Are formula fed babies bigger?

[hdhshsnebe]

So just curiosity. Backstory. 4yo DS was formula fed from day 1, he was born a bit big (9lb 2oz for 4 days early) and gained weight rapidly. He’s always been taller and definitely evened out as he started moving but he’s still a tall member of his class!

DD was born 2 days early, 8lb exactly. I’ve been ebf but not enjoying it it’s affecting me mentally :( but this is so silly

i nearly died from an eating disorder , anorexia , when I was 14. It’s still left me with some hang ups and hearing constant comments about my beautiful DS years ago really upset me.

“what are you feeding him” “he’s huge” “he’s massive” I even heard someone say he’s fat once? A fucking healthy happy baby ! I was so upset and disgusted

I’m so scared of the comments again it makes me touchy and quite defensive. Mainly as I think why are you commenting on my beautiful, happy babies size but hey ho

does how I feel DD affect her weight gain? Do siblings grow the same or very different?

I want to do what’s best for us but I am scared about this again. I still wouldn’t change my journey with DS. He’s so happy, beautiful amazing and healthy :) and formula feeding was best for us

My oldest dc was 11lb+ when born at 41wks and was breastfed. He is now an almost 5ft 9yr old with size 5 feet. 2nd dc is 9mo and breastfed and is in 12-18 clothes

I bottle fed both mine, dd was a dot (still is) and ds was a chunky one! People also used to say those things to me op, I once got stopped by a lady in the street to tell me how 'fucking massive' he was.

Each and every baby is different in their own way.

Don't let the bastards get you down op!

At a population level, there is some evidence that ff babies are larger. They may over eat / be overfeed.

but there are a million other factors influencing whether a ‘large’ baby becomes an overweight adult (if that’s what you are worrying about). And what / how they were fed in infancy is only one of these.

btw personal stories are nothing more than anecdotal. You need to look at the statistics, and they are currently indicative but not conclusive.

OP also remember that the average boy baby is a little bigger than the average girl baby so you can't compare exactly between your boy and your girl. That's why they have different weight curves for males and females in the red book.

My DD is 14 months, EBF and has been on the 95th centile since birth. She's a chunky monkey! I'm not aware of any correlation between size and feeding method. Some babies are bigger, some are smaller. I suppose genetics-wise, it's likely that siblings will be a similar size but definitely not a sure thing. Lots of siblings vary widely in size.

I think the best thing you could do is what makes you feel most comfortable and happy. It would be great to reduce your worry so that your DCs don't pick up on it and develop their own anxieties around eating etc in future.

Best wishes xx