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Behaviour/development

Talk to others about child development and behaviour stages here. You can find more information on our development calendar.

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Original poster

Big baby at 5months old?

21 replies

iamafitmama · 12/09/2008 20:59

hi - not new to posting but have name changed for this thread.

DD is 5 months old and is quite big.

She weighs nine kilos and a half(20 pounds) and is 69 cm long.

HV said I need to cut on her milk (she's still breastfed- not weaning yet) and advised to start weaning her as she thinks dd is having too much milk as it's not filling for her - thus getting fatter and fatter.

When I see dd I see a very healthy baby, very long and lively. She can roll, kicks a lot and can already sit unaided (she cannot pull herself up, but if you sit her on the floor she will play with the toys in front of her sitting for up to 20 mins -half an hour before falling on one side).

However the HV has worried me and now I have pictures of the future in my head of an obese child/girl.
Anybody in a similar situation or gone through the same in the past? what was the outcome? is she really that big and should I really wean her to stop her from getting any bigger?

I thought we were doing really well... this serves me right...

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wahwah · 12/09/2008 21:04

I'd try the 'feed the world' bit as they seem pretty expert there, but fwiw, I don't think it's possible to overfeed a breastfed baby. In any case, where is she on the centile charts and have there been any significant changes?

Original poster

iamafitmama · 12/09/2008 21:09

thanks - I will post there too.
She was on the 90th centile when she was born and she is on the 99th now for weight and 98th for height

OP posts:

wahwah · 12/09/2008 21:17

That all sounds fine to me (am not an expert tho') perhaps your hv is a bit bonkers.

crokky · 12/09/2008 21:18

height and weight are on similar centiles, baby is happpy - ignore HV.

PeppermintPatty · 12/09/2008 21:19

My DD was on 75th centile for height and weight whens she was born, but by 6 months was on 91st for weight. She was BF too.

NOw she's back down on 75th centile (she's 14 months). She's tall for her age but definitely no chubbier than other babies.

I wouldn't worry about it, your DD sounds fine. I think your HV is talking rubbish, its quite difficult to overfeed a BF baby.

steviesgirl · 12/09/2008 21:21

Gosh. My dd is 2.4 and 24lb! What do you feed her?

Habbibu · 12/09/2008 21:21

If height and weight are same, then I can't see what the problem is. dd was 99.6th for height, weight and head circumference from birth to 6 months - excl. breastfed - dropped slightly off that - prob about 92nd ish now - she's tall and well proportioned at nearly 2.

AnarchyAunt · 12/09/2008 21:21

Replied on your other thread!

Yanda · 12/09/2008 21:24

Just checked my red book, my DD was big too at five months she weighed the same as your DD and 70cm long. My HV accused me of overfeeding her which was rubbish because she was in proportion the same centiles for height and weight. I am 5'8 and DH is 6'3. My brother is 6'5. We are not small people in my family so DD was never going to be small either.

At six months old the HV actually told me to cut her milk right down to one feed a day and give her mostly fruit and vegetables to get her weight down. The HV was a twat and I did nothing of the sort.

Your DD sounds absolutely fine, no need to wean until she is ready. FWIW my DD is now 2.2 and yes she is still tall (98th for height and weight) but she remains in proportion and eats whatever she needs.

Littleface · 12/09/2008 21:25

I cant remember how much my DS weighed at 5 months but he was a prob around 20 pounds, at 1 he was 24 pounds, now at just turned 2 he's 28 pounds. He's just got taller and lost all that lovely baby fat! Still got a big belly tho!.
So I'd agree with PeppermintPatty, HV often talk crap!

erwfran · 12/09/2008 21:28

my ds is 7 months and 22 ib he really is the picture of health and i'm not just saying that, he is!
i was massive as a baby much bigger than my ds and i'm just really tall but slimish and have been most of my life (slimish that is. My legs were so big as a baby (i was bfed my ds only for 6 wks) there were rolls and dimples on rolls and dimples. Then when i was 4 my mum took me to the gp cause she thought i was too thin, please dont worry about future obesity, Ithink you will just have a tall child.
Also, your baby sounds advance for age i really wouldnt worry

Yanda · 12/09/2008 21:29

Steviesgirl that makes your DD 9th centile, so smaller end of the scale (not that I think the charts mean much), she would look quite small next to my DD but its little to do with what they are fed, its generally natural variation especially when height and weight are proportionate. I'm obviously not talking about when children are obese.

mrsmcdreamy · 12/09/2008 21:31

Have just checked ds1's book & he was almost exactly the same as your dd - a little less on weight & more in length. He was bf and agree that you can't overfeed a bf baby.

My ds is now 3 and is taller than average (off the charts, according to when he was measured a couple of months ago!) and in 98th for weight, but he's no way obese, or even fat and is very active, strong and hardly ever ill.

Original poster

iamafitmama · 12/09/2008 21:42

thanks all for your good words.
I am not going to wean her, she seems fine on milk - and I want to wait until she's six months to wean.

HV said that weight would hinder her phisical development! (that is why in my post I mention what she can already do)

I believe that dd is quite similar in her phisical development to most of the babies her age we meet at playgroup - but hv said that this could be now, but we need to nip it in the bud????

OP posts:

Habbibu · 12/09/2008 21:48

she sounds like a loon. HV, not baby.

Habbibu · 12/09/2008 21:48

Ask HV for research evidence showing that babies on same high centile for height and weight have delayed physical development.

Yanda · 12/09/2008 21:49

Well my DD walked at 9 months, her weight and height didn't seem to hinder that Please please please don't listen to your HV, there is nothing you need to nip in the bud! She is only tiny!!!

Littleface · 12/09/2008 21:54

DS was crawling at 5 months and walking before his 1st birthday so his physical development was not effected by hes weight.
My mil said the same thing "he cant roll over, hes to fat" said as Ds rolled over at 4 months
whole other thred that!

Acinonyx · 12/09/2008 23:30

Dd was 20 lbs at 5 mo and a regular porker! She was entirely bf and I did get teased about 'jersey cream' etc

She crawled (and really fast) before 6 mo and walked at 11 mo. I do think she would have been walking earler if she hadn't been so heavy, but it didn't hinder her that much. I have worried about her weight and I'm careful about what she eats. She's 3 now and slimming down.

I never bothered with hvs when dd was past about 3 mo so I was spared such advice. They have a few guidelines to use but don't seem to understand what they mean.

Jolibee · 13/09/2008 02:48

Our paediatrition recommended the opposite when I asked about weaning, she said she def didn't need any more food!

Have DD who just turned 5 months and is same weight and height. She is humongous, we live in the Philippines and you can imagine compared to the babies out here how massive she looks. Yesterday someone called her sumo!

They use American charts here and she's off that, but then when I checked the UK ones she's just on them. Suppose as long as height and weight is in correlation.

damadilemma · 13/09/2008 06:18

omg! - worrying about obesity in a 5 month old BF baby! that way eating problems really do lie...
it is soooo important that weight/eating doesn't become an issue for no reason - especially with girls. And planting the seeds of worry with a 5 month BF baby is just bloody irresponsible.
Don't just ignore your HV - tell her she's talking bollox.
I also have a lovely big healthy DD who eats for England it's fabulous and she's ahead of herself in many ways too.

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