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Early Puberty in DD


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Has anyone been through this? I have looked into it and I think she is still in the "normal" range, but I feel so sad and worried about it. She is not overweight, in fact she is pretty small. DH's family seems to hit puberty early and I was prepared for age ten maybe but she is only 8. Anyone know anything about this? or been through it themselves?

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:grouphug: My oldest dd began puberty some time ago. The pediatrician brought it to my attention when she was about 8.5, but she was not concerned. She said that while dd was young, she was considered "normal". I wasn't expecting it quite so soon-I was quite a bit older, as was my mother. My dd is quite overweight, though, and has had other signs of maturing a little faster than her peers since age 4. (She had b.o. at age 4, underarm hair at 6)

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Puberty is a process---where is she in the process? Breast buds, armpit/pubic hair or full on menstruation? My daughter has been developing over the past year or more and started menstruating this year at 10.5. I was wearing a bra at 8 and menstruating at age 9.

Edited by KarenNC
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My dd (now 13yo) also had breast buds at 8. I had her evaluated by an endocrinologist, but they found her normal. She ended up getting her first period a couple of weeks after she turned 11. It made me really sad that she was growing up so fast! :grouphug:

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My dd (now 13yo) also had breast buds at 8. I had her evaluated by an endocrinologist, but they found her normal. She ended up getting her first period a couple of weeks after she turned 11. It made me really sad that she was growing up so fast! :grouphug:

 

Thank you for sharing this. I think I can handle 11. I hope it progresses slowly. How did your DD handle it?

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I would urge you to see a pediatric endocrinologist if you are worried. Even if Dr. Google and your pediatrician say that she is within the range of normal, it may not be normal for her. An endocrinologist can compare her bone age to her chronological age and delay puberty if there is too much of a discrepancy. This will ensure that she reaches as much of her full natural height as possible.

 

Terri

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The only sign so far is breast buds. I am usually not over-sensitive or emotional about my kids...but this is really bothering me. I feel like she JUST started school! second grade!

 

It could be quite a while before she progresses to full menstruation. One web reference said it's usually 2-2.5 years from breast buds to menstruation. http://www.keepkidshealthy.com/development/puberty_girls.html

 

My daughter has handled things very well. She's quite excited about growing up. We did a lot of talking and reading over the last couple of years, as I knew things were likely to be on the early end for her. She was well prepared for things to start, though it did help that she didn't seem to have much of an issue with cramps this first time. We'll see when it happens again.

Edited by KarenNC
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My daughter started getting at around 7.5 and now at 8.5 has started wearing a sports/crop bra (there's not a whole lot there - but they are noticeable...). Our pediatrician said that it's early, but not at all abnormal to have breast buds at 7 or 8. My mother says I was about the same age...

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8 here too, though I was quite reluctant to admit it. I took dd into her ped on her 9th birthday and her doctor confirmed that they were breast buds (9 sounded better than 8 to me!). She said we still had a couple of years before menstruation. I'm okay with starting at 11--we have 5 more months to make that goal! I was worried that dd would be very short but she has had a major growth spurt since that appointment. The whole thing has been happening earlier than I would have wanted, but other than hormonal crying fits it's gone pretty well. We did get a couple of books to read together about what was happening to her. She really liked the American Girl book. We keep it on a shelf in my room and I tell her that she can read it anytime she wants--after her little sister is in bed! She's not supposed to show it to her, and I think she kind of likes keeping that secret.

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My dd started developing noticeable buds at age 7, but progressed so slowly, and began menstruation at age 11 1/4. Being homeschooled, she wasn't made the subject of any remarks like they may at school. But these days it's becoming more common, so probably your dd won't get too many comments.

 

On the other hand, my other dd, developed buds at 12, and menstruated at 13! They can be so different in terms of development rate. Menstruation is known to be more linked to the presence of body hair than breast development. I think the rule of thumb is that menstruation will arrive no earlier than 18months after pubic hair, and possibly later than that. I think my girls were around 2 years.

 

HTH

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moms who have been through this. I am concerned about DD's friends who may not go through this for a long time. Might they make DD feel different or weird?

 

I think they will more likely just be curious.

My dd was later than average (almost 15) but 2 of her best friends started at 11. One is 2 years younger than her but started almost 2 years before her! Really...no problem at all in terms of their friendship. I dont know what your dd's friends are like but I havent found any meanness at all around this issue with my dd's friends. In fact they are open about it and talk to each other about it freely.

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We're going through this, too. I had to buy bras this week for my 9 yro (early 9). I also bought The Body Book for her http://www.amazon.com/Care-Keeping-You-American-Library/dp/1562476661/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1295613164&sr=8-3 and she literally read this book cover-to-cover six times.

 

I was worried about her friends making fun of her, but I think her little BFF thought the bra was very, very cool (and wanted one, too). :tongue_smilie:

 

If you have to go bra-shopping :D Justice http://www.shopjustice.com/ had some really nice ones and so did gap.com. They have the pull-over ones and there's no hooks to wrestle with. The measurement chart on Justice's website was perfect, too.

 

From what our pediatrician said, this is starting to become very, very common. Something's going on. Hormones in the food? Someone suggested weight. These kids weigh more than we did as kids. I have no idea. :confused:

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moms who have been through this. I am concerned about DD's friends who may not go through this for a long time. Might they make DD feel different or weird?

 

Yes, when she was very young she was definitely teased about having breasts. Now that she's 13, on the other hand, most of her friends are very jealous. :001_smile:

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Same here. I noticed my daughter had breast buds on her 9th birthday (she was complaining about them hurting). She didn't start her period until right after her 11th birthday. So take a deep breath. You'll survive. I think sometimes it is harder on mom than it is on the kiddos. ;)

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The only sign so far is breast buds. I am usually not over-sensitive or emotional about my kids...but this is really bothering me. I feel like she JUST started school! second grade!

 

If that's all, don't worry too much yet! My dd had buds by 9 but didn't start periods until 11 or 12. I took her into the ped at 9 and the ped said it would start in a year.

 

I do have a friend whose dd started getting periods at 8. So it is possible.

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Has anyone been through this? I have looked into it and I think she is still in the "normal" range, but I feel so sad and worried about it. She is not overweight, in fact she is pretty small. DH's family seems to hit puberty early and I was prepared for age ten maybe but she is only 8. Anyone know anything about this? or been through it themselves?

what milk is your family drinking.

 

We were able to halt the early onset puberty in dd by switching to milk that's RgBH free.

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I started getting breast buds at 8 and didn't get my period until I was 11. My girls are 6 and I cannot imagine them being anywhere close to ready for puberty but I know a lot of people who are making their K-2nd graders wear deodorant because they actually stink! I was also not overweight at all as a kid and was off the charts small, well below the 3rd percentile, all my life. :grouphug:

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I don't know when my buds started, I do remember complaining they hurt though. I was 9 when my periods began and I was not ready at all. Finally when I was 10 another girl at school started and then a couple more at 11. Several years later I was teaching 3-6th grades and I was simply amazed by the number of girls who had started.

 

Talk to your pediatrician about it.

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Someone suggested weight. These kids weigh more than we did as kids. I have no idea. :confused:

 

I'm clinging to that! My oldest dd is from Vietnam and is a freakin' BEANPOLE! Younger one is from China and is curvy, but not fat. She's ALL. MUSCLE. Please give me another year before breast buds! Okay, at least until Christmas. I'd love to be able to 'gift her' with her first bra. Silly, I know, but it's a mom thing, I guess. ;)

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I'm clinging to that! My oldest dd is from Vietnam and is a freakin' BEANPOLE! Younger one is from China and is curvy, but not fat. She's ALL. MUSCLE. Please give me another year before breast buds! Okay, at least until Christmas. I'd love to be able to 'gift her' with her first bra. Silly, I know, but it's a mom thing, I guess. ;)

 

Do you know that internationally-adopted children are at a far higher risk of precocious puberty than the native-born American (or European) population? My very muscular 10.5 yo Chinese daughter who swims 7 days a week on a team that is known locally as having the hardest workout of any swim team in the state (so you know she's not just paddling around in there) has a bone age of 13.5.

 

It breaks my heart that she may not reach her full natural height, and I am beating on doors to try to find someone to treat her. Precocious or early puberty has real, long-term ramifications. It is not something to take lightly.

 

Terri

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what milk is your family drinking.

 

We were able to halt the early onset puberty in dd by switching to milk that's RgBH free.

 

We have always used hormone free organic milk. Did you really notice a difference though..that she was developing and you quit the milk and she stopped? I thought it was a more cumulative thing.

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The only sign so far is breast buds. I am usually not over-sensitive or emotional about my kids...but this is really bothering me. I feel like she JUST started school! second grade!

 

This sounds right on target to me. All of my girls were at that point at that age and started their periods at 11 just like me and my mother before me. Most of their friends seem to be about the same.

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We have always used hormone free organic milk. Did you really notice a difference though..that she was developing and you quit the milk and she stopped? I thought it was a more cumulative thing.

 

The forward momentum slowed down. She started with puberty changes at age 3. She's now 10 and changes have picked up where they left off and it's to be expected. Her pediatrician warned us at age 3 to teach her early because she'd probably be fully into puberty by age 5. We switched alot of our diet, not just for her, at that time and her puberty changes slowed way down.

 

Of course this isn't scientifically proven, but we've always felt that the raw milk we started drinking at that time was the biggest contribution to her slowing precocious puberty.

 

We also avoided anything to do with soy.

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