Is my baby big because of my diet?

[MummyoftwoBF]

I'm exclusively BF my 16 week old. She was born on the 75th centile for weight but has recently moved up to 98th. She's so chunky I love it but I'm suddenly anxious that it's not good for her and that its because I eat too much sugar, is that a thing? I generally have a healthy diet but since Christmas we've had quite a few treats in the house so on a given day I may have a couple of cookies, quite a few chocolates and maybe some sort of sweet dessert.

Should I be watching what I eat more?

I think it’s a good idea you eat as well as you can to stay very well nourished as in the same way as when you’re pregnant, your body is still facing lots of demands. I still think there’s room for treats and especially as you need your energy and I’d make a priority of eating lots of good whole foods and fresh things.
I wish I’d know more for first pregnancy as this time I’m going to take a good supplement while breastfeeding (probably Wild Nutrition one) as well as choline if nec which I hadn’t even heard of before but it’s rarely included in multis and meant to be good for cognitive health .

I hope it’s going well! You sound like you’re doing a great job and I was so proud of how big DD was with lovely fat folds on her arms as a baby !! She’s now 15 and lean as anything !

Stay healthy and well nourished for you but I’m certain a few Christmas treats won’t have made a damn bit of difference to your daughter’s weight. Are you and/or your DH tall by any chance? That would easily explain why she’s bigger than average! But it sounds like she’s thriving and you’re doing a great job feeding her

I don't think you can overfeed breastfed babies?

My DD1 shot up to the 90th percentile for weight around the 8 week mark and stayed there for almost a year!

... she's now a string bean on the 25th percentile for weight.

Breastmilk is made from your blood not your stomach contents. Also it's naturally quite sweet as that's what babies need.
If she's that size then it's what she's meant to be.
It sounds like you're doing great!

Well sugar and fats can pass to your baby through your breast milk, so it can happen.

It doesn’t sound like you’ve eaten that much to be honest! We’re still munching on the Christmas chocs here🤣

@emilyintheSE

I don't think you can overfeed breastfed babies?

My DD1 shot up to the 90th percentile for weight around the 8 week mark and stayed there for almost a year!

... she's now a string bean on the 25th percentile for weight.

Yes- you can't over feed an EBF baby. So don't worry op! It's good that she has plenty of reserve!

kellymom.com/nutrition/mothers-diet/mom-diet/

Phew that's reassuring and thank you for the link @loveisanopensore.

I do eat otherwise healthily, we cook from scratch almost every meal, lots of veg, pulses, mostly wholegrain vs white stuff etc. But the sweet stuff has been my downfall.

I will try to have a bit less even if just for my own benefit.

I personally love the chubbiness and triple chin but I feel guilty as she was already born bigger than her brother and I wonder if it's because I was slightly less active in pregnancy due to lockdown. I was generally just healthier during pregnancy and the first year of BF my first, and I want to make sure I do right by her too!

Really good to hear of the big babies that grew up to be lean.

Unfortunately @LakeShoreD DH and I are both pretty short so I can't even use that excuse!

I do remember how good Kellymom is from my previous pregnancies, although I do question their claim you can get most nutrients from diet now. If you research it the vast majority of people can be deficient in things like magnesium, vitamin D, choline (possibly iodine too as haven’t researched this ) etc so given extra pressure on body I do feel safer with a sensible supplement (and none that are too high as some go over the top with RDA which can be unhelpful too

Hmm… my DD was 4th percentile at that age despite me eating 4 meals a day and snacking on lots of Rich tea biscuits and chocolate.

I wouldn't worry too much at this stage if I were you. I'd put more focus on what you're eating at the point your baby starts eating food as the more varied diet they see you eating the more varied diet they'll be likely to eat and it sounds like you're already fine on that front.

It's not your diet. Sounds like you're doing great with the bf.

All 3 of my ebf DC went up centiles when they were tiny. Dc1&2 have now dropped to around the 15th at 3 and 5 years old. Dc3 is 10m and is starting to drop as he's become a commando crawler.

As long as they're well in themselves I don't think you need to worry.