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Infant feeding

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

Worried my baby is too fat

22 replies

Chestnut234 · 09/08/2020 10:19

I have a 9 month old. He has always been a really good eater. He was born 3 weeks early on the 50th percentile and over time his weight has gone up to the 80th percentile whereas his height has remained on the 35th. He has rolls of fat everywhere and a triple chin.

He was solely breastfed until 5.5 months when I introduced solids and he took to them really quickly and was soon on 3 meals a day plus breastfeeds. Since 7 months he has had 6 teeth and manages to eat pretty much as we do.

The problem is he does not seem to regulate his food intake. Unless I stop feeding him he will just eat more and more. I read that as long as you feed baby heathy food it is not possible to overfeed but I am really not sure in my LOs case.

Should I start restricting his food or milk? I really have no idea how much breastmilk he is getting as I am feeding on demand. He wakes once at night 3am for a feed. I did try night weaning but he was impossible to resetttle.

In the last couple of weeks he has started pulling up to walk, cruising and crawling. Do you think this will help with his weight?

Meals wise it is quite tricky atm as we are having an extension built so don't currently have a kitchen so food has to require limited preparation. For breakfast he will often have peanut butter on toast and banana. For lunch he will share my ploughmans which often means cheese, pitta bread and houmous, olives and some sort of fish e.g anchovies or salmon. For dinner he often has an ellas kitchen pouch (I try to avoid the ones with fruits though). I would rather cook somthing but we don't have the facilities at the moment. We hace been having lots of takeaways due to the lack of a kitchen and he will sometimes have some chicken from my curry or some onion bhaji. He doesn't tend to have pudding other than sometimes greek yoghurt. Does this sound ok? Everyone keeps commenting on how fat he is and it has been making me very worried.

OP posts:
TheIblisHasspoken · 09/08/2020 11:24

You sound like your doing a great job and that you have a happy healthy baby! I'm sure others will be along to agree that once he starts moving around, some of that weight will drop off. Also at this stage they have violent growth spurts, which could account for his intake of food..... I'm very much a 'trust your gut' person, no one knows your child better than you, you'll know when he's hungry and when he's had enough and please do not worry about weight at this age. If you have a 12 year old that has these eating habits and is just sitting around I would be concerned, but he's so little still... best of luck

LordOfTheOnionRings · 09/08/2020 11:34

Hey,

Just to offer some solidarity. My son is at the 100th percentile, covered in little rolls and at seven months with six teeth, can eat pretty much anything. Similarly to your son he can just keep eating. He can't crawl yet but can cruise and pull himself to stand.

When people comment on him being so big I just agree, he is big! But unless I feed him an ubhealtht diet (which I don't and you don't seem to either) he won't stay that way!

Chestnut234 · 09/08/2020 12:53

Thanks both that is reassuring. I just feel guilty that some of his food is not as healthy as it could be due to our lack of a kitchen. I have been mainly doing blw with a few sachets here and there but it is tricky when we are living off a lot of takeaways. He does seem to be very enthusiastic about chicken samosas and onion bhajis. Hopefully they are not too bad for him. I suspect it is all the breastmilk though that is making him gain so much weight as he still feeds a lot.

OP posts:
Whoopsies · 09/08/2020 20:24

Both of my babies have been absolute chubsters until they started moving and then all the weight just fell off them. Ds1 was so chubby as a baby and now at 6 is an absolute beanpole!

Pinkflipflop85 · 09/08/2020 21:04

Your baby sounds fine.

I would be concerned about the takeaways though. There is most likely far too much salt in them, which is very dangerous for a baby.

Chestnut234 · 10/08/2020 07:57

@Pinkflipflop85

Your baby sounds fine.

I would be concerned about the takeaways though. There is most likely far too much salt in them, which is very dangerous for a baby.

Yes I have been trying to limit these. It is tricky because he sees me and DH eating them and wants to join in. I just give him a very little bit in combination with other food. It tends to be a couple of time a week. Our kitchen was meant to be finished June pre weaning and crawling but covid has delayed it.
OP posts:
BillywilliamV · 10/08/2020 08:05

My DD was like a barrel until she started walking. She is now 6ft tall with a BMI of 18. Lots of healthy food, not too much sugar. Baby will be fine!

Choochoose · 10/08/2020 08:12

It doesn't sound like he is eating too much, and the weight does tend to come off when they start walking. I would be mindful of salt though (sorry to be that person), things in the lunch like olives along with the toast and takeaways can add up quickly, and as onion bhajis are deep fried I would avoid if you're concerned. We did not have a kitchen for a month whilst DS was weaning and it was a nightmare, so I do empathise. Do you have any sort of fridge available?

minipie · 10/08/2020 08:16

Ah my DD2 was like this! At one point she was the 9th centile for height and the 91st for weight - basically round Grin

I can’t say the weight fell off at any stage but gradually she has lengthened and slimmed. She’s now 5 and is still on the sturdy side (she’s likely to be short like me) but much much more in proportion.

minipie · 10/08/2020 08:19

PS Most children eat less once they start moving (too much exploring to do) and also go through fussy phases around 2. So these stages may cut down his intake naturally

Squoon · 10/08/2020 08:29

It must be so difficult without a kitchen! My first DD was big, 99th percentile and she hardly ate any solids at that age. She started to slim down once she was walking.

msflibble · 10/08/2020 08:30

My babies both started on the 30th percentile for weight and were on the 90th by 6 months. My milk was apparently very strong stuff. DD is 5, very tall for her age and slimming down nicely, while DS is 3, short, and still holding on to some baby fat but also turning out to be extraordinarily strong and muscular.

The only time in DDs childhood we had issues with her eating too much was when we panicked she was too chubby and tried to restrict her eating. It made her eat more. Read Ellyn Satter's work on this, she is a godsend. Babies can naturally regulate their eating patterns and if you try to interfere with this natural regulation you will disrupt it.

Stay calm. You are doing everything right. Many babies are still adorably chubby at 9 months and well beyond that too. Enjoy having a lovely cuddly baby and be glad he/she isn't underweight and refusing to eat - because that's even more worrying.

msflibble · 10/08/2020 08:33

@minipie same here except my DD is tall. She'll never be a stick I don't think, but she is in proportion and healthy and definitely not the big round pudding she was at 9 months!

TheoneandObi · 10/08/2020 09:39

Sounds like my Boy who is now a lean and strong 24 year old! 9 months is a tricky age because they're trying all kinds of new solids and often greedy fir them too, which is great. But they're not fully mobile. Wait till he starts toddling then running. He'll be fine

spiritedawai · 10/08/2020 09:41

If you're genuinely worried about your babies weight there's no harm at all in contacting your health visitor for advice and reassurance. Most likely though the weight will drop off once mobile Smile

CorianderLord · 10/08/2020 10:41

Can you not use a slow cooker in another room? Instead of the kitchen for a bit?

justanotherneighinparadise · 10/08/2020 10:43

I didn’t think you could over feed when breast feeding? I know you can with formula but not with breast.

OnlyFoolsnMothers · 10/08/2020 10:46

I don’t think you can over feed such a small baby but please cut out all takeaways now. the sat fats the salt etc- just awful! I appreciate the lack of a kitchen, but it would be better to give him jars of decent baby food than an adult takeaway.

Bitchinkitchen · 10/08/2020 12:19

@OnlyFoolsnMothers

I don’t think you can over feed such a small baby but please cut out all takeaways now. the sat fats the salt etc- just awful! I appreciate the lack of a kitchen, but it would be better to give him jars of decent baby food than an adult takeaway.
I agree with this completely - a little bit a couple of times a week is a LOT for a baby, it's really bad for them. If you must have takeaways, why not eat them when he's in bed, and give him decent food instead?

Please, there's too much shit in those things for adults, let alone a 9m old baby.

Chestnut234 · 10/08/2020 13:37

@CorianderLord

Can you not use a slow cooker in another room? Instead of the kitchen for a bit?
I have been thinking about this. I might give it a try. It is tricky though without prep space, our kitchen is currently in the hall. I keep thinking our new kitchen will be ready soon but the build is so slow.

With regards to takeaways we are trying to limit it. He will generally just have a taste but maybe I should cut them out completely. We often have fish and chips and he will have some cod without the batter which I think is fine. Will definitely watch the salt though and the indian starters!

OP posts:
June628 · 10/08/2020 14:00

Enjoy your baby OP and don’t worry!
It’s funny isn’t it, as mums we’re just designed to worry. Much better to be worrying that he’s chunky than that he isn’t getting enough!

GirlCalledJames · 10/08/2020 14:20

Don’t worry, it melts off once they start walking.
Regarding the salt, this needs to be below 1g per day. I worked it out exactly for several dishes for my DD and her tiny portions were well below the salt limit, and there was no salt in anything else she ate. Definitely worth it to broaden her palate and two years later she’s an amazing eater.

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