Overweight baby?

[A1983]

Ok so my DD has always been a big baby-especially after 8 weeks old...born 8lb 6oz and now at 8months old (getting her weighed tomorrow) she's about 23-24lbs. She was ebf until 6-7months where now she has mostly formula and solids.

But, chubby jokes aside, I am thinking I may be feeding her too much. She is the biggest out of all her friends, people are always shocked when they discover how old she is, and I obviously don't want to be making her fat for when she's older etc etc. I know babies are supposed to be chubby and eat lots but im just making sure that's all. My husband is naturally a big guy-not fat (ok he has a roll or two) but he's a big build. I'm a small build. DD seems to be taking after him in every way ie very big head, looks, frame, chilled personality etc. Could it be that her size is out of my control? Or should I be giving her a little bit less food? Her baby friend is eating half the amount..but is also half the size of DD.

Times are roughly:
Breakfast (8:30am) - 7oz formula
Snack (10am) - 1/4 piece of toast with cream cheese or 1/2 crumpet with butter or 1/2 rusk.
Lunch (12:30) - 7oz formula and sometimes solids ie half an Ella's kitchen size
Dinner (5pm) half an ellas kitchen size of solids ie sweet potato and chicken, butternut squash and pasnip and cheese puree. A yoghurt
Bedtime (7:30) 7oz bottle of formula.

Writing that out seems a lot of food actually...what are your thoughts?

Ps are second babies more like mum? Ie will baby number 2 be smaller as I was as a baby and still am? Going on the notion 1st babies are supposed to be like their Dad's

 

[Lottelotte]

It doesn't sound that much to me. It looks like she has 21 oz of formula, 1 pouch of food (or equivalent) , 1 yogurt and a snack.

My lo is 1 month younger than yours, and seems to demolish quite a bit more than that a day. We are blw, but she is really starting to eat now - today for breakfast she has a few bitesize shredded wheats and some fruit, lunch was a cheese omelette, with a little toast and buttrnut squash fingers. Not sure about dinner yet. She also has nearly 30oz of formla a day. I am actually surprised by how much she puts away.

I am small (about 5'4" and 100 pounds), my dh is bigger (6' and 185 pounds), but I was a big baby. Ellla was born 7 pound 9 oz, and weighed 18pound 4 last tuesday.

I think you have to take their lead. If she seems satified and isn't turning away then its not too much.

X

P.s. i am a ftm so may not be the best person to answer

 

[A1983]

You're still a Mum though Lotte! So yes of course your reply is important and interesting thank you. Yeah she does turn away when she's had enough (and I was pursuing more food in the evening to ensure she slept through - which she does) -maybe I need to do a bit more blw. With the food you listed above, does your DD eat it with her fingers ie picks up the shredded wheat/omelette? My DD drops half of the food or plays with it so not much ends up in her tummy with blw?

 

[Lottelotte]

I had planned to do tw, but my lo had other plans! She refuses the spoon, and so we went with just finger foods. To start with she ate very little, if anything, but over the last week, she has really started to get some in her (with nappy evidence ). I know she has quite a lot of milk, so don't think too much about the food.

X

 

[cocosianelle]

Tbh that doesn't sound like a lot at all, our LO is 10 months and has been on 3 meals a day from around 7 months. We do BLW too so the first month everything just went on the floor ha! That's the thing with BLW it just takes time for them to get used to brining food to their mouths and feeling the textures of it. Our LO doesn't drink a lot of milk but still has it over 4 bottles.

How active is your LO? I found when she started crawling and cruising her weight kind of stayed the same. It's so easy to compare to other babies but they are all so different you must try not to. Although I know that's easier said than done.

 

[A1983]

Thanks ladies-will try blw a bit more-but to clarify do you chop up the omelette (for example) and is the shredded wheat in the milk or absorbed all the milk (envisaging milk over my floor!)

No DD is not crawling yet, just sitting atm. Yeah I really try not to compare, and normally don't unless something worried me. But because she is always the biggest baby even upon meeting new babies I just thought I'd check it out. Seeing my hv at DD's weigh in tomorrow.

 

[Lottelotte]

The shredded wheat, I add a little milk, so it is soft but still holds together, I would say maybe 1 tsp on eah shredded wheat (they are the bitesize sized ones). If it seems a little dry I would add a little more.

The omelette, I cut into strips, maybe 2cm wide, so the pieces are fairly long and easy to grab.

There is a sticky thread on this section that also has some great ideas for finger foods.

It can get messy, after every meal I wipe down the highchair, wash the tray and sweep the floor!

X

 

[A1983]

I gave DD slices of banana and avacardo this evening-she mushed it up in her hands then most of it ended on the floor...but she did eat the bits I put un her mouth with my hand and willingly so, just need to get her to do that bit herself and not mush it! I'll look at the sticky thread, thank you

 

[HKateH]

I gave DD slices of banana and avacardo this evening-she mushed it up in her hands then most of it ended on the floor...but she did eat the bits I put un her mouth with my hand and willingly so, just need to get her to do that bit herself and not mush it! I'll look at the sticky thread, thank you

Not to alarm you but the only real risk of choking with finger foods or BLW is when you put food in the baby's mouth for them. I only do it occasionally now with my fully BLWd 11 month old - I know he knows what he's doing and don't worry at all anymore.

Don't worry if it gets mushed, she'll figure it out eventually!

 

[vegazbaby]

i have the same concerns my lo is 7 and half months and weighs 20lb, but we saw paediatrician recently and he said hes a little over but give him what he wants. hes on 75th centile


my lo has loads more than you

6,30 7oz formula
8am 2 tblspoon of baby porridge - finger food or toast
11.30 - dinner - has about 100g of a meal with protein, ie a cottage pie, or beef stew and i serve with 100g of puree veg, and do a range of cooked veg or salad
2pm he has a bottle 7 oz
4pm he has a sandwich, with some baby rice with veg or fruit
6pm milk 7-8 oz

at the moment his weight is staying the same, hes getting more active
starting to stand against sofa etc.

i tend to start off with the lumpy purees and let him dip in and out of the blw stuff and he soon tells me when he has had enough.

i found it very stressful with weaning, and as long as they get a min of a pint of milk thats fine, i just let him lead the way and ive put my baby in control theres nothing i can do about his weight, i dont give him any sugar, and give him healthy meals
compared to yours though mines a bit of a piggy ha ha

 

[vegazbaby]

https://www.firststepsnutrition.org/pdfs/First Year of Life Practical Guide.pdf

this is really useful

 

[MindUtopia]

Like others have said, I'd say that doesn't sound like two much at all. We did only BLW, so my daughter wasn't really eating much at all until about 9 months, but at 9 months, she was definitely eating more than that (and she's generally pretty small - 6 lbs 9 oz at birth and I'd have no idea how much she weighs now but she wasn't 20lbs yet at 8 months). As long as you are feeding health, whole foods (fruit, vegetables, meat, eggs, yogurt, cheese, potatoes/pasta/rice, etc.) and not junk food or processed food (like crisps or biscuits or chocolate), you really can't make a baby overweight. They know how much they need, especially if you let them take the lead and feed themselves, and couldn't possibly eat enough healthy food in the course of a day to become overweight. Some babies are just big, but as long as height and weight is proportional and she's roughly following her centile line, she's just the right size for her.

 

[liz1985]

Ds has always been a big baby and toddler, top centile for weight since around a month old. I used to be paranoid about his weight and dread getting him weighed, even though I knew he was eating healthily. When he was about 1 I got over it and I just thought I know he's healthy and eating well and just stopped worrying about it. He's 2 now and still chunky but he's loosing it. He hasn't gained weight since before christmas, he's just getting taller and slimming out. As long as your lo is eating healthy you don't need to worry about them being an over weight child they will loose the chub eventually. Remember anywhere on the centile chart is considered normal.