It is exceedingly rare for an ebf baby to be overweight. It is normal for breastfed babies to gain weight more rapidly than their formula-fed peers during the first 2-3 months and then taper off (particularly between 9 and 12 months). That is exactly what happened here: 18 pounds by 4mo, but only gained 1/2 a pound between 9 and 12mo check ups. There is absolutely NO evidence that a large breastfed baby will become a large child or adult.
Breastfeeding experts recommend against trying to limit your baby's nursing by stretching out feedings, limiting time at the breast, using a pacifier to "hold baby off" until a specified time has passed, or offering water so that baby nurses less. It can be dangerous to limit your baby's growth by limiting nursing, as your baby needs the nutrients and fat for proper growth and brain development. Only by following your baby's cues will you ensure that his needs are perfectly met and that your milk supply is maintained. (for more information see http://www.kellymom.com/babyconcerns/growth/weight-toomuch.html)
Recommendation like this from doctors usually come from knowledge of formula fed babies. It IS possible for formula fed babies to gain weight to quickly through overfeeding (too much formula, forcefeeding, improper mixing of formula), which is generally not possible with ebf babies. Formula fed babies also follow a different growth curve than breastfed, which is why the WHO introduced separate growth charts for breastfed babies.
http://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=63598.0 Unfortunately, many doctors (including mine, who is very pro breastfeeding) still refer to the old ones based on formula fed, and end up making recommendations like this.
Does that help?
