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My DD will be 10 in August and is 49 lbs and 47 inches tall. She is also a competitive gymnast. She is still in size 6X-7 clothes and size 12-13 shoes. Even on her gymnastics team there is only one child smaller and that child is 7yo. She followed her 3-5%ile in height and wt. until about age 7 when she really just stopped growing. We did some preliminary testing at age 8 which was normal and also showed a 2 yr. delay in her bone age, but then after another year of no growth we went to see the ped. endocrinologist last fall. She has since undergone a few rounds of growth hormone testing and found to be growth hormone deficient. We should be starting growth hormone next week. She hadn't been bothered by her height until her younger sister really surpassed her in height. My DD7 is now about 60 lbs, 50 inches and wearing a size 3 shoe and size 10/12 clothes. It bothers my older DD a LOT that she is always now assumed to be the younger of the two! I am hopeful that we will see some catch up growth from the growth hormone...fingers crossed!
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avoel
My DD will be 10 in August and is 49 lbs and 47 inches tall. She is also a competitive gymnast. She is still in size 6X-7 clothes and size 12-13 shoes. Even on her gymnastics team there is only one child smaller and that child is 7yo. She followed her 3-5%ile in height and wt. until about age 7 when she really just stopped growing. We did some preliminary testing at age 8 which was normal and also showed a 2 yr. delay in her bone age, but then after another year of no growth we went to see the ped. endocrinologist last fall. She has since undergone a few rounds of growth hormone testing and found to be growth hormone deficient. We should be starting growth hormone next week. She hadn't been bothered by her height until her younger sister really surpassed her in height. My DD7 is now about 60 lbs, 50 inches and wearing a size 3 shoe and size 10/12 clothes. It bothers my older DD a LOT that she is always now assumed to be the younger of the two! I am hopeful that we will see some catch up growth from the growth hormone...fingers crossed!
Would you mind if I messaged you about the testing you had done and your exprerience with growth hormones once you start with that? My son has had the bone scan done and I think that is our next step with my daughter and then hormone testing. I just know nothing about it and our doctor hasn't been very informative.
DPline
Would you mind if I messaged you about the testing you had done and your exprerience with growth hormones once you start with that? My son has had the bone scan done and I think that is our next step with my daughter and then hormone testing. I just know nothing about it and our doctor hasn't been very informative.
We have done the growth hormone for a year 1/2 and she has barely grown. I don't know why it works miracles for some and doesn't help others. I wonder if we never did the injections if she would've ended up the same size in the end.... it's so frustrating. We are still doing them in hopes she will grow another inch, but she may not. :(
I'm not a Guatamalean adoptive parent - or child.
However, I am a short person - who is built like an adult. It can be very challenging - especially when it comes to clothes and shoes. (I saw a PP mention her DD's shoe size) the ONLY time I've ever known my mother to lie was so I could have a pair of REAL HEELS when I turned 13. We went to every shoe store in the mall (this was OMG - 1979) and finally she refused to let them size my feet, told them I was I size 5 and to bring me the shoes. Now of course, 6 is the smallest :hissy:
My mother tried to get me to learn to sew. I wish I'd listened. Petite clothes are much better now, than they were then, but they still are not porportioned right for short women built like - well, women. They are made for short women built like - girls.
I know I'm short - but I don't feel short. Until I have tolook up at you (so generally over 6 feet) you might not notice, but I never, ever feel short - I feel like I'm looking you in the eye.
Diamonds and dynamite come in small packages.
My daughter from China, who is 16, has finally hit 5 feet "zero", as she calls it. She weighs about 92 lb. While that size would not qualify her for growth hormone, it certainly has meant that she has problems with buying clothes and shoes.
Becca's had this problem all her life. She came to me at 18.5 months, weighing only17 lb. (She was a joy to carry around in China, because she was so lightweight).
Pants that fit in the waist were way too short, and those that fit in the length fell down. Adjustable waist pants just bunched up and looked awful. I was eager for summer, becaus 9-12 month size shorts fit well and I didn't have to worry about length.
Becca came to me in too-small sneakers. I took her to a shoe store in Guangzhou, where I first realized that her feet were not only somewhat small; they were unbelievably narriow. I bought her some cute white leather shoes with Velcro closures, but you could see where the shoes were still too wide, even with the straps made as tight as possible. When I got home, I found that no regular store had shoes for feet as narrow as hers. I wound up going to a specialty shop that was designed for hard to fit children and carried a decent selection of expensive imports for skinny-footed kids. Even they didn't have narrow enough shoes in stock, some of the time. The owner would special order some.
Becca didn't wind up being able to use a regular shoe store untill she was 12, and then she had problems because she wanted grown up styles, but needed to shop in the kids' department. Now, at 16, she can finally shop in women's departments, but it's sometimes hard to find a good selection of size 6; it was even harder before she reached size six, and needed 5-5.5 in most brands.
My daughter is very clothes conscious. She could fit into a child's 14 or 16 in some pants, but would never consider shopping in the children's department because the clothes are not made for someone with a "figure", and because they are not made with designer labels and trendy styles. She certainly does not want to try on clothes with cartoon characters.
What's funny, of course, is that, while she is rather full-busted for a Chinese girl, and needs to shop in the adult stores for shirts, she never got the "curvy butt" gene -- in fact, she has no hips or rear end to speak of -- and hardly ever finds adult pants that fit well and are not miles too long. She buys jeans at Aeropostale and rolls them up, wears some "jeggings", and has had to forego wearing nice dress pants. For horseback riding, her consuming passion, she has to buy her riding breeches in the kids' department of the local, high priced tack shop; fortunately, riding pants don't come with cartoon characters. The standard color is beige, though they come in other neutrals.
Becca crochets, but does not sew. She makes crocheted stuffed animals. She wouldn't want to make her own clothes, because then they wouldn't have designer labels. Princesses, you know, don't wear homemade clothes. So she shops and shops, hoping for miracles, but comes home with something where size doesn't matter, like a purse.
I love the comment about "I don't feel short." In general, Becca is a strong and confident kid. However, she definitely feels short. Even among the many Asian kids in her school, she is tiny, and is often mistaken for a much younger girl. In fact, she is going to be a senior next year, and a member of the Class of 2013.
Sharon
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I am a full grown adult and believe that there are some advantages to being short and having small feet. I, too, was always the shortest kid in my class and hated it at the time. But now that I am older, I see some of the advantages. You can save a lot of money being the size of a kid. As a kid, you don't like to wear the small sizes because the clothes are always babyish. But these days, they make so many of the adult fashions or brands for kids that if you can wear a kid size, you can get the same things for less money - especially shoes and boots. I buy kid size sandals, UGG boots etc. and save so much money. So, as with most things, there are good and bad sides to it. But being short for a girl/woman is certainly not all bad...
I was adopted from Guatemala and am now 25 years old. I am 4'10" and am proud of it. I have never had a problem or been bothered by being so short. I think all different shapes and sizes come from Guatemala. My twin brother is a bit taller at about 5'6". I would try to teach daughters to embrace and learn to love their height and beauty.
Just wanted to post an update. My DD10 has been on growth hormone for nearly 3 months now and has already grown 1.5 inches! We actually had the experience of pulling out jeans this fall and having them be too short! They were size 6x jeans---but we were doing the happy dance for sure. She has also moved into size 13 shoes. She still has a long way to go to catch up to her younger sister, let alone her 4th grade peers, but she is thrilled by the progress.
That is awesome! I am so excited for her!
My daughter's doctor totally blew us off about how upset my daughter is about her height. The doctor is quizing her about does she like school, does she like her teacher, does anyone bully her at school etc., while I keep reminding the doctor that she is very upset about being so tiny and constantly being mistaken for a kindergartener even though she is in third grade. The doctor just ignored everything I said. So frustrating. It is all well and good for people to say it shouldn't bother them but when it does - a lot - it is heartbreaking.
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Debbie,
As you might recall I am a pediatrician as well as a mom. If your DD is at less than the third percentile for height, I would insist on a referral to a pediatric endocrinologist. Until you do the testing you can't know if your DD is just short due to genetics, or has growth hormone deficiency. Guatemalan children can be growth hormone deficient too. Mine is.
The tests weren't fun, and neither are the daily injections. But my DD did them and does them willingly, without a fuss because she wants to grow that badly. Seeing her face when she realized she had finally outgrown something (this is a child who still has size 4-5T shorts in her drawer!) makes it all worthwhile!
Feel free to PM me if you need more info about anything.
We have the oppisite problem. Our 9yr old is 5 foot tall and BIG for her age. She has already had a period and been diagnosed with Metabolic Syndrom and has several other health issues. We see a ped endo for this. We know that her age is really 9 but she is the size of a 12 yr old. Hard to find clothes/shoes that are appropriate. We have seen many Drs. and no explanation as to her large stature except "her birth family must have been big people" Which I find hard to beleive?
It is hard when your child is so much bigger/smaller than other children of the same age.
BEBE
We have the oppisite problem. Our 9yr old is 5 foot tall and BIG for her age. She has already had a period and been diagnosed with Metabolic Syndrom and has several other health issues. We see a ped endo for this. We know that her age is really 9 but she is the size of a 12 yr old. Hard to find clothes/shoes that are appropriate. We have seen many Drs. and no explanation as to her large stature except "her birth family must have been big people" Which I find hard to beleive?
It is hard when your child is so much bigger/smaller than other children of the same age.
Ugh. That is hard too. My bio son has always been very large and advanced physically for his age. (He just turned 14, is 6 ft tall and could grow a beard if I let him.) We had that problem with shoes and clothes as well and I know it is SO much harder with a girl. And to deal with her having her period that young. Luckly my son is not bothered by his large size like my daughter is by her small size and it is now evening out as the other kids catch up with him, but everyone always thinks he is much older than he is and expects more out of him. As I assume happens with your daughter.
No suggestions, but I feel for you!
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My daughter is 14 and doesn't appear to have grown at all in the last 12 months. She is 4 foot 10 inch and has been an elite Ballroom & Latin dancer. She has now been told that she is to short. She also puts weight on very easily even though we make her have a healthy diet. She loves her dancing but all the partners are to tall and she is devastated that she will have to give up. We always believed she would grow to above 5 foot. We have no idea how tall her birth parents were but we have a photo of them and they don't look exceptionally short. We have not tried any hormone treatment and don't know if this would be to late? We have given her some herbal growth tablets but they haven't worked at all. We would be grateful for any advice from 2 worried upset parents.