Is It Too Late For My Son To Grow?

[key]

ravenwoodglass,

I am sorry your son never got diagnosed. THat is very hard. My son will likely remain short and small. He has been on the diet very strictly for almost a year. He has only gained 6lbs and only grown 2 inches. He is just very tiny. HE is not on the growth chart at all for height or weight. He acts completely normal for his age. I know he is not going to be very tall one day and it makes me sad to think of him being so tiny as a guy one day, but I have to deal with it. I just keep thinking that alot of people aren't considered "perfect" and we as his family will have to nurture him as much as we can.

It isn't your fault he didn't get diagnosed. If I hadn't had the internet and Google, I wouldn't have ever diagnosed my son.

Monica

[ravenwoodglass]

ravenwoodglass,

I am sorry your son never got diagnosed. THat is very hard. My son will likely remain short and small. He has been on the diet very strictly for almost a year. He has only gained 6lbs and only grown 2 inches. He is just very tiny. HE is not on the growth chart at all for height or weight. He acts completely normal for his age. I know he is not going to be very tall one day and it makes me sad to think of him being so tiny as a guy one day, but I have to deal with it. I just keep thinking that alot of people aren't considered "perfect" and we as his family will have to nurture him as much as we can.

It isn't your fault he didn't get diagnosed. If I hadn't had the internet and Google, I wouldn't have ever diagnosed my son.

Monica

Some of us are meant to be on the small side, some of us on the large. My DS was in the 65th percentile at birth but dropped to the -10 by a year, and never had a growth spurt and I have hoped for 3 years he would at least gain a couple inches. I think the issue bothers me sometimes more than him. One thing I would suggest is that you have your DS evaluated also by an endocrinologist, sometimes celiac can cause a problem with the growth hormones. This was not the case with my DS, they at least checked that out, too bad they didn't know to look for celiac back then. I think what makes me the most angry and sad is that I was so sick for so long also, couldn't they put 2 and 2 together?

[key]

I am sorry you were sick for so long. It really isn't fair. I have had my son tested at the endocrinologist, but it has been a little over a year or more, so I am thinking of having him evaluated again. It is tough. Yeah, I know what you are saying about it bothering you. My oldest son that doesn't have celiac (his blood tests were all negative) is also small. He is only in the tenth percentile, but I figure someone has to be in the 10th percentile. My youngest son with Celiac is extremely tiney.

Growth hormone scares me, especially since he has other things going on.

Monica

[TCA]

My son is tiny too, was in the -10th percentile, but he hasn't been measured in about 3 months. I'm 5'2 and my husband is 5'8". We both have grandfathers under 5'6", so genetics aren't on his side.

As far as the comment about being little feeling like a birth defect - We have a friend from college who is just barely 5'. He is AMAZING! He is so athletic and plays so many sports. He got married a couple years ago to a drop dead gorgeous girl - she's 5'7". He never complains of his height and is so outgoing that people who know him don't even notice it. He's a posterboard for good attitudes.

My husband was also small most of his life. He hit a growth spurt in college and grew about 3 more inches. You never know when those growth spurts might hit! I, on the other hand, haven't grown since 6th grade. Went from the tallest to the shorest in no time flat.....

[key]

TCA,

I agree that attitude and accepting this and being positive goes a long way as to how kids view themselves. I am always SO inspired by watching the DIscovery health channel. Two of my kids have things. The first one has a scar on his head from ear to ear. You can't see hardly any of it, but on one side a bit. No one has ever asked us about it and I don't think most people see it at all actually. It bothers me a bit, but he can have it revised, but the funny thing is that I see other people with scars and don't think anything of it. I knew a short guy growing up and he had like all the women! My son with the scar is in the tenth percentile, but has all the women liking him. He is like his dad! My husband is 5'9 and I am 5'2 inches and so genetics isn't on our side. I too had a short grandfather.

Anyway, I think our kids will be fine. No one is perfect!

Monica

[ladyx]

ravenwoodglass,

I am sorry your son never got diagnosed. THat is very hard. My son will likely remain short and small. He has been on the diet very strictly for almost a year. He has only gained 6lbs and only grown 2 inches. He is just very tiny. HE is not on the growth chart at all for height or weight. He acts completely normal for his age. I know he is not going to be very tall one day and it makes me sad to think of him being so tiny as a guy one day, but I have to deal with it. I just keep thinking that alot of people aren't considered "perfect" and we as his family will have to nurture him as much as we can.

It isn't your fault he didn't get diagnosed. If I hadn't had the internet and Google, I wouldn't have ever diagnosed my son.

Monica

Don't get discouraged I was just diagnosed just before my 30th birthday, I have had celiac probably since I was born (very Long story). My 2 year old son saved my life...he had severe symtoms and I was determined to find out what was wrong with him in the process I found out what was wrong with me...I have been blessed with an amazing GI. According to him there are only only a few labs in the country that corectly test for celiac disease so if your tests are inconclusive be sure that it is a reputable lab. When I was 14 I weighed about 69lbs...I loved volleyball but I was the shortest girl in my class and the skinniest. I started playing volleyball more and didn't make it home for supper usually. My two favorite foods were rice and popcorn so that is what I made when I got home from volleyball practice...lucky for me they are gluten free. (I am a vegetarian and we usually eat tons of gluten.) Within one summer I grew three shoe sizes...5-6inches (I had a stretch mark up the center of my abdomen from growing so fast) And weighed 120lbs. When I went to school the next year I was 1/2 an inch taller then my friends when I use to barely come up to there sholder. I beleive that between a gluten free diet and puberty everyones kids have a chance of growing. My 5 year Old was the same size between 6 months and 18 months but now she is taller then most 6 year olds she knows...so don't worry yet.