weight, centiles... putting baby on a diet??

[ninaandbean]

I've just come back from getting my lovely DS weighed. I hardly ever do it because he's clearly healthy and my GP said don't bother. So I know I shouldn't let myself get het up about the HV's comments, but...

DS is exactly 6 months, 20lbs, on the 91st for height and weight. He has been tracking this line since 10 weeks old, and is perfectly in proportion - he looks quite trim in fact. He wears 12 month trousers and 9 month tops, but who cares? men in his family are anything up to 6'5" so it's hardly surprising if he's tall.

We're weaning, so I asked a few general questions - like he's dropping milk feeds very quickly, and is that normal - and the HV said that in her opinion he would benefit from only being fed the minimum for a few months to try and curtail his growth.

Who wants to stop their baby growing?? If he was five and a right porker then fair enough, but he's six months old! Surely growing is what he's meant to be doing right now. I only ever give him fruit, yoghurt and veg with chicken/fish. Never sugar or snacks. Grrr.

Tell me I'm not mad - surely putting my baby on a diet right now would be mental?? It sounds cruel actually, she implied I should wait until he is blue in the face screaming for food before I feed him. :(

for the record, he has the following every day:
5oz milk, fromage frais
5oz milk, veg/meat puree (small homemade pot)
5oz milk, fruit puree (half a size one weaning jar, so small portion).
then 5oz bottle before bed.

He often leaves milk, so I know I'm not overfeeding him. Right? hate how i get into self-doubt when someone is critical!

Your HV is a loon. Sounds fine to me.
DS is also 91st for height/75th for weight, and men in my family are all over 6'2, 6'5" not uncommon.

As long as his height/weight are in proportion, then I would not worry.

It is common knowledge that HVs talk crap about weaning and weight. I had dd1 who was 'underweight' and needed fattening up and then dd2 who was 'at risk of becoming obese' and needed to diet.

Both were fed the same. Both have grown into perfectly healthy children.

All babies grow differently. Ignore your HV. She is a loon.

Well dd is 4 months and 16lb+ - she has around 35oz milk a day - she isnt weaned but I suspect that there is more calories in the extra 15oz milk she has over your son than there is in teh food he has iyswim~?

The HV isnt right in this instance imho.

Oh I meant to say she is on 91st centile for height and 99th for length and always has been.

Okay - I am a HV too and while I appreciate that I haven't seen your DS I have to say he sounds fine and healthy so am not sure why your HV is worried.

Many HVs have bad ideas about weight charts which is why I personally hate these charts. Look at the baby and NOT the chart imho!

I think your HV is a bit odd. Babies self regulate with food and stop when they're full.

Grrr, things like this make my blood boil!

Your HV is talking out of her arse.

You are quite right. No baby should EVER be put on a diet. But I'm scared to think how many other parents will listen to this woman, and start restricting their babies intake :(

The charts are there to plot growth. Not so we can aim to have a 50th centile baby. The 50th centile isn't the "normal" centile, it's just the middle of the chart. The whole chart is normal! Some babies will be bigger, some smaller. Some shorter, some taller.

By the HV logic, your little boy is also too tall. I wonder what she'd suggest to curtail that? A box maybe ? Silly woman.

Your little boy sounds perfect!

My HV wanted me to give my ds more butter, cream, and fatty food when he was on the 25th centile, as he had been from birth. I ignored her, but it did make me worry.

My father is a GP and has reassured me before this that centile charts are not the best way to judge, you will be able to see if your baby is unhealthy or losing weight. As thevisitor says, babies tend to self regulate anyway.

thank you for all the replies :) *breathes out... I knew it was a silly suggestion, i just needed other people to say so to me before I got all obsessed with his weight. I know he's a bonny boy, and I've just remeasured him at home - he's closer the the 98th in length - definitely no diets here. My clever little boy can just keep right on letting me know when he's hungry.

Thanks for the sanity!

Totally agree. Your hv is a loon!

My 9 mo son is now on the 98th centile for weight and only about the 50th centile for length. One paediatricain told me a couple of months ago to 'feed him steak and chips, he obviously needs it'. This week another paediatrician told me to reduce his weight. I am ignoring them both and letting him self regulate!! (by chance we do baby led weaning so he is very much in control anyway).

Another one to agree here - your HV is a loon!! lol.

My lo jumped from the 9th centile to the 98th centile - not so much a growth curve but mount everest! lol. The HV did seem concerned by the GP was fine about it - she's now 8 months old and just over 24lbs and am sure when she gets mobile she'll burn it off. At the time they were "concerned" she was only on milk and starting her on food hasn't increased her growth suddenly more each month.

I'd keep getting lo weighed just for your own reassurance but try not to worry too much

xx

It's genetic - of couse he is huge now as all the men in your family are. Just ignore the HV.

I've had the opposite problem - my 2.5 year old weighs 21 lbs and is just under the bottom percentile. My IL's are tiny and all my babies are too but I've had a huge problem with HV's - specifically with my first child. The babies are very very healthy though with a top APGAR score at birth and very bright/able.

She's a loon, ignore her! Of course you can't put your lovely DS on a diet!

If your DS is 98th for length and 91st for weight there is an arguement for feeding him more . HVs shouldn't be let loose with the graphs until they know how to use them.

lol :) glad to know you all feel the same. LO was a bit early (only two weeks) and was on the 9th at birth, but settled on the 91st by 10 weeks. I think his own little 'mount everest' leap up the chart threw them, but my sisters little girl, who is 3 months younger than DS, just had her charts done yesterday and whaddya know - 98th for length, 91st for weight - clearly its just how we grow 'em!

nina - no absolutely no to a diet.

Our DS1 was over the 99th centile on weight and 90% on height from a very early age.

I asked a consultant paediatrician what she thought. She very sensibly said, dont do anything. Feed him a heathy normal diet, plenty of normal excercise as a toddler and young child and he will grow into his weight.

At age 10 he is bang on 75th centile for both weight and height

Rings bells here too. When DS was nearly 6 months he was off the chart for weight and in the 99th centile for height. My HV told me that if he wasn't being EBF she would have told me to put him on a diet and that she had never seen thighs as big as his. She said he might be slow to crawl/walk because his weight would make it harder.

Obviously I ignored her. When I weaned him, I fed him healthy food but as much of it as he wanted. I didn't cut out any food groups or use reduced fat options, and just gave him a nice varied diet which generally he wolfed down in pretty big quantities but certainly does let me know when he's full.

Fast forward, and at 7 months he was crawling and walking at 11 months. He's definitely stretched out but is still in the 90-somethings for both weight and height. Basically, some just come big and I'm proud of my healthy strapping son. It's a shame that HVs are so chart led these days, big lads (and lasses) are not such rare breeds.

Your HV sounds very silly to me!

My DS was 21 lb the day he turned 5 months which put him bang on the 98th centile, but he's off the chart for his height and actually a bit skinny. We've been shoehorning milk into him!

Completely agree with Hoplesslydisorganised that you have to look at the baby not the chart.

at anyone thinking the 50th centile is some kind of target!

don't put him on a diet, it would be ridiculous. unfortunately some health professionals don't seem to use their logic in these things. i was told in my 6 weeks check by one to put ds2 on a diet of giving him hardly any milk, because he is on about 91% of weight but is about 99% height and was born at over 9lb anyway so naturally big. i had to point it out to him that look his length is also bigger than average and he said "oh yeah, disregard what i said then" quite shocking really for them to be that crap!! he has never been overweight he outgrows his clothes by length but width/fatness wise he would fit in them ages longer, sounds like yours is the same

I have noticed that midwives check for proportions and your son's weight/height proportion is just fine!

Oh it is so good to read this thread. Have been worried sick.

I have been told to cut back milk to 600 mls a day (so one of his precious bottles have been taken away) because he is 'FAT'. He - 9mo - weight and height is 99th percentile. His dad and both grand dads are very tall. He does fit into 12-18month old clothes.

Should I give him his 4th bottle of milk - he loves milk and i hate the cutting back in milk that i have been told to do to keep him in the charts. he is heavy and is not crawling - but apart from that he is quite mobile, rolls over, chats and is generally quite smiley. He does go swimming and to gymboree..tell me not to worry please.

Don't worry, MaMatoo! At 9 months, my DS was on the 98th centile for weight. He loved his food, and his milk and I fed him to his appetite. I was a bit worried but my HV said as long as he was eating good healthy food and not junk, to carry on doing what I was doing, and he'd slim down once he got mobile. He had huge chubby cheeks and big rolls of fat on his arms and legs - lovely!

He got a bit more fussy with food when he turned one, didn't want his milk any more (apart from his pre-bedtime bottle that carried on for a loooong time...) and started walking at 13 months.

He did slim down but he's never going to be skinny! At 3.5, he's a big, solid, active boy, height and weight both around the 75% centile.

All you can do is give your baby a healthy varied diet, let them eat to their appetites and encourage them to move about and get some exercise.

My dd was above 91st for weight and 50th for height until she was 3. Then she grew . She's now nearly 7 and is 50th for both. Ignore HV they rarely have kids of their own chubby kids are cute anyway ;)

All this worrying about centiles! They've driven me mad with both of my DD's. DD1 was on 75th centile for both height and weight, by 1yr her height had gone just above 75th but her weight had gone right into the red. To me she looked all in proportion but was advised about the whole diet thing. TBH I ignored it, kept on feeding her a healthy balanced diet. She's still tall, at 11yrs she's 5'3", has size 7 feet but only weighs a grand total of 6st! So around the 97th centile for height and a BMI of 14.9 which is around the 6th centile but she's a happy, healthy child who just happens to be very sporty and active. And with DD2, her measurements have been monitored since she was 6wks because her head is small and IME it just depends on who's holding the tape measure, her charts are all over the place and in the end even the paed has given up, she's also a happy child and apart from her eye condition, she's healthy too!