breastfed baby too big at 5 months old?

[iamafitmama]

hi - not new to posting but have name changed for this thread.

DD is 5 months old and is quite big.

She weighs nine kilos and a half(20 pounds) and is 69 cm long.

HV said I need to cut on her milk (she's still breastfed- not weaning yet) and advised to start weaning her as she thinks dd is having too much milk as it's not filling for her - thus getting fatter and fatter.

When I see dd I see a very healthy baby, very long and lively. She can roll, kicks a lot and can already sit unaided (she cannot pull herself up, but if you sit her on the floor she will play with the toys in front of her sitting for up to 20 mins -half an hour before falling on one side).

However the HV has worried me and now I have pictures of the future in my head of an obese child/girl.
Anybody in a similar situation or gone through the same in the past? what was the outcome? is she really that big and should I really wean her to stop her from getting any bigger?

I thought we were doing really well... this serves me right...

that IS the problem isn't it colditz? they haven't been trained in statiostics properly. they want everyone to be on the 50th centile-not understanding that not everyone can BE on the 50th centile!

It is THE biggest problem which is why I think growth charts need to be burnt for most babies.
I did get training in statistics but too many HVs have not.

Well done!!!

Both mine were tiny with weight being a huge issue, which is worrying.

Kids have a way of balancing out! Yours is still a baby, so what's the problem????

Just enjoy your baby....

Yes. They are seeing 50th centile as the ideal rather than the average.

You could point out that size 16 is the 50th centile of women in this country, but that doesn't mean we should be aiming for that, or that people who are size 10 should start eating lard.

You could then point out that the Somalian 50th centile of 3 year old's body weight would not be healthy either, and this would not mean that a Somalian child with a body weight on the 97th centile is even out of the low body weight danger zone!

the centile charts are NOTHING to do with health or healthy weight. They are a statistical representation of the body weights of all the babies who got weighed in this country.

The best thing to do is to ask for a referal to a paediatrician before you agree to wean outside of government guidelines. The paeds will soon get extremely pissed off at dealing with something that could be cured by better trained HVs, and LO! The HVs will get better training.

I had a friend who got told this by mad hv .. when she went to see her gp he said "what are you going to do put your dd on first diet at 5 months?"and laughed

breastmilk is the best thing you can give your baby (and this from a ff) so why cut back on it.. just let mother nature take its course till you are both readyto wean and tell your hv -to bog off- that you will follow your instincts

Agree with you Smug but not sure OPshould have to attend an appointment, am sure she has plenty to do.

There are lots of fab HV's and a few strange ones too who seem to be a little confused from time to time re weaning guidelines.They are however just that guidelines. They do have a locality manager within each PCT, who may be receptive to the suggestion re further training.

I have a 4 month old who is probably similar breast fed size and fantastic also- have no idea really what she weighs as have no concerns. She is fitting into 9-12 month clothing, and doing all the things OP describes of her lovely.
My other children also hit the 99th percentile at 8 weeks or so,( stopped measuring after that!!) and they all look pretty healthy now too!

hi,some ppl r weird,do not let their tlk bother u...my boy is exactly the same,very solid and active.
i was tld to stop breastfeeding when all he takes is just breastmilk(best 4 babies)
some really nasty tlk like he wnt walk ontime becos of his wieght,babies like mine only eat and lay down', not exactly wot u need to hear when u r a young first time mum,it makes u feel like ur failing.

my HV and family doc very supportive, they encouraged me alot

bb crawled at 4mths, he is jus 7months and he is trying to walk without support...still solid has ever even with solid.

dnt listen to ppl, follow ur instinct and let mother nature do her job..