EASY for an 'overweight' 15 week old...

[violagal]

Hi all,

Hope you can help with this - not sure if it should be EASY or Bottle Feeding....
DS2 is 15 weeks old and a big boy. He takes 5 feeds a day of 9-10oz (i.e. I make 9 but when the powder is added it makes just under 10oz) at roughly 7/10.30-11/2-2.30/5-5.30/8-9. He then sleeps through the night and has been doing this for 10 weeks. I thought all was going well and with him sleeping so well wasn't about to change anything! Especially as DS1 had reflux and we spent all our time trying to get milk into him...
However I got him weighed last week and he weighs just over 8kg.  This puts him on the 98th percentile when he was born on the 50th and apparently once a baby jumps two percentile lines he is considered 'overweight'. The health visitor said he should be going 4 hours between feeds if he's taking that amount and should only be taking 4 a day so I should try stretching the time between feeds. And that even if he drains his feeds (which he does a couple of times a day) he shouldn't be offered more than 10oz at one time. I did try this for a couple of days and once he gets to 3h30-3h45 it's hard going as he's usually screaming his head off and will then drain the 10oz in about 10 mins stopping once for a burp. Very occasionally he can go 4 hours from his very first feed but its like as the day goes on the shorter the gaps get. One day in particular I did manage to get him to feed at 7/11/2.30/6 but then he woke at 11pm and chugged the lot. So he clearly wants that 5th feed.

So my questions are:

1) Has anyone else had a baby put on weight like this? Did they drop that last feed themselves?
2) Should I be actively trying to cut out his last feed?
3) Should I look at trying hungry baby milk?
4) Should I be looking at weaning him before 6 months?

Thanks...

[jakobsmom]

I am not an expert, but would say if it isnt broke dont fix it.  If he is hungry he needs to eat, you will have one unhappy baby on your hands otherwise.  I live in Ontario and know nothing about hungry baby formula . It sounds like he is sleeping great, and I would think that if you cut out a feed you might end up with NWs.

[deb]

Agree - if he's hungry, feed him. Odds are good that a lot of this will fall off once he starts crawling - that eats up a whole slew of calories!

[barbaraz78]

I have not experience with bottle feeding at such young age, but my ds was very similar when he was bf (except he did not sttn ). He put a lot of weight in a short time, he was growing 1.5 kg per month until 5 mo, so he was born at 3.3 kg and took about 5 kg in 3 months. I don't remember the exact weigth but it could be similar to your baby's. He grew like this until 5 mo, then he slowed down at 6 mo and from 12 mo (he was 12 kg at 12 mo) and 18 mo he only put 300 grams on. And now at 5 he is just perfect. So I really would not stress. Every child has his own "program" of growth, and it is likely that this is the amount of growth that your baby needs now. If he is genuinely hungry, he will probably need it, especially if he sleeps so well.

[violagal]

Thanks a lot ladies for the reassurance - he is indeed genuinely hungry so will continue to feed him what he wants!

[SallyandJack]

Snap - I'm in the same boat but I've been lucky - we've gone from snack feeding to 4hrs and jack has calmed down - has 5-7oz per feed BUT if he wasn't I would give him what he wanted - don't worry - it'll soon drop off when they're on the move - just go with it

[michaeljacknnugg]

Sigh. Why do health visitors say these things? I found their advice to cause more worry than help in DS's early years, if I'm honest.

Are there any situations in which a baby can be fed too much? Can it be detrimental in any way? I didn't think so, as long as you are following their lead - but I don't know about bottle feeding, which is why I'm asking the question.

[jakobsmom]

Im now bottle feeding my second LO and the one thing that I have noticed is that it is very difficult to encourage a baby to eat more than what they want.  Oh, and that the amount that they eat fluctuates.  I used to get concerned when DS1 would drop his intake, but it always came up again.  With DS2 I have noticed that his intake increases dramatically during a growth spurt - goes from having 5-6 oz bottles to 8-9 and returns to normal once the GS passes.  Just go with it, and I am sure that things will even out.  The great thing is that he is getting enough calories during the day and STTN - a huge accomplishment for his age

[violagal]

Well after deciding to let him lead it appears he may now be dropping his 5th feed himself... The last 3 days eating have been like this:

Thurs: 7, 11, 245, 615 full feeds. 830 was only 3oz
Fri: 7, 1045, 3, 545 full feeds. 845 3.5oz
Sat (today): 630, 1045, 3, 630 full feeds. He didn't wake at all so I woke him at 10 and he took 3oz.

So I'm thinking tomorrow evening if he doesn't wake after the 4th feed then it's probably safe to let him be?? I guess if we get a night feed I'll know he still needs it!

Is it possible he's just been through a massively long growth spurt and he's now evening out? As it doesn't seem right for feeds to be descreasing at 16 weeks does it? Should we expect the same volume of milk until he starts solids?