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Infant feeding

Get advice and support with infant feeding from other users here.

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Original poster

So upset told EBF 5 mo is "overweight and in the danger zone"

54 replies

Halfbaked · 08/02/2011 12:30

Hi I've just come back from the HV ( I know but so far they have been excellent) I am in tears.

DD is ebf and just turned 5mo, she was 7lb 6oz at birth 25th percentile she is now 20lb 1oz and between the 98th and 99th percentile.
I only stayed to ask how you tell the difference between teething and weaning signs, as i think she possibly is ready for weaning but wanted to do BLW as sitting up etc but seems early still.

I have been told to drop a feed and swap with water as she is clearly overweight and in the danger zone. If I keep on feeding her she will be off the charts and did a look to suggest action would be taken.

I said I had been told many times you cannot overfeed a breastfed baby, including by her colleagues when I have visited before- (in fact last time they congratulated me on doing so well and that it was rare to find EBF babies in the area.)

She said this was not true and some babies can be. She said the chart clearly shows that she is heading off the scale, that I should not wean her until at least 6 months because she will be obese.

I said perhaps I ought to take her to the Dr's she said it wasn't a medical matter. There was a trainee dr(I think) with her who was a bit flustered when asked her advice saying the HV knew more about feeding but pretty much backed her up.

I left, was in a daze came home and cried my eyes out.

So from all the posts that I have lurked on here, I think I am right but I feel so undermined and tbh I've worried about the weight thing from the beginning as she still nurses every 2 hours except at night.

Am I overfeeding her? Is she obese? Why am i listening to one HV when 4 others said the opposite?
So sorry for the long post.

OP posts:

coldcomfortHeart · 08/02/2011 12:40

How awful for you.

Breastfeeding is how babies were meant to be fed, biologically/physiologically speaking. If your daughter is the weight she is and feeding every 2 hours then that's just the way she is meant to be. Some babies are real roly polys and others aren't.

However- you were right to suggest if the HV has concerns it should be checked out by a doctor. If nothing else to put your mind at rest.

Not a very nice HV experience to add to the list on mn!

browniebear · 08/02/2011 12:42

First of all calm down. You know your baby better than anyone. If your worried I'd go see GP but tbh personally she sounds healthy. I'm no expert but ds was 19lb at 18 weeks and yes he is a chubby baby but when they start to move about more and crawl the weight gain slows down. Well done for ebf too

Pepa · 08/02/2011 12:45

I too have VERY lArge babies that are EBF my 12mth old is 31 pounds - she has been over the 100 percent line since 3 months and my pead just laughs when she sees her. Don't worry babies come in all shapes and sizes. Where is you LO on the height percentile?

LadySanders · 08/02/2011 12:47

just to echo what the others said - i've got 3dc and they have all only ever been weighed twice (once at birth and once at 6 week check). 2 of them were very fat babies but now totally normal size. dd is 1, was 6lbs at birth and rocketed in size very quickly, i am sure they would have told me she was moving dangerously quickly up the charts too... she is absolutely fine and now fairly lean again now she's moving around. really, do not worry unless YOU feel there is cause for concern.

bullet234 · 08/02/2011 12:47

DH weighed over 25 lbs when he was 6 months. I know this because MIL kept the weight charts and showed me them. At 9 months he started walking and subsequent pictures of himself as a toddler and child showed him as a lad that was not even slightly chubby, let alone obese.

Secondtimelucky · 08/02/2011 12:48

What horrid advice from your health visitor.

I am not a training breastfeeding counsellor or anything, so I hestitate to give 'advice' as such on here. I prefer to leave that to people like Tiktok. However, what she has effectively told you is that you need to put your baby on a diet, and tell a hungry baby that she has to have water instead. That makes zero sense to me in a breastfed baby and I would definitely be checking it out with the GP or a trained breastfeeding counsellor (do you have any baby cafes or LLL near you) before following it. It's a pretty extreme thing to decide to do on the advice of one health visitor.

Also, doesn't someone have to be on the 95th percentile. The whole point is that it's a distribution curve.

hatters · 08/02/2011 12:48

My Mum was told to drop a feed with my brother as he was a super chubby baby. Since she had no idea how to do that with a bf baby, she ignored the advice. He slimmed out and is still a skinny, but healthy adult!

crikeybadger · 08/02/2011 12:54

Why not give one of the bfing helplines a call just to get some advice from someone who knows about breastfeeding.

If I were you, I'd be giving that hV a wide berth.

Original poster

Halfbaked · 08/02/2011 13:01

Thank you for the speedy replies. I feel like she's normal, just a bit bigger and chubbier than others her age, but everyone else round here ff.

Im surprised how much it upset me. secondtimelucky putting her on a diet is exactly what I felt she was saying.

Just read in the red book it's only a concern if they are above the line after a year.

OP posts:

cinnamongreyhound · 08/02/2011 13:04

I was told I couldn't overfeed ds1 as I was bf him but every time I took him to be weighed they always said, my godness what are you feeding him and then as soon as I said bm they said oh that's ok. I found it very confusing but as soon as I started weaning him they were telling me I was giving him too much. Hmmm... so bm ok but bm with pureed carrot not ok . I just started ignoring them and going with my gut. I have friends with smaller children who eat much more food now than ds1 does, he actually has quite a small appetite and likes to eat little and often. He didn't walk until he was 16 months but slimmed down when he started. If you are worried take him to see the GP but it sounds like she is just a hungry baby and you are doing the right thing. I just looked in ds1 red book and he was 20lb 10oz at 23 weeks if that makes you feel better!

ThePosieParker · 08/02/2011 13:04

Cripes.....all of mine went from 9th centile to about 75th....I wouldn't worry. Phone a bf helpline.

Trillian42 · 08/02/2011 13:07

No helpful advice but wanted to say I'm shocked at the HV and think that you should definitely get a second opinion. Sounds like she's talking out of her arse and do not let it upset you.

ethelina · 08/02/2011 13:09

My boy was 7lb6oz and at 18 weeks was 18lb. Now 21 weeks, in 6-9mth clothes. I havent been near a HV since his 6 week check which seems the easiest way to be.

Ealingkate · 08/02/2011 13:11

Is the HV aware that the charts are based on FF babies?? (Unless they have changed them recently)
Balance the advice that this one HV has given you with all the other advice you have already received, no-one corroborates her story, right??
Is is horrible when they make you feel this way, but, I think you would be hard pushed to find anyone who thinks putting an EBF on a diet is a good idea.
My EBF DD1 (now 8) was a massive chubby baby, but now has a six pack!!

Katz · 08/02/2011 13:13

did she bother to measure her height? because if she's on the upper centiles for height then her weight would be in proportion. I had a HV tell me that i needed to feed DD1 as she was only on the 25th centile and they liked all babies to be on the 50th - she clearly didn't understand the concept of a normal distribution curve.

Fiddledee · 08/02/2011 13:21

My DD was the same weight at that age. One GP did tell me I was overfeeding my DD. She is now a thin 4 year old. Ignore, wean onto solids when you want. My DD wasn't that keen on solids until nearer two. DS self weaned at 8.5months and loved solids, he is skinny earlier.

fifi25 · 08/02/2011 13:21

My daughter was chubby greedy baby, by the time she got to reception she was 2oz off being in the malnutrition zone. I woulnt worry about it, the HV i had had no people skills and was very abrupt, ask to change HV's.

fifi25 · 08/02/2011 13:22

and all of mine were weaned at 4 months.

bedlambeast · 08/02/2011 13:39

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

Original poster

Halfbaked · 08/02/2011 13:42

Thanks all this is making me feel more reassured. I am awaiting a call back from NCT helpline too.

pepa katz They don't measure height, never have but from my limited attempt with a piece of string and ruler!! she's on the 99th percentile. Both myself and DH are taller than average so that doesn't surprise me.

trillian42 lol, exactly what my DH has phoned to tell me.

Not sure il go again, it's a clinic so I've seen a different HV each time. This is the first time I've had any problem.

OP posts:

Secondtimelucky · 08/02/2011 13:49

Glad you are feeling better. If she's tall as well, surely it makes sense she'd be heavier than average.

My general rule of thumb for breastfeeding was "if it sounds bizarre, don't believe it (and certainly don't get upset about it) until you've checked with an expert" (by which I mean a breastfeeding expert, not simply a HCP). Stood me in pretty good stead.

CharlotteBronteSaurus · 08/02/2011 13:50

dd1 went from 25th to 99th centiles
she was formula fed, and no-one batted an eyelid
she is now a normal sized, tall nearly 4yo

dd2 is EBF on demad and has blossomed similarly. i just make chubby, efficient feeders.

Pesha · 08/02/2011 14:05

Agree with everyone else, sounds like nonsense, particularly if she is also tall.

Just wanted to add that my ds2 was FTT and nearly dropped off the bottom of the charts. I was pressured to wean early by my HVs but was advised by Tiktok among others that actually early solids contain less calories than BM so weaning early, if it replaced feeds, makes no sense at all. So her advice to you to delay weaning also seems like a load of crap TBH. Now I'm not saying this to suggest you should wean early as we've all agreed your dc's weight is fine so you've no need to try and reduce her calorie intake but I just wanted to point out that your hv clearly doesn't have a clue what she's talking about!!

susiey · 08/02/2011 14:12

I have 3 dc, all around 7lb at birth and all whizzing up the centile lines till they're 1 and all normal or tiny as they got older.

They have all been a mixture of formula and breast fed.

ignore your HV

for the record my dd3 turns 5 months on sunday and she feeds every 2- 3 hours during the day as well.

susiey · 08/02/2011 14:12

I have 3 dc, all around 7lb at birth and all whizzing up the centile lines till they're 1 and all normal or tiny as they got older.

They have all been a mixture of formula and breast fed.

ignore your HV

for the record my dd3 turns 5 months on sunday and she feeds every 2- 3 hours during the day as well.

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