BabyWhispererForums.com
EAT => Breast Feeding => Topic started by: Alenka on April 25, 2007, 06:33:00 am
-
My DS is 6 mo and he is fat. :D I think he is very cute but people around (even including my dh) are telling me that he is tooo fat. He is almost 24 lb (10.7 kg). His high is around 97% but his weight is 120-140% (don’t know, they have the last mark at 97%) :)
My lo is exclusively bf, I haven’t started solid yet. People are telling me that I should feed him less and may be give him water instead of milk. How can I not feed him if he is asking? And he doesn’t eat if he doesn’t want to. Actually, it’s very hard to make him to eat in the morning, he is never hungry, he eats for 2-3 min only and he is done. But he eats a lot in the late afternoon and evening (from both breasts). And he still wakes up once at night for milk. So, my question is, should I try water? Should I do anything about his weight? I’m afraid it might not be healthy to be overweight ::)
-
imo if he is just breastfed i would do as you are doing.i didnt think you could over feed a breast fed baby.as long as he is thriving i wouldnt worry.once babies get mobile and they start crawling etc there weight flattens out anyway. :)
-
Some ebf babies have incredible weight gain.
There's a big range of normal and it often tapers off.
These are extracts from an LLL article on the subject:
There is "no evidence that a baby who gains rapidly on human milk will have weight problems as an older child, an adolescent, or an adult" (Mohrbacher and Stock 2003).
Giving a breastfed baby water in the early months is, in fact, detrimental since the water displaces the high-calorie, high-fat human milk, which is necessary for optimal brain growth and development. Any substitute for human milk also includes the risk of contamination as well as the possibility that it will interfere with the delicate balance of the breastfeeding relationship. Research has demonstrated that breastfed babies who gain very fast in the first six months become leaner than formula-fed babies after the first six months (Dewey et al. 1993).
http://www.lalecheleague.org/llleaderweb/LV/LVJulAugSep06p54.html
One night feed is not unusual at 6 months. It sounds as though you are responding to his cues which is the most important thing. I would suggest carry on as you are. Nature is not stupid.
Once he becomes more mobile I'm sure you'll find it will all even out. Talk to your doctor if you are worried but a good doctor will explain to you a baby feeding at the breast regulates his own intake. I really don't think you should worry or try and put him on a 'diet'.
-
I have a 23mo & a approaching 4yo & both were 10.5 & 10.4kg respectively at 6months old, they were above 97% & around 75% for height respectively. they were both exclusively BF until 6mo. My eldest weighed 10.3kg (dropped 200g) at 8mo & my youngest was 10.8 at 8mo, so only gained 400g in that time... My youngest didn't look as fat as he is so tall, but I look at photos of my eldest & he was such a budda, yet if you look at them now they would never be described as fat.
My friends almost 9yo was around the other day & he is this tall lanky (almost bordering on skinny) & I know he was a HUGE baby... when my friend & I compared photos he was fatter than my 2 & I'd guess he was about 12kg at 6mo & he was also exclusively bf.
One thing my childhood nurse told me is that the spread for a bf baby is wider than the charts show for forumal fed babies ie he may seem off the chart but if it was a correct bf only feeding chart, he'd probably match at 97%.
I bet by the time he has had solids for a while & gets moving he will thin out... at least that is my experience from the 3 ebf "fat" babies I have come across... although must say the 2 "fat" formula fed babies I have known have grown into "fat" preschoolers/school children.
Hope that helps your fears
-
I think you are doing a fabulous job! Carry on ;D I bet he evens out a bit once he is mobile :-*
-
Ditto what everyone else is saying! :)
-
I know what you are going through, except my baby was combination fed after 5 months...the worst thing is hearing people say `gosh he is a bit baby isnt he?`...It drove me crazy and i also had my doubts about whether my lo was over weight. Trust your instincts and go with the flow. He is now 15 months and a beautiful baby. He is big but tall and strong big not fat!In the end I got quite defensive. When someone made a comment, I looked them in the eye and asked `What are wanting to tell me?´That usally made people back off, because i beleive that people dont actually know what to say about babies except for isnt he cute, big, sweet, goregous, smiley.....Be proud!x Anna
-
Good for you for doing such a great job feeding your LO!
As others have said I wouldn't change it up. I just wanted to let you know that my nephew was about 26 lbs (!) at 6 mo...just an adorable rolly polly. My SIL said she had pure buttermilk in her breasts, lol! Anyway, he is now 6 yrs old, and he has always been a sturdy kid, but in the last year he has become a total bean pole! Tall and lanky.....pants falling off most days, lol!
You're doing a great job, don't let other people try to pressure you into giving water instead of milk. Sounds like your LO is regulating himself just great.
:-*
-
Thanks guys!
I really appreciate your support! :D
-
As everyone said, your lo sounds perfectly healthy and thriving on your milk!
-
My son was about that weight at that age. Now... a year later he has hardly put on any weight, it just slowed down so much. He will be putting on some fat for when he starts crawling and walking :)
Well done!
-
I was just about to post on this exact same topic. My dd is 5 months old and almost 20lbs! I was worried about her weight until I read the responses to your post. I find myself saying how big she is right away when people meet her as if to point out the obvious before they do. I need to stop doing that. I don't want to give her a complex!
I am tired of people commenting on her weight and my mom even asked if maybe I was overfeeding her. I told her that you can't over feed a breastfed baby! People have said the following comments to me about her : she is so fat/chubby, she's a little tank (this one was the rudest). what a little chunk, what are you feeding her, I can't believe how big she is. I know people love chubby babies but the comments are getting old!!!
-
One more...My babes were both in the 100% at 6 months...
DS was approx 19 lbs at 6 months and by a year was about 29...he's now 2 and weighs only 32 pounds...That said..He's REALLY healthy, eats like a champ...everything evens out.
My response was always...
"Mama's got whipped cream"
and they can just leave my baby alone! ;D
-
Sounds like you are doing a great job - giving your baby what he needs when he needs it. Sounds like experience here says that things will even out. My lo is in the 50th percentile for weight and height (7.5kg @ 6months) but has little chubby legs. I am so sick of people saying what a big girl she is!!! Starting to really O*^(*%(* me off, so I can imagine how you feel. Why is it that people love to comment on babies weight?? My BIL started to call her Michy (short for michelen man) and after a few times I told him that people in glass houses.....and then told him that if he didn't stop that I would start making fat jokes about him (he is a very very large man - about 150kg, so you think he would be more sensitive). Hasn't done it since...
Anyway, that's me off my soapbox now.... good luck and hold your head high!
-
I remember when ds#1 was about 8-9mo & I used to leave expressed milk for him at childcare & there was another mother there who did the same & one of the carers said no wonder T is so petite, his Mums milk looks like skim milk next to A's... Mine had about 1cm of cream on top & hers about 1mm.
I always commented, that I should have been a wet nurse for African babies my milk was so good. What used to offend me the most was when people were shocked he was "fat" & bf, as if only ff babies were the only ones who got fat.
-
Yet another story to add. My son was almost 20 pounds at 4 months. He is now almost 5yo and too skinny for my liking. He started slimming down once he got mobile (a VERY active child) and didn't take to solids anything close to what he ate when it came to breastmilk. In fact, he only weighed 23 pounds by the time he was a year. My daughter who wasn't nearly that chunky (she was about 16.5lbs at 4 months, although much shorter) is almost 2 yo and still chunky, although starting to slim down. Once they get active, a kid can really burn through all that baby fat. I was a very chunky kid (not due to overeating) and am nothing like that as an adult - it took awhile for me to burn off my baby fat (ie - puberty :o).
One comment, though - you said your son won't eat breakfast, but is still nursing at night. Perhaps if he ate less during the night he would be more interested in food first thing in the morning. Just a thought.
Breastfed babies are healthy - regardless of the place they fall on the chart. I always viewed it as a point of pride that my babies got so big on breastmilk alone. Plus, it really helped me loose all my pregnancy weight - I always appreciated the favor! Good luck and it sounds like you are doing amazing!
Carrie