# When do girls stop growing (height)



## ChristaN

Dd11 (soon to be 12) is quickly approaching my height. Her feet are a size 7 in women's shoes, but they haven't grown at all in the past 9-12 months, so I think that they are done growing. She wears the same shoe size I do, but mine were a 6.5 pre-kids and spread a half size after having kids, so they are a bit bigger than mine were as a teen.

She doesn't really want to be taller than me (5'4") and I'd be shocked if she was, but given how tall she's gotten (5'2"), I'm begining to wonder if she will surpass me in size. As I recall, I was done growing by 14, but I do think that there was some growth btwn 12 and 14.

From a background standpoint, I am very, very tall in my family. Most of the women range from 4'10" to 5'1" and the men, save for my father who is 5'10.5", are btwn 5'4" and 5'9". Dh is 5'6" and his parents were both 5'4". His family is 100% Italian and there are few, if any, not short people.

Dd is early in the puberty process. She's grown 7" in the past two years, but she still only weighs 84lbs and isn't tremendously developed physically.


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## meemee

we were just discussing this last night.

i think that's about right. i think i stopped growing around 14 myself and i think most girls stop growing during the early teens. or should i saw SLOOOOOOOOOOWs down early teens. right when the boys take off.









also i have noticed in my xh's family the ones who were predominantly meat eaters and sportspeople who played a lot of sports were 2 to 6 inches taller than the rest of the family. are those two things coincidental? i dont know. but my ex's love of meat and playing sports on a regular basis far outdoes the rest of his family which is shorter than him. however in distance relatives they are tall people. so maybe recessive genes?


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## WindyCityMom

I've been the same height since I was in 7th grade. So... 12yo? I was fed the standard american diet as a child though :-/


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## EllyMayMomma

Going in to 8th grade my best friend was a good 5 inches taller than me. By beginning of 9th, we were the same height. I am 5'2" now.


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## MusicianDad

I'm not positive but I think the average is between 12 and 15 years.


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## DirtyHippyMama

i think the growing is absolutely DONE by 16 or so; mostly done by 14?... i seem to remember being in the same size clothes from about age 14 until i had my first child, but i hit my adult height shortly after i turned 16. i only know this because of what my learner's permit and original driver's licenses say (5'6" at age 15 and 5'7" at age 16...but i'm 5'8").

i imagine it differs greatly from family to family.

have you ever played around with the height predictor calculator? here's one that goes up to age 12. it says my sons will be 6'3"!!


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## 34me

My dd is 16.5. She seemed to slow waaaay down after 13 and her feet before that. However, when we put them against grandma's garage wall last week she had grown about an inch from the same time last year. And I know she was standing up staraight as her brother had just hit 13 (14 now) and was trying his best to be taller last year. He is now


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## Dar

Quote:


Originally Posted by *MusicianDad* 
I'm not positive but I think the average is between 12 and 15 years.

That sounds right to me. I remember being 5'6" at 12, and I grew another inch and a half taller at some point. Rain says, "Twelve" and her memory tends to be better than mine for stuff like this... well, for most stuff, to be honest.


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## Devaskyla

I haven't grown at all since I was 10, but I doubt that helps you much.


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## whatsnextmom

The general rule is they stop or slow down around the time they start their periods. Obviously, we all know acceptions.

I was fully grown at 13. My DD is 13, my height with bigger hands and feet. She's still shooting up (has grown 3 inches this year) and hasn't started her period yet. She's built like DH's family and all his sisters continued to grow until 16 or 17 and they are all very tall (5'8" to 6'.) My nieces all kept growing through most of high school.

Most of DD's friends have either stopped or slowed down dramatically.


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## mom2ponygirl

I grew after age 16 - a bit, probably 1/2 or 3/4 inch. I was mostly done at 14. I know several young woman who grew in college. One added only 1/2 inch but the others grew 2 inches or more! The 2 that grew more than 2 inches were seriously late hitting puberty. They both looked like skinny little kids until 17. Those that grew 2 inches were more typical age at puberty and had normal to stocky builds.

My dd is 5'3" a month shy of 12. My family has some tall genes, but dh's family is quite short. We're guessing anywhere between 5'6" and 5'9". Her female cousin is 5'11" at age 17 and her male cousin is 6'2" at just turned 15!


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## eclipse

I was 12. Maybe even 11.


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## Sharlla

i went from 4'11 in 6 grade to 5'4 in 8th grade and stopped growing age 14
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## rhiOrion

I was in the 8th grade, so 13-14. Five foot six.

I was also still about 82 pounds at that point.

It's funny to tell people that in the 8th grade I was the same height I am now, but I weighed almost 50 pounds less.


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## kriket

Quote:


Originally Posted by *whatsnextmom* 
The general rule is they stop or slow down around the time they start their periods. Obviously, we all know acceptions.

This. Puberty stops around the time AF starts so you are about your adult size when you start AF. However with all the chemicals and hormones in food, things are a little skewed.

I was about 15 when AF started, and I was 5'6. I'm 5'8 now, so 2 inches in 11 years!


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## AmaraMonillas

I grew until I was about 17. I'm about 5' 8" and didn't start my period until 15.5yrs old.


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## enkmom

Our doctor said that a good rule of thumb was to count on only another inch or inch and a half after a girl started her period. This has held true for both my daughter and myself. We were 13 though. I am curious to see how this works out with my niece, who is 5'9'' at age 11 and just started her period.


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## philomom

My doc told me that girls reach skeletal maturity by 16.. ..boys not until 21.

This makes sense. I've known my hubby since he was 16 and he definitely grew in the shoulders and chest during his late teens and early 20's.


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## MusicianDad

All I know is DD woke up last week and she was four inches taller overnight! (Well ok, not over night, but with in a month or two she went from being under the 4'9 and 80 lbs to being 5'0 and 95 lbs). I think she is getting close to done though.


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## Jenne

I gained my last inch or so my freshman year of college, so age 18-19. But I also didn't start my period until age 17/18. My guess is, like most things, there is a great amount of variability.









Jenne


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## nextcommercial

My daughter seemed to stop growing for a few years in jr high. But, then she must have had a small growth spurt in the last year. (she's almost 18)

I am extremely tall, but her dad is short-ish. So, it could have gone either way. I didn't stop growing until about 18. However, I didn't start growing until 14. My daughter has always grown steadily except for 5-7th grade, when she seemed almost stunted for a while.


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## Mirzam

My eldest DD, 20, is 5'8" and feels she stopped growing around 18/19. It was that final inch, she was 5'7" by 15. DD #2 will be thirteen at the end of September and is about 5'1'', (DD #1 was quite a bit taller at that age), and is in early puberty (I guess she is a late bloomer), and I am sure she has some growing left, but I doubt she will be as tall as her sister.


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## ChristaN

The height calculators put her at 5'6" as a final adult height which would be shocking given her genetic potential, honestly. She'd be as tall as her dad and a good 2-8 inches taller than all of the women on both sides of the family.

I've heard, and recall, that about stopping growing around the time you get your period. I got mine around 14 and was done growing right around the same time, so that sounds right. I do suspect that dd has a while before she gets to that degree of physical development, so I have wondered if she is going to keep up this massive growth spurt that we've seen over the past two years.

I guess that we'll see in a year or two if she is destined to be the giant of the family (like I am, at 5'4", in our family!).


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## meemee

Quote:


Originally Posted by *ChristaN* 
I've heard, and recall, that about stopping growing around the time you get your period.

if that was true then i would have been a midget. i started at 10.5

also another thing i found in my family. you cant really predict the family's height... if they are not all the same height. both my gpas were over 6 feet and my grammas not too much beyond 4 feet. our cousins came out all varied sizes whether we had tall parents or not.

so i think with recessive genes we cant really predict our children's height.


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## ChristaN

Quote:


Originally Posted by *meemee* 
so i think with recessive genes we cant really predict our children's height.

The weird thing is that our "tall" recessive genes are those people who aren't really short. My dad and I are the only people for multiple generations (as far back as anyone can recall) who aren't quite short. I am 5'4" and my dad is 5'10.5". Every other man on both dh's side of the family and mine going back to great-grandparents is btwn 5'2" and 5'8". All of the women, save for me and one grandma, are btwn 4'10" and 5'1" (again both sides of the family for a few generations).


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## MCatLvrMom2A&X

Not sure how accurate they are but there are multiple sites on the net where you can input your child's age, weight and height right now and it will tell you approx how tall they will end up being. The older they are the more accurate they are from what I have read.

I like this one cause it allows you to input exact age http://pediatrics.about.com/gi/dynam...predictor.html


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## Maiasaura

Quote:


Originally Posted by *enkmom* 
Our doctor said that a good rule of thumb was to count on only another inch or inch and a half after a girl started her period. This has held true for both my daughter and myself. We were 13 though. I am curious to see how this works out with my niece, who is 5'9'' at age 11 and just started her period.

I started bleeding at 11 years and about 2 months. I think I was about 4'10" but I would have to dig out old report cards to be sure








I stopped growing at 14, at 5'1".

HTH


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## ChristaN

Quote:


Originally Posted by *MCatLvrMom2A&X* 
Not sure how accurate they are but there are multiple sites on the net where you can input your child's age, weight and height right now and it will tell you approx how tall they will end up being. The older they are the more accurate they are from what I have read.

I like this one cause it allows you to input exact age http://pediatrics.about.com/gi/dynam...predictor.html

Thanks. That one puts her at 5'6" based upon current height. The page has another link for estimating the height of a female child born to parents the height of me and dh which says that she'd be about 5'2.5".

I wonder on all of those that base height off of current height b/c I'd imagine that a 12 y/o who got her period at 11 vs. a 12 y/o who is barely developed would have different adult heights even if they are the same height at 12 if that makes sense.


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## Melaniee

I believe it was between 8th and 9th grade that I came back from summer and my "little" friends were all taller than me. LOL. I was an amazon child all throughout elementary school. Nearly always the tallest girl and sometimes tallest child. Now I'm 5'6".









ETA: And that would have been the summer after I got my first period. It's interesting, to me, that I hear girls stop then and boys start with their hormones kick in!

ETAA: In my family, each generation of women has been taller. Inserting Dh's family will be interesting b/c the women there are TINY. Though the men are 6'. I have a friend, though, who is the eldest of 4 and the smallest of all!


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## littlemizflava

period started at 11, stopped growing at 17-18 but slowed down alot as a teen. i am now 5'7.


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## madeirameg

Quote:


Originally Posted by *eclipse* 
I was 12. Maybe even 11.

Me too, I think it was closer to 11 and I was 5'6" like I am now! I also started my period at 11 and I do remember reading that that will often stop or slow upward growth (not outward unfortunately







)


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## Ruthla

It really depends on the child. Generally girls won't stop growing in height until they've gone through puberty, but of course there's lots of individual variation. Her feet could be done growing long before the rest of her, or she might grow another few shoe sizes.

A friend's child was fully grown by age 12 (she looked 16-17 when she was 12.) I stopped growing at 16. In all cases I know about, a prepubescent girl grew at least a few more inches in height by the time she finished getting hips and boobs.

My 15yo seems to be fully grown- she hasn't grown in height or bra size in over a year. My 14yo is still growing in both directions (up and "out," in a "girl growing into a woman" way.)

From what you've described about your daughter, I would guess that she'll end up taller than you, but only time will tell for certain.


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## bandgeek

I REALLY depends. I thought I stopped growing at 14 (got my period at 11), but then sometime in my senior year or soon after I gained almost another inch out of the blue.


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## mommajb

I think most growing is done when menstruation starts. There might be another inch to come over the next few years but I would not count on it.

I measured 5'8" until a LLL meeting in my thirties after my 3rd child was born. On a silly whim we measured ourselves and I am now almost 5''9" according to these wise women.









My oldest daughter is 11, no where near puberty yet, wears a size 8 shoe, weighs 84#, and is a little over 5'1" -this is subject to change at any moment. I am not tall for our family.

eta: bandgeek and I have different experiences don't we? It goes to show you that it is hard to say.


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## EdnaMarie

I stopped at 13 (when I started drinking coffee), but I also grew a half inch (verified by medical records, amazingly) at 19. That was odd! And I was still drinking coffee at that time.


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## SilverFish

i kept growing until i was about 18. very slowly, but i was still adding to my final 5'9" then. however, i didn't start my period until i was about 14-5 years old, so that might definitely have something to do with it.


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## Kushali

I was about 5'7" when I started menstruating (age 12). When I graduated high school I was 5'10" and my sister (four years younger) was taller than me. When she graduated college I was taller than her (go figure).

Some of the difference may have been postural. I stopped slouching so much in college (I got more confident and hung out with tall people). But I'm pretty sure I gained one last inch around my 21st birthday.

Which is a long way of saying it depends on genetics. The women on my mom's side of the family all grew early and then put on another inch or so around age 20. I take after them. My dad's side of the family grew later but stopped shortly after menarche (which happened later). My sister takes after that side.


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## aslyn

I started af at 9, and have been 5'2 since 14..my DD is 9 and already 4'11..DH family is all tall (hes actualy the shortest at 5'10) and my family all pretty short 5'6 is about average for the females of the family. I was notifed yesterday by DS that I am the size of a 4th grader lol


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## ChristaN

Quote:


Originally Posted by *aslyn* 
...and my family all pretty short 5'6 is about average for the females of the family.

5' is about average for females in my family. Other than me, the family giant at 5'4", the women all range from 4'10" to 5'2" in my family.

For the time being, dd's growth spurt seems to have slowed down and she's holding steady at 5'2" and about 85 lbs.


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## Super~Single~Mama

8th grade is when all the girls in my family stop growing.


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## rightkindofme

I grew over an inch in my senior year of high school, so at 17.


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## mammal_mama

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Kushali* 
I was about 5'7" when I started menstruating (age 12). When I graduated high school I was 5'10" ...

This sounds similar to me, except that I didn't keep growing after high school. I'm just under 5'10".

My 10yo is now 5'2" tall and weighs 120 lbs. The doctor said she is in "stage 2" of puberty since she has beginning breasts and pubic hair. She had a small spot of blood from her vagina a few months back but still hasn't started menstruating.

When I told her that I only grew about 2-3 inches after starting my period, she became quite upset and went from wanting to start "yesterday" to wanting to hold off for a while so she can get taller than me.

Back when she was a toddler, I used some chart to calculate her prospective height and it showed her final height as about 6'3" tall, and she has always been thrilled to be so tall, and has looked forward to getting taller than me. She is very upset at the thought of just being "average" height.

I am thrilled that she's always loved being a tall girl. I hated being tall when I was a kid, and used to worry that I'd never stop growing and would end up being 8 feet tall or something. But, at the same time, I don't understand why she's so negative about the thought of being medium height or even shorter than average.

I guess she's just so used to perceiving herself as "the tallest" in her group. Many of her friends just come to about her shoulders.


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## Doreen1956

I am 5'1 and I stopped growing pretty much at 12, started my period at around 11. My daughter was 4'8" in the 6th grade, but grew 6 inches in 1 year!! She started her period at age 13 and basically stopped growing, she is about 5'2" 1/2". My son is 18 and is at about 5'7". My husband is 5' 9" and his mother was very short. I used the growth formulas and they were pretty much accurate as far as my kids were concerned. My daughter seems to have stopped growing but I think my son will grow another inch or two. BTW..my stepmother grew 4 inches at age 19, so not all girls stop growing when they start their periods. And I have read that boys can grow till age 25.


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## Doreen1956

I am 5'1 and I stopped growing pretty much at 12, started my period at around 11. My daughter was 4'8" in the 6th grade, but grew 6 inches in 1 year!! She started her period at age 13 and basically stopped growing, she is about 5'2" 1/2". My son is 18 and is at about 5'7". My husband is 5' 9" and his mother was very short. I used the growth formulas and they were pretty much accurate as far as my kids were concerned. My daughter seems to have stopped growing but I think my son will grow another inch or two. BTW..my stepmother grew 4 inches at age 19, so not all girls stop growing when they start their periods. And I have read that boys can grow till age 25.


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## Chloe'sMama

I grew 1.5 inches after high school. Started my period when I was 15.


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## Tigerchild

Mammal_mama, my DD has been the same--always the tallest and enjoying it immensely, and has been off the charts for height her whole life.

At 10 years old she is 5'4" and 100lbs. She started her period at the beginning of summer, and while she is not having 4" growth spurts all at once anymore, in looking at her feet and hands I think she probably has another few inches in her. She's already taller than me, DH's sister, and DH's mom (I don't have any real info on my bio family other than birthparents who were both quite short, she's taller than the heights I have on record for them too). All of the "predictors" had her at 5'11" to 6'+ but I really don't see that happening. I think she'll be around 5'6" or maybe if she's lucky 5'7", which is pretty incredible since right now she is the tallest female in the entire extended family.


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## ChristaN

Wow, this is an old thread! FWIW, dd just turned 14 and has gotten taller than I would have expected. She is 5'5.5". Next to her dad, there is very little, if any height difference and she towers over all of the other women on both sides of the family. My younger one, who will be 12 very soon, seems more destined for typical height in our family. She's 4'7" at the moment, although I'm quite sure that she'll grow more. She is still wearing a size 2.5 in children's shoes, though, so the smaller feet do lend toward me expecting that she won't grow as much as her sister did.


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## Doreen1956

Nothing wrong with being average height, much easier to find nice looking clothes


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## mom2ponygirl

This is an old thread! I looked back and when my dd was almost 12 she was 5' 3.5". She's now almost 14 and 5' 6.5" or a little more. I don't think she's hit 5'7" yet. People say she's caught my height until I stand up straight - I'm 5'8". LOL Her growth has definitely slowed. She was about 4'10" at 10 turning 11, so 5.5 inches of growth for 2 years and now 3 inches of growth the next 2 years. She started her period at 11, but then didn't have another until 12.5. I don't think she is quite done growing yet.


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## ChristaN

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Doreen1956*
> 
> Nothing wrong with being average height, much easier to find nice looking clothes


I certainly don't think that dd minds. She and I are proud of our status as the family "giants" lol although she has a lot of friends who are truly tall to keep her grounded in the fact that she isn't really tall. I think that the only time it bothers her a bit is when she's vacationing with my mom's side of the family. For instance, she was at the beach with my mom (5'), her younger sister (two years younger and 4'7") and her cousin (11 months younger and 4'11"-ish) this summer and I believe that she did feel a bit big compared to their tininess, but I believe that she's aware that they're the small ones in reality, not that she's actually really tall or big boned. She's actually quite thin too.


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## Mirzam

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Mirzam*
> 
> My eldest DD, 20, is 5'8" and feels she stopped growing around 18/19. It was that final inch, she was 5'7" by 15. DD #2 will be thirteen at the end of September and is about 5'1'', (DD #1 was quite a bit taller at that age), and is in early puberty (I guess she is a late bloomer), and I am sure she has some growing left, but I doubt she will be as tall as her sister.


As this is an old thread I thought I would update my DDs' heights. At 22 DD #1 is 5'9' and at 15 (yesterday!) DD#2 is a couple of inches shorter than her big sis, so around 5'7" (still no period),


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## meemee

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *ChristaN*
> 
> Wow, this is an old thread! FWIW, dd just turned 14 and has gotten taller than I would have expected. She is 5'5.5". Next to her dad, there is very little, if any height difference and she towers over all of the other women on both sides of the family. My younger one, who will be 12 very soon, seems more destined for typical height in our family. She's 4'7" at the moment, although I'm quite sure that she'll grow more. She is still wearing a size 2.5 in children's shoes, though, so the smaller feet do lend toward me expecting that she won't grow as much as her sister did.


well since we are on the subject...

i wonder

about diet. does your older dd prefer and eats more protein than your younger dd?

it just might be genetics, but i wonder.


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## Megmoira

I grew my last inch during my freshman year of College.


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## ChristaN

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *meemee*
> 
> well since we are on the subject...
> 
> i wonder
> 
> about diet. does your older dd prefer and eats more protein than your younger dd?
> 
> it just might be genetics, but i wonder.


Not at all. Dd12 eats entire cans of beans as a snack - lol! Dd14 was vegan for the first few years of her life, then strict o/l veggie until about two years ago when she went vegan again and, while she eats tofu and various forms of protein (as does dd12), she probably eats less protein than her younger sister overall. Dd12 was o/l veggie pretty much her whole life, was breastfed longer than dd14, has become vegan in the past year, and really eats a lot of high protein foods with frequency (loves tempeh, beans, seitan, etc.). She's grown about four inches in the past year, but I suspect that's her hitting that growth spurt age more than anything. I think that she's put on a little more height since my last post and may be 4'8" now. I'm kind of expecting her to be similar in size to my mom (5') or maybe an inch or so taller.

Really dd14 and I are quite tall in our family. She and I are the only two women for generations on either side of the family who are over 5'1". Heck, she's even taller than her paternal grandfather by nearly two inches! Unless vegan diets make you tall (I'm vegan too), which I truly don't think is supported by research, I'm just going with random recessive "tall" genes for the two of us.


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