Precocious puberty? (5.5 yr old)

[DayDreamer]

I'm concerned my DD may be starting puberty.

Here's my primary concern, she *looks* like she is developing breasts. At first I thought it was my imagination but now she wears a sports looking type bra under her shirts (training bra?).

I was at my doctor today for a check up with my 2 week old and I happened to mention this to her. I'm not sure if they are breast buds or just because my DD is on the thicker side. I thought maybe this just looks like breasts because of her being a bigger gal. FWIW, she is about 65 lbs and 46" tall.

I did make her an apt for the doctor. The doc said they can do a simple xray of her hand to see what's going on.

I started my period at 8. I don't want my baby girl to go through this this early (or even at 8) but if it's going to happen I want to be prepared.


Any thoughts?

[Terabith]

Oh sweetie. This is an issue close to my heart, since I also experienced precocious puberty, and if you started your period at eight, you probably did too. It does definitely sound like she is experiencing breast buds. Does she have any pubic hair? A hand x ray will tell you where she is in her growth. If she is experiencing precocious puberty, I recommend you see a pediatric endocrinologist, since precocious puberty can result in stunted growth as an adult. Not to mention the emotional devastation. I would be tempted to stop the progression of puberty in a child that young, via growth hormone or whatever, both for the physical growth issues and also for the emotional/ social issues inherent to puberty at such a young age.

[ameliabedelia]

We had concerns about precocious puberty, starting when my dd1 was a bit over 4. She also "looked" like she was developing breasts...so we took her to the doctor. All the dr. did was a simple exam to see if she actually had breast buds, or if it was just fat. (Dd is also on the larger side...about 56 lbs and 45/46 inches). She also looked for the presence of pubic hair (none) and asked other questions (ie. presence of adult odor. ..etc.).

Since then she has been examined for precious puberty a few more times...and she has never been diagnosed with it. They never did a bone xray...a doctor should be able to tell IF there are breast buds there or not, by a simple exam. Sometimes, fatty deposits can LOOK like breasts, but aren't...a doctor would be able to tell the differnce. So, while I thought it looked like my daughter was developing breast beds, she actually wasn't/hasn't yet (THANKFULLY)

I would only get the bone xray done, IF there actually are breast buds present.

[thismama]

What is precocious puberty and what is the concern? I know nothing about this.

[ameliabedelia]

http://www.kidshealth.org/parent/med...recocious.html

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/pre...OD=displayFull

Simply put, precious puberty is when a child start puberty at a young age (before age 7 or 8 in girls).

[UUMom]

It sounds like she may just be chubby. 65 lbs at that height sounds chubby, which would give her a little belly and some flesh on her chest. At that age, 1 lb per inch is more 'normal'. There are ranges of healthy, of course~ It's not just about what a little one weighs.

I would evaluate her activity level and eating habits first. She may be having an early puberty, but she also just might be chubby and with activity her height and weight might 'normalize'. Also take into account her familial history of size, etc.

It's true that heaver children often begin puberty earlier than their lighter peers.

It's hard to say. Do you have a health care provider you trust to ask? She may be perfectly healthy and well, and she may need intervention. (Change in diet, more activity, ceasation of hormone treated foods etc).

[Nankay]

Breast buds feel like..well..buds..lumps under the skin. If it's just "fat" it will feel different.

[DayDreamer]

Originally Posted by UUMom

It sounds like she may just be chubby. 65 lbs at that height sounds chubby, which would give her a little belly and some flesh on her chest. At that age, 1 lb per inch is more 'normal'. There are ranges of healthy, of course~ It's not just about what a little one weighs.

I would evaluate her activity level and eating habits first. She may be having an early puberty, but she also just might be chubby and with activity her height and weight might 'normalize'. Also take into account her familial history of size, etc.

It's true that heaver children often begin puberty earlier than their lighter peers.

It's hard to say. Do you have a health care provider you trust to ask? She may be perfectly healthy and well, and she may need intervention. (Change in diet, more activity, ceasation of hormone treated foods etc).

Here is a picture of my DD. To me she is not really chubby. She is just thick, like larger bones. I know you can't see her belly, but you can kinda get an idea how she is built. This is why I go back and forth over "is it just fat" or is it buds?

I did ask my Dr. today and DD has an apt May 2. I was just wondering if there was a way I could tell if it's fat or buds myself.

DD is also very active in dance and she plays t-ball. We eat fairly healthy too. It's funny I have one child on the small side of things (under 5%) and another child over 95%. LOL. :

The doc did tell me that since this is a concern we could cut out meats and milk with hormones. It definately wouldn't hurt anything.

[ChristaN]

It really is hard to tell from the photo whether she is overweight. What does her dr think about her weight? I have kind of small girls (8.5 y/o, 50", 53lbs and 6.5 y/o, 44", 40-41lbs.), so I admit that your little girl sounds a bit heavy to me, but, as you say, she may be larger boned and just built bigger, but not necessarily overweight for her build.

I think someone else asked this, but does she have any other signs of puberty -- underarm odor, pubic or underarm hair, etc.?

[Lemonade]

First, since you developed early, it's likely that your daughter will too. I was the opposite--I didn't get my period until I was nearly 15. My oldest daughter is 11 and hasn't started yet.

Second, IIRC, real breast buds should have a different and slightly harder feel than "pudge." So if it feels like fat, it probably is.

[fishface]

The doc did tell me that since this is a concern we could cut out meats and milk with hormones. It definately wouldn't hurt anything.

Does anyone in your family use any kinds of creams or shampoos or something that could contain hormones?

[Terabith]

You could also switch to organic milk and/ or meat, for the hormone issue, if you don't want to cut them out altogether. Pubic/ under arm hair would also be a major clue as to puberty, as would whether or not she has had any growth spurts. I don't see what the problem is with a simple hand xray, though. It offers important clues as to bone age. I mean, obviously you don't want too much radiation, but this is pretty minimal and for a good reason.

[DayDreamer]

Originally Posted by ChristaN

It really is hard to tell from the photo whether she is overweight. What does her dr think about her weight? I have kind of small girls (8.5 y/o, 50", 53lbs and 6.5 y/o, 44", 40-41lbs.), so I admit that your little girl sounds a bit heavy to me, but, as you say, she may be larger boned and just built bigger, but not necessarily overweight for her build.

I think someone else asked this, but does she have any other signs of puberty -- underarm odor, pubic or underarm hair, etc.?

I'm going to look for another picture.

Our doc isn't concerned about her weight at all. She said she is 95% for her weight and 95% for her height so she is proportional. Although when I looked at the CDC charts those % don't seem right. I could be wrong on her height though - she is pretty tall. I do admit though I don't know any other 5/6 yr olds her size, height or weight wise.


She doesn't have hair anywhere or anything else I'd interpret as a sign, except the attitude.

Originally Posted by fishface

Does anyone in your family use any kinds of creams or shampoos or something that could contain hormones?

Hmmm, I don't know. How could I find this out?



THis picture is not the best, taken on my camera phone, but it's the best I can do.

[ChristaN]

I couldn't open your new picture, but if she is proportional on the height and weight charts and the doctor doesn't think that she's overweight, I wouldn't be too concerned about her weight.

Also, if she has no other signs of puberty, I'd be less concerned. It could certainly just be some baby fat and not breast buds. BTW, my 6.5 y/o has a major "attitude," too and pretty much always has . She's definitely not entering puberty.

[s_kristina]

My dd is 5 as of January and has attitude enough to drive us all crazy! She is 48-49" and about 60 lbs. She is off the top of the charts at the ped's office and has been pretty much since she was born. We just got her registered for kindergarten this week and had a number of people at the school commenting on how tall she is. Even with her height/weight and attitude she is showing no signs of being near puberty thankfully. With family history she is very likely to enter puberty at a young age, but for her health I'd rather it be later.

[velochic]

Originally Posted by DayDreamer

The doc did tell me that since this is a concern we could cut out meats and milk with hormones. It definately wouldn't hurt anything.

I posted this in another thread about precocious puberty. My dd attends school with a little girl whose mother is a pediatric endocrinologist. She and I have talked about this (I was a late bloomer... 15) and she said that there is no research to support animal growth hormones to be a contributing factor. She says hands-down it's a result of weight and genetics.

[Meg Murry.]

Originally Posted by velochic

I posted this in another thread about precocious puberty. My dd attends school with a little girl whose mother is a pediatric endocrinologist. She and I have talked about this (I was a late bloomer... 15) and she said that there is no research to support animal growth hormones to be a contributing factor. She says hands-down it's a result of weight and genetics.

From my somewhat limited understanding, precocious puberty is caused in part because fatty tissue stores estrogen and estrogen can trigger puberty. Daydreamer, your dd's weight is difficult to tell from the photograph. Obviously, one approach would be to limit or eliminate sweets, all snack foods, chips, ice cream, cookies, and unplug the television and xbox, period. If you started your period early, precocious puberty may be genetics, or the one-two punch of genetic predisposition triggered by fatty tissue deposits. I don't know. Just a guess. If my daughter were at risk for precocious puberty, the steps I would take to try to prevent it would be the ones I listed above.

[JessicaTX]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...28-07_1924.jpg

Based on that picture, she is not chubby. She's a cutie! I love her expression, I can just picture the attitude going along with it I don't know anything about precocious puberty though. I'm just a sucker for kid and baby pictures.

[orangeiron]

Hi Daydreamer,
I have a lot of info on this and am discovering more every day. PM me if you have specific questions and I can share my story so far with you as well.

[mama2mygirl]

My dd is small. She's 37lbs and 42.25 " and she actually is starting to look tall to me. Unless she's next to kids her age! Put her next to a three-year-old, though, and, baby, she's huge! Anyhow, your dd sounds tall and a bit heavy but looking at both pictures, she's clearly not heavy.
Let us know what the dr. says?

Your dd is adorable!