Upset over baby's weight and Health Visitor... what am I doing wrong?

[LeeLee21]

My daughter is 11 months old and she was 9lbs 15ozs born (just over 4kgs I think) and she is now 28lbs (about 13 kgs).

My Health Visitor has said her weight is a serious concern as she is over the 99th centile and I know she is a big girl but she is active. She crawls, rolls, can climb the stairs and stands independently but isn't walking yet.

She has on a typical day....

on waking - 6ozs formula bottle
breakfast- porridge made with 2ozs cows milk
mid morning - very diluted juice and half a banana or a biscotti
lunch - fruit (usually strawberries or kiwi) a small scotch egg, some bread with jam, a fromage frais and maybe some cheese....
then she sleeps
on waking - 4 oz bottle
mid afternoon - very diluted juice and rice cakes
dinner - half a jar of baby food or fish, sweet potatoes and carrots or shepherds pie or something like that I've made fresh followed by a fruit pot
maybe a bit of banana if she still wants to eat later
before bed a 6oz bottle.

What should I change? I have two older daughters and they ate loads but were about 4lbs smaller than baby3 at this age.

I try to keep her away from sweets, chocolate, crisps etc. I just don't know what to do.... its not like I can make her walk or run it off as she cant walk yet. I'm trying my hardest I just feel defeated by health visitor at the moment and really sad about it all.

thanks for reading

 

[mummytobe_93]

My daughter is 11 months old and she was 9lbs 15ozs born (just over 4kgs I think) and she is now 28lbs (about 13 kgs).

My Health Visitor has said her weight is a serious concern as she is over the 99th centile and I know she is a big girl but she is active. She crawls, rolls, can climb the stairs and stands independently but isn't walking yet.

She has on a typical day....

on waking - 6ozs formula bottle
breakfast- porridge made with 2ozs cows milk
mid morning - very diluted juice and half a banana or a biscotti
lunch - fruit (usually strawberries or kiwi) a small scotch egg, some bread with jam, a fromage frais and maybe some cheese....
then she sleeps
on waking - 4 oz bottle
mid afternoon - very diluted juice and rice cakes
dinner - half a jar of baby food or fish, sweet potatoes and carrots or shepherds pie or something like that I've made fresh followed by a fruit pot
maybe a bit of banana if she still wants to eat later
before bed a 6oz bottle.

What should I change? I have two older daughters and they ate loads but were about 4lbs smaller than baby3 at this age.

I try to keep her away from sweets, chocolate, crisps etc. I just don't know what to do.... its not like I can make her walk or run it off as she cant walk yet. I'm trying my hardest I just feel defeated by health visitor at the moment and really sad about it all.

thanks for reading

Aw don't be upset and don't let them get to you!

What you are giving your baby sounds perfectly normal and I wouelnt cut it down as she's obviously hungry. She wouldn't eat if she wasn't!

I don't think she sounds massive especially as she was a big baby born. Once she starts walking she will probably just stop gaining but gain the height.

Health visitors can make you feel rubbish can't they. Maybe speak to another health visitor?

Also yes she's 99th percentile for weight but she's in the normal range- so don't worry, out of every one hundred babies there would be another baby the same aize and bigger than her and a lot of others around a similar weight xx

 

[Countrygirl13]

Wow, that sounds like a really helpful heath visitor. Did she say what specifically you had to be concerned about? Babies come in all shapes and sizes. Has she suggested a specific food intake? It's not like you feed her junk all day as you say.
If there are serious concerns to be had over your LO's size then you really should expect your oh-so-helpful health visitor to arrange a swift appointment with a paediatrician, dietician or similar. Someone who has a good understanding of baby weight and diets. Grrr!
Good luck getting further advice and information. Your baby's diet sounds great. Its not something you can just cut down on based on the vauge word of a health visitor. Hope you get a second opinion or more help soon.

 

[Kirsty3051]

I wouldn't worry about it. Nothing in her diet looks bad to me. It's not like she's having cake for breakfast, followed by a slab of chocolate for lunch and a bowl of ice cream for dinner I'm sure it won't be long until she's walking/running around all day, then the weight will probably drop off. X

 

[lubylu]

Sorry the health visitor was so unhelpful, have they even checked her height? It could be that she's also tall for her age and therefore in proportion!!

My eldest was 98th centile and ate a lot less than my friends little boy who was 9th centile! It doesn't sound like your little girl is eating too much at all. My son is 3 now and has really slimmed down over the last 6 months or so, he's losing all his toddlerness, makes me quite sad! People have been commenting how much he has changed. My second son is 75th centile and seems so much smaller to me, just shows how different they can all be!

Try not to let the health visitor upset you, it sounds like you have a beautiful happy little girl.

 

[lubylu]

Sorry I meant to say my health visitor used to say that it didn't matter about the centile line as long as they stayed fairly consistent, but they could move 2 lines without concern. My son was born on the 75th centile, then went to 91st then 98th and I was never told that his weight was an issue. He was still 98th ish at his 2 year check but HV said that this was probably due to the fact that he started walking late (around 15 months) and that the weight would take a bit longer to come off. At 3 years old he is now around 75th centile.

Your little girl was heavier than my son at birth so sounds like she has probably tracked her centile fairly closely.

 

[george83]

I really hate it when people make comments about babies weight and you'd think a hv would know better. Do people think it doesn't matter insulting your child just because they are under 18 months old?!

Your Lo sounds like she has a good diet and I wouldn't consider changing it - my eldest is awful at eating and I'd love to see him eat that range of food.

As pp said if your hv gave no specific recommendations then I wouldn't make any changes.

 

[_Meep_]

I WISH my baby would eat like yours!!! Mine barely eats anything, which I hate, but she still manages to follow the 50th centile line. She was born on the 91st, so I panicked when she started to drop, but my HV (who is amazing) said it's fine as long as she stays on it.

As someone else said, babies come in all different shapes and sizes. Yours was born big. She's still big. Its not like she was a 6 lber who has ballooned to the top centile - then it might be concerning, as that would likely be a case of a lot of flesh on a tiny frame. As well as general chunkiness, it's likely your LO is carrying her weight everywhere, judging by her weight at birth - bones, length, her head ... I think mine's large birthweight was likely down to her head - it's still massive, while her body is pretty long and slim.

As you say, your girl is active. She's meeting milestones. She's completely age appropriate. I don't think you should be made to worry about this.

 

[CaptainMummy]

I wouldn't change anything. My 18lb 3oz (50th centile) 9 month old eats the same!
Babies are all so different, but all perfect. She is on the bigger side, yes, but not because you are doing something wrong that is causing it.
I agree that she will probably slim down a bit once walking and running about, but I would ignore your silly HV!

 

[Taurus8484]

My DS2 is 98 percentile and I haven't been told not to change anything. Only that maybe I need to start solids around 5 months because he is so big. Im not too worried. I guess he will thin out eventually. Its comments from strangers, friends and family that annoy me the most. They call him fatty and strangers comment on how big he is. I just nod and smile but it does annoy me.

 

[Cattia]

My DS was always on the 99th centile and still is, for both weight and height. He is 4 and in age 6-7 clothes. He is incredibly tall but I wouldn't say he is overweight. I think you have to take their height into account as that is how BMI is calculated.

 

[minties]

Your LO was obviously born large, at 4.5kg she was 100g over the 99th centile for a newborn girl.

99th centile for 11 months is 11.7kg, and your LO is 12.7kg. She isn't really overly larger than she "should" be.

Is she tall also?

I don't think there is too much harm in keeping an eye out on her weight I suppose, but sounds like she is very normal and roughly following the same curve.

My daughter is obese at 14.7kg for her age, so I know what it is like to worry about weight. I found that less fruit and carb laden foods, and more fats and proteins are helping.

 

[Dolly84]

I wouldn't change a thing, my ds was 50th percentile born and soon reached 91st percentile and stayed on that line, he got to 12 months and the weight stayed similar but he got so much taller and now at 23 months old he's like a bean pole! Ive just had dd 3 months ago and she was 10lb 4oz born and she is on the 91st percentile now just like her brother was so I have got no concerns a here. And if a hv tried telling me to cut something out of their diet I'd tell them where to shove their advise 😬xxx

 

[VickyLou]

I'm having the exact same thing with my HV at the moment. My daughter weighed 7lb 1oz at birth. She Was 21lb 7oz when I last had her weighed so that's just over the 91st line I think. My daughter has a lot of allergies and has milk prescribed by the doctor. But my HV has told me I need to drop her afternoon bottle cause she's having to much milk. She is 4x 6oz bottles a day and 2 meals. Usually half a pouch of something Ella's kitchen for both meals and half pot of fruit after each meal.
I have come to realise that all health visitor give you different advise. You could see another one next time you have her weighed and they would say your little one is fine. I personally think they are all rubbish, quick to criticise but never offer any good advice. I would personally smile and nod when they are telling you what to do then go away and do your own thing. You know your child better than anyone so you will know if you need to be concerned. It's called baby FAT for a reason. They don't move about so they are obviously going to gain weight at a rapid rate as soon as they start moving about it will fall off.

Have faith in what you are doing and ignore the HV. Xx

 

[sethsmummy]

if shes in propeortion hun theres no problem at all. ive found health visitors are mostly nothing but highly opinionated idiots xx

 

[vickyandchick]

I wouldn't worry hun, my lb was 8lb 12oz born and at 8.5 months he was 26lb 7oz, so well over the top line, and my HV didn't say a thing!
She said he'll slow down when he starts moving, he hardly eats anything but nurses a lot.

 

[xprincessx]

I wouldn't worry about it at this stage hun, she sounds like a very healthy active little girl and once she starts walking/running around then she will naturally lose some of the 'baby fat' for want of a better word. Her meals and snacks all sound healthy and you aren't pumping her full of chocolate/crisps etc so really don't take it to heart. I wouldn't change anything at this point.

I wish my son had as healthy an appetite though, he is almost 5 and eats less than your LO but I am majorly concerned about him (he is autistic and most foods are off limits in his mind!!)

 

[sethsmummy]

I wouldn't worry about it at this stage hun, she sounds like a very healthy active little girl and once she starts walking/running around then she will naturally lose some of the 'baby fat' for want of a better word. Her meals and snacks all sound healthy and you aren't pumping her full of chocolate/crisps etc so really don't take it to heart. I wouldn't change anything at this point.

I wish my son had as healthy an appetite though, he is almost 5 and eats less than your LO but I am majorly concerned about him (he is autistic and most foods are off limits in his mind!!)

mine is the same hun

 

[SoupDragon]

Definitely don't worry!

My DD was born at 10lb 2oz (99.6th centile), and the lowest centile she's ever been was 86th at 15 weeks old. She tracked along 91st for a few months, and now she's on 3 meals a day of BLW and taking in a load of food, she was 24lb 8oz (99th centile), at 9.5 months. She's cut down her milk from 40oz to 20oz, but she's eating a lot of solids.

She is walking and burning so many calories now so I'm expecting her weight gain to at least start slowing sometime soon, but she's alwas been on the higher end of the chart so I'm not worried. She's very tall, and even though she has that little baby pot belly, you can see a faint outline of her ribs, and she doesn't look remotely fat. I did panic a little when the HV read out her weight last time, but she wasn't concerned, and said at this sort of age, it would be a worry if they weren't gaining weight, and that it often goes in spurts, so they'll put on a load in one month, and not so much the next month.

It sounds like you are doing a great job and really thinking about what you are feeding your baby, so just carry on with what you are doing, mama!

 

[JessyG]

My lo was always quite big as a baby (so was I!) now that she is walking (running more like) she has lost almost all of her baby chub. I wouldn't worry. Health visitors commented once to me too I told her what she ate, said it sounded good and that she would soon lose it, which she did.