'Overweight' breast fed baby

[Nome]

My 4 month old DS has just had his last lot of jabs for a while and I had him weighed at the same time. I didn't need scales to tell me he is a big boy... At 3 months he was 18lb 11oz (from 8lb 10oz at birth) He now weighs 20lb 7oz, so his weight gain is slowing from 1lb a week to 8oz, but HV says she is concerned about his weight as he will be well over 3x birthweight by end of year. DS is also quite long, but HV says that doesn't matter when working out overweightness. Anyone know why this is? We now have to keep a food diary to show haw much he eats. What is the next step? How can you cut back on food to a breastfed baby? I am not keen to try - he is pleasantly chubby, not pudding-like, just a big boy! Anyone else had this problem of baby falling off top of centile charts? (Do HVs look at anything other than charts?) Sorry for such a long first post, but HV managed to make me feel like stupid mother for having such a large baby.

Hi Nome, I think your HV should be ignored. (Did write something much ruder but have deleted it!). My ds was 9lb+ at birth and is now 27lb at just one. So he's tripled his birthweight...however he is also wearing size 18-24 month tops and is incredibly tall. Given that both DH and I are over average height it's not surprising that we should produce a tall baby. Your HV's idea that height doesn't matter is completely bonkers - surely if your ds is reasonably in proportion then it doesn't matter if he's off their (stupid, irrelevant, doesn't apply to bf babies in any case) scale Don't cut back on food - in fact I think you should be reporting this HV as the advice she is giving is wrong wrong wrong. Keep feeding your lovely boy and ignore her.

Nome, I agree and think you should ignore your HV. Just congratulate yourself on what a good job you are doing!

I assume from your post he is on solids too I would imagine if these are just normal baby purees etc there isn't a problem. I don't imagine you are feeding him mashed up Mars bars or anything!

Bloomin' HVs they are always moaning about something!

Nome-ignore her. My ds was putting on 1lb a week and by 4mths he was also 18lb. I don't know how much he weighs now as I don't bother going anymore, one look at him tells me he is healthy and happy. I used to do as Demented said, congratulate myself on how well I was doing. Keep going, don't cut back on feeding your ds, you are doing a grand job.
Snowbird

Oh for heaven's sake, are these women NEVER satisfied? Just ignore the stupid woman. Obviously your child is nice and healthy. My friend's son had the dubious pleasure of being officially New Zealand's largest baby for quite some time. He was 9lb at birth, but by the time he was 3 months old he was as large as the average one year old. Totally breastfed I might add. At 18 he is 6 foot 3 and built like your average sporty teenager. It never did him the slightest bit of harm and I'm sure your son will be just fine too.

That's just HV's for you - never satisifed unless you're bang on the 50% line! If it's any consolation those of us with babies who fall below the lines get it in the neck too (even more so if you get a contradiction like above average for height and below average for weight). It's about time someone explained to them that an average is made up of values which will almost all be either higher or lower than the average.

yup ignore ignore ignore!!!!
match up his height on your height graph and see what age he would need to be to be "average" for that height - do the same for his weight. If they roughly match up to the same age then you're fine. my ds has slways bee hovering above the 95th centile since birth - last weighed at 6.5 mths - 22 lbs. so he was the height and weight of an average one year old in proportion! and breast fed!!

Hi Demented, yes, just started solids - baby rice or mashed banana so far. DS keeps reaching for the spoon to 'help' me shovel it in. Totally breastfed until last Monday though...

Bobsmum - he's off the chart for height, though we did measure him ourselves. HV said no point until he's standing! It probably doesn't help that we never see the same person twice. 9 midwives (not counting hospital) and 3 hvs so far.

Love my baby to bits, despite hv. Just want what is best for him. Obviously!

you do have to wonder about HVs, f there's no point in measuring his height then why why why do they have height charts starting at birth - if he's that tall then he's totally fine imo. cuddly babies are smarter anyway - the bigger the baby, the higher their IQ and the healthier they are in later life. - will try to find links to that info.

A baby's birth weight is an indicator of future health - big
babies are
less likely to suffer from chronic conditions such as heart
disease and
diabetes in later life. (Sunday Times 13.04.03)

there's fact no1

Absolutely ignore the HV!

.... or report her for incompetence!

I've never heard such nonsense about the height having no bearing on the weight! And if she doesn't know how to measure a child that isn't standing, then she should be going for re-training!

I had the opposite problem, with ds dropping off the weight charts, but was manifestly healthy, happy and alert. After being checked out by the consultant paediatrician (who was more interested in finding out what my dad, a former colleague, was doing), I "solved" probelm by avoiding seeing any HVs! I did have a very good midwife (breast feeding counsellors) led breastfeeding suppport group to go to.

My HV was like this as well - dd was on 98th centile at birth and went off the top for a while. I just stopped phoning her and told her I would get in touch if I needed her. Load of rubbish!

Try asking what a centile means, pointing out sweetly that this ISN'T a percentage, and watch the HV squirm. In my experience it's the way to get back at them...

(I had a HV who told me that the reason my daughter wasn't feeding was that she was hungry. OK, so there were some intervening steps in the conversation, but that's what it boiled down to. I've not been back since...)

Another vote to ignore her.
Nome, you're doing marvellously to have such a big baby through b/feeding. Very healthy.

I too have the opposite problem - a baby dropping off the bottom centile, but he too eats well and is healthy (GP assured). He is very long, has always had height measured, it IS an important indicator, (doh, the stupid HV.......). The GP said that as long as he is eating well, is alert and develpomentally sound, there's nothing wrong and there will always be bigger people and smaller people. It's normal.

Don't let it upset you, just be proud of your achievement.

Just been to GP and mentioned HV 'in passing'... GP said to ignore her as DS obviously thriving It's good to have a GP I like and trust.

Thank you all for your support. Shall ignore Hv. I don't actually have to take DS to see her, do I?

Nope. They have to see you once (when the midwives stop) and then you never actually have to see them again. I try my best not to!

I have a 20 week old son who is 22-23lbs, he was 21lbs 10oz at 17 weeks, entirely breastfed. My HV said I should only give my son baby rice made with water, as he was so big already. Basically inferring that he was fat.At the same time she was pushing me into starting him on solids when he was prefectly happy, eventually I gave in.

Every day I get negative comments from people, including medical staff - my sons first words will be - big, bruiser and huge!!!!!!!
I think that HVs have little experience with large babies, I have asked them about how much I shoudl feed him, because he is the size of a 12 month old baby, they are unabel to give me any worthwhile advice.
Sorry for being so negative, but this is my first child and people being insensitive and HVs lack of support is hard to deal with.

Again, ignore, ignore, ignore all the rude comments and bad advice. My ds3 was over the 100th centile but as I never took him to the hv there was noone to tell me he was "fat". I haven't a clue where he is now (23 months old) - he's still chubby but I'm sure he will slim out just like his big brother before him.

Is there any kind of training that HVs have? I don't believe I've met one who says the same as another one ... They just make it up as they go along IMHO!!
My DS was HUGE and I used to grind my teeth and 'grrrrrrrr' under my breath when people said "My, what a big boy" and "He'll be playing rugby before you know it" etc etc ... He was 10lbs at birth, 20lbs at 18 weeks ... and I got told to reduce his feeds ...
At 2 and a half years old he was 33 pounds and now he is nearly 4 he is 37 pounds.
They do not continue to put on weight from 6 months at the rate they did to begin with ... so don't worry about it ... keep doing as you are doing and only go to the hv if you absolutely have to ....
BTW ... are there any HVs on mumsnet??

Nome , you HV is a knob!!!! thats all I can say. How can a fully bf baby be overweight. It just isn't logical. They grow as fast as their physiology dictates - otherwise there wouldn't be such a thing as growth spurts. They eat/feed according to what their bodies require. You sound like you're doing a great job, and its great that you've found a GP who agrees!

Nome, you sound like you are doing a grand job. Pity the same can't be said about HV. I particularly liked the one about height/length not mattering till they could stand- was there a punchline to that particular joke.

I have the opposite problem. My DD is now 13 months old s#and weighs 18lbs 7oza so is just on the 9th centile. My HVs on the other hand are not worried as they can see that she is healthy and very active and as long as she eats well they cannot see any problem.
I say ignore your HV and keep on doing as you areas your Ds is obvouisly happy and healthy and that is what matters.

Well, just to update...

The last time we saw HV was at 16 weeks. DS is now almost eight months, on three meals a day and still breastfed, although he gets a bottle a day as well now. He weighs about 25lb, has been in 9-12 month clothes since he was six months, can sit, roll and is trying to crawl - not so much of a pudding that he doesn't move If the HV had been truly concerned, she would have followed us up. As it is, he is happy and healthy and I feel no urge to see someone who spouts such garbage...

As for HVs in general...well, was anyone else's PND questionaire poorly spelt and photocopied so squint you could hardly read bits? There are three HVs based at the GPs surgery and I haven't felt the urge to talk to any of them more than once!

i saw my health visitor the other week for my dd2, she looked at her charts and said 'big girl, tall girl' she is current off the charts for both i brestfed her for the 1st 8weeks, at her 1st weighing session she hadnt 'lost' any borth weight, had gained 2oz. my midwife congratulated me, said i was doing a marvelous job, and that my dd was thriving. my dd was 9lb at bith, not excessivly latge i know, but she was very long. she wears clothes ranging from 2-4years, weigh around 29lb atm, and is lovely and chunky. the only problem i have is with nappies, as they dont for properly round her lovely chubby legs.