growing like a weed

my three-year-old daughter, kate, take growth hormone shots to help her grow. she was diganosed as SGA/IUGR (small for gestational age/interuterine growth restriction) when she was two years old. she was born small (4 pounds, 14 ounces at 36.5 weeks) and never caught up.

so she had her checkup with her endocrinologist yesterday; she goes every three months. she's grown another inch since her last visit in october which makes her 36 inches tall. that makes 4 inches of growth in the 9 months she's been on norditropin and means for the first time in her short life, she is on the growth chart. she's officially in the 5th percentile for height. her weight is still really low (22 pounds, 8 ounces) which means she's not even close to being on the chart but the doctor isn't concerned. everything else is normal so the weight will come.

we really struggled with the decision to start growth hormones which means giving her a shot every night. but it has been nothing but a positive experience. kate can now ride a bike, get on the toilet by herself, get herself a cup of water from the fridge and finally wear toddler clothing. it's still really hard to find clothes that fit her; her height makes her a 2T but her weight makes her 12-18 months. try finding a pair of jeans for that build. oy.