To keep saying it’s impossible to overfeed a bf baby

[bigBigbaby]

To my HV?

My 13 month old is really big!! Jumped up to the top centile line (was on the 25th a birth).

Ebf till 6 m. Eats healthily and actually quite small portions (I think)
Has a small bottle of milk after bath each day as we introduced that as part of bedtime routine from 8 months

Breakfast each day is porridge (1oz milk, dessert spoon oats, chopped berries and 3-4 slices mashed banana )

Lunch is usually a sandwich and veg sticks or a savoury pouch, and a yogurt.

Dinner is a small portion of whatever we have.
Small bottle after bath

She drinks water with meals but is breastfed mid morning and mid afternoon before naps and in the night this is what I’m being told is making her so heavy and that I need to cut the feeds but I’m disagreeing I think there are still benefits to having breastmilk but I’m being told those are cancelled out by the negative effects of being ‘obese’ at a young age

I just don’t agree I think once she’s running about more she will slim down surely ?

HV of a friend of mine told her to treat her formula-fed baby ‘like an alcoholic’ and restrict his number of feeds and the amount each time.

He was a big-birthweight baby anyway, was entirely FF and just 2 months old!

It was quite a while ago now, but since then I’ve never regarded HVs as necessarily the fount of all baby-wisdom.

@Jigsawtrain

Very much depends on the area the HV works in. Very common where I live (and worked, when I worked with HV’s)

I am sure that is true - there will be areas where it is more common - especially in more affluent areas.

However UK wide only 0.5% or 1 in 200 women are still breastfeeding at 1 year - most HVs will have very little experience. My own HV had to consult google to answer any questions I had as she had no idea.

@Blindstupid

nojob - OP gives a sandwich or a pouch .. not both. She’s also said toddler feeds herself at meals (throwing some items on the floor), only at breakfast does she spoon feed her, and she stops when dd indicates she’s had enough.

Oops. I read that as " a sandwich and (veg sticks or a pouch) " rather than " (a sandwich and veg sticks) or a pouch" .

Ignore me OP!

@GintyMcGinty I worked in a very deprived area where 95% of people were BAME and I think that’s the reason. We had a lot of tandem feeding. But friends in other areas were less experienced. But Infant Feeding training over the last few years definitely covers feeding past 2 and beyond and it should be completed annually.
Basically my point was that it depends on the are where OP lives how much her HV comes across this. We used to have a massive problem of fussy eaters at 2 & 3 as they’d rather just have breast milk than solids.

You need to be speaking to a lactation consultant. Health visitors are not trained lactation consultants. If you feel that your child has a nutritional problem you then need to get a referral to a nutritionalist after a gp has seen your child and ruled other issues out (like a syndrome etc).

I actually think it's fine.

WHO recommends breastfeeding to 2 years and beyond if possible (obviously not possible/desirable for a lot of people). Baby will be getting benefits from BF over and above calories and mid pandemic if you want to continue breastfeeding you should! Speak to your GP if you’re concerned about her weight but don’t stop bf just because the health visitor says so.

00100001 Veg is carbs. 90% of the diet is carbohydrate.

I’ve checked the pouches I use which is probably twice a week she has one instead of a sandwich and they are just veg , one has chickpeas too, none have any fruit or added sugar etc

The more I’m thinking about it I’m wondering if the lack of crawling might be the issue as she’s sat from 6 m then started pulling herself up to stand from 9 m and then cruising from 11 months but maybe she just isn’t moving enough yet to burn off the calories but at the 8 m check I was told don’t worry so I didn’t give it a second thought

does she bottom shuffle?

@Seeline

But yours isn't a breast fed baby. She's a one year old eating 3 meals a day, and having milk as well. Sounds like quite a lot of milk.

I actually agree with this and I am a HUGE advocate of breast feeding.

In the early days when all you are giving your baby is milk, then yes it's impossible to overfeed. Feed on demand, no scheduled times, know your baby's cues and respond to them. Absolutely the best way to keep a good level of supply and ensure your baby is satisfied.

But that changes over time, you are WELL into your breastfeeding journey with your child and at 12 months plus there's a gradual move away from breastfeeding (or formula feeding) into more food and less milk.

There are definitely still benefits to you breastfeeding her. But three feeds a day plus a bottle does seem quite a lot. I think at that stage with my youngest he was down to two feeds a day, morning and before bed. No feeds during the day, water with meals.

To be honest, what you’ve said doesn’t sound like she’s having too much food, I’d have said it was about right. She’s still very young and personally, I’m not sure you can really say a 13 month old is obese. An older toddler, yes but yours is still a baby and growing quickly. My youngest DD was heavy and very long as a baby. She ate really well and more than your DD. She slimmed out a lot as soon as she started walking properly and now she’s still very tall for her age but a normal weight. Keep an eye on it but I wouldn’t worry too much.

HV advice and charts are really useful for babies who are neglected or malnourished. For most caring parents like yourself OP, it’s genuinely true that mothers know best. Step away from the charts and trust your instincts and your baby.

Oh and mine didn’t really crawl, did a bit around 9/10 months but was happier sitting and playing. First steps at 14 months and properly running around at 15/16 months.

I didn’t realise the over feeding only applies to ebf under 6m but then it’s confusing thst if you can’t over feed a baby who is only having breastmilk why after 6m is breastmilk the reason for weight gain if baby is still breastfed.

Because they are having other food as well.

I think maybe what I had meant and perhaps got muddled up was that if you can’t overfeed a ebf baby and therefore breastmilk won’t make them overweight then for an older baby it wouldn’t be the breastmilk making them heavy if that makes sense !

@Milkbottlelegs

I didn’t realise the over feeding only applies to ebf under 6m but then it’s confusing thst if you can’t over feed a baby who is only having breastmilk why after 6m is breastmilk the reason for weight gain if baby is still breastfed.

Because they are having other food as well.

Cross posted !! This was what I meant I think maybe I need to look at the formula and the not crawling perhaps as the reasons and not the breastfeeding as advised by the HV ?

@MrsLargeEmbodied

does she bottom shuffle?

No she doesn’t just sat then pulled herself up / stood up / cruises round the room

Sorry if I’m being slow but did she say your child was ‘obese’? Because I thought they didn’t start looking at BMI until after 2. Just being on the top centile line doesn’t automatically make a one year old ‘obese’, does it? Someone has to be at the top of the chart?

Not quite the same situation but my son was born on the top centile line for weight and has stayed there - or slightly above it - ever since. He’s now two. No one has ever batted an eyelid about it.

Just wanted to say I don't think it's recommended to 'water down' formula so I'd just make say a 4oz bottle instead of a 5oz or whatever and slowly reduce how much you make.

I'd definitely carry on breastfeeding though I can't see how that would be causing her to gain weight.

My DD is 15 months old and still bf....i feed her in the morning in the afternoon, at bedtime and during the night.....if your on fb then I'd recommend following The Milk Meg she's a lactation Consultant and always posts useful info about extended breastfeeding etc

Your 13 month old weighs what my twin girls did when they were 2.5 and they have always been long/tall for their age, really active, good appetites etc. 😯
I'd be really concerned if my short child weighed that much.
I'd honestly get a 2nd opinion, if I were you.

@YouMeandtheSpew

Sorry if I’m being slow but did she say your child was ‘obese’? Because I thought they didn’t start looking at BMI until after 2. Just being on the top centile line doesn’t automatically make a one year old ‘obese’, does it? Someone has to be at the top of the chart?

Not quite the same situation but my son was born on the top centile line for weight and has stayed there - or slightly above it - ever since. He’s now two. No one has ever batted an eyelid about it.

Yes ! She said I need to be aware that she is in the obese category and that could affect her long term and she advised to cut night feeds as tbey aren’t needed after 9m and she will re weigh her and see where she is in 4 weeks

You need to be speaking to a lactation consultant. Health visitors are not trained lactation consultants.

What would a lactation consultant add to this situation (except a bill)? This isn’t a breastfeeding problem. They’ll just say ditch the bottle and continue breastfeeding for comfort which is what practically everyone on the thread is saying.

you could go to your GP if you are worried by the HV comments
i remember my HV saying my ds was chubby
but i ignored her,
or perhaps vaguely listened.

your dd will become more active, encourage that op.
dont stress