Baby gaining too much weight...

[meagsj]

I hope this is the correct place to post this...

DD's pediatrician told me today that she is gaining too much weight and so he wants me to try and drop a feed.  She is 4 months and weighs 17lbs and is 26inches long.  Apparently that puts her around 95th percentile for height and weight.

A typical day for us looks like this:
 
E 7:30
A
S 9:30-10:30
E 10:30
A
S 12:15-1:30
E 1:30
A
S 3:30-4:30
E 4:30
A
S 6:00-6:30
E 6:30
A Bath/get ready for bed
E 8:30
S 9:00
DF 11:00 (5oz Formula)

-DD is breastfed for all feedings except dream feed
-She doesn't wake in the night

So my question is, should we slowly start cutting out the DF or could we try and cut out the 8:30 feed and get her to bed earlier instead?  Ideally I would like to see her have a bedtime sometime around 7:30-8:00 but anytime I try and put her down without the 8:30 feed she gets really upset and cannot be consoled unless I feed her that little bit extra.  If anyone has any advice I would sure appreciate it!

[Shiv52]

At 4 months she may beable to manage a 3.5 hour feeding schedule so that would help you drop a feed and still have the 8.30 feed.

Is there a reason the doctor was concerned about her weight?  My DD1 was always on the 99th percentile for weight but because she was also on the 99th for height my doctor and HV wasn't concerned at all. 

And wow for the sleeping through the night!!!! 

[~ Vik ~]

Dylan was 18 pounds at 4mo, and our dr wasnt concerned in the slightest. In fact, he said it's near impossible for breastfed babies to overfeed and said that I must have super breastmilk! (and Dylan was still waking at night so I'm jealous of you there!! ) Now at 30mo Dylan is tall (about 40in) and quite slim at 30 pounds. So being heavier as a baby, especially ebf, doesn't predict anything, kwim?

Having said that, I agree with Shiv about trying to stretch those feeds to 3.5h as it sounds like she's ready for it.

[nona]

my DS was also at the 95-99% for most of babyhood - and had NW and fed until 8 months old.  i personally think that is crazy your pedi said she was gaining too much weight.

i would ignore the advice of the doctor but no reason you can't go to a 3.5 EASY! HOWEVER, things are going pretty well for you guys so i don't know if i would change a thing!

[meagsj]

I guess I should have added that she has Spina Bifida and will be limited a bit in terms of mobility so that's why the pediatrician is concerned about her gaining too much weight.  But still, I find it a bit strange that he's concerned about it at such a young age.

We have been lucky with her sleeping through the night.  She's been doing it since we brought her home after spending 2 weeks in the NICU.  She scared my husband and I the first night, we thought for sure something was wrong!

[Hedgehog17]

Her weight is only a cause for concern if it is significantly different from her height centile!

As it isn't, then there is no need to worry 

You are doing the right thing giving her good solid early nutrition while she is going through her most rapid growth 

If she's ready to move to a 3.5hr EASY then you can drop a feed as PP have said.

Congratulations on having a baby who eats and sleeps so well 

[Chicane]

i would ignore the advice of the doctor but no reason you can't go to a 3.5 EASY! HOWEVER, things are going pretty well for you guys so i don't know if i would change a thing!

I agree with this whether she has spina bifida or not. Although i do suggest you might want to seek a second opinion on her weight because of the spina bifida but perhaps with someone who specialises in spina bifida and has seen a lot more babies with this condition. I do think that too much emphasis is put on weight for these brand new babies that it gets ridiculous...just monitor the situation, and really, do what your heart tells you because almost always it knows more than any doc! My DS was EBF and had a massive period where the nurse didn't believe me that I wasn't giving him formula...it evened out in the end...

[nona]

ditto pp!