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Infant feeding

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

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Original poster

Adopted ff 11 mo overweight - advice please

47 replies

JaneDonne · 13/08/2014 19:52

I'm adopting an 11 mo girl and at the moment she is 50th centile for height and 90 something for weight. She's clearly too big. I'm concerned as I know v little about FF. I have an older BDS but he was ebf.

The HV advice has been to cut down on milk and to feed her newborn formula but this seems wrong to me, she's clearly more keen on the bottle than her food and surely until 1 food is for fun? She also won't eat anything with lumps but that may be a different thread.

Any advice?

TIA

OP posts:

bumpiesonamission · 13/08/2014 20:10

Congratulations.

What does the preadoption medical suggest and the medical advisor suggest?

I'm surprised you think she is over weight when 90percentile is perfectly within range.

theborrower · 13/08/2014 20:16

What do you mean by 'cut down on milk and give her newborn formula'? Follow on milks are neither needed or recommended and the NHS advises you stick with first milks until their first birthday then you can switch to (full fat) cows milk. You're right that milk still makes up a good portion of their nourishment under 1.

Messygirl · 13/08/2014 20:17

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Original poster

JaneDonne · 13/08/2014 20:18

Ha! Wouldn't it be good if pre adoption medicals covered little things like feeding children :)

I am very willing to be convinced that she's not overweight but I would have thought 50th for length and 90-98th(haven't got my hands on red book yet) for weight would be of concern? She looks big to me (in the context of also looking like a tiny perfect loveable bundle :) )

And there's the hv advice which seems a bit loopy...

OP posts:

bumpiesonamission · 13/08/2014 20:20

If she is over weight it'll be mentioned in her medicals and would have been an action point.

Is she crawling? on par with 'normal: development?

Mrsgrumble · 13/08/2014 20:23

Not overly experienced but we were advised to give less than 16 oz a day and get child used to water in the bottle or beaker

Once baby starts moving it will come off.

We are done to one bottle at night now at 11 months. Since your daughter is very nearly a year, you could really drop this back. She sounds like she thriving anyway.

Original poster

JaneDonne · 13/08/2014 20:23

Theborrower I know literally nothing about ff. So basically the newborn milk is milk and the other stuff us 'follow on'? So no problem with using that?

I'd love to relactate. I'd thought it involved those tube things which are fiddly and horrid but I'll definitely look at the link :)

OP posts:

Mrsgrumble · 13/08/2014 20:23

Down

Original poster

JaneDonne · 13/08/2014 20:25

Not mentioned in medicals no but HV has advised action so she has a concern. Development normal yes.

OP posts:

Original poster

JaneDonne · 13/08/2014 20:26

And tbh transfer of medical info has been shit anyway.

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gamescompendium · 13/08/2014 20:29

Can she crawl/walk yet? My friend (a GP) was told by her HV that her DS2 was overweight at his 7 month check. My friend (being very sensible) laughed and said 'he's BF and BLW, how exactly do you propose I reduce his intake?'. Surprise surprise as soon as he started moving about the weight fell off.

As long as you feed on demand (don't 'just finish this bottle/meal') and provide a sensible variety of food she'll find a healthy weight with time. I'd be very reluctant to try and make a baby diet.

HappySunflower · 13/08/2014 20:30

Is she on solid food yet?
Is she crawling or walking, what's mobility like generally?

Babies often lose weight once they start moving more.

As an adopter myself my advice would be that your most immediate priorities should be establishing positive attachment and keeping as much of her routine the same. Introducing more physical play and tweaking diet can come later once she's settled in....

ignominious · 13/08/2014 20:31

Not an expert but I would just leave it for now and see if it evens out once she's with you. They go through phases and I'm sure you'll both have enough to deal with.

Messygirl · 13/08/2014 20:31

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

hollie84 · 13/08/2014 20:32

Even if she is overweight, I really wouldn't start messing with her food/milk intake when she is newly adopted!

Dayshiftdoris · 13/08/2014 20:36

You can access the WHO weight charts on RCPCH though if you think she looks overweight then follow your instinct.

The health visitors advice is spot on - there is no evidence for follow on milks and moving from milk based diet to food based diet needs to start happening long before 12 months as it's a gradual process. However, some babies need gentle encouragement to take on food, even those who are breast fed and normally it would be advised at the 7-9month check if they have not started that process of taking more food than milk by then.

Basically, at that age the stomach can take on vast quantities on milk which is actually designed to be taken in lesser quantities and topped up with foods, which as you say are just tastes and as such they can take on more calories from the milk than they should.

Have to say though my friend experienced this and once she managed to gently encourage her baby (breast fed too!) the weight levelled out fairly quickly. It's really, really common - milk is such a comfort

theuncivilservant79 · 13/08/2014 20:36

Ebf dd1 was a pie at that age too and slimmed down when she started moving. I would give it time and see what happens after a couple of months.
The ff thing is that the formula companies split their milks in to stages supposedly a long with baby ages. The I think nhs advice is to ignore that packet and feed stage 1 milk (nb) until 12 months and then swap to cows milk. Formula companies all edge you need to use their 'follow on'(post 12 months stage) milk but you don't need to.

Messygirl · 13/08/2014 20:36

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Dayshiftdoris · 13/08/2014 20:37

And I will add I know of mums who have BF their adoptive babies very successfully - it's worth looking into, especially if you have fed before

ilovepowerhoop · 13/08/2014 20:39

there are no more calories in follow on milk that there are in first milk so i would stick to whatever milk she is on and gets on with. If she is not walking yet then you will probably find that once she does her weight gain will slow down.

As her solids intake increases her milk intake will decrease - you dont want to go changing too much too soon if she is in an unfamiliar environment. I would concentrate more on bonding with her than cutting out things she is used to.

TeenAndTween · 13/08/2014 20:39

I agree with hollie (I'm also an adopter, though not one that young, so I might not know what I'm talking about).

Deverethemuzzler · 13/08/2014 20:40

Just come to say what hollie has really.
Don't change her food.
That can come later.
The type and amount of food she has may be her only constant during ths time of massive change.
I am not sure how much info you have about her birth parents but they may be big built.

HVs tend to know about typical development and behaviour in babies but your DD is not typical. She is adopted.

Massive congratulations.

You have loads of time to wean and adjust her milk intake.

ilovepowerhoop · 13/08/2014 20:41

p.s. I mean the follow on milk that is suitable from 6 months, not the toddler milks

Dayshiftdoris · 13/08/2014 20:42

For those saying don't mess him feeding when newly adopted - the process the health visitor is taking about isn't a strict feeding regime but a changing the approach / mindset about the milk / food balance. It takes time anyway and I wasn't being sarcastic when I said 'gentle encouragement'...

The point is you can't decide to it and have it cracked the next day even if she has been home a month or 2 months or 3 months... It's really gradual, sometimes an ounce or 2 a day or one bottle that they normally show less interest in

Original poster

JaneDonne · 13/08/2014 20:42

Hi sunflower :) I know you :) I'm in a n/c :) Just come off the matching bench ;)

I'm more thinking about long term strategies than putting her in baby boot camp next week! I've,so far learned that she might not be really ow, that maybe newborn formula is just formula and the other stuff is something else (is that right?) and that relactation is a leftfield option :)

She is clearly ready to get much more mobile soon so maybe that will sort it :)

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