15 Month Old Hasn't Grown in 6 Months

My daughter is 15 Months old and hasn't grown in 3 months and her dr. said if she doesn't grow in a month she'll need some blood tests done, because usually when they don't grow, kids usually lose a little weight also ,and my daughter hasn't lost any weight or anything. Just wondering what are the most serious causes it could be ?

Is she eating well? If so, and you're just not seeing the results on the chart, then hang tight. My daughter is tiny. She is finally 47 lbs. and just turned 9 last week; and it's mostly muscle mass since she's a competitive gymnast. Through our pediatrician, she was also being watched for something more serious. Since birth, she has NEVER appeared on the "regular" growth chart until this past 8-yr-old check up. Our pediatrician has always said as long as she's growing on her own chart, that is fine. He did recommend we see an Endro. and that's been helpful, but honestly only to confirm that there is really nothing "wrong" with her -- just petite. Are you and your husband both late bloomers? Your pedi should be asking you that, which may bring reason to her small size. I would just continue to monitor it. If you notice that she is eating well, and continues to be, and you don't see any change in her activity levels or energy, play mode, etc. then she may just be small and petite! Which for a girl is okay! My daughter continues to be the smallest in her class. A visit to the Endo may make you feel more comfortable. They tested my daughter for thyroid levels, and also to see if she had a missing chromosone, but all were normal. Just watching thryoid, is all. She basically looked at us and said, you just have a petite daughter! Wish you all the best.

I also have petite 15 month old. She was born at 6.14lbs 20 in. She grew fine until she was about 9 months and stopped. At that check up she was 30 inches and 18 lbs. She is currently 31 inches and 19 lbs. They have just decided she is petite. My mother and sister in laws are all under 5'3" and my sister, mother, grandmother and great grandmother are also under 5'3". My other sister and I are both 5'8" so there are small genes in our family as well as tall. She eats very well and a lot. When she was about a year we started giving her pediasure as she never had formula (BF and hated formula) because one Dr told us she was under weight. It did not help but now we knew that she was getting all the vitamins she needed. She will still drink about 5 pediasures a week.
Get her tested just to be sure but try not to worry. I know it is like telling the sun not to shine.
Good Luck.

Hi R.,

Both of mine daughters were the same way. My older one weighted 20 pounds 5 ounces at her 9 month and just 21 pound at her 15 month. She dropped from 80 per cent to less then 50 per cent in weight. But right after 15 month she started to gain weight again. My younger one was the same 20 pounds at 9 month and she did not gain a single ounce by her 1 year old exam! I guess, once they become mobile, they are too busy to eat and consume their energy faster. My doctors did not seem to be worried at all. I was worried with my first one, but now I take it easier the second child. I hope that nothing is serious with your daughter, Her cognitive development seems terrific!

Jen.

I have been in your boat and am currently experiencing the other end of the stick from the previous poster. I have a 6 yr old daughter that was the same way. She wasn't even on the regular growth charts and had been when she was born. We had the same concerns from the doctor and we did blood tests. Those came back "normal" but only because they were testing for thyroid function. We actually did the blood tests 3 times over the course of 3 yrs because she still wouldn't progress and at times seemed to fall even lower on the growth charts. Finally just before she entered kindergarten, the doctor suggested that we do a different test, a bone age test. Not as bad as it sounds, they just took an x-ray of her hand and looked at the growth spots in her bones (from my understanding they are like the soft spots on a baby's head) and determined the age of her bones. The ages should match up pretty well,but ours said that her bones were 2 1/2 and she was 5! From there we were referred to an endocrinologist and were asked a TON of questions about our family history of development---when did I have my first menstrual cycle, about my husband's onset of puberty, our family history of height----you name it and they probably asked it. They again did some blood work and tested for some other things. Those tests came back normal. Then we did a glucagon test to stimulate her GH levels and those came back abnormal. We were finally getting somewhere with this. They did an MRI to look at her pituatary gland and that wasn't shaped right. Through this all we kept thinking that our daughter was normal and just petite. She is a very bright girl and just very small for her age. But after all the testing we determined that she indeed has Growth Hormone Deficiency (GHD). We have since started her on GH therapy. We give her one shot a night and in the first 5 months of being on the shots, she grew 2 inches and gained 2 pounds! For us that was amazing as she hadn't ever grown that much. It would be well worth your time and effort to pursue these tests and meet with an endocrinologist.....even if it turned out to be nothing. I tested my daughter just to prove to the doctors that there wasn't anything wrong with her, but deep in my heart I kept thinking that maybe there was and I was just denying it. I am glad that I finally found out that there was a solution to this. Sometimes, although it is years down the road, things like these can prevent her from becoming a mother herself. I didn't want my daughter to look at me later and tell me that the only reason that she can't have children was because I wasn't willing to put her through a series of tests that could have given her help when she was younger. Keep your chin up and know that you aren't the only one out there. If you have any other questions....please message me. I would be happy to go into more details of our experiences and share my feelings with you.
J.---SAHM of 6, and going through GHD treatments with one

My 3 year old has struggled to grow. His growth has been very slow and at some well-visists there has been no change at all. This is in contrast to my 3 other kids who grow like weeds right out of the gate and are always in the 80-90 percentiles. He wears the same clothes and shoes as his 1 1/2 year old brother. He has been tested for many things and all have come back normal. I know you are anxious and looking for comfort. It will come when you find out the results of the testing. Best Wishes!