ using growth hormones if a specialist recommends it. They don't make a sudden drastic change in growth, it's gradual so there's not a weird chance that you'll end up w/ giants or anything. It's expensive however, but it could just be recommended for a year or so until they reach a more comfortable height.

I have a friend w/ quads {surviving trips now} and she's seen some really great improvement in 6 months.




Thanks for that information. Everyone's suggestions are really helping right now. It's really nice to have someone else's opinion on this kind of stuff. I always discuss this stuff with DH but he sometimes has the "there's never ever anything wrong with my kids" attitude. I'm the one that likes to do the research into things and knowing all that I can on the subject before making decisions.

 

If you haven't yet seen a specialist or had the hormone levels measured, then it's too soon to decide the "what ifs". You'll drive yourself crazy over what could be nothing.

I do know someone who has a kid who hasn't seen the 3rd percentile since he was 4 months old and they ran a bunch of tests on him -- all of the results were normal. He isn't getting injections because his growth hormone levels are normal. If they were low, then supplementing them seems the logical thing to do. It isn't about getting the kid to conform with other kids sizewise, it's about replacing something that is lacking if it is indeed lacking. I do find it odd, though, that your pedi's first step wasn't an evaluation by a dietician.