Born *10lbs 6* !! Feeding/sleeping?

[TTC1985]

Hi all

Unsure if this is the right topic?

My DS was born at 39 weeks weighing a massive 10lb 6oz! Now 4 weeks old and even bigger, he's VERY tall so wearing 3 month clothes already (which are quite baggy up top).

My question is what should I expect from him with regards to feeding/sleeping?? Most babies hit 11lb at 4 MONTHS and this seems to be a good sign that they will sleep longer with a bigger stomach to fill up before bed (apparently). He takes 150ml every 3-5 hours, depends on the day.

He's only 4 weeks so developmentally he should still be very limited, but he is 11lb+ and can already hold his head up for short periods since 2 weeks. Midwife and HV advised tummy time from just 2 weeks as well.

Would love to hear from parents of big babies.

X

My ds2 was 11lb4 at birth, no gestational diabetes or anything - just a big baby!
He was a brilliantly efficient feeder (breast fed and could do a full feed in 10 minutes!) and slept 6 hours a night really early on. That all went pear shaped later but that's another story.
Developmentally he wasn't advanced particularly but was exceptionally content as a newborn, except for getting chronic wind (from being a greedy guts for food).
I don't think you can expect any particular behaviour just because dc is a big baby - just enjoy! I loved the fact that he was nice and meaty - lots of squidgy bits and he never seemed really fragile like teeny newborns do!

Weight of baby has no effect on how long a baby csn sleep for

My 9lb 9oz baby was in similar size clothes. In 0to 3 moths within a week. Crap at breadtvdeeding tongue and lip tie and feed all through the night. From 4 months she completely reversed cycled. All babies are unique.

My 11lb was the worst feeder and sleeper of all my dc! But he was also the jolliest and happiest.

Developmentally, he was no different to the others. Some things he did a bit later, some things a bit earlier. I thought, being so big, he'd be hungrier, but he wasn't.

From 99th centile for everything at birth, he chugged along at 75th for weight until about 9-10 months, then shot back up to 99th. Where he has stayed ever since.

It was lovely having a whopper Harder to carrry him - the sling lasted only a short while, as my non-existant post-natal abdominales could not cope with a 3-month equivalent baby! But he was so firm and squidgy and robust. (Did sometimes look peculiar in 3month clothes with a newborn's shirt arms and legs )

Just enjoy him and take things as they come. Congrats on your lovely LO.

My 10lber (comparatively small ) was an excellent feeder, on formula, wouldn't take bf. Has barely dropped a centile ever, still 99th for height and weight and 100th for head size. Now at 3, she's in 4-5 or 5-6 clothes, eats plenty, sleeps okay and is very robust. She held her head up super early too, made newborn days easier in some ways (tho not on my back!)
Enjoy!

My big baby was very strong. He didn't seem very different in terms of eating and sleeping, though. We were warned not to let him go too long between feeds in the very early days but you are past that now. I just fed on demand and let him sleep as and when. I'm only comparing him with a 9lb baby though.

I have looked after two tiny babies and needed an alarm clock to feed them tiny amounts every two hours. That was a different world, they were very different babies.

Ds2 was 10lb13.5 at birth, 17lb at 3 months and in 6-9 clothing. He's 98th centile for weight a.d length. He sleeps better than ds1 who wad 9lb 1, and feeds far less frequently.

He went through a phase of waking once in the night but we are back to twice currently. Usually asleep by 8pm, til 1.30, feed then back to sleep til 4/5, feed then back to sleep til 7ish.

Feeds every couple of hours in the day.

My baby is 13 weeks and was 9lb 8 at birth. He was 16lb a few weeks ago.

He's not an amazing sleeper but quite good I Would say, he doesn't eat as much as you'd think. Was BF until recently but seemed unsatisfied so he's mainly on bottles now, takes 4 or 5oz every 3 hours with 1 night feed.

One big difference to my DD who was average size is that he is rediculously easy/happy/friendly. Not sure if that's to do with his size or what but he rarely cries and just wants to smile at everyone! He has smiled pretty much from birth and is now a chatty, giggly little chap

Thanks all for your replies!! That's so interesting that a few people have mentioned their big babies were rekaxed/happy(er). Seb is definitely a contented chap the majority of the time which is lovely!!

He has started to babble a little already, which is super early isn't it? Perhaps because we are never more than 3 metres apart, day or night, and I talk and sing to him constantly. He also "growls" when I burp him and fights me to get out of my grip lol!

I guess every baby is different, I thought perhaps because his tummy can take more milk he'd be satisfied for longer, earlier on. But yesterday and today we're back to 2.5-3 hourly. Growth spurt?

X

9lb 15 dd here!

She was mostly ff and fell very quickly into a routine of a bottle every 3 hours, then 4. She was placid and a good sleeper. Developmentally normal..I guess with her being robust I didn't worry about her much. She never looked fragile and was twice the size of some newborns.

I can't remember much more as she's 5 now! Still quite big and very energetic - has amazing stamina.

Be careful of people telling you that big babies need weaning earlier because they can't be satisfied on just milk. Weaning has nothing to do with the baby's size but it's one of those "facts" which pervades, despite being utter rubbish!