My baby is huge?!

[Tjsmumma]

AIBU - No my baby wasnt big for age
YABU - Yes my baby was big.

My EBF DD is 4 months next week, is 18.8lbs (98th percentile)!

She was 6lb 12oz at birth. She has a head circumference of 42.5 which puts her at 90th percentile and her length of 63cm puts her at 75th percentile.

So on average a big baby all round and quite in proportion, she is in 6-9 month clothes already in most of the bits and pieces and my aunt has a baby whos 6 months whos only just in those clothes!

Now im a bit worried something may infact be wrong or something is wrong with my milk considering she's so big for her age!

Every time shes been weighed shes been around 75th upwards but this is a big jump up!

Am i worrying for no apparent reason or has anyone elses babies nearly tripled their birth weight by 4 months? She never lost any weight in the first five days and put it on, should i not be feeding her on demand etc? Or am i thinking way to much into it?

You and your baby are doing just fine. x

I'm jealous. We've had to wean early on medical advice as our nearly 5 month old is under 12lbs. I'd love him to be heavier - you must be making gold top!

@GrumpyHoonMain ill definitely keeo that in mind!! Thank you!

@Jollypolly999 thank you!! Glad to see it'll evwn out and its seems nothing is wrong!

@Jellycatfox @katnissk thank you, i was anxious about her being so big compared! But now realise that i shouldnt and should just be proud of my not so little bean!

@CatFaceCats im sure the next will be different and ill still worru lol! Thank you!

@Treaclepie19 ah i bet!! Glad its not just my super chunky baby then!!

@Namechangervaver aw my DD was exactly the same bar putting on nearly half a pound in the first week and then steadily gained about 500/750grams every 1/2 weeks!

@HPandTheNeverEndingBedtime thank you so much cor your response!! Makes me feel better, shes always been one above really, but usually within the close range so this is like double her age! I have a connective tissue disorder, and i am very tall and skinny, so i think it may be a similar thing bless her. I had similar issues walking, had tendons that were too tight, legs in casts, awful growing pains constantly, walked on tip toes! Sounds similar to me as a child, bless her! Hope shes a bit better now!

@Midwife1997 thank you 🥰

@St0pTryingT0MakeFetchHappen think every baby is different lovely, i dont have any extra milk or an oversuplplier or anything. Im sorry to hear you are worried, i think every mama is going to be, im the opposite and anxious! Im sure you are an amazing mama and make gold top as well just baby takes it different 😊

At that age though their percentile will be very changeable and they do grow very quickly. As long as she’s a healthy baby I wouldn’t get too worried about this kind of thing.

My son was the same if not a bit heavier. Always on the 98th centile, sometimes over. I have photos of him as a baby when he was just breastfed and he is enormous! He's actually still really big and very broad and strong at 4 so obviously just the way he is made. My daughter is very skinny and they seem to eat about the same!

Well done OP! Sounds like she is thriving! We also had a big boy- 3.75kgs at birth and doubled that very quickly. 92nd percentile for everything and still maintaining it at 16 months. Some babies are bonnie. It’s fine and why there is a scale of percentiles - she’s got to be somewhere on it. I found it reassuring as he got through illnesses better. Now he’s walking he’s still big but normal/slim. Chubs up a bit, has a growth spurt and looks slimmer, then repeat a few months later. Don’t over think it, as many others have said breast fed can’t be over fed and babies need a high fat diet for their brains and eyes too x

In my experience everyone worries about the size of their baby! Too big/ too small / growing too fast/ growing too slow. Be proud of her as she is - you are exclusively breast feeding & she’s obviously thriving, so well done! If health professionals aren’t concerned then I wouldn’t be either. Also breast fed babies grow faster initially than formula fed.

@Reginabambina she's definitely healthy! Never had a temp, only one slight cold which made her a bit snotty, was told she had a uti once but that was infact a lie when i got a follow up appointment everything we were told was bogus and even point blank lied about results and medication that was needed!

@geojojo that's reassuring to here! I know boys tend to be a bit bigger for ages! I accidentally put boy on tje centile calculator and came up around 70th when i changed it to girl it came up 98th! Yes shes quite broad and just big in general! Big head lol!

@littlejalapeno thank you!! Nice to hear! I was just concerned maybe my milk was iffy or something! Yeah DD is abojt the same, always had a big head (in womb it was off the charts big!) but is very brainy, meeting some 5 month mile stones when she was only just 3 months. Thats what her nana says, af least if she's poorly she has a reserve and wont have to be worried! Ill stop being so concerned and be a bit proud that its all me thats made this chunky baby! Thank you! C

@AcrobaticCardigan definitely! I think ill worry no matter what if im honest! Just keep getting comments about her size and people stating shes huge for her age and their babies were nothing like that so i just got a bit anxious! I'm definitely super proud of her, she's an amazing baby in all aspects! And now feeling very proud that ive made this chubby baby all by myself! Yes, i did read that! I just also read abojt the four month milestones and what to expect and it said they should be nearing to double their birth weight and shes nearly triple! She was double by 9 weeks! Thank you :)

My third was a natural breast feeder and never lost any weight. The midwife who came and saw us the couple of days after he was born was amazed!

He’s 8 now and perfectly in proportion, although he is one of the shortest in his year. He was a right little porker up till ten months when he started walking.

My EBF baby was bigger and heavier at that age. Top centile for height and weight. People used to joke that she was bigger than me. She's now a skinny, average height 4 yr old.

Don't worry about it.

My now 6 year old was a 98 percentile baby who was wearing 6-9 month growsuits at 3 months and went straight in 000 at birth. (She was born 4.5kg so she had a head start)

She is now still in the 98th for height but 50th for weight so is slim, Tall and all gangly limbs.

It took her longer to crawl and walk than average but that is likely her personality. She’s a talker and a thinker not a mover. (Even now she’s never quiet always singing and chatting)

My baby is 4 and a half months and is off the chart. Length and head circumference he’s 98th but weight he’s over the top. He’s healthy so I’m not too worried but I believe it’s an over supply of milk. Make sure you drain each breast after each feed. I’m trying to only feed on one side for a few hours before giving the other.

I found breastfeed babies weight gain slowed in after the 7/8 month mark but they both packed on the beef in the 1st 6 months.

My boy was 10lb 8oz at birth and sat on the 98th percentile till he was around 1 yr when he dropped to 25th and had stayed on the smaller side since , I wouldn’t worry too much about things. X

@TerrorWig same here! She infact put on and my midwife was amazed! Said then that BF must be going well but she was slightly small a birth. That's great to know! Im sure she'll drop it once she gets more active, she gets all chubby then has a spurt and evens out a bit!

@Imstillskanking haha she might well be bigger than me, think i keep losing so much weight cause shes gaining it! Thank you

@Mypathtriedtokillme DD is around 75th for length so is still quite chubb! From reading all these posts i realise every baby is different which i knew but maybe i shouldnt be comparing and just focus on my gorgeous DD! Aw bless 😍 yes DD is a right old chatter, says mama lots to DP when im not there calling out for me and stops when i comr back, unsure if its intentional or not!

@Imtootired see i definitely dont have an oversupply, i literally just make enough, cant pump any and she definitely drains the milk sufficiently! I do have a fast let down which made her spit up a bit due to it cominvg to fast which ive worked on and its helped! Crazy how they all vary isnt it!

Also had a small baby who was then 98th percentile at 24 weeks having put 13 lbs on bm alone. Actually she was then chunky through childhood and has only skimmed with puberty- now just over average height.

@Monsterjam thata also what i read! Im sure she will even out a bit more once she gets a bit more active! But eek! I thought 6lb 12oz was hard enough but she did have a 35cm head at only 38 weeks so!

@Gwynfluff thank you! Not totally abnormal then it seems 😊 i was really surprised she was even that as we had a partial placental abruption and a problem wirh the cord insertion, after she was born my midwife was amazed she even survived due to the state of my placenta it looked as if it was 43 weeks old, brittle etc. So she's definitely a miracle all round!

I might be wrong, but I think the growth charts have mostly been compiled using data from bottle-fed babies, and not from breastfed babies; and that breastfed babies have a very different growth-curve, so they often seem to be too big at various points in their development. What's important is that your baby is thriving, and that you're both very happy. That's great.

@mafiamolly as far as i can find they are based on all babies, formula or breast fed :) but yes you are right! Definitely happy and thriving! Thank uou x

As far as I'm aware BF babies tend to pile on the weight far quicker than FF as milk has very high fat content. This then levels out when weaning starts so long as they aren't then overfed on actual food. DD1 was really chunky, she's like a rake now. DD2 going that way too. DD3 hasn't been weighed since about 2 months but again she's lovely chunky thighs. Breastfeeding is actually very uncommon now in UK so I think people can be shocked to see the rolls of a BF baby.

DS1 started at 8lb 6 (nearly 2lb more than me, at the same gestation, my poor pelvic floor!) and he immediately began his mission to catch up on his big brother and piled on the weight immediately. By a few months old, he was really solid and stocky, but like a rugby player in his prime. DS1's weight went up slowly due to allergies, and ever since babyhood DS2 has consistently been about 5-6 lb behind. I have a picture of them aged 1 & 3 where DS1 wanted DS2 to wear his spare favourite t-shirt and DS2 filled it. It's funny because DS2 had fine blonde hair and looked bald for ages so just looked like a giant baby. Not chunky rolls, just broad and solid.

In the toddler years he stretched up and has stayed about the same width since. At 7, he is so lean, you can see his abdominal muscles rippling around as well as having ribs like a xylophone. I have no concerns as he's always eaten to a hearty appetite, but does have sensible ideas about when to stop.

I think he will be bigger than his brother and he already has bigger feet despite being two years younger!

You will realise when DC goes to school that they are all different sizes, whilst Dd has always been head and shoulders above the others, a couple of new children that have joined now are also really tall. Dds best friend is older than her but the smallest in the class and wears clothes in a size Dd grew out of 6 years ago. They are awfully sweet together though.

My theory was that breast milk is easier to digest therefore BF babies are likely to grow more. I also think that's why Dd potty trained so easily at 2.5 years, because her bladder was physically bigger she could hold on longer than her smaller friend's.

@myfav yeah i agree how uncommon it is, i was actually the only person on my whole ward, both days who BF and the youngest by far (22) and was berated and slagged off by a few for doing so! Seems quite common so now im not too worried!

@BogRollBOGOF oh no! Yes definitely poor you lol! Thank you! Makes me feel a bit better about it!

@HPandTheNeverEndingBedtime yeah i know how different babies/children can be, ive worked in nurseries for over 5 years so seen a good amount from 6 months - 5 years. Just worried me as ivr been told by multiple strangers and other mums i know how big she was compared is all! Aw that is super cute though, i can picture it in my head! Yes they definitely say BM digests quicker hence why they eat more and apparently that's why they have trouble sleeping, ive been told many a time to supplement a bottle so she will sleep and been told by multiple bottle fed mamas that they are indeed better and have the upper hand due to bottle feeding makes baby sleep longer 🤦🏼‍♀️ 2.5 is a real good age for potty training! But, girls do seem to get the hang of it better! Im hoping DD will be the same as she hates being in wet nappies (we use reusables and she hates the feel once they become wet!)