Annoying comments about my son being small

@pentie2003 My kid was a really big baby at 9 lb 12 oz. He's still a pretty big kid at 1y 6m and all his life I got comments on his weight, mostly from my mother and my new pediatrician. He's a big kid with normal toddler chunk. Have they met my husband? Okay, the pediatrician gets a pass on that one.... but still. He's a big dude and he has the "weight lifter's belly," meaning even if he had no fat, he would still be pretty thick looking in the midsection. My son will obviously be the same way!

It pisses me off as well and my responses have become snappy. I tell them to look up from the averages chart and look at my son. Take his body type into consideration. He's just fine and the way he is meant to be. Quit telling me to put my kid on a diet when I feed him pretty healthy and he's a fabulous eater. I've even gone as far as telling someone that really harped on me for a while to go look in a mirror and tell themselves what they've been telling me. It was pretty harsh, but they shut up since then. Doesn't feel too good when the subject suddenly turns to them!
 
@pentie2003 Just wanted to empathize. Both my sons were born at 1%tile or LESS for their gestational ages.

My second is growing much faster than my first did so it gets joked that our firstborn will be in the handmedowns soon
 
@pentie2003 That’s weird. My kid is super small and nobody has ever mentioned it unless I bring it up first. Mines average height and very low weight but also with a Very small head and face compared to a normal toddler. Every other kid looks like a fat bobblehead to me and I have one that looks like a perfect little doll. Also about 2. If anyone said anything to me that was negative I would probably just say something backhanded like “i don’t have any trouble getting sweaters over his head how do you do it? Do you have a special shoehorn?”
 
@jacknorth Well he’s got a big head.😂 he always has had a big head, his weight is in the 63rd percentile, he’s also skinny, he lost so much weight after he started crawling, on top of that he’s a picky eater…
 
@pentie2003 Oh dang! Well that’s normal. Mine is 60th for height and maybe 20th for weight? Eats everything just moves around nonstop. Started walking at 8 months running at 9, so I think it’s just impossible to get calories up that high with the kind of food we eat. Also born at 8 pounds to a taller than average mom and dad. I think it’s just his frame, I kind of look like that so of course I don’t have a juggernaut baby.
 
@pentie2003 One benefit is that he's easier to hold and manage physically! Make sure he's getting enough sleep. Human growth hormone is released during sleep, so it's a huge contributor to growth.
 
@pentie2003 Same exact stats for my son, almost 2. He’s little. My husband is 6 foot. Maybe he got my short genes, maybe he will have a growth spurt. I’m not sure, but I think he’s perfect in every single way.

People say stupid crap all day long. Have a quip ready to go. Or say “thank you for that astute observation.”
 
@pentie2003 I feel you so hard.

My twins came out a month premature and just a hair below five pounds. Somehow they only did a couple hours on the NICU and went home with us. But I am so sensitive about how small they were, and boy twin is. Even though they are now perfectly healthy sizes. But they are different sizes and boy is noticably smaller than his sister so people comment on it. Girl twin takes after me. I was a large baby. She is 90th percentile. Boy twin takes after dad and runs smaller, but healthy, at 30s (aside from his giant lollipop head, 😂). It's still very touchy because they were so freaking small when we came home. I was afraid to handle them, afraid to take off the clothes and blankets and stuff. It's scaring.

No advice. I do tell people, he's fine, he's healthy they are just different people. But really I would like more of a, it's none of your business, this is touchy without getting to details, you know?
 
@pentie2003 My sister was always “short” for her age and wasn’t expected to get much over 5ft, like our mom. Meanwhile I was always really tall, like tallest girl in my class tall. Wellllllll, I haven’t grown an inch since 8th grade and am forever stuck at 5’2”. My sister had a massive growth spurt from about 14-16 and went from around 4’10” to 5’7”. Like I swear she grew so fast you could see it. Who knows how tall he will end up being, certainly the people making comments don’t.
 
@pentie2003 My daughter is 50th percentile, totally absolutely average size.

I get "she's to tall!" And "she's so short!"in the same day from different people. Folks just compare kids to the kids they know, with absolutely no idea if the kid they know is big or little. It's very stupid, but I think it's just a way of making conversation.

Now I always let her wear something outrageous, light up shoes, bright poncho, absurd crocheted hat, crown, anything. The comments about her size stopped and strangers ask about the Outrageous Clothing item instead. And she is DELIGHTED to talk about those!
 
@pentie2003 When I was born, I was 6 lbs and change. My brother was about 10 lbs. We’re both 5’6” now. My husband was 7 lbs and change when he was born and he’s 6’7” now. Baby size does not necessarily correlate with adult size! Plus we are all just going to be the size we are meant to be and it’s not very nice to comment on it.
 
@pentie2003 My 5 yr old granddaughter is petite. My 3 yr old gd is bigger than the 5 yr old. Their mommies get comments all the time. Especially the 3 yr old's mom. I told them to ignore it. You can't make people act like they have any class when they simply don't. 5 y may be small but she's a fireball. When someone comments on her size in front of her she tell them that she's just fine. When someone telks 3 y that she's sure a big girl she basically ignores it. She nods and goes on. Your kid will be the perfect size for them. Ignore the people who lack basic manners and class
 
@pentie2003 the only thing being too small in this world hurts is those kinds of peoples feelings and egos. your child is perfect. unless your pediatrician says it’s something to worry about, he’s good. nobody was ever denied an opportunity in life because of what size they were as a baby. i would just ignore them, don’t even spend the time on them for comebacks. you’re doing good girl 🤍
 
@ashleigh_60 My pediatrician told me he was even average for his age. She told me not to really pay attention to the charts like that. So I told everybody he’s average after his appointment so they’d shut up. It worked for a little bit but now they’ve started back up again🙄
 
@pentie2003 honestly if people kept commenting after you saying that i would just ask them when they got their pediatrics degree and where they got it from. there’s literally nothing they could say to that and i guarantee they wouldn’t ask again
 
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