Kids

[melanie]

I usually deal with issues fairly well but truth be told, I'm struggling.
Not easy for me to admit, but when it comes to my children all aspects of inner resolve come crumbling.
When I first gave birth to my eldest son, I was overwhelmed.
I knew I would love him, but the reality hit me so hard.
I didn't just love him, I adored him.
That is when the realisation of being a mum sets in.
Love is redefined in a way thats indescribable.
It initially scared me.
That may sound strange but all of a sudden I held in my arms a little person who stole my heart, I knew that my happiness no longer was about me but rather my little man.
The feelings overwhelmed me.
The love was awe inspiring and frightening.
A love unlike anything I had ever known. Selfishness turned overnight into selflessnes.

Fast forward 14 years and I am blessed.
My son is smart and caring, thoughtful and a child any parent would be proud of.
Me personally, I think he is the best thing since sliced bread.
When I started fostering my niece and nephew, he was beyond understanding. His maturity and compassion blew me away.
When he had to give up his room and share with his younger sister, both of my wonderful kidlets never complained once.
No fights, no arguments. They understood why they their space and privacy were sacrificed and they never spoke against it.
In actual fact they took those little ones and poured brotherly and sisterly love on them and have been the most wonderful brother and sister.
To say I am proud is an understatement.
I have freakin, awesome children!

Which brings me to where I am now.
My gorgeous son is healthy and extremely athletic. His sporting achievements are long.
When he was in primary school he was the yr 5 and 6 athletic sports champion. Best and fairest in AfL for club level. Top 5 for three years running in our entire region for best and fairest. Has played rep footy for 5 years and has been named top 3 players for 4 of those. Last year started playing NFL and was picked for A grade.
He started high school last year and out of every year for each subject one child is chosen for academic excellence and out of 300 kids in his year, he was selected in excellence for physical education.
He is a talented young man who loves his sport.

But he is short. Really short.
He started puberty at 10 and I considered seeing a paediatrician back then but opted not too. He was the lower end of normal but just fell within the range. I didn't want to complicate an already confusing time with Doctors visits.
I am tall, over 5"10 and my husband is 5"8. He is the shortest of his family. Both his brothers are over 5"11. My dad is 6 foot. My daughter is 5"7 and yet to start puberty so she will be tall.
Because he started puberty so early the range for him to grow taller is limited.
He is 5 foot.
In the latter stages of puberty.
He had an injury to his foot 3 months ago, so last week I got the X-rays, his growth plates in his feet have closed. Leaving growth limited.
First thing despite starting puberty early, it is extremely unusual with parents of average or above above stature to be so short. Something medically has gone wrong.
I have booked him in to see a specialist to enquire whether growth hormone is needed.
The appointment is in 2 weeks.
I am confused and not certain.
I am worried about starting the drug and I am worried that puberty has progressed past the point where it will be beneficial.
I Am worried that by even pursuing such I am sending him the signal that being the stature he is isn't good enough.
Because he is good enough, he is beyond awesome. A young man I am proud of.
But short is one thing, 5"3 or 5"4 is small for a guy.
But he may remain 5 foot which Is tiny and medically and genetically not normal for our family history.
I would be lying if said I wasn't angry.
It's just not bloody fair!!

[Nicki]

So sorry to hear about this situation - no wonder you're feeling concerned. As the Bible says, pray about it and try not to worry while you wait to see what the specialist says. I was hoping to have the kind of feelings you had when he was born, when I had my first, but I didn't at all. I care about my kids though and enjoy them now (mostly). I very much doubt they'd be as good as yours were about having to share a room and so on!

[RickD]

Mel,

This needs to be an urgent issue with the specialist. You need to find out if he's stopped growing. If he is still able to grow, and his gh levels are low, I wouldn't be concerned about putting him on hgh. All they're going to do is bring his gh level up to within the range it should be. But, he should be tested to see the cause of this.

There's a stigma with hgh and steroids, because they get abused. But, as long as it's monitored properly, medically necessary hgh and testosterone are safe.

Is everything else normal with your son? Has his voice changed? Is he growing body hair? Penis development normal? Is his pituitary ok? Testes functioning?

[Philip]

Echoing, do not worry and be stressed. God knows exactly the situation, and whether treatments are warranted and helpful - or not. They may well be. As for what SHOULD be expected per x-rays, etc., that's an educated guess. But my little brother was a shrimp, a little skinny fellow, at 14. At 15+ he suddenly shot up. He's 6'1 now. My oldest boy was rather short at 14 - he's now just 17 and about 6'2. Some people may unexpectedly grow beyond expectations. However, it's great that you are getting medical help.

Some of us, God sees as being perfect, yet as to His purposes for them, except at different sizes and shapes. Even if he remains short of stature, as you love him beyond words, others will, too! Sometimes, we see all of the societal expectations of what the ideal size/shape is, and many of us won't make the cut for the casting call for the latest teen Disney film. But that's OK. The people who are so concerned with the exterior of people - especially, when such people are otherwise healthy - have much bigger problems than the physical ones they perceive in others. Build him up to be confident AS HE IS. And if he grows considerably, or not, with or without medical help, it will work out. He'll continue to be the great kid you raised him to be, as long as his life is Jesus-focused.

[abelcainsbrother]

I usually deal with issues fairly well but truth be told, I'm struggling.
Not easy for me to admit, but when it comes to my children all aspects of inner resolve come crumbling.
When I first gave birth to my eldest son, I was overwhelmed.
I knew I would love him, but the reality hit me so hard.
I didn't just love him, I adored him.
That is when the realisation of being a mum sets in.
Love is redefined in a way thats indescribable.
It initially scared me.
That may sound strange but all of a sudden I held in my arms a little person who stole my heart, I knew that my happiness no longer was about me but rather my little man.
The feelings overwhelmed me.
The love was awe inspiring and frightening.
A love unlike anything I had ever known. Selfishness turned overnight into selflessnes.

Fast forward 14 years and I am blessed.
My son is smart and caring, thoughtful and a child any parent would be proud of.
Me personally, I think he is the best thing since sliced bread.
When I started fostering my niece and nephew, he was beyond understanding. His maturity and compassion blew me away.
When he had to give up his room and share with his younger sister, both of my wonderful kidlets never complained once.
No fights, no arguments. They understood why they their space and privacy were sacrificed and they never spoke against it.
In actual fact they took those little ones and poured brotherly and sisterly love on them and have been the most wonderful brother and sister.
To say I am proud is an understatement.
I have freakin, awesome children!

Which brings me to where I am now.
My gorgeous son is healthy and extremely athletic. His sporting achievements are long.
When he was in primary school he was the yr 5 and 6 athletic sports champion. Best and fairest in AfL for club level. Top 5 for three years running in our entire region for best and fairest. Has played rep footy for 5 years and has been named top 3 players for 4 of those. Last year started playing NFL and was picked for A grade.
He started high school last year and out of every year for each subject one child is chosen for academic excellence and out of 300 kids in his year, he was selected in excellence for physical education.
He is a talented young man who loves his sport.

But he is short. Really short.
He started puberty at 10 and I considered seeing a paediatrician back then but opted not too. He was the lower end of normal but just fell within the range. I didn't want to complicate an already confusing time with Doctors visits.
I am tall, over 5"10 and my husband is 5"8. He is the shortest of his family. Both his brothers are over 5"11. My dad is 6 foot. My daughter is 5"7 and yet to start puberty so she will be tall.
Because he started puberty so early the range for him to grow taller is limited.
He is 5 foot.
In the latter stages of puberty.
He had an injury to his foot 3 months ago, so last week I got the X-rays, his growth plates in his feet have closed. Leaving growth limited.
First thing despite starting puberty early, it is extremely unusual with parents of average or above above stature to be so short. Something medically has gone wrong.
I have booked him in to see a specialist to enquire whether growth hormone is needed.
The appointment is in 2 weeks.
I am confused and not certain.
I am worried about starting the drug and I am worried that puberty has progressed past the point where it will be beneficial.
I Am worried that by even pursuing such I am sending him the signal that being the stature he is isn't good enough.
Because he is good enough, he is beyond awesome. A young man I am proud of.
But short is one thing, 5"3 or 5"4 is small for a guy.
But he may remain 5 foot which Is tiny and medically and genetically not normal for our family history.
I would be lying if said I wasn't angry.
It's just not bloody fair!!

I've always thought that I was short however my best friend growing up was even shorter than me and still is and yet it is just the way God made us.It would'nt hurt to get him checked out by a specialist however if he's just a short person that is just the way God made him.Your son sounds like an awesome guy.

[RickD]

Mel,

When I was a kid, I was always very short for my age. (Heck, even being old, I'm still short for my age). There was a point in my life that it really bothered me. I remember crying to my Mom, and asking her why God made me so short.

She said it doesn't matter how tall you are, it matters what's in your heart, and that you're a nice person.

Of course, my answer to that was, "Why couldn't God have made me tall and nice.


I've learned to accept my lack of height, and I doesn't bother me anymore. Especially since I look too old to be mistaken for a 10 year old.

Are you sure your son may not have one or two more growth spurts left in him?

[melanie]

Everything else is normal Rick.
Often boys with growth hormone deficiency have delayed puberty but my son is the opposite, his voice broke a couple years ago.
I'm not afraid or worried about using HGH. I have read up on it a lot, I just hope he is a candidate for it.
The growth plates in his feet have fused, so this is an indication that his bones are starting to fuse, but the feet close first with the legs and spine being potentially years later, but everyone is different.
We won't know much until we have the pediactric appointment which is in a week and half.

This isn't a case of wanting my son to be taller, for aesthetic reasons. For him it may be, he just wants to be 'normal' but for me, I question what is medically behind it. It is almost unheard of for a man to be just 5 foot. And I care about his mental health. That is a hard thing for a young man to deal with, are there worse things, absolutely. I know I am blessed he is healthy and I thank God for that everyday but I also don't want my son spending his life feeling like he isn't good enough.
It's just extremely rare, more so when you take into account my and my husbands genetics.
I think something is at play, there has to be a medical reasons.
But regardless of what is found, if the growth plates have fused there is nothing than can be done about it.

[RickD]

I think I understand Mel.

And I think this is where your personality will be a real asset. You need to be assertive with finding what the cause is. If something a doctor tells you doesn't seem right, question it. Do your research, and push for answers.

[melanie]

I think I understand Mel.

And I think this is where your personality will be a real asset. You need to be assertive with finding what the cause is. If something a doctor tells you doesn't seem right, question it. Do your research, and push for answers.

Thanks Rick,
I intend to find out and exhaust every avenue.
For me it's not about accepting what God gives us, in this example short stature.
I accept him entirely they way he is, but when a medical issues arises I think as a mum I have to do everything I can to find the cause and possible remedy.
If at the end of it, it just is what it is then so be it.
He will need the confidence, resolve, sense of self worth and acceptance that I have raised him to have.
And more importantly the strength, courage and love of Christ.

[Bluejay4]

Well I myself am only 5'4 and 15, and probably not going to grow much anymore. I can sympathize(and so can my older brother, he's even shorter than me.). I personally enjoy being smaller, it helps out in track and Karate. Of course everyone's different but really you'd just need to talk to him to find out. I'll be praying for you guys.