Active discussions

Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

Set a reminder

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Behaviour/development

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

Original poster

I could really do with some advice on whether to follow HV's advice re my ds's diet. Worried I'm overfeeding him

44 replies

Haylstones · 02/10/2008 15:43

I will try not to make this too long but may not succeed
My ds is 7 months and has always been a big boy. He has had a few colds that have left a bit of wheezing (not asthma or chest infections, just a raspy sound sometimes. I have had this checked by the GP 2 or 3 times since he was born).

Today I saw the HV and she wants me to:

  • cut down his breast feeds to morning and night only
  • keep a food diary for a month
-have monthly weigh ins with her She also photocopied his red book to go on his file and asked if he was always so placid and happy (nothing in that I'm sure!)

She thinks that ds is gaining weight too fast and his weight will make it too hard for him to crawl, meaning he will gain even more as he isn't burning any of it off and therefore continuing with the chestiness.

Ds's routine is as follows:
7am-Breastfeed
7.30- Ready Brek
11.00- breast feed
12.00- lunch normally consisting of a HIPP jar and fruit
2.30- breast feed
5.00- dinner (whatever we are having) followe dby a fromage frais
7.00- breast feed

He also wakes a couple of time in the night for milk.
Please don't hold back, I would really appreciate some comments and opinions on what ds is eating and the HV's advice as I am so worried that I am overfeeding him and it will have health consequences for him.

FWIW, another HV raised concerns a while ago re his weight and I had him checked by the GP who assured me there was nothing to worry about. Since then the weight gain has increased massively.

OP posts:
Are your children’s vaccines up to date?
Set a reminder
charchargabor · 02/10/2008 15:50

looks absolutely fine to me. He will be able to regulate his appetite. Sounds like a balanced diet, and you can't overfeed with breastmilk. I personally would let him dictate. Some babies are big and they crawl when they are ready. If you are worried, ask to be referred to a paed. They will soon be able to tell you if there's a problem.

Original poster
Haylstones · 02/10/2008 15:58

Thanks.
Ds can sit unaided, roll (but doesn't oftena ctually do it) and is trying to stand up so I suspect he might naturally skip the crawling stage anyway.
I should have said that he weighs 27lb 7oz and was 9lb8oz at birth. i think some of the concern was that dd was nowhere near that size. His body length and head circ are above average but not off the scales like his weight .
What happens if I blatantly ignore the advice? Should I just go along with it?
Is 5-6 breast feeds a day OKfor a 7 mo?

OP posts:
charchargabor · 02/10/2008 16:04

You do sound a bit worried so I really would push for a paed referral to set your mind at rest. He sounds fine to me though, growing, eating well and meeting milestones, but I'm no doctor. 5-6 feeds sounds fine to me, and 2 sounds far too little. Fwiw, DD had about 10 feeds in the day and a few at night until 10 months (boob addict!) At 14 months now, she is still on 4 in the day and about 4 at night. And she is quite small for her age. I would keep doing what you're doing and ask for a paed referral for reassurance and to get the hv off your back. He/she will be much more knowledgeable than hv. Don't worry too much.

yomellamoHelly · 02/10/2008 16:08

I would have thought if he's bfing and so long as you're not forcing food down his throat at mealtimes your ds is doing fine. But obviously I'm not a professional - is just my gut reaction.

WhereTheWildThingsWere · 02/10/2008 16:09

Dd 7m has 7 bf and 2 'food' meals a day, so not too many bf imo.

BlueberryPancake · 02/10/2008 16:10

Can I ask you at what age you started giving him solid food?

RhinestoneCowgirl · 02/10/2008 16:10

I'd have thought that at 7 months milk should still be a big part of his diet, no matter how chunky he is - but no expert, just a mother of a chunky one (now 2yrs old and much slimmed down).

From what you've written about his routine it looks pretty normal. My DS was pretty much spherical until he started crawling - which wasn't until about 10/11 months.

Tommy · 02/10/2008 16:12

sounds fine to me. Babies crawl at different ages - all of mine were past 9m.

What reasons did she give for cutting down on breastfeeding?

cmotdibbler · 02/10/2008 16:14

2 feeds does sound too little for his age.

Obv you don't want him to be too heavy, but once they start moving they do burn it off. I think I'd move him to something more like a sandwich and fruit for lunch, and then dinner plus fruit so that he regulates his intake, and not go back to the HV for 6 months or so. They can't make you go, and blatantly, he's thriving.

At 6 months DS was on the 99.8th percentile - at 2 years he was on the 85th or so as he went from being immobile (didn't crawl till 12 months, walked at a year)to being a nonstop whizzer.

Original poster
Haylstones · 02/10/2008 16:23

I asked about the bfing because I was worried I was feeding him too little as dd fed much more than that during the day. She said he doesn't need as much milk as he is having.
We are going with the finger food at but ds is much more comfortable with mush for now but as soon as he can handle it better I will be doing sandwiches etc for lunch.
It feels more like they're checking on me with the food diary and copying his red book. Feels like they suspect it's my fault he's so heavy . I am worried about what would happen if I didn't go back.
I just spoke to my mum who suggested she was talking nonsense and said I should see another GP and ask for clarification on this advice then if all OK have it put on record that there are no issues with his size.
FWIW, both dh and I were huge babies and are now both tall and lanky so ds will no doubt end up that way too.

OP posts:
Pheebe · 02/10/2008 16:27

TBH thats sounds like ridiculous advice from your HV especially if your GP wasn't concerned about him!

Agree with others, I'd ask for a paed referral

Nothing will happen to you if you don't take hvs advice btw. I suspect most mums ignore tha majority of what hvs say anyway

BlueberryPancake · 02/10/2008 16:33

At 7 months, my two children hadn't finished the weaning stage as I weaned them at 6 months old. They had lots of milk (BF for ds1 and formula for ds2) during the day, but rarely during the night unless they were unwell. At 7 months old, neither had three meals a day, they had two meals a day and they were quite small portions and milk was very much still the main source of food. They have always been just below the 50 centile in terms of weight.

I might be the devil's advocate here but I would be concerned if I were you. Can I just comment that you are asking us to 'not hold back', but you look like you've already made up your mind about the advice?

BlueberryPancake · 02/10/2008 16:35

oh just one more thing, If you have a concern about your son's chestiness, see your GP. HV can give you info on weight, but they are not supposed to provide advice on medical problems and diagnosis.

Original poster
Haylstones · 02/10/2008 16:38

I haven't made up my mind about the advice, that's why I asked on here. I was hoping for some more opinions before I made my mind up on what to do/ think.
Ds was big at birth and has never been below the 99th centile so this weight gain has no link to being weaned (which was before 6 months but not much)

OP posts:
Original poster
Haylstones · 02/10/2008 16:41

I have seen the GP 3 times in the last 4 months re his chestiness (last time was Tues) and was reassuered it wasn't due to a chest infestion, just 'inflamed tubes'.
I didn't mention it to the HV, she heard him.
I am concerned, which is why I'm looking for advice.

OP posts:
witchandchips · 02/10/2008 16:42

i'm a great believer in babies knowing themselves how much they need. Fatter ones may be laying down stores for later on when they start crawling and there is just not enough time to eat what with all the mischief making there is to do. My ds had man boobs on his man boobs and is now a skinny 3 year old

having said this you do need to make sure that he really wants all the food that he is eating. Do you encourage him to finish his plate? How active is he in feeding. If he is grabbing the spoon and pushing it in then my guess is that he needs the food. If he need coaxing to open his mouth sometimes then my guess is that he is not that hungry. Swapping mush for finger food is an easy way of giving him back more control. I would do this rather than drop any bfs tbh

Original poster
Haylstones · 02/10/2008 16:42

Sorry, ds hasn't been chesty non stop- whwnever he gets a cold he gets chesty and I've had him checked each time!
Am not being very rational plus ds is bashing at laptop!

OP posts:
Original poster
Haylstones · 02/10/2008 16:45

Thanks.
I never force food down. He has small portions and whenever I give him a spoon full he opens his mouth for another one as soon as he's swallowed. If he doesn't do this then I know he has had enough so stop.
THink I@ll watch more carefully to make sure he isn't eating too much.

OP posts:
Sidge · 02/10/2008 16:47

Blueberrypancake - HVs are registered nurses so can give advice on medical problems.

Haylstones - with all respect to your HV I think she is being a little overzealous. If your baby is continuing along the 99th centile and always has been around there, then his weight is not a problem. They should be concerned if he was climbing up the chart, but not if he is carrying along his normal line. You shouldn't really be restricting milk and I would see no reason to cut down breastfeeds, especially as milk should be the main source of calories at this age.

You say he has what you're having at dinnertime - what sort of food is this?

Also IME many chunky babies start to even out when they start crawling and walking.

MatNanPlus · 02/10/2008 16:49

What did the GP say about DS's weight?

I would ask for a Pead referral before cutting BF down to that small amount at his age.

Do you have any notes on what you and DH weighed at his age?

Waspie · 02/10/2008 16:51

My ds was/is the same. He was born big (and long) and at 7 months he was almost off the chart and eating everything put before him and then more!

He's now almost 11mo and has been crawling since almost 9mo. He's still a big baby but he's tapered off in terms of weight gain which I'm sure is due to him racing around all the time. I'm sure your ds' weight will even itself out in it's own time Haylstones

I think that 2 feeds a day sounds rather low though. I thought that babies until 1 year were supposed to have 500-600ml a day, which is probably at least three or fours bf's IMO.

Original poster
Haylstones · 02/10/2008 16:52

Sidge, he is above the 99th centile and is not following the curve.
By our meals I mean things like roast chicken and veg, cottage pie vegetable soup etc (our meals this week anyway). I don't want to cut down on the bfs as I don't think he has too many

OP posts:
witchandchips · 02/10/2008 16:52

then as you are demanding feeding him both solids and bm, then i am sure you are giving exactly what he want and needs.

Original poster
Haylstones · 02/10/2008 16:53

GP said there was nothing to worry about, ds was just a big lad.
My mum said I weighed 24lb at 6 months and MIL said her GP told her dh was too big to be able to crawl so similar stories really.
WIsh I hadn't gone now!

OP posts:
Acinonyx · 02/10/2008 17:30

Dd was a propper porker and over 20 lbs at 5 mo. She was crawling fast by 6 mo. She walked at 11 mo but I do think her weight held her back a little bit with walking - but obviously not much.

I've always worried about dd's wieght and it is calming down now at 3 - although she still has a fine belly. Some babies are just big and I don't think you are over-feeding. I bf dd until she was 1 - on demand until 9 mo.

TBH I did avoid HVs!