Is less than the third percentile failure to thrive?

[girls1]

Hi everyone.

MY 17 month old weighs 18 lb and is 28 in tall. According to the charts, she is at less than the third percentile. I'm really concerned about her size.

She is doing well develpmentally. She reached all of her milestones ahead of time and is a very happy child.

Sometimes, she doesn't have much of an appetite an refuse to eat. I've done everything that I can think of but she isn't gaining weight quickly enough.

Her doctor isn't worried because she is developing well, but I don't feel right just sitting by waiting for something to go wrong.

Have any of you seen babies like this before? Do they grow up to be healthy children? Will she get any bigger or will she just grow to be a small adult?

I'm just a paranoid mom. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

If it's helpful, she was born at 5 lb 9 oz and 18.5 in. Her head circumfrence has always been normal and so has her cbc.

thanks!

[EricJRN, MSN, RN]

If you have concerns about her size, it's important to communicate that to a physician that can either reassure you or follow up on the issue. It's just outside the scope of this website to provide any advice to you on this type of thing.