How much did your dd's weigh when they got their first period?

[Suzanne in ABQ]

My SIL has always said that girls start menses when they get to be 95 pounds. I've never heard this from any other source. I didn't pay it much mind, and I don't remember how much I weighed when I started, but I do remember that I was 11yo.

 

My dd will be 13 next month, and hasn't started. She's tall and thin, and weighs about 80 pounds, I think, and has only developed a tiny bit up top. I'm thinking it will be another year, at least, before she weighs 95 pounds, and she could be 14 by then. I've never known anyone to start that late.

 

Have any of you heard of this 95 pound thing before? I'm not concerned, just curious.

[Rhonda in TX]

I know it was more than 95 pounds. However, I don't think I weighed that much. I started when I was 13. When I was 18, I barely weighed 100 pounds, so I really doubt I weighed 95 lbs 5 years before that.

[xxxxxxxx]

I don't know about the lbs. but both my dd and I started a few months before our 14th birthdays.

[PiCO]

My SIL has always said that girls start menses when they get to be 95 pounds. I've never heard this from any other source. I didn't pay it much mind, and I don't remember how much I weighed when I started, but I do remember that I was 11yo.

 

My dd will be 13 next month, and hasn't started. She's tall and thin, and weighs about 80 pounds, I think, and has only developed a tiny bit up top. I'm thinking it will be another year, at least, before she weighs 95 pounds, and she could be 14 by then. I've never known anyone to start that late.

 

Have any of you heard of this 95 pound thing before? I'm not concerned, just curious.

 

 

Well, I started when I was 15 or 16. I know I weighed over 100. My dd was 13 or 14 when she got her period. I think she weighed about 105.

 

My pediatrician said pubic hair is the key. When they have a good triangle, they will start their period within a year.

[Lovedtodeath]

I was 15 in February and started my period in July. I grew from 4' 10" to 5' 4" that summer. I don't know how much I weighed. I was a size 6 at 5' 4" so probably quite a bit more than 95 lbs. My niece has always been very skinny and started hers at 9 years old. I don't think weight has all that much to do with it.

[gevs4him]

Never herd anything about weight, we were told it depends on when the mother and grandmothers started. :confused: My dd started at 12.5 did not weight 95, I started at 14, my mother 13 and mother-n-love 15. So if she is not having problems consider her as blessed :)

Lisa

[Suzanne in ABQ]

Thanks for the quick replies! I guess I'm just surrounded by early starters. :) All my friends "back in the day" started in sixth grade, so 13 or 14 seems late. My dd isn't in any hurry at all, so she'll be happy to know it could be a year or more before she starts. Like I said, I'm not worried. I just wondered if the 95 pound thing means anything. I'll tell her about the pubic hair thing, but I won't tell her that I asked! :)

[Denisemomof4]

Well, I started when I was 15 or 16. I know I weighed over 100. My dd was 13 or 14 when she got her period. I think she weighed about 105.

 

My pediatrician said pubic hair is the key. When they have a good triangle, they will start their period within a year.

 

my pediatrician said she'd get breast buds and pubic hair. I think she may have mentioned underarm hair, too, but can't say for sure.

[coffeefreak]

I thought it had to do more with body fat and less with weight. You have to have at least 10-15% body fat to even have a period, which is why girls get "baby fat" during puberty.

 

Blessings!~

Dorinda

[wagnfun]

Thanks for the quick replies! I guess I'm just surrounded by early starters. :) All my friends "back in the day" started in sixth grade, so 13 or 14 seems late. My dd isn't in any hurry at all, so she'll be happy to know it could be a year or more before she starts. Like I said, I'm not worried. I just wondered if the 95 pound thing means anything. I'll tell her about the pubic hair thing, but I won't tell her that I asked! :)

 

I have always heard the 100lb thing along with a young girl only grows 1 inch after starting her period.

 

And not starting unti 14 sounds sooooo old to me. I started @ 11; same w/ my mom & daughter..

[gardenschooler]

I don't think it's uncommon for girls to start at 14, or even later. Mine were 15 & 14, and they both weighed over 100 lbs.

[Lovedtodeath]

I have always heard the 100lb thing along with a young girl only grows 1 inch after starting her period.

 

I am 5' 7" now and I was 5' 4" when I started. Do I understand that you are only one inch taller than you were at 11?

[Only me]

My oldest didn't get hers until she was close to 15. She only weighed about 85 pounds. My 14 dd weighs about 97 pounds and still hasn't gotten hers. I was late too though so the doctor isn't concerned.

[HeatherLynn]

I was 1 week after my 11th birthday when I started. I did not hit 100 lbs until almost 13. My DD is 5'4", and is 105 lbs. She has very little body fat.

 

Our pediatrician says "boobs, pubes, spurt, squirt". She said breast buds, underarm and pubic hair, growth spurt, then period. I'll let you know how that works out. DD is starting to *barely* get buds, has some underarm hair but none down south yet, and is still growing at the same rate as usual, TOO MUCH. LOL. I cannot imagine what will happen in her growth spurt! They said at 3 she should be near six foot when she is done.

 

I wanted to address the height thing. I was 5'2" when I had my first son at 19. When I had my DD at 22 I was 5'5". There are no hard stead fast rules to when someone stops growing. It varies with people and gender.

[Veritaserum]

I was 13 and probably right around 95 pounds. I've never heard the 95 lb. correlation before.

[Ellyndria]

I was 12, and so that means I was in the 80-85 pound range.

[HiddenJewel]

I have heard about a weight minimum before. Both my girls were about that when they started. But they have a friend who is at least that and 13 and hasn't started yet.

[Luanne]

and she weighed about 90 pounds. I was 12 1/2 and probably weighed about the same. I have a cousin however, who was 16 before she started and she was well over 100 pounds at that point. I've never heard of weight factoring in.

[KidsHappen]

I think that it has less to do with weight and more to do with genetics but I have heard the 100 pounds thing and only growing a inch after puberty. My mom started at 11, I started at 11, and my first three girls started at 11, my fouth dd however didn't start until 12. She was quite a bit thinner than the rest of us though so maybe it's a bit of both.

[Ibbygirl]

My 11 yo dd hasn't started yet although she is already well into puberty. She is very tall, taller than a lot of grown women already and she weighs over 100 lbs.

[Mandy in TN]

I started summer after 7th grade. I was 13years 7months and nowhere near 95 pounds. I weighed 90lbs at 21. My best little girlhood friend started two months before her 14th birthday. She still weighs 85 lbs. dripping wet and only broke 100 when pregnant.

 

Weight cannot possibly be a factor. However, apparently body fat is. In college I took weight training and they did our body fat in the pool. My body fat was so low that the coach actually asked me if I had a cycle. I did.

 

Our other friends growing up started beginning at 9 and the last at 16. We were all normal healthy girls.:)

 

HTH-

Mandy

[Laura Corin]

I was fifteen when I started my periods and I'm sure I weighed a lot more than that. My mother started late too, so there may be an inherited component.

 

Laura

[chaik76]

I have always heard the 100lb thing along with a young girl only grows 1 inch after starting her period.

 

And not starting unti 14 sounds sooooo old to me. I started @ 11; same w/ my mom & daughter..

I grew three inches after I started.

Oh, and also, I did not have pubic or underarm hair yet...

[Peela]

Dd is almost 15 and only just got her first proper period. She weighs about 115 pounds. Hers came when she was a year older than me- I was almost 14. We don't know why- except late maturity seems to run on her father's side and we are not unhappy about it. It may possibly have something to do with us not eating much meat. Who knows. Some of her friends started 3 years ago but they are much skinnier.

[momofkhm]

I'd never heard of 95 lbs. And 14 is within the realm of normal with what I've read. She may be the last person she knows, but I've read it can start as late as 16 and still be normal.

 

Is your daughter athletic? I know that causes things to start later.

[Pamela H in Texas]

I think that is interesting.

 

Well, I would guess my daughter weighed more than 100 pounds because she wasn't extra skinny but was over 5 foot (which would suggest over 100 pounds). I KNOW she has grown more than an inch since then though. She started the month before turning 10.

 

I definitely was over 100 pounds. I was 11 years old, 5'6" tall. I would guess 130'ish pounds. I grew an inch after my kids were born. However, I've lost that inch PLUS recently.

 

My sister was skinny minny. She didn't start til like 14. SHe might have been 95 pounds by then. When she got pregnant, she was under 100 (though 5'7"). She freaked when she got over 100.

[LizzyBee]

I don't think my oldest was 95 lbs yet. She is only 100 lbs now and she started 3 years ago. My 13 yo, who hasn't started yet, only weighs 78 lbs at 5 ft tall. She might be an adult before she hits 95 lbs! Some of my sisters and I were 14 when we started - I know it's on the older side, but I don't think it's that unusual.

[jonesloonybin]

My daughter will be 14 in July and she has not started. She is 5'4" and about 80lbs. But she has all the other signs of puberty. The doctor figures it has to do with her Gardner's Syndrome. She has almost NO BODY FAT. We are trying to get some on her but no luck so far. She is hoping it will be MANY years before she starts..:tongue_smilie:

 

I started in 6th grade and I did not weigh 95 lbs. I also did not have any other signs of puberty.

[Night Elf]

My SIL has always said that girls start menses when they get to be 95 pounds.

 

I've never heard that. My dd11 is heavier than that and is just beginning to develop. Both my older daughter and I were under 95 lbs. when we started. I was 14, and my dd17 started on her 13th birthday.

[Lakeside]

My SIL has always said that girls start menses when they get to be 95 pounds. I've never heard this from any other source. I didn't pay it much mind, and I don't remember how much I weighed when I started, but I do remember that I was 11yo.

 

My dd will be 13 next month, and hasn't started. She's tall and thin, and weighs about 80 pounds, I think, and has only developed a tiny bit up top. I'm thinking it will be another year, at least, before she weighs 95 pounds, and she could be 14 by then. I've never known anyone to start that late.

 

Have any of you heard of this 95 pound thing before? I'm not concerned, just curious.

 

I've never heard of the 95 pound thing before, but I started when I was 14 and I didn't even weigh 90 pounds at the time.

[sagira]

I was 12 1/3 years old when I started and I seriously doubt I hit the 95 lb mark.

[OneRoomSchoolHouse]

I weighed 89 lbs. all the way through high school, so the 95 lb. thing can't be right. I started in 5th or 6th grade.

[TravelingChris]

No, it isn't right. Neither I nor my older daughter was 95 lbs. I gre a few inches and my daughter grew at least two. My youngest is 103 lbs, 12 1/2, and certainly hasn't reached puberty under any criterion. WE just had a bone x-ray done last week for scoliosis and the orthopedist remarked that she is not done growing at all since her hip/pelvic area is different from those who have entered puberty. I am very happy about that since she is only 5 feet tall. (We are investigating growth problems to go along with her diagnosed osteoporosis).

[Storm Bay]

If that were true, then petite women who weigh less than 95 would never start (say, someone who is 4 ft 10 or 5 feet and is healty at 90 lb or something. And then there are we tall women who were too tall to be 95 lb, even if we were very skinny (which I was) by the time we started. I don't remember what I weighed, but I was already taller than my mother, who was 5 ft 6 in (by now she's no doubt shrunk a bit) and I'm sure I was more than 100 pounds by then. My sister was nearly 15 and definitely more than 95 lbs as she has a solid, muscular build.

[Storm Bay]

I'd never heard of 95 lbs. And 14 is within the realm of normal with what I've read. She may be the last person she knows, but I've read it can start as late as 16 and still be normal.

 

 

 

The normal age to start is anywhere from ages 9-17. That's right, 17. If you're later than average it's only a concern if it's different than your family history on both sides. So, my dd not starting yet (she's 14 now) is absolutely normal in my family since my mother was 14.5, my sister nearly 15, one of my grandmothers was 15 and the other was 18. 18 is not normal, but she grew up during several revolutions and perhaps there were extenuating circumstances. My dd is also athletic. I was early for my family, but later than the average of 12 (13 1/2). But she could have been 12 like my mil, sil and one of my mother's sisters.

 

I know someone whose dd started at 8; that is not normal. But the MD laughed when the mother brought in her 6.5 yo and said she thought she'd started developing. The MD apologized a year later.

Edited June 1, 2009 by Karin

[Angel]

Dd is still not 95lbs and has had hers for 2.5 years. I was not 95lbs when I started. My cousin wasn't 95 lbs till right before she had babies and she had been having one for years.

 

I have heard from one friend that girls are not supposed to grow after they start. I don't know about that. Dd has grown some in 2.5 years:tongue_smilie: She is a tiny thing though.

[Tammy]

That is not true....LOL.....my daughter is very skinny (still is).....no fat at all.....and she started at 13. She weighs about 85 pounds.

[scrapbookbuzz]

I think I was 13 (8th grade) when I started. My dd is 10.5 and she started a couple of months ago. But she's a tall girl. Right now she's almost 5 feet tall! I'd say that as long as your dd isn't presenting any issues, like pain, etc, she's probably fine. However, for your own benefit and piece of mind, you may want to consult with your OB/GYN.

[PiCO]

I thought it had to do more with body fat and less with weight. You have to have at least 10-15% body fat to even have a period, which is why girls get "baby fat" during puberty.

 

10-15% bodyfat is very thin. For adult women, a bodyfat % below 20% is not considered healthy. The healthy range for girls is 14-21%, according to this website.

 

My point is, girls do not have to get baby fat to fall into a normal body fat range. A girl with only 10% would be considered very skinny. Female elite athletes will fall this low, and many even continue to have periods as long as they are eating correctly. I have a friend who was an Olympic Cyclist, and she was tested at 8% repeatedly. She had regular periods.

[Lovedtodeath]

I grew three inches after I started.

Oh, and also, I did not have pubic or underarm hair yet...

To further complicate matters some ethnicities have no or very very little body hair anywhere, ever. How do I know? I am not telling.:blushing:

[AndyJoy]

I have always heard the 100lb thing along with a young girl only grows 1 inch after starting her period.

 

And not starting unti 14 sounds sooooo old to me. I started @ 11; same w/ my mom & daughter..

 

My mom was 15. I was 12 years old, 5'3" and about 100 lbs. when I started my period. My sister was 14, 5'2" and well over 100 lbs. when she started. The "grow 1 inch after period" thing didn't hold true for us either--I grew 4 inches after my period, and my sister grew 7 inches! She actually grew several inches after age 16. I came home from college to find that she had passed me up! She was a late bloomer physically--at 14 she still had 3 baby teeth (1 came out the first day of 8th grade, 2 were pulled later that year). At 26 she has never gotten her wisdom teeth--mine were out at 13 1/2.

Edited June 1, 2009 by AndyJoy

[Lovedtodeath]

 

My mom was 15. I was 12 years old, 5'3" and about 100 lbs. when I started my period. My sister was 14, 5'2" and well over 100 lbs. when she started. The "grow 1 inch after period" thing didn't hold true for us either--I grew 4 inches after my period, and my sister grew 7 inches! She actually grew several inches after age 16. I came home from college to find that she had passed me up! She was a late bloomer physically--at 14 she still had 3 baby teeth (1 came out the first day of 8th grade, 2 were pulled later that year). At 26 she has never gotten her wisdom teeth--mine were out at 13 1/2.

I don't even have wisdom teeth. I must be more highly evolved than y'all. :lol: :lol:

[Greta]

I have read that in traditional cultures (hunter-gatherers who get a lot of physical activity, and eat a completely natural diet, so people tend to have low body fat), the typical age for a young woman to start her period is 16.

 

But my understanding is that it is NOT genetic -- that if you take a girl from that culture and raise her on a modern diet of white bread and sugar, she will start her period earlier (and have more body fat).

 

Also, among my friends growing up, those of us who were "skinnier" started later, while those who were "plumper" started earlier. That's purely anecdotal of course, but it makes sense. The higher your blood sugar, the higher your estrogen, right?

 

I don't think you could pin it down to a specific weight though, because that is dependent upon a person's frame size and height and whatnot. It might be something more like the higher the percentage of body fat, the the earlier she's likely to start.

[Storm Bay]

.

 

But my understanding is that it is NOT genetic -- that if you take a girl from that culture and raise her on a modern diet of white bread and sugar, she will start her period earlier (and have more body fat).

.

 

 

There is a lot of controversy on why it's earlier. I haven't heard the white bread and sugar one, but I have heard about hormones in milk & meat and also because there are estrogen-like compounds in plastic that many foods comes in. I've also heard that it was due to better nutrician; that might have been the case 40 years ago, but it wouldn't be the case today. I have heard that higher body fat can start it sooner due to the estrogens produced by fat, but that isn't just white flour and sugar, that's also lack of exercise. My sister was apalled at how people ate where they lived in NZ one year (lots of white bread, fries & gravy on it even, or something like that, junky desserts) but they had low body fat because they walked and exercised a lot. I'm not sure what the average age of menses there is or how it is based on ethnic/racial background there, though.

 

The average age of the onset of menses has decreased by one year in Caucasians and by two for African Americans. It's true that my dc don't eat white bread, but I ate white bread and sugar until I was at least 9 and I was still in the average for my family as was my sister. I kept eating quite a bit of sugar whenever I could get it, too, and our brown bread still had a lot of white flour in it as my mother bought it at the store.

 

According to our pediatrician, who is very good, family history still plays a big part in it. Both sides of my family is still following the same pattern they did when they lived in Europe with very little change, and I'm including some of my cousins. Even my one aunt who was younger abd was 12 and the youngest to start, had dd's who started older than she did, and only one of them was an athlete. She was surprised because she'd bought the theory that we were going younger each generation, too (she's very bright, btw, but it sounded logical.)

[Lovedtodeath]

Dh thinks that a girl we know started early b/c of mind/body connection and that she was exposed to sexual images (cable tv) and told to "grow up" and "be a woman" from a young age. Has anyone else put any thought to that?

[Greta]

I've also heard that it was due to better nutrician;

 

Interesting, but I would hardly say that it could be considered "better" nutrition when starting periods earlier has been correlated with reproductive cancers.

 

I have heard that higher body fat can start it sooner due to the estrogens produced by fat, but that isn't just white flour and sugar, that's also lack of exercise.

 

Yes, you're absolutely right, and I shouldn't have said white flour and sugar in particular, but elevated blood sugar in general, which can be caused by various factors in the diet and exacerbated by lack of exercise. I tend to think of white flour and sugar because they are so ubiquitous in the modern western diet, but any diet which causes chronically elevated blood sugar levels is going to have this same effect.

[Greta]

Dh thinks that a girl we know started early b/c of mind/body connection and that she was exposed to sexual images (cable tv) and told to "grow up" and "be a woman" from a young age. Has anyone else put any thought to that?

 

I've heard this idea before too, but I've never heard of any study that explored it. I certainly believe that the mind-body connection is stronger than generally recognized. I also believe, however, that elevated blood sugar levels play a *huge* role, and the hormones in non-organic meat and dairy products and in all soy products also probably play a huge role. But it would be interesting to find out more.

[MamaT]

My dd got breast buds and pubic hair at 8yo. I took her to an endocrinologist because I thought she was in pre-pubescent puberty. She had always had organic dairy and meats, a healthy diet, and gotten lots of exercise, so it wasn't any of those things.

 

The endocrinologist told me that she was within normal age range, and that African-Americans begin puberty earlier (she is adopted) than us caucasians. I was stunned, as I was 14 when I started my period.

 

She started her period 2 weeks after she turned 11, and weighed about 105 lbs. at 5'1".

 

My second daughter is 9yo (also African-American and adopted) and has had breast buds and pubic hair for about six months, so I have already talked to her to prepare her for the onset of a period.

 

This just seems SO terribly young to me.

[Storm Bay]

Dh thinks that a girl we know started early b/c of mind/body connection and that she was exposed to sexual images (cable tv) and told to "grow up" and "be a woman" from a young age. Has anyone else put any thought to that?

 

 

Whoops, I forgot that one! I've heard of that, but that is very difficult to prove. That wouldn't explain the fact that 35 years ago girls were apparently starting earlier than the generation before. So many theories and, so far, not much proof. Other than that if a girl is overweight she is more likely to start earlier than if she is a healthy weight and that girls with very low body fat tend to start later and often skip (think very serious ballerinas. My sister won't let her dd take dance because she's heard of dancers having eating disorders. However, that is such a tiny fraction of the dancing population. All the girls at my dd's dance studio have healthy body fat or else are overweight.)

[mom31257]

I was 13y5m when I started. I have no idea what I weighed. Our 12y3m dd still hasn't started, even though she was a huge milk drinker and meat eater (thought the hormones might bring it on early). She is about 5'6" and weighs about 120. We're hoping my age has more to do with it and we have longer to wait.