Is. had her six month check-up on Friday morning, which meant we learned the
new set of measurements. This percentile, that percentile. Head
circumference: 35th. Weight: 28th. Length: 49th. Percentiles are a
relatively uncomplicated normative system for babies: their first (or second, after APGAR) grades.
A kind of IRE (Infant Record Exam).
Fortunately, as of Friday, Is. will now have one set of scores.
Throughout the first six months, she had two sets, each corresponding to a
different age: one actual, one gestational. Against her actual peers:
15th. Against her gestational peers: 53rd. At six months, we’re told, her
earliness starts to matter much less, and her development is now calibrated
against others born in early August. This means she’s being scored against
full-term babies. Unfair, of course.