Here's some background. He was only 19.5" when he was born, so he was small, but not too small. Most of my kids are 21-22". He hasn't grown much height wise, but we also suspected he had allergies. At his three year well-child visit, the doctor turned on the lights and sirens because he had stopped growing! That's when the allergy testing started followed closely by his no egg, no dairy, no wheat diet.
So, I've been measuring the little guy regularly lately. I finally decided to plot the measurements on a curve along with measurements I've kept in his medical file from appointments past in Excel. Apparently the growth charts at the doctor's office are only graphed according to well-child visits. They don't include any other appointments. He had a pre-operative appointment three and a half months before his three year well-child (the one where they set off the alarms on his growth) and part of that exam included a height check. Low-and-behold, his height at that visit was .7" TALLER than his three year well-child visit height. He didn't stop growing, he was measured incorrectly or the number was transcribed incorrectly. So, while we know he is small, there was really no cause for the amount of alarm that was raised.
I will politely point that out to the doctor at his four year well-child visit in two months. I will continue on with the no wheat, no dairy and no egg diet, but will be a little less worried that his diet was to blame for the blip. In fact, since removing coconut from his diet entirely, he eczema is almost non-existent except for a small patch on below his buttock on his right thigh. He's not wheezing nearly as much (he does on occasion.) He's growing at a slow, but steady pace.
So we can stand down the red alert and remain at yellow alert for another two months. Whew!
Good thing you plotted it for yourself. .7" is a huge gain compared to 0".
ReplyDeleteHmmm...does he mind being small yet? My 7 year old has been ok with everyone thinking he and his 5 year old sister were twins. But, I'm pretty sure she'll overtake him in the next few months. That will be a bit of a challenge for his self esteem.
I've been working on "using" his smallness to put a positive spin on it. When I cannot reach something on the top shelf at Menards, he is more than happy to be lifted up to read the part numbers and grab the appropriate items. The younger kids cannot mentally handle the task, the older kids are way beyond his 40 lbs.
I continue to keep your little guy in my prayers as we deal with ours. I think you've got it a "bit" harder with all the allergies.
We have a similar situation for my three sets of twins ;-). The oldest two are 17 months apart. The older, a boy, is actually just a hair shorter than his sister. The next set are a seven year old girl who is closely being approached in height by her five year old brother. He WILL pass her up before she reaches puberty. The last set, which includes the three year old boy and a twenty month girl will be a similar problem to the oldest set. However, she will shoot above him sometime in the next year. Alas, all the even children take after their father in height and the odd numbered children take after me! There is a one foot one inch difference in height between us.
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