Back on the charts!

In my last blog, I mentioned that it was anybody's guess who our tallest child would be- all that we knew is that it wouldn't be Savannah. This week was her checkup and it seems not much has changed in that regard.

Savannah was born at an average size (which is small for our babies) at 7 lbs 1 oz (39 weeks). But it didn't take long for her to be outgrown by her peers :) She was holding on to the bottom of the charts, in the 6th percentile, when she was 1. When she was 2 and up until kindergarten, she had fallen off the growth charts completely. I was slightly concerned and asked the doctor about it. He said that because I'm not that big of a person (even though I'm tall), that she will likely just be small, and as long as she was eating and sleeping, and we continued to see growth and development, that we had nothing to worry about.

Savannah has always been incredibly healthy, so I haven't had her in to the doctor for a long time. This year, we took her in for a yearly checkup. I knew she was still short, but we were curious to see if she was back on the charts. Before her appointment, I asked her what she thought. She shrugged her shoulders. My guess was that she would indeed be back on the charts, but somewhere at or below the 25th percentile.

When the results were in, it seems our sweet little girl has indeed made it back on the growth charts! She has almost reached the 25th percentile in weight, but she's still hanging on to the bottom of the height charts, under the 10th percentile somewhere.

The doctor showed me the charts and talked about how most girls finish growing between 12-13. This surprised me because I grew so late. I guess I was thinking all girls are like me and still growing through most of high school. Dan grew late as well, so there's still a chance she will come from behind (like I did) and pass up all her classmates in the final hour ;) And if not, it will be fun to have ONE shorty in the family!

I always remind her of the advantages of being short (she often laments how difficult it is to be the smallest one. She particularly hates the constant "so, are you 6 now?" comments). I tell her how as a gymnast, being short is a particular advantage. I remind her how everyone thinks she's so cute! Sometimes she seems frustrated by her height, and other times I don't think she minds at all. Only time will tell whether she stays our little midgie or whether she indeed has some dormant tall genes waiting to make their move.