# Weight of missing baby can't be right can it? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 4, 2011, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weight-of-missing-baby-cant-be-right-can-it/598552 "2011-10-04T14:43:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2011, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weight-of-missing-baby-cant-be-right-can-it/598552/1 "2011-10-04T14:43:04Z")
Sad story about a missing baby: [http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/44771585/ns/local\_news-kansas\_city\_mo/](http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/44771585/ns/local_news-kansas_city_mo/) > [@](#): > > Kansas City police have issued an Amber Alert for a missing **10-month-old girl** who disappeared from her home overnight. > > Police said Lisa Irwin was last seen on Monday at 10:30 p.m. asleep in her crib. Officers were called to the house in the 3600 block of North Lister Avenue at 4 a.m. by the girl’s parents. > > Police could be seen dusting for fingerprints at the home. Initially, officers were closely examining a window. > > “A window looked like it might be a point of entry, but we’re trying to put all the pieces together,” police Capt. Steve Young said. > > Police said Lisa has blue eyes and blond hair. **She is 30 inches tall and weighs 26 to 30 pounds.** The baby was last seen wearing purple shorts and a purple shirt with white kittens on it. > > Call the TIPS Hotline at 816-474-8477 if you know her whereabouts. > > Detectives were interviewing the girl’s parents at the home. The description has got to be a mistake right? Even the pic in the link doesn’t seem to be an unusually large baby. The average weight of a 10 month old is about 20 pounds…I know because my daughter is 10.5 months old. The measurements in the article are more close to a two year old. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2011, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weight-of-missing-baby-cant-be-right-can-it/598552/2 "2011-10-04T15:03:28Z")
She’s around the 97th percentile for height, and in the 99.3 percentile for weight, but those are not grossly disproportionate dimensions for a 10 month old. Weight for height, she’s in the 95th percentile. Again, not abnormal. ---
**Author:** ![Brendone33](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/96bed5/32.png) [@Brendone33](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brendone33)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2011, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weight-of-missing-baby-cant-be-right-can-it/598552/3 "2011-10-04T15:07:50Z")
Yes, but how much did your baby weight at birth? My first son was 8lbs 9 oz at birth and weighed 25 lbs at a year old. My second son weighed 8lbs 11 oz at birth and weighs 24 lbs already at 10 months old. We were recently watching one of our friends little boys who just turned one year old and weighs 32 lbs. One of our friends has a little 3 year old girl that weights only 26 lbs. There is a huge variety at that age. ---
**Author:** ![anson2995](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c77e96/32.png) [@anson2995](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anson2995)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2011, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weight-of-missing-baby-cant-be-right-can-it/598552/4 "2011-10-04T15:22:13Z")
> [@Omar\_Little](#): > > The description has got to be a mistake right? Probably. You’re right that the size described [suggests an average two-year old](http://www.disabled-world.com/artman/publish/height-weight-teens.shtml). ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2011, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weight-of-missing-baby-cant-be-right-can-it/598552/5 "2011-10-04T15:42:36Z")
> [@anson2995](#): > > Probably. You’re right that the size described [suggests an average two-year old](http://www.disabled-world.com/artman/publish/height-weight-teens.shtml). As noted in my post, they also suggest a larger than average, but not abnormally large 10 month old. Take 100 girls who are 10 months old, and 5 will be larger than this child (and I do hope she turns up safe.) ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2011, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weight-of-missing-baby-cant-be-right-can-it/598552/6 "2011-10-04T17:01:56Z")
> [@anson2995](#): > > Probably. You’re right that the size described [suggests an average two-year old](http://www.disabled-world.com/artman/publish/height-weight-teens.shtml). Many people are not average. My baby son is at something like the 5th percentile for weight (he’s really small). But that doesn’t mean he’s abnormal. ---
**Author:** ![Philster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/13edae/32.png) [@Philster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philster)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2011, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weight-of-missing-baby-cant-be-right-can-it/598552/7 "2011-10-04T17:09:38Z")
\*\*Most \*\*people don’t fit the average. The average is not a predictor. ---
**Author:** ![papergirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/aca169/32.png) [@papergirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/papergirl)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2011, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weight-of-missing-baby-cant-be-right-can-it/598552/8 "2011-10-04T21:44:51Z")
My older kids would have been that size at that age, but they weighed over 9.5 and 11 pounds respectively at birth. They were always in the toppish percentiles. When I had my last two kids, and they were more average, it was really strange to get used to. A 2 year old who wears size 2? I’d never had such a creature in my house! I hope this little one turns up okay. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Sodalite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/34f0e0/32.png) [@Sodalite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sodalite)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2011, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weight-of-missing-baby-cant-be-right-can-it/598552/9 "2011-10-05T21:45:29Z")
> [@papergirl](#): > > My older kids would have been that size at that age, but they weighed over 9.5 and 11 pounds respectively at birth. They were always in the toppish percentiles. > When I had my last two kids, and they were more average, it was really strange to get used to. A 2 year old who wears size 2? I’d never had such a creature in my house! > I hope this little one turns up okay. ☹ Agreed. My little sister weighed 11lbs 4oz at birth. She would have been at least this kid’s size at 10 months. ---
**Author:** ![ENugent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/4af34b/32.png) [@ENugent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ENugent)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2011, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weight-of-missing-baby-cant-be-right-can-it/598552/10 "2011-10-05T22:10:40Z")
At his nine month checkup, my son was 24.75 pounds and 31 inches tall, for what that’s worth. ---
**Author:** ![PandaBear77](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/edb3f5/32.png) [@PandaBear77](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PandaBear77)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2011, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weight-of-missing-baby-cant-be-right-can-it/598552/11 "2011-10-05T23:17:22Z")
I was 9.5 lbs when I was born and by 6 mo I was 30 lbs (yes, 30). I didn’t gain anymore during the first year of my life, though. _shrug_ Kids grow differently. ---
**Author:** ![kittenblue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ba8739/32.png) [@kittenblue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kittenblue)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2011, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weight-of-missing-baby-cant-be-right-can-it/598552/12 "2011-10-06T04:01:14Z")
My niece, whose birth weight I can’t remember right now (but it wasn’t over 8 lbs) weighed 23 pounds at 3 months of age. Granted, she’s always been a tall girl (mom was under 5 foot but dad was a 6 footer) but she’s also struggled with her weight her entire life. In contrast, my daughter was 6 lbs something at birth, and 18 pounds at 18 months. I nursed my daughter exclusively for 6 months and weaned her at 17 months. My niece was given cereal in her formula by one month of age (“so she’d sleep”) and meat and vegetables by three months (“that’s how we feed babies around here, and babies need to be fattened up”). So even considering the differences in sizes of individual babies, you also have to consider the feeding habits. Judging from the pictures I see when I stalk my niece on Facebook, she’s not feeding her son the same way!