99th percentile for weight one year old

[Hrp86]

My son is on the 99th percentile for weight and he has just turned one. He is a big boy (the cutest chubbiest thighs). Is it anything to be concerned about? He seems Healthy and happy I just don't want to be over feeding him but Surely he would just refuse food once full? I do find portion size impossible to know as there is nothing out there to tell you what's an appropriate amount of solid food for our little ones at different ages. I'm sure all is fine but just wondering if anyone else has had this

Yes and no. A toddler will be able to feel full and stop if eating real food, but not when offered ultra processed food such as puff, crisps, rice cakes or other highly engineered food.

So it really depends what he is feeling on. A soup, a veggie stew, some pasta, or food from a packet or a supermarket shelf

Use his plates as a guidance for food portion and take a couple of seconds to consider if you are the one offering food without it being requested, as in when putting him in the pram because it will keep him quiet, offering him a biscuit because you are having one and so on.

BE happy you have a baby who eats. So many parents are desperate. If you are still breastfeeding it is quite normal to have bigger babies and they are really cute.

I find www.firststepsnutrition.org/eating-well-early-years good for portion sizes. I think what they show is supposed to be enough for older toddlers, although they do (sensibly) note that some children will eat more and some less.

Overall, I think I'd worry more about what he is eating and why he is eating, as @Cormoran says. If he wants more scrambled egg on toast, I'd let him crack on. If he's discovered where the biscuits are kept and wants one, not so much.

Thank you @Cormoran and @skkyelark - I don't think he really eats unhealthy food that often. He was formula fed but has now moved on to cows milk with two big milk feeds a day (morning and evening). The rest of the day looks a bit like this. Would love to know your thoughts and if this sounds ok:

8am - breakfast (either porridge/Cheerios/Weetabix and A handful of blueberries

11.30am - lunch (something like half a bagel with cream cheese with some smoked salmon followed by a yoghurt or scrambled egg and toast followed by a yogurt - occasionally a bit of fruit as well)

3pm - snack (one thing - something like a breadstick or cheese or a biscuit or some fruit)

5pm - dinner (e.g. veg pasta Dish, or chicken with potato and veg followed by either fruit or some sort of pudding which is only ever those baby biscuits or baby type snacks that don't have much sugar and don't have any rubbish in them)

I think that generally sounds very reasonable, assuming dinner is (usually) stuff you/your partner have cooked, not prepackaged toddler meals. You are giving him pudding after both lunch and dinner, so one of those would be the obvious thing to cut if you think he's having a bit too much. Does he ever not want pudding, say after a favourite main?

I would also just check the puddings' sugar level. A lot of those baby biscuits can have a surprising amount of sugar in them, more (sometimes much more) than a standard digestive or garibaldi or biscuit like that. It will be from concentrated apple juice or similar, but whilst an apple is healthy, concentrated apple juice is not really much different nutritionally than concentrated sugar beet juice, i.e., regular sugar. Flavoured yoghurts can also have quite a lot, even the ones aimed at children.

Where is he with crawling, cruising, walking? Lots of chubby babies seem to slim down quite a bit once they are on the go (and then again when they go from 'toddler' to 'little boy' or 'little girl').

Thank you so much for getting back to
Me @skkyelark . His food is always prepared by me or my husband. He has only ever had a handful of 'ready meals' and he isn't really overly keen on them anyway which is probably a good thing.

The NHS website says they can have pudding after both lunch and dinner (e.g. fruit/yoghurt) so I don't feel I'm giving him more than necessary. He is always happy about having it and doesn't refuse it. I will look into sugar content of the biscuits but again I try to buy the 'healthier' versions without added nasties.

He has only started walking a few steps on his own but not walking around yet. Perhaps when he is walking/running around he might burn off a bit extra! He usually prefers to bounce around on his knees to get from A to B! 🤣

P.s. @skkyelark I bet lockdown hasn't helped as he doesn't get to 'play' with other babies and children so less interaction/moving around than he may have done if he had had the opportunity. He doesn't go to nursery either. Poor lockdown babies!

I found this really useful on portion sizes: infantandtoddlerforum.org/toddlers-to-preschool/portion-sizes-for-toddlers/toddler-portion-sizes-table/

My second is on the 91st centile - she's enormous compared to my first. We'll start weaning in about a month, so I'm also wondering how much she'll take when it comes to solids.

Thank you @YukoandHiro - I will take a look. Good luck starting solids!

How tall is he OP? The weight centile is pretty meaningless unless it's looked at with the height centile.

@BunnyRuddington good point but I can't say I've measured how tall he is. Wouldn't stay still long enough 🤣

Just asking as my DN us on the 98th but then she's on the 98th for height as well so she's perfectly in proportion.

My daughter was on the 98th or 99th percentile at that age and looooved her food. Once she was properly on the move, she soon started to go from chubby-ish baby to normal sized toddler - you can literally see pale tan lines in her neck from where her little neck rolls used to be!

Also now she is going through her fussy eating phase (she’s nearly 2) and I so wish for those “wolf down everything” days. If he’s eating healthy food and physically active, I really wouldn’t worry x

Thank you @NewMum0305 that's what I thought would end up happening once he is on the move properly so thanks for your experience. I hope the fussy eating gets better for you! X

Thank you! x

Doesnt it also depend on which centile they are for height, and also whether they gave jumped up a few centiles recently?

My 15 month ebf dd jumped to 99th for both (from 50th at birth) within a few weeks and just stayed there. So I'm not worried... had she gone from 50th to 99th after weaning I'd have paid more attention!