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Infant feeding

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

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Original poster

HV says my EBF baby is overweight, is this possible?

34 replies

Jennyrosity · 27/04/2012 19:01

Had her weighed today and at almost 14 weeks she's 8.5k (18.7lb), which apparently puts her off the normal scale. She's demand-fed and has only ever had breast milk, apart from a couple of formula feeds when she was less than a week old and we were struggling to get bf established. Since then we had - I thought - been doing really well. She slept through from about 8 weeks and at her 6 week check (at which she was 6k - she was 4.5 at birth) my doctor commented on how well we both seemed to be doing - she even expressed surprise that she's my first, as I seemed "too calm and confident" to be a first time mum.

But the HV has really shaken that confidence. She says I'm overfeeding her and should only feed every 3 hours. I have been demand feeding and sometimes she more often than that, sometimes not, and the amount she takes at each feed often varies, which I'd assumed was normal - I don't have the same appetite every time I eat, after all.

Should I be worried? My husband is deeply worried that she'll end up obese, and of course I feel responsible because I'm the one feeding her! But I look at my happy, contented baby and find it hard to believe she's anything less than perfect.

OP posts:

Springforward · 27/04/2012 19:05

Erm, I would ignore your HV tbh. DS was really chubby then too and ebf, but within a couple of months he just went back to his birth centile line and has stayed there ever since!

fuckityfuckfuckfuck · 27/04/2012 19:07

Nope, I'd ignore it. My 3 week old was born at a completely normal 7 lbs 5, and is now apparently off the scale, bf on demand, and not feeding all the time by any means. HV thinks it's fantastic. A lot depends on the individual HV, I know when my ds1 was born I went to the baby clinic to get him weighed pretty regularly and they got a bee in their bonnet about him being breastfed, at first because he went off the scale, and then when he started crawling ridiculously early, his weight plateaued for a long time, while he essentially exercised off al lthe fat he'd accumulated. It's what they're meant to do imo, lay down the reserves for when they get moving. You're not doing anything wron. Ds1 is now 3 and a proper (healthy) string bean.

blueberryboybait · 27/04/2012 19:08

Your HV needs ignoring! Both my bf babies were huge initially then weight gain slowed down. A happy contented baby is what we all aim for so why change anything and make you both unhappy?

workshy · 27/04/2012 19:10

the centiles are out of date and based on formular fed babies IIRC

if you are both happy then carry on doing what you are doing -I can't stand routinues with young babies!!!

PogoBob · 27/04/2012 19:11

Ignore in my opinion. DD was demand breastfed and a few times the HV refused to believe I wasn't topping her up with formula!

She was 4kg at birth, 8.6kg at 13 weeks and kept growing above the chart (11kg at six months).

She is now 20mo and apart from the little toddler pot is really lean. Yes obesity is an issue but not one that I think needs worrying about in babies, DD changed shape hugely when she started moving about. Plus these days she has a pretty small apetite that is the total opposite of her extremely regular breastfeeding in the early days.

Reassure your husband and keep with the demand feeding - it's obviously working

Bletchley · 27/04/2012 19:11

No. Ignore her. It is common for ebf babies to "beat the charts". You are doing great - keep on doing it!

lisad123 · 27/04/2012 19:14

Tell her to bog off. She's happy, your happy and she will be fine

RillaBlythe · 27/04/2012 19:20

Ignore. My DD was also off the chart before 6 months but is now an ordinary sized 3 yr old.

MadeInChinaBaby · 27/04/2012 19:25

By the sounds of things, you're doing fantastically.

Ignore this HV. You have a healthy, happy, contented little girl. What's more, her birth weight was pretty high anyway.

My DS was also enormous at your DD's age. I look back at pictures now and it's actually comical how tubby he was! He's still very healthy, but at 2 and a half, he's really stretched out. As mentioned above, it's totally different once they start moving. Also, just because a baby loves to breastfeed, it doesn't necessarily follow that the same baby will love solids.

It could also just be genetics. Do you know if either you or your DH were large babies? I was spherical as a baby, was normal sized as a toddler,and I've been skinny from about the age of 7.

ItsAllGoingToBeFine · 27/04/2012 19:33

Centiles aren't out of date, they were all replaced years ago by the BF ones. If you are worried check blurb on the front of charts will give date and data based on.

welliesandpyjamas · 27/04/2012 19:33

Ignore. They are required to say something if your dc is at extreme ends, or not on, the scale. It would be irresponsible of them not to raise it. DS2 got sent by the HV to the GP because he was 95th or 98th, van't remember, and EBF - the GP almost laughed me out of the room, said he looked happy and healthy and to keep doing what I was doing.

welliesandpyjamas · 27/04/2012 19:35

Oh yes, and to reassure your dh, Ds2 is not obese or even chubby at age 3 :)

splashingaround · 27/04/2012 20:23

We get referred every baby as they shoot up and over the charts. They were all huge, and all got very tall, very broad and very skinny as they grew.

If she is worried she can give you a paed referral but no reason at all to suggest that your ebf baby is over fed. As you say they self regulate.

pearlgirl · 27/04/2012 21:46

I would echo all the above advice to ignore. EBF DS2 hit 20lbs at 10 weeks and was a chunky baby until he started moving - he is now nearly 12 and we have trouble finding trousers which will stay up.

smornintime · 27/04/2012 21:58

Ignore! She's only 14 weeks and has plenty of time to change shape as she gets more active. No way can you say at this point that she's going to be obese. I would just carry on as you are; you're obviously both happy!

Original poster

Jennyrosity · 27/04/2012 23:18

Thank you so much everyone, it's so reassuring to hear all this. She really made me doubt myself - even though most of her advice didn't make sense and was conflicting (she also told me to top up with formula, which I thought would be the last thing to do with a baby that's too heavy), it's really hard to be told your baby isn't healthy and you're at fault.

OP posts:

Beamur · 27/04/2012 23:21

My ebf DD looked like the michelin man at 9 months - she was vast! She is now 5 and a healthy, well fed looking but not overweight child.

Happenstance · 28/04/2012 08:35

not the same but i was told my DD was overweight at her 2 year check, had her weighed last week 2.6years and shes on the same centile as before to be told she could do with eating a bit more. HV don't ever agree with each other

RationalBrain · 28/04/2012 08:44

Ignore ignore ignore

Dd2 was off the scales too, literally as she was also very long. She's still very tall at nearly 3, but has slimmed down nicely. She does have a healthy diet and lots of exercise though - but you're ages away from having to worry about that stuff!

Pastabee · 28/04/2012 08:51

I concur! Ignore! My DD was the opposite..... Gained between 2-4oz a week. consistently. HV wanted her to gain more and suggested I stop breastfeeding her!!! When I refused we were referred to GP.

GP said DD was fine, to definitely keep breastfeeding her and spent the rest of the appointment chatting about where my lovely changing bag come from as her daughter was expecting.

They seem incapable of just accepting that babies grow at their own rates and it really is best to make mums feel confident looking after their babies says she who cried all the way home when told breastmilk wasn't enough for DD despite all her hard work establishing BF

festi · 28/04/2012 08:54

again I say ignore, dd was the same she was enourmous even at my standards, however by 1 she was as she should be, now at 6 she is tall long and lean and increadibly fit, health and active.

I was critisised by hv for demand feeding through out.

tiktok · 28/04/2012 09:43

Always difficult when the HV says something that seems out of step with how breastfeeding actually works - maybe there is something else going on or the HV has genuinely seen something that's worrying her. But in this case, it seems bizarre - exclusive breastfeeding actually protects against obesity, and it's not at all uncommon for individual, healthy babies to be 'over' or 'under' weight with nothing wrong with them at all.

Your HV is wrong to undermine your confidence in this way - can you express the way you feel 'shaken' to her and say how upset you are? That it is causing upset between you and your DH? That everything you have read suggests that there is nothing to worry about at all? That you don't understand why she has told you to 'top up' with formula?

You can also see your GP and tell him/her all this, too.

I don't think this is a breastfeeding problem at all - but your feelings and distress are and she needs to know :(

Earthymama · 28/04/2012 09:56

I am just about to get out of bed so haven't time to read all of thread but....
PLEASE IGNORE silly HV.
My son was nearly 9lbs when he was born and I EBF him. He was HUGE at 3 months, I have pictures of him in the clothes my DM knotted for him and he was so chubby!
He's 32 now, a Dad to his own chubby chap and as an adult he is fine, not overweight, cycles everywhere, did a half marathon last year.
He was a chubby toddler, and chunky as a young teen, (due to living with DM for a while as she stuffed him full of roast dinners and parsley sauce, slabs of cake eyc!!) but is fine as an a adult
Your baby will soon regulate how much he feeds, you are doing the right thing.
Good luck xx

lagoonhaze · 28/04/2012 19:27

Please ignore her you are doing great! Do you think you can muster the energy to complain? Her practice seems outdated and like you said confidence knocking for the parents.

Bletchley · 28/04/2012 22:10

Top up with formula?!?!

Don't be bloody ridiculous

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