I've just realised just how huuuuge my nearly 17 month old DD is, not just tall but heavy! How do I make sure she doesn't get overweight?

[movingalot]

DD was a 7lb-er at birth, and kept to roughly the 25th centile until I stopped breast feeding at 5 months as I was going back to work (I wanted to mix feed but she was having none of it). I remember commenting that she had shot up from the 25th to the 50th centime within a few weeks of introducing formula milk. Weaning at 6 months went like a dream; I did a mix of purees and finger foods as her CM wasn't into BLW.

Fast forward to today, and she is noticeably large for her age, and will wear 18 - 24 month clothes no problem. But because she appears tall and sturdy I didn't worry too much about it, but was shocked today when I measured her today, that her height (79cm) is actually only on the 50th centile, while her weight is above the 75th .

She eats a LOT, but I think she eats healthily. She has never tasted chocolate, a 'grown up' biscuit, or juice. A typical day e.g. yesterday: 1 weetabix for breakfast; a Glenisk yoghurt at 10.30am; scrambled egg and half a slice of toast for lunch followed by some raisins, for lunch; blueberries and raspberries after nap; we were at the playground later so she had a few spoonfuls of ice-cream; then veggie curry and rice for dinner, followed by some apple slices. She has 150mls of full fat milk when she wakes up and about 200mls at bedtime. However, when we are out and about she can go to town, for example, at playgroup this morning she ate about 5 strawberries and 2 oatcakes, and was constantly whinging at the snack table while the other children were playing. She is also obsessed with bananas, and would happily eat several, or for example, a whole punnet of blueberries in one sitting if she was allowed. If we're out I might give her things like Ella's nibble fingers and rice cakes. I'm also worried she doesn't drink enough water when it is hot, and she might be confusing thirst for hunger, but she is going through a fussy phase with beakers. She is with a CM 3 days / week who feeds her healthily as far as I'm aware, but does use things like sweet yoghurts and rusks which I'm not into.

Sorry this has been so long but you can probably tell I'm panicking slightly! Any thoughts or tips would be really helpful! I'm planning a trip to the GP also but in the meantime….

I don't think one centile difference between height and weight is a big problem. If her diet is healthy then just keep an eye on portion sizes and keep her active.

My 5m ds was in his brothers12-18 clothes in the hot weather! They are all different, one centile difference is normal I think as I dont know anyone who is the same for both!! As long as she is happy and her diet is healthy I'd try not to worry.
fwiw, my sil was 10lb plus at birth and stayed that chunky throughout her toddler years and is now a size 8!!!

She may well be due a growth spurt. I find my daughter grows out before up.

I have a DS who is heavy and short (bless him) he eats a similar diet to your DD above. I have started buying low fat plain yogurt (he used to have full fat) and giving him a mix of full fat milk and water in his bedtime bottle.
We rarely give him snacks - I just never got in the habit - and I didn't really understand them and he never really asks for them aprt from after swimming.
Also in this hot weather he is still being rubbish with his cup so I've started giving a bottle of water before or after his nap.

Meal wise we let him decide when he is full - he usually says 'done' and moves his plate away - or more. He can be a fussy eater though and say 'done' when the plate is full and it just isn't something he fancies.

However recently i found out that DP was short as a toddler (he is now over 6 foot).

My DD hasn't been weighed since birth, she's now 20m. As she fits into clothes for her age, why worry? If she eats and looks healthy then she will be. Can't be doing with all this centile crap tbh.

Mine is 75th for height and higher for weight, they've said one centiles difference is not a problem though.

He doesn't seem to eat as much as your dd though, today he's had half a weetabix with a small strawberry and 3 small blueberries. Lunch was a quarter of a slice of toast with egg. Dinner was small portion of spaghetti bol with veg. He will probably have some carrot, tomatoes later.

I'd look at portion sizes, for eg the whole weetabix and half slice of toast. Maybe drop the raisins due to sugar content. Would she snack on carrots or cucumber instead of fruit ?

My son was in the 75th centile for weight but the 95th for height at the age of 24 months. He was, and is, huge for his age.

Now he's a month shy of 3, he's 3'3" tall and at eye level with kids of 4 or 5, but skinny as a rake. He seemed to really slim down during his last growth spurt.
He's wearing an age 4-5 t-shirt today.

Don't worry.

I wouldn't say she ate even close to too much food. I dont think it's anything to worry about at such a young age. My DS eats two weetabix and a whole slice of toast for breakfast for example and is 50th centile after hovering around the 25th for many months. They are growing and need feeding!

My Dd (3) is in the 90th centile for height and weight. But she is not overweight. I make sure she doesn't get too overweight through diet and activities. She does swimming, gymnastics and dancing. She adores them all (though not the healthy food I give her!)

Don't worry about it some kids have more puppy fat than others, I was a chubby child. Don't make food an issue feed her and let her run about she's not even 2 yet!

When you said huuuge I thought you meant actually obese but it sounds like she is a very normal weight. It also sounds like she's eating healthily and in very reasonable amounts and yet you're suggesting it's too much.
Sorry but I think it's actually you that has a good/weight complex and you need to be careful not to project this on to your DD. She's still a baby basically, give her a break.

My DD2 was like this only on about the 99.6 percentile for height... Hate to think how far above the limit she was for weight! She actually got referred to a paediatrician to be investigated for growth disorders. The Paed was really reassuring about her height / weight... As long as you're feeding her healthy(ish) foods, she'll regulate her own intake according to her needs.

Thanks for all the replies, although I'm not sure what to make of the comment that I have a complex about food ! I know she isn't currently obese, and my question was regarding ensuring that she remains a healthy weight despite her enthusiastic love of food!

Anyway, thanks for the reassurance and also for the tips to perhaps reduce portion sizes and replace fruit snacks with veggies. Do many of you use low fat dairy products? I thought they weren't recommended until 2years?

She doesn't sound overweight and her diet is healthy. My children were enormous babies and toddlers. They are both pretty tall now that they are teenagers, but there is barely an ounce of fat on either of them! I wouldn't give her low fat product, they are less nutritious and can be full of junk.

I dont and wouldnt use low fat products, they need the full fat. I mentioned portion sizes because my 3.2 year old was measured and weighed a couple of months ago and height was almost 2 centiles lower than his weight so they gave me a sheet on correct portions.

I always thought my portions were ok but I was slightly out with him and changing it just slightly and giving veg as snacks instead of so much fruit has made a real differences and he is now much more in proportion.

He also loves his food but hasnt noticed the differences ive made to his food intake. So eg he used to have a slice of toast with beans for lunch , Now he has 3 quarters of a slice. Hed have 1 and a half wheetabix at breakfast now he has 1.

One centile difference is fine. She could also just be heavy. My dd1 and ds1 are both higher centiles for their weight than their height but looking at them they're both skinny.

I don't go by height and weight charts as they only show how the height/weight of age groups are spread. Some people are just heavier than they look, my ds1 is 5 and between 75th and 91st centile for weight and 75th for height, to look at him he's skinny as a rake and his ribs, hips and spine all stick out. Someone has to be bigger/smaller than the average child of the same age.