Dr said my daughter is gaining too much weight (10 months nursing 8x a day)

[holdontohope]

Hello,

I was told recently by a doctor that I need to cut back on nursing my daughter because she is gaining an excessive amount of weight... She weighs 21lbs at 10 months old. She sleeps all night and has since about 10 weeks old. But... She still wants to nurse 8x a day like a tiny baby!! I obviously don't have a problem with my milk supply because she is super chunky (but not overweight IMO.... she is just a baby!!).

She is very distracted and active now crawling/standing all day long. She nurses from one side at a time for only 5 minutes max. So I consider that 1 nursing session. Then 2 hours later she wants to nurse again for the same small amount of time....

In the beginning she was a nurse every hour type of baby so 8x a day is a bit of a break for me. She eats 2oz of food 3x a day. I do organic homemade baby food, sometimes she has a little cheerios, toast, chicken etc..

Opinions please!!!! I am totally lost on what to do!

 

[JenX]

Is she tall as well? She doesn't sound that big, just healthy. I think go with your gut- if you think she's fine, she likely is. My LO was about the same weight at that age, and she doesn't look overweight either. They'll lean out as they become more active.

 

[bdb84]

Oh, brother. Your doctor needs a swift kick. That's a perfectly healthy weight. My little girl was 23lbs at 1 year and now she's a perfectly healthy 4 year old at 38lbs.

 

[holdontohope]

Is she tall as well? She doesn't sound that big, just healthy. I think go with your gut- if you think she's fine, she likely is. My LO was about the same weight at that age, and she doesn't look overweight either. They'll lean out as they become more active.

Thanks for the reply! She is 28 inches. 75% for height and 95% for weight. She was preemie (5lbs at birth) and they still base her percentages off of babies at 35 weeks, not full term babies. She has super chunky thighs and cheeks but the rest of her isn't really. I am so lost on what to do. And what to feed her/how much

 

[JenX]

Sounds like you're doing just fine. If your baby is hungry you have to feed her. Sometimes doctors get too caught up in charts and graphs instead of looking at the overall individual baby. They're all unique and grow differently. I'd carry on as you are.

 

[missk1989]

My son was 21lbs at 6 months and i was told that was a good thing and to feed him as and when he asked. Carry on!. The weight gain will slow down. In the 12months since then he has only gained 7lbs.

 

[halullat]

She sounds fiine to me, my DS was over 19lbs at 4 months, they just said his weight looks great (he is tall, over 99.6th centile for height 98th centile for weight), babies are different so I'd continue with nursing her x

 

[MoldyVoldy]

I'd be looking for a new ped to be honest.

A lot of peds are unfortunately under-educated about breastfed babies/children. Which doesn't make sense, I know. I had to go through 3 peds before one even brought out the weight/height chart for BREASTFED babies - the previous ones were using the formula fed chart...and even then, a good ped/doctor of any kind looks beyond weight/height and sees the whole body (bones etc).

I'm sure your daughter is more than fine. She's a baby. When she gets more mobile you will see a difference in her structure.

 

[justmeinlove]

Sounds fine to me, someone has to be the 95th centile!

 

[noon_child]

She sounds healthy to me. It changes constantly depending on how active they are too.

The only thing that struck me about your post was that she is having a measured amount of puree. At that age my LO was having three meals of family foods and I didn't really measure her portions just kept giving her food till she stopped eating. However you say she was premature so maybe she isn't developmentally 10months - sorry I don't really know how weaning works with preemies - so it might take longer to get to that stage.

However even if she ate more there is no guarantee it'd make a difference to her weight, it just might give you a bit longer between nursing (if you want it!).

 

[irish_cob]

Sounds ok to me! My daughter was 21lbs at 6 months although she was ff. She was perfectly healthy and is still very tall at 2yrs and 8 months, I've had people ask me if she is 4!