8 week old gaining too much weight?

[sunshine83]

Hi,
Just got back from clinic and 8 week old son weighs 13lb 13oz. HV reckons this is too much. He was 7lb 6oz when born and has put on a steady 1lb per week since. He is now being bottle fed as I couldn't satisfy him with breast beyond 5 weeks. He takes an average of 6oz per feed, but has taken a few 7oz and usually goes 3 hours between feeds with the occasional 4 hour. He is a very happy, smily and contented baby as long as he is getting his milk.

HV recommended adding more water into his feed pattern to get him used to going 4 hours more regularly but he screams when he's hungry and rarely cries otherwise so I'd feel bad making him wait for a feed.

Has anyone else had a similar problem?

My aunty currently has the same "problem" according to her HV who recently saw her 7 week old daughter.
DON'T worry about any of it and just keep feeding like you have been. 1lb a week is NOT excessive weight gain at all.
If your baby is happy you will know. Just do what is right for him. x

Nonsense nonsense nonsense. DS was 7lb 6 at birth and (having got his red book out just for you) I can tell you he was 13lb at 8 weeks. He was Breast fed if that gives you a comparison.

As you were.

you cant put a baby on a diet and there is no law to say they need to go 4 hours between feeds either. Ask her if she waits 4 hours before eating/drinking because I bet she doesnt!! 3 hourly is perfectly normal at that age so I would feed when your lo wants (within reason) and not be too ruled by the clock.

what a load of old rubbish.
ds1 was 16lbs at 10 weeks (which is pretty much where you'll be if you carry on with the 1lb a week) and unfortunately contactracted rsv and double pneumonia. the paed was thrilled to ribbons that he was such a 'healthy' (chubby) baby as it meant he was far more able to withstand being poorly for a few weeks.

the girls weren't much lighter either. ds1 was bf, dd1 was mix fed and dd2 was ff at that point (ebm until 6 wks)

some hv aren't happy unless every blardy child is bang on average. and they are all different! if you are both happy, carry on with what you are doing. he sounds lovely. congrats on your bonny baby, and pfft to the hv at this point, really.

YOU SHOULD NOT be watering down formula as this "HV" has suggested. I would be telling your GP what this HV has told you - the advice could be downright dangerous. Shocking advice, to withhold food from an 8wk old.

Where is your DC on the length graph? Was this measured too?

You don't need to get baby weighted. If you are happy with the babies progress, don't go, you are under no obligation to.

If you have any real concerns about your baby, speak to your GP, but really, an 8wk old can't be "overweight".

Thank you for all your advice and reassurance. Feel much better now. He is such a happy little baby who loves his food-just like his parents! If I wasn't sleep deprived reckon I would have answered back to 'concerned' HV!

relax:) My 7 pound son was 22 pounds at 4 months and the HV told me to water his feeds.. he was always hungry. He was a chunky toddler but became a skinny kid and is now a gorgeous 18 year old who would love to be bigger...fit and slim as can be! My other children were tiny in comparison but they just had individual needs with food!

Got DD's red book right here! At 8 weeks she was 15 lb 3 oz - exclusively breastfed. Your HV is talking rubbish.

at 8 weeks DD2 was 16 lbs 3, I had a real bollock from the prediatrician who even say "good you are stopping BF we will be able to see if she is overeating" . she wasn't and is not a fat toddler (very very tall though).

Add up all the feeds he has during the day and night, and see if it is anywhere like what is recommended for his age (if it is way above the norm, I would go and see my GP though).

This sounds like my son - he was born at 94percentile and then went straight off the charts. I also got told off for letting him overeat because he wasn't doing it right according to the chart. Each child gains weight at their own pace and eats less or more than the average according to what they need.
DS is now a very tall toddler but not a fat one.
Some children might be ready at 8 weeks for four hourly feeds, others aren't - mine certainly wasn't. It sounds like you're doing it right and listening to what your DS wants rather than trying to fit him into an idealised routine.
Something I also noticed and I'll bet all the other mothers do to is the weird thing babies do where they get quite fat and have big bellies and then suddenly lose the fat and lengthen out as they have another growth spurt.
Don't worry too much about the HV - you said it yourself - you've got a happy, smiley, contented baby. That means you're doing something right

How ridiculous. DD has always been a long thin streak of nothing. I would have killed for her to be chubby.
OP, your DS will even out. I don't think babies can be overweight TBH. Your HV is spouting (dangerous) nonsense.