Aibu to be sick of people saying my baby is huge

[Mynotsolittlemonkey]

So my baby is 7 weeks old today. He is absolutely perfect and the picture of a happy healthy baby which everyone agrees with. However I am sick of people commenting on how huge he is, how we should put him on a diet etc. Mostly it is said in jest but it's starting to wear thin. I'm aware he is big but he is also healthy and I think he is actually long not just 'fat'.

He doesn't look like a 7 week old, he looks about 3 months and it makes me sad he is growing so fast which isn't helped by these comments. Today in the supermarket a lady asked how old he was and when I said she told me I was feeding him too much?!

I've also been told he will be a big boy and that I'll need to watch he isn't obese :-( I'm so worried that when he is older he will be bullied or something for being big which I know is ridiculous! Has anyone had a big baby that has evened out as they grew?

He was born 9 pounds and is now just over a stone. He is on the 94th or 95th percentile I cant remember which.

He is bf exclusively and mil has said I'll have to wean him early as that won't satisfy him until 6 months? I'm a bit cautious of anything she says tbh as we have a terrible relationship and she has already tried to give him a bottle so she could have him to stay.

Aibu ? I'm probably being over sensitive! To me he is just perfect :-)

[Noroof]

Ah you'll get used to it. My boy was massive... exclusively breastfed and in size 9-12 at 12 weeks. Even now at nearly 3 he's the size of a 5 year old. Hes perfect though...his weight and height are in proportion.

[crustycrab]

I'm sure he is perfect. He'll even out don't worry! The comments about him being obese etc as he gets older are ridiculous!

Everyone thinks they have a right to comment, just the way it is unfortunately

[cookieoclock]

Absolutely rubbish. Babies are supposed to be chunky.
He will ‘balance out’ as he gets older. But right now it shouldn’t be a worry for you.

[Topsecretidentity]

Mine is in the 99th percentile but I've never had those comments. Have people seriously mentioned dieting/ early weaning/ obesity? Rude rude rude. Just ignore them OP or tell them your doctor's really happy with baby's development so they don't need to worry on his behalf.

[Pipandmum]

My son was over 10lbs at 37 weeks. He didn’t look chubby though, but did look much older than he was. But nobody said anything about it in terms of his size.
However he did need food from about four months, but you can keep breastfeeding - I stopped at 5 months because I returned to work.

[Hangingtrousers]

My dd was exactly like this
She was born 8lb 8... But shot up.. just EBF and was off the centiles chart by 8 weeks. I was told off by Health Visitors .. told she was too fat looking back at photos she had thigh rolls.
I did baby led weaning at 6 months .. breast milk was fine till then.
She's 5 now. Slim and active. Ignore and focus on your baby. She also now only eats pasta and cherry tomatoes but that's another thread 😂

[Mynotsolittlemonkey]

It's just making me so annoyed and paranoid myself that he will have problems with weight etc! If you didn't know he was 7 weeks and looked at him you wouldn't think he was too fat I don't think...I think you'd just think he was older than he is. He does have little chunky arms and legs but all babies have that stage don't they? He is in proportion id say. His dad is tall and a big build (not obese) and was bullied as a child so I think that makes me more worried!

[Topsecretidentity]

Oh and they definitely slim down once they start moving, though he might stay bigger than average it'll be in muscle/ height rather than fatty baby roll form.

[Mynotsolittlemonkey]

Basically I worry about everything in case you all hadn't guessed 😂

[Worlds0kayestmum]

People love to comment unnecessarily. My DS was premature so I constantly have the 'tiny' comments which made me panic about him being the smallest at school and bullied etc. Now I just smile, nod and ignore the comments. Your DS sounds perfect

[JustMe81]

You’ll get used to it with a big baby OP. My sons just over 2 now and I constantly get comments about him being “big” He’s 55percentile for weight and 98th for height. People just feel the need to comment on something. Let it go over you head, babies are supposed to be chunky, don’t worry about weaning etc yet, he’ll change so much over the next few weeks and months.

[TORDEVAN]

just ignore them!

My daughter was born just over 10lb, I got told she looked 3 months old size at birth. She started solids at 6 months. She's perfect. She is on the 90th+ centile for everything, but looks in perfect proportion (and she's very skinny now).

As with most unwanted comments/advice - just smile/nod/laugh and forget what they said best way to deal with it I've found. Everyone has an opinion, and too many people seem to want to unnecessarily share the less positive ones!

He sounds like a healthy size, and I've always been told you can't overfeed a baby - they take what they want and give back any they didn't want

[NeverTwerkNaked]

My two were huge and fat babies.yhey are skinny children now! Trust your instincts and ignore the sillier comments.

[Venger]

Babies don't really do a lot when they're very young so people can't comment on their skills or abilities which is why they nearly always comment on size, it's a case of people wanting to say something rather than nothing. It cuts both ways if that's any consolation. I've had one huge baby on the 98th centile from birth and got all the comments about him being huge, what am I feeding him, no way is he only that age, etc. I've also had a titchy baby on the 2nd centile and had all the comments about her being tiny, am I actually feeding her because she doesn't seem to grow, no way is she that age she's so small, etc.

[Mynotsolittlemonkey]

Thank you all for the reassurance :-)

@Topsecretidentity yep at least one comment from everyone we have met I'd say. Some people (like family) say it as trying to be nice I think, like that he's a big healthy boy or something. But strangers have commented on it like the lady today. I went to baby massage and the lady next to me asked if she could take a photo to compare him to her much smaller baby

[AwkwardAsAllGetout]

Sounds like you’re doing a great job. My dd was 9.2 at birth and is only just 14 pounds now at 18 weeks. Hv were concerned as she was born so big and has dropped down some centiles but she seems to have levelled off now. Incidentally, dh was over 10 pounds at birth and at one week old mil was told by the doctor to ‘feed the brute’ as she thought she couldn’t feed him herself, and he was given rice and rusks in his bottle from that day He is a GIANT now to be fair, but I’ve always been told it’s not possible to overfeed a breastfed baby. I have some friends who had babies at the same time as me and their dc are now much bigger than mine but also all seem to sleep better so hopefully that’ll be the same for you too!

[Lemoneeza]

My size 8 petite friend was a ten pound baby.

You'll get used to the comments. Supermarkets are the worst.

[Singlenotsingle]

I knew boy and girl twins who were little fat butter balls. They grew up to be uber skinny. I don't think baby weight has got anything to do with what happens later.

[IggyAce]

Didn’t want to read and run, he sounds absolutely fine and as long as he follows the percentile there’s unlikely to be an issue. I know it’s hard but ignore them, I had to let others comments wash over me as both my DCs had a full head of thick dark hair that attracted lots of comments. Drove me mad because you would think babies having hair was rare.

[Creatureofthenight]

YANBU, it must be really irritating. Predicting that a 7 week old will be obese is just plain daft! As for saying you should put a baby on a diet - even if joking that’s a really stupid thing to say.
If he’s EBF he’s not going to be overfed. There’s no need to wean early (unless on medical advice). If you are concerned you could talk to your HV but it sounds like he’s doing just fine

[Greywalls12]

When my brother was a baby he was HUGE, off the percentile charts huge, loads of chunky fat rolls of skin everywhere. He's now 12 and quite tall and slim! His weight dropped off when he started growing/moving.
You'll get loads of advice from family members about weaning early and only in very few medical cases is it necessary. There can be damaging effects to weaning early. I'd just ignore her!

[WilsonandNoodles]

I have the opposite problem with a 11lb 4 month old. People ask if he was premature and when I say no ask if I've considered formula feeding. He's happy, healthy and doing everything he should be. The same people criticising your large boy would also likely criticise my small boy, you can never win!

[cadburyegg]

Ignore ignore ignore

You don’t need to wean early
You don’t need to reduce feeds or “put him on a diet”

My eldest was diddy, and even at 4 is still 9th centile. The comments have stopped now but as a baby I used to get
“He is soooo small for X months”
“He doesn’t have any thigh rolls!”
My youngest is more average. Yet both of them were ebf on demand til 6 months then weaned the same. Same parenting, different kids.

[Crabbitstick]

People just like to have something to say about babies. My boy is opposite and small and people comment on that.

As for percentiles - someone has to be at top and bottom of them!

You can’t overfeed a bf baby and I think research has shown bf babies are less likely to be obese.

I have a niece and nephew who were both sumo babies, I thought it was gorgeous. Both tall/thin teenagers now.

Just smile and nod and ignore. Doesn’t matter how big your boy gets he’ll always be your baby.

[Happygilmorelove]

My son was just like this..I had all sorts of comments, from "he"ll be a rugby player when he grows up" to "he'll be a cage fighter!!" Wtf! I didn't worry too much. I thought it was better he was on the large side than too small and underweight. He's 3 and a half now, and still tall and stocky, but in no way overweight or chubby.