EBF baby weight gain - can I feed too much?

[KikiShack]

I know the standard answer to this question is that you can't, but I'm looking for reassurance about my DD, also after anyone else's experiences of having a large baby who got back to a decent weight when they became mobile.
My DD was 8.12 when she was born, 12 days late.
Since birth she's piled on about a pound a week, and was 12.9 at one month, and 14.7 at 6+5.
Each time she is weighed they ask me how she's feeding and I tell them EBF, and they say 'in that case don't worry' obviously implying that if it was formula we should worry! She is now just over the 99.6th percentile line in her red book, so out of a thousand babies she would be one of the heaviest 3 or 4 which seems crazy.
She's clearly a podge, but I think she's also tall, she has grown out of her 0-3 clothes. I tried measuring her length but I'm not sure how much to stretch her legs out so it varies between about 58 and 62cm.
I'd really like to hear from anyone with similar experiences as I'm a first timer and can't help worry! I don't want to be harming my lovely little (giant) baby!
Also she feeds for about 2.45-3 hours a day, is that fairly normal?
This latest weight is in the middle of a cold where she's been really sleepy and eating less!
During the cold she's been sick a bit so I've been rationing food in an attempt to get her to keep it down, just allowing her 8 mins per feed and then not feeding again for an hour, so she definitely digests most of that 8 mins worth. She had grumbled that she wants more (sometimes quite loudly and insistently) but if I pop her in the sling she eventually calms down and goes to sleep. She's mostly over the cold now, it only really lasted 3 days, and I'm wondering if I should continue this food rationing.
It breaks my heart to hear her hungry. And surely she can't continue gaining weight at a pound a week for much longer can she?! I've got my 6-8 week check up in 2 more weeks so shall I just keep feeding on demand until then? I'd really appreciate some support as I'm not sure I'm doing the right thing. All the HVs etc say it's fine, but she's really at the extremities of normal and I'm not sure I trust them entirely...
Apologies for the length and ramble xx

If she's only 6 weeks old and ebf please don't ration her feeding. Feed her as often as she need especially if she's ill.
Dd was 8.11 and never lost, just gained. Since turning 1 and learning to walk her weight has levelled drastically.

Your milk changes in consistency and content throughout the feed, so by rationing her feeds, although well-intentioned, you're probably doing more harm than good! In my experience HVs are the last people to ask for advice about bf, would it be worth a call to the National breastfeeding helpline? In order to come up with the centile charts, some babies have to be at the top, it seems yours is one of them - my DS1 is too, 99.6th all the way. I had loads of anxiety about his weight, largely through listening to the HV, but he's now 2.2 and still huge but absolutely fine.

If she's EBF I would continue to feed on demand, but make sure as she's getting older that you try a bit of distraction/change of scenery before offering milk - she may just be getting bored.

My DD was EBF and went from the 50th to over 75th on BM, but started crawling at 5.5 months and walking at 9. She dropped back down the centiles when walking and hardly put on any weight between 11 -16 months. Then she suddenly 'got' eating food at 17 months and is a little chubster again now.

My ds was the same nearly 10lb at birth ebf and never lost weight, put on at least 1lb a week and made his own growth line above the 99th centile. Now at 4 he is a big boy wearing 5-6 clothes and his weight and height are still in proportion just bigger than most other children. I would say to stop ratioing food and just ebf on demand following your babies cues. Rationing could also affect your supply. Babies know best at what they need and dont worry it will all even out- you are doing a fab job!

Thanks for your responses, I feel bad about rationing now, though it was only 2 days and I kept up supply by pumping. What would you advise if a baby is ill so vomits up more than normal? I just wanted to ensure some milk would definitely stay in her tummy for hydration and nutrition. I told the HV what I was doing and she thought it sounded sensible, but I really didn't trust her as she didn't give me any advice and just kept asking me if I was worried. And was upset and surprised the gp hasn't given me antibiotics for a virus. So her views are clearly not great.
I'm definitely back on demand today and will continue like that.
I love the thought of a tall strapping daughter! Just not a short fat unhealthy one.

Thanks mater, your reply really cheered me up x

Don't feel bad, you're only doing what our thought was right!
Honestly, just feed on demand. Bf babies regulate how much they eat based on their needs and breast milk changes to suit the babies needs.
When they're I'll, it's a brilliant thing to bf as it will help settle the tummy and hydrate baby. Just means more washing for you!

Glad to have cheered you up and your plan sounds good. Bf is good for tummies and tummy bugs and the sucking should comfort your dd too and make her feel better. Good luck x

I'm not sure with the vomiting , but try her a but more upright and ensure a good latch so that she's not gulping down air. She may just be learning to regulate her intake.

One more thing - babies don't follow neat growth curves so she may just be piling it on early! Don't worry too much :)

Congratulations, Kiki!

Sounds like your lo is doing really well As the others have said, you can't over feed her if you are breast feeding; she knows what she's doing, so if she's asking, feed her even if, in fact, especially if, she's poorly.
My dd2 was on the 9th line (I think. She was just under 7lb) when she was born but doubled her birthweight in 6 weeks and just kept going up and up those lines til she plateaued at the top. She was a right chubster! but my hv, who I do have a lot of respect for unlike the one we had for dd1 said as she was ebf not to worry as it falls off them again when they get mobile. (As opposed to ff babies, who store it slightly differently) And it did. Between 8 and 14 mths she only put on a few pounds and dropped back down to the 50th. She still fed like a demon then too, and I was amazed at how little she'd put on but she was totally healthy . Sounds like your dd is a bit similar. You must produce gold top

Ps. The dr won't, and shouldn't, prescribe antibiotics for a common virus.

My DD was 8lb at birth so on the 50th, at 6 weeks she was up to the 91st, went up to about 94th and has stuck there ever since (she's now 25 weeks).

Breastfed babies put on more weight initially but are leaner toddlers and children.

My mum tells me I was exactly the same but I've never been more than a size 10 as an adult!

Feed on demand, her body knows what it's doing!

Don't worry too much about centiles unless she's dropping down them precipitously. Out of a thousand babies one of them has to be heaviest. One of them has to be the tiniest. I think you've got less to worry about having the heaviest, really! If she has an illness she'll bounce back a lot quicker! I expect the people with babies on the 1st centile stress no end if they have an illness and stop eating for a week.

My DS is off the top of the centiles. He is now 18 months, but was born a month early at just 6lb and then shot up the centiles, and he was EBF. I just fed on demand, and only worried when a HV started telling me to restrict feeds - my breastfeeding counsellor disagreed and I followed her advice instead. He has broad shoulders and a big head like his rugby-playing dad, he's going to be a big lad and that's nothing to worry about. He was a bit late to roll and crawl, then he started walking just before his 1st birthday and now he's racing around like nobody's business.

I stopped getting him weighed as I was stressing about his line in the little red book so don't know what he weighs now... but I do know that his age 2-3 clothing has the right length arms and legs, and is loose around his tummy. So I'm confident that I'm not overfeeding him, as presumably his tummy would be disproportionately large in that case.

It's hilarious when I occasionally have to pick up someone else's child, I practically throw them in the air, it's like picking up a little bird.

My ds1 was over 10lb at birth, never lost weight, gained at least 1lb a week for ages. He was also very long and was very very chubby. He was in 3-6 month clothes at 3 weeks and in 6-9 months before he was 3 months old. He made his own line above the 99.6th centile for the whole of his first year. Like you I worried I was overfeeding. He slimed down when he started walking and is really skinny now. He's 3.5 now and still off the chart for height and between 75th and 91st centile for weight, wears 4-5 or 5-6 clothes as he is so tall but his trousers are forever falling down! I wasted loads of time worrying about his size but he is just a very tall child. Someone has to be at the top of the charts!

All these replies about big healthy babies are brilliant! Looks like I will get my big strapping girl, for the early years at least. I'm 5ft5 and DP is 6ft2, so neither of us is huge, and there are only tall men in our families, no tall women (yet).
I'm going to have to be very careful we stop calling her podge or anything like that well before she can understand words, and will have a gentle word with older relatives who might think it's ok to go on about how big she is. I imagine in some ways it's easier to have a large son than a large daughter as there is much less pressure on males to be slim/dainty.
This might all sound silly and ott but I can clearly remember a few off the cuff comments about my weight when I was 5 or 6. I was the only white girl in a school of Asian children who were on average smaller and more dainty than me, though photos show I was in no way overweight for my height, I was just bigger than all my friends were. These comments have stayed with me and haunt me in moments on low self esteem, even though I'm a perfectly healthy size 12.

Mine all put on over a pound a week for a good while, they got fatter and fatter and were all super sumo babies and it didn't drop off when they walked. They all still had dimples instead of knuckles at reception but within a year or so just got taller and taller and all became tall and broad without an ounce of spare fat anywhere.

I look at the pictures of my fattest baby fatso and look at his sinewy legs, bony ribs and marvel!

I have the boy version of your baby. He was 8lb 7 at birth, and 12lb 9 at six weeks. He also eats between 2-3 hours per day, although yesterday and today, he's pushing four hours (hoping its a growth spurt).

He also seems to be a tall baby, so I'm not really concerned about his weight at this stage - I'm just happy that he's feeding well, and generally seems pretty happy with his lot. He's just going to need some bigger clothes...

I've got the opposite issue with a baby that won't put on weight despite being EBF on demand, but my awesome breastfeeding championing midwife has said that Bf babies rarely follow the growth curves neatly - she said they tend to go up in steps, and will put weight on, then get longer, then put weight on etc :)

My DS was huge - in 3-6 month clothes at 5 weeks and at the top of the charts. At about 6 months he slowed right down and has been happily on the 50th centile ever since.

It's not possible to over feed a breastfed baby, but it is possible to over feed some babies with b from a bottle as they get to the milk quicker, but don't realise they are full until they've gulped down more than they need.

It sounds like you're doing a great job - keep feeding on demand and you will be giving your baby everything she needs.

My dd was ebf and always around 75 centile point.
She was very chubby looking from 12 weeks to 18 months, andnow has slimmed down.
She is still much sturdier than most other children her age (includingboys) but not at all fat. Obv imo she is just perfect...
Yes,youmaywell getcomments as she is a girl and as a society there is quite an obsession with girls being thin. Andi alsofindboys clothes fit her bettet!
Apols for one handed ipad typing...

Both my babies have regarded the thing about it being impossible to overfeed an EBF baby as a challenge

DS was 50th centile weight at birth, near 91st at 12 months but back to 50th aged 2, and has been there ever since - built like a racing snake now, bless him.

DD was also 50th centile at birth, 75th by 6 weeks and at 6 months is just touching 91st. I'm assuming that she'll probably slow down sometime soon. Like a

Oops

Like a PP mentioned, both mine seemed long/ tall rather than round so I'm sort of thinking they have my husband's lean build rather than my own more average one.

I used to call my DD2 Buddha Baby - rolls of fat, shelves on her thighs. She was completely EBF. She is now 6 and a healthy weight and height. As soon as she got mobile it dropped off.

My 21 week EBF DD was below the 20th centile at birth and was above the 91st centile by 16 weeks and has stayed there since so hopefully she has found her natural size, although I can't say I'd be particularly worried if she went up centiles again. She is happy and healthy and that's what matters to me. The HV's at the baby clinic always congratulate me on my 'Gold Top' milk.

Hi, an update on this which some might find interesting or useful.
I've been having some issues feeding for a couple of weeks, DD fussing and going on and off the breast repeatedly during feeds. I phoned the NCT bf helpline and got phone diagnosed as having oversupply and fast flow, which I was not at all surprised by but it was nice to have someone proper talk me through it rather than me piecing together things from dr google, mn and kellymom.
Anyway the NCT adviser said this is most likely why DD is gaining weight so quickly, which is obvious now I think about it but hasn't really twigged before.
Just thought I'd share my lightbulb moment in case it rings bells with anyone.
To deal with the oversupply/flow I'm block feeding (I have always block feed from day 1, I don't know why but it was always very clear to me DD couldn't drain a breast in one sitting so I've never offered a second one, instead I've always kept offering one for successive feeds until it feels empty then started the next feed on the other breast), using gravity where possible (ie lying back in the sofa, so DD gets some extra tummy time while feeding!) and hand expressing a bit of milk when DD can't cope with it, just a few squeezes into a muslin.
Any other top tips would be welcome!
xx