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Behaviour/development

Anyone else have / had a big baby?

29 replies

BettyOBarley · 02/01/2017 15:37

DS was 9lb 1.5oz at birth so was never going to be little but at 3 months he is now 17lb and he is massive! Huge thighs and belly and nearly out of 3-6 clothes already!
I breastfed for a month but couldn't seem to keep up with him, he now has 6 x 7oz bottles and has never gone more than 3 hours between bottles (he does sleep through for 11 hours though so I guess has to 'tank up' during the day (doesn't nap during day).

I'm just worried about whether he will even out and slim down or if he is going to stay overweight. He was 91st centile at birth and has now jumped up to the next line and is only 75th centile for length.

I don't know if this is something I should be trying to control or just leave him be. One health visitor said don't worry he's fine but try hungry baby milk (did that, no change) and the other looked fairly horrified and said 7oz a time at 3 months was far too much.

Just looking for experiences really, I'm worried we are setting him up for weight issues in life but I'm sure he is genuinely hungry...!

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OllyBJolly · 02/01/2017 15:43

Dd2 was 9lb 12 and was a huge baby until she was about a year old. She was in the 90s for weight and length. Rolls of fat on her arms and legs to match her several chins. Exclusively breast fed for five months so not over fed.

Once she was mobile she lost that very quickly. She's been skinny ever since (6ft tall at 15).

She was also a great sleeper - enjoy that while it lasts!

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MillieMoodle · 02/01/2017 16:00

DS2 was 9lb 6oz, he's 3.5 months now and has 7oz at a time, sometimes 8oz, during the day. He also sleeps around 10-11 hours at night, so I've assumed he's filling himself up during the day. He'll sometimes go four or five hours between feeds in the day but not often. He's into 3-6 month clothes but I don't think he'll be in them for long. He's very long and quite chunky too; he's been out of his Moses basket since 3 months, whereas his older brother didn't move out of the Moses basket until he was nearly 5 months.

I've only seen the health visitor once, when he was 10 days old. Our local baby clinic is only once a month and I keep missing the right week so I've no idea how much he weighs now but it's enough to make my arms ache!

Don't worry, once he's moving around he'll soon lose the weight. Looking back at photos of DS1 when he was 4-6 months, he was like a little round ball but now he's nearly 6 and he's tiny!

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HerRoyalFattyness · 02/01/2017 16:05

My youngest was 10lb 10.5oz he's 17 months and still heavy. He does nothing but eat. I'm not worried though as his older brother was on a 9oz bottle of hungry baby formula every 45 minutes at 8 weeks old. (Not exaggerating, he really was) and he's now 8 and perfectly healthy. He was podgy until he was 2. Then he sort of evened out.

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PastysPrincess · 02/01/2017 16:17

Hi there, firstly congratulations on your little one and I can say I understand exactly what you are going through. My LO was 11lb 9oz at birth and continued to put so much weight on he was sent to see a paediatric consultant. At one point he was so heavy the HV couldn't plot his weight on the growth chart cos they ran out of space! The paediatric consultant examined him and told us he is absolutely fine. Some babies just are bigger. These growth charts are based on averages and so sometimes we cant make our babies fit them and people flap as they dont fit neatly into the box. Fast forward to now, he is still on the 99th percentile and is still perfect (in my eyesanyway). Children under 2 can't be classed as obese or overweight and certainly any attempts to make them lose weight is ill advised. Most babies are actually very in tune with their bodies. If he is hungry, then feed him. It takes a lot of years for us to learn to overule our fullness feelings and over eat. When my LO was the same age as yours is now he weighed over 21lbs.

As long as he is developing normally in every other way, he will be fine. I have attached his growth chart if you are at all interested.

Good Luck xx

Anyone else have / had a big baby?
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PastysPrincess · 02/01/2017 16:34

I forgot to add I exclusively breastfed so I can't say how much milk he was having but he was at some points being fed every hour. I would get comments like "oh is he on again??" I did bottle feed for an evening out as that time I wasn't comfortable BF in public. I fed him myself once I came home and then expressed to get rid of the engorgement from missing a feed and still managed to get half a litre of milk.

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Secretlythesame · 02/01/2017 16:43

My 10 month old DS was 11lbs at birth and is way above the top line on the growth chart, he always has been. Last time I got him weighed he was 2 stone, that was about a month ago. He is wearing 18 - 24 month clothes. Shock

I've always fed him on demand, milk is still the main part of his diet but he does eat some fruit, veggies, toast and porridge. Nobody has ever expressed any concern about him and I've accepted that he is just a tall, heavy baby.

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BettyOBarley · 02/01/2017 18:53

Oh thank you all for sharing your stories, it does make me feel better as I've had lots of comments of "wow he's massive / huge / a brute / what are you feeding him etc etc" which I think coupled with not succeeding at breastfeeding and him suddenly piling it on has me feeling a little sensitive.

Thanks for sharing the growth chart Patsy, one of my HV was definitely flapping, saying the last baby I saw at same age is only 4kg and taking 3oz bottles - DS was 4kg when he was born so he's not going to compare to that baby is he Confused

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PastysPrincess · 02/01/2017 20:00

Comparison is the thief of joy.

I don't know who said it but I love this saying. Is your baby loved? Is your baby safe and warm? Is your baby developing normally? If you answer yes to all these questions you have nothing to worry about. Another thing to remember is, what can you actually do about his size? You can't feed him less, if he is hungry, then he needs feeding. He can't exercise, he is a baby. I once had a HV tell me just to try and hold off feeding him and all I got was an angry upset baby.

People really should think before they speak; my family have nicknames for my son. It's all lighthearted but words do hurt.

You didn't fail at breastfeeding; a month is a fab start for your little one and even just the colostrum is amazing.

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Secretlythesame · 02/01/2017 22:36

Don't worry Betty, mine was just under 5kg at birth! I was asked numerous times if he and his cousin (9 months older) were twins... I just see his size as a positive now. It's part of who he is and every inch of him is perfect, so there's just a little more perfection for me to enjoy Smile

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BroomstickOfLove · 02/01/2017 22:42

DD was born fairly small (just under 7lb) but on 1lb a week on a normal week and two during growth spurt weeks, and ended up being one of the fattest babies I've ever seen. She was exclusively breastfed so I didn't worry about it too much. She started slimming down once she was properly mobile, at around 15 months. She's now a tall, slim tween.

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BertieBeats · 02/01/2017 22:43

My partner's son was 11Ib when born and I've always known him to be a twig (I've known him since he was 5). My best friend who I've known from nursery was apparently 10Ib when born and ,once again, has always been really skinny. So birth weight in my experience has no bearing on their weight later in life Smile

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CocoaX · 02/01/2017 22:49

My DS was over 10lbs and has always been chubby. He just likes his food and I do my best to make it healthy food. He is very active and has an amazing zest for life, including eating. But yes, I worry about his weight, he will be a portly gentleman in time.

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Spudlet · 02/01/2017 22:52

DS was also 9lb1 and a year on, he's stuck to that line and is about 25lbs. Which is fine until I have to carry him any distance. He had a puddle suit on today which made him quite slippery, and I nearly dropped him carrying him to the baby changing room Confused

I breastfed him and he's still a chunk - looks like Winston Churchill in the bath. I think he'll slim down when he starts walking though. He tends to grow up, then out so he'll lengthen to fit his tummy I think.

His daddy was a big baby too (as MiL often reminds us) and he's now 6'2 and very slim. In fact I'm currently trying to feed him up! So I wouldn't worry too much Smile

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SuburbanRhonda · 02/01/2017 22:53

DS was 10lb 6oz at birth and is now a tall, slim 18-year-old.

I breast-fed him until he was 2.5 years old and he didn't have solid food until he was 7 months old.

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Stalingrad · 02/01/2017 22:54

My DC2 was just under 11lbs at birth and never dropped an ounce after birth. She was 98.6th centile for months. She is now 8 and one of the skinniest in her class and totally aberage height.

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Chrysanthemum5 · 02/01/2017 22:56

DS was over 10lb at birth and was always bigger than children his age when he was little. Once he started walking he slimmed down. He's 12 now, and is tall and slim. He does a lot of sport and he's strong but definitely not over weight. He eats constantly but we limit unhealthy foods.

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ijustwannadance · 02/01/2017 22:59

DD was 9lb 11.
She was a chubby baby and toddler and always taller than her peers. She is 5 now but looks about 7. Tallest in her class. Slimmed out as she grew.

Ignore the comments. Funny enough she slept right through very early on too.

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TondelayaDellaVentamiglia · 02/01/2017 23:02

the boys were both over 10lbs, hefty, and great long babies....Ds1 was 2nd longest baby in Aberdeen that year.

and some woman in the next ward had twins that both together were not as heavy as ds1

for some background i am the shortest person in my family at 5'8" and dh is the tallest in his at 5'10"....both boys are well over six feet tall now and not a peck on either of them.

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3boys3dogshelp · 02/01/2017 23:02

My ds2 was only 8lb10oz at birth but gained weight ridiculously fast and was off the charts for height and weight by the time he was 3 months. He is 6 now, still extremely tall (off chart) but very slim. He was bf and fed every 90 mins day and night! 😩 Don't miss those days.
Don't worry OP, it's such early days, he will settle to where he is supposed to be.

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Marmalade85 · 02/01/2017 23:04

My son was 10lb and is still enormous . He is a year old and at his last check up he weighed 2 stone and he is 2 and a half ft tall already and in the 98th or 99th centile. He is bigger than some toddlers. Going to get him into rugby I think.

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bluechameleon · 02/01/2017 23:12

My DS was 11lb 11oz at birth and was always above the top line on the chart. The health visitors just didn't really know what to do with such a large baby so I gave up seeking their advice on anything to do with feeding. One thing that I found a help was to look at the advice on the NHS website on how much milk they should have by size - 150-200ml per kilo. This is much better than the guide on the milk label because that goes by age. You are within the recommended amount using that guide (17lb is 7.7kg. 7.7 x 200 is 1540ml, which is 54oz, and 7.7 x 150 is 1155, which is 40oz. You are giving 42oz).
It is difficult to have people always commenting on their size, especially when you are already feeling sensitive about not breast feeding. Feed your baby when he is hungry and don't worry about it.

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thebakerwithboobs · 02/01/2017 23:13

We have six children, all boys. Smallest was 6lbs 3, largest was 12lbs 12 (he was the last, funnily enough!!) They are all very tall, but then again so are my husband and I. However, they have all gone up and in to an extent. Our last one, who was the whopper, is not fat in the slightest but is built like an outhouse-his 'traps' (dip between neck and shoulders) are huge and he is very broad. The lightest one at birth looks like a racing snake with limbs like knotted pipe cleaners. The others all vary in shape. I used to worry endlessly about them being too skinny or too fat or too a million other things but in general we have fed them nutritious food, laid off the crap in the main and kept them active and they have all grown into healthy lads. Congratulations on your baby-enjoy Smile

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ofhorse · 03/01/2017 00:00

My youngest was 11lbs at birth. Brought straight up to intensive care at birth as they assumed diabetes... nope just a massive baby. Always has had a great appetite and really cute baby chubs but has slimmed down considerably in past year. She's now nearly 3 and big for her age (wears age 5 clothing... was always way ahead size wise).

As a matter of fact, I loved the rolls and the big chunky thighs. Children will get sick and get bugs and I always worried less with my youngest as she could always afford to lose a bit ... unlike her brother who is just skin and bone!

She still has a v healthy appetite but we make sure it's well balanced and nutritious.

My niece was the Same weight at birth and now has the most naturally fabulous figure at 24 that we all envy.

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HeCantBeSerious · 03/01/2017 00:02

DD was 8:12 born (98th centile) but dropped within a fortnight to 25th. She took her time getting back to 50th centile and is long and slim.

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HeCantBeSerious · 03/01/2017 00:03

She was always at least a size behind in babygros etc and now needs an age down for the waist on trousers and leggings.

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