Our boy is in the 40th percentile for everything - right down the middle. After obsessing over whether he's hitting milestones, the doctor was like "he's perfectly normal" and I felt this weight lift off my shoulders. I didn't realize how much I was catastrophizing until someone just said "yeah, he's fine." Anyone else need that permission to stop worrying?
Congratulations on the peace of mind. That weight lift is real. I spent so much energy obsessing over percentiles until someone told me "40th means he's literally meeting every single milestone on time" and I could finally breathe.
Right down the middle is genuinely the sweet spot. No extreme growth that makes you wonder if something's off, no lagging that triggers the spiral. Your pediatrician gave you a gift with that assessment.
The relief when they tell you your kid is normal is wild. Spent months tracking every milestone like it was a sports stat sheet. Turns out kids develop at different speeds and being average is the best outcome you can ask for.
How much sleep did you lose worrying about this before the checkup? I feel like the first 6 months is just constant "is he normal?" even when everything says yes.
40th percentile is literally perfect lol. Middle of the road means he's developing normally and you don't have anything to worry about. I was the same obsessive parent until our pediatrician basically told me to chill and enjoy the baby instead of measuring him against some imaginary ideal.
Parents really do put so much pressure on themselves about this stuff. My 9mo is in like the 15th percentile for weight and I was spiraling until the doc said "he's healthy, just small, and his family is small." Made me realize I was stressing for nothing. Glad you got that weight lifted!
This is what I needed to hear right now. My girl just turned 6 months and I've been comparing her to literally every other baby I know. The 40th percentile thing is making me feel so much better about where we are.
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That middle-percentile zen is underrated. Everyone's always either celebrating if the kid's in 90th or panicking if they're in 20th. But perfectly normal is actually perfect.