Obese baby

[Campania]

Ds is 9 months old and weighs about 10.7kg ie he's on the 95th centile. He's on a similar centile for height (90th if I remember his length correctly from the last measurement). He definitely looks like a chunky baby too with massive thighs, etc. He only fits into clothes for 12-18 month old children.

He was born on the 75th and is combination fed though these days he only has formula before a nap, probably not more than 200ml a day. I don't think I produce a lot of breastmilk either and he only drinks from one side. I think most of his calories are coming from solids.

He absolutely loves his solids. He's on 3 meals a day and never seems to stop. He has about half a bowl full for every meal. We are renovating the kitchen so for the last two months he's mostly been having ready made baby food like hipp organic jars. If anyone is familiar with them he'll happily have 1.5 jars of the ones labelled 7+ month. I'm trying now again to make more fresh food but he hasn't got the hang of finger food at all.

My older DD has severe weight gain issues so initially we were very happy and relieved that he's putting on weight so nicely but now I worry that this will set him up for problems later. Apparently babies who are obese (on 95th centile or higher) at 9 months are likely to be obese as toddlers and then as adults with all the related health issues. Also I've read on several places that being too heavy can delay milestones like crawling and then walking, ie gross motor skills.

He isn't crawling yet or using any other method of moving forwards but he just rolls wherever he wants to go. (These days most of the time he just wants to be held.) We try to give him as much floor time as possible.

When I asked the health visitor a few months ago she wasnt too worried. She said they don't worry about excess weight gain in babies. I am now a bit worried though. I don't want to set him up for problems later.

I don't think you can restrict food or milk at this age and I'm trying to get him as much tummy time as possible but he's been quite cranky lately, always wanting to be carried. Maybe he's teething.

im.jweight gain will slow down when he starts crawling or becomes more mobile but should I be worried?.should I be doing something about it and if yes then what?

Apologies for the length of this post and thanks for reading..

Babies are not obese. The percentile chart is just to show the range of sizes that babies come in. Above 95% does not equal obese, that's absolute nonsense. Neither does above 85% equal overweight. Some babies are bigger than others, some are smaller, that's it, that's nature. Babies eat and drink what they need in order to grow - do not restrict his food. Rolls of fat on babies' legs are gorgeous and also very typical, not a cause for concern.

My baby is 21.5lb at 10 months old. He's on the 25th percentile. There's not a lot to him tbh. He's not particularly long either. He wears 9-12 months but it's still too big for him🙈 he eats like it's going out of fashion. Today he's had...
8oz of milk
wheeabix with berries
a packet of puff crisps
coconut fish fingers with peppers
7oz bottle
sweetcorn pastry pie with peas
yoghurt
and a 8oz bottle before bed
They weren't small portions either!

My son was on 95th percentile for height and weight (started off at 8lbs 11oz and shot up). He was always on the top percentile and slowed down for nursery. Very chunky as baby but balanced out when an active toddler.

he’s now 6’5”.

DS was 10lb 3 at birth and now at 1 is something silly like 12.5kg and sitting on the 97th for height and weight. Just moved up to 2-3 t-shirts and vests.

He's up on his feet walking around, crawling at 6 months, constantly on the move and constantly on a boob or eating.

Stop worrying and be thankful for the additional weight lifting you get to do 👍

I wouldn't worry OP. My DCs have always been around the 50 percentile but a friend had a DS the same age as my eldest who could have been your DS by your description. Huge, always hungry, big happy chap. The parents are tall but healthy. He's now a very for 20 year old same height as his dad. He's never been obese in his childhood or teenage years.

Thanks everyone for the replies!!

Babies are not obese. That’s a horrible thing to say if someone said that to you. Just ignore them.

My 8.5 month old is 11.3kg, mastered crawling at 7 months, can now stand without support for a couple of seconds, etc... He is a big kid, but it just goes to show they will move when they're developmentally ready and weight has nothing to do with it. He barely eats any solids though, so God knows how he keeps packing on the pounds. I only feed from one side too, and like you I always think I don't produce much breastmilk, but we must be to sustain such chonks. I feel like I'm constantly carrying him on my hip too, it hasn't held him back so far movement-wise. Your baby sounds perfect to me, I wouldn't do anything different if I were you.

Babies are supposed to be fat! It’s partnof getting ready to grow. There is nothing wrong with being 95th centile, it probably means he’s going to be quite tall (any tall uncles in family?)

DS was 95th centile until age 6, then suddenly slimmed down dramatically.

Honestly, I didnt' think babies could be obese. I had to put cereal in my DD's bottle when she was 4 months old (maybe younger) cause she was ALWAYS hungry and would wake multiple times during the night no matter how much milk she had. She was a chubster til she was about 6. After that the baby fat melted away then she had a growth spurt around 13 and is now about 5'7 and slim. So I don't think you have anything to worry about.

Honestly, it's bizarre to even see someone put the words obese and baby together. My son is 98th percentile for both height and weight, he was born that way....he was hardly born obese.

It's not possible for a baby to be obese

Yes it is unfortunately, my neice was on the 5th percentile for height and the 75th for weight and was classed as obese, but that was due to overfeeding and a genetic issue. She literally couldn't breathe properly when sat up she was that big. If there's a big gap between height and weight then they are classed as having weight issues.