Big baby 13wks but i know its too soon

[Figgygal]

Please help!!

13 wk old DS eats 8oz/240ml every 2.5 hrs sometimes sooner between 6.30am and 8.30pm when he goes to bed and sleeps through. He was born on 91stcentile so always been big but now on 98th. I cant reduce the bottles he cries, i cant lengthen time between feeds he cries, i try to givecooled boiled water to slow him down he seems to cry because its not milk. I have spent his whole life so far trying to get ahead of his stomach and am still failing (bf was a disaster which im still struggling to come to terms with) he now has a massive tummy from all the milk and a big double chin.

I know the guidelines and i really would rather wait but i just dont know where to go from here. The hv advice was more water increasing it to between every feed but i just feel more liquid is a bad idea.

Not sure what im looking for from this post but was anyone in same boat or have any advice?

Thank you in advance from a very stressed out fIggy

I am due to start weaning soon and have been reseaching. As far as I know, milk has more calories in it than almost all solid foods (by volume) so if you start weaning, he will be less full not more full.
I am sure an expert will be along soon to give more advice!

Oh meant to say he is on sma infant gold for half his bottles and hungry baby milk the other half throughout the day. The 1 day we gave him 100% hungry baby (after slowly increasing his ratio of normal/hungry bottles) he was then constipated the next 3 so we've cut it back.

I don't think weaning is going to be any help to you, and will probably make things worse - the food you could give would no be as calorie dense as the formula, and will not be digested much anyway - the gut will not be ready, food helps it become ready - introducing the needed bacteria etc.

I'd ask in the feeding area, I can't see how weaning would help I'm afraid.

There are lots of reasons to delay solids if you can, one of the main ones being that you will increase his risk of allergies if you wean before 6 months. Also, if you do chose to wean early his disgestive system may not be mature enough so you may find that he starts waking with tummy ache. MN and NHS both have some great information on weaning.

Does your HV mean to add a little more water to each bottle? I think if you read the carton it says its ok to do this. If you are still thinking of early weaning I'd talk to her again and I'd also post in the Bottle & Breastfeeding Section to ask if there is any way of getting him to reduce his milk intake. It might also be worth getting your HV to measure him as the 98th centile is bad if he's on the 2nd centile for height but perfectly ok if he's on the 98th for that too. After all some babies do have to be bigger.

Have you thought about trying hungry baby milk? I'm not suggesting you do this but it may be worth reading up on the pros and cons of it, a BFC will also be able to talk to you about the different kinds of formula available and the advantages and disadvantages of them.

As for feeling guilty, I'm sure you tried your best so there is no need to beat yourself up. Enjoy this new phase your baby .

x-posted, hadn't realised you'd already tried hungry baby milk. Agree with Fred that your best bet is to post in the feeding section.

re the hungry baby milk, you know that it isn't any more calorific than normal milk, don't you? it's just differently processed so that it takes longer to digest. why are you sticking with the sma gold, is there a particular reason?

Hi

Thanks for posts i will spread the question to the other boards too. Only reason we've stuck with sma was that heard formula brands are much of a muchness nutrition wise and the local shop stocks it (which is how we ended up with it in the first place).

I will get him measured for height i think hes a big boy in this respect too, think he was 21inches when born not measured him since then.

I fully intend to delay as long as we can.

I had/have a big baby, over 99th for weight and on 98th for length, gained a lb a week from birth to around 20 weeks :o big boy, but healthy and gorgeous, now at 9 months and around 30lb has slowed down and not really gaining much at all, wearing 12-18 months though :) i started to wean at 17 weeks, like others have said was no point before as more calories in milk, and to be honest it made no difference, still at 9 months he's not overly interested in food. He slept through night at 11 weeks but fed every 3 hours during the day, i never used second milk either. We called him a seal pup. He is now moving around and like i said no longer gaining weight as quick so i imagine he'll even out now, don't worry is my advice, all babies are different xx

i just mean have you thought about giving him hungry baby stuff full-time?

30lb at 9 months??? Wow. My 5 year old is only 5lb more.

oh btw OP i see the hungry baby milk made him constipated, sorry i didn't spot that before.

Yes, well around that, he was 28 something before xmas, my niece is 2 and is 32 lb, she's skinny and tall, can't imagine your 5 yr old is at the top of the charts at that weight though ?? in contrast my 12 year old is on the 2nd centile according to that stupid weight thing they now do in schools, can't win really !!

oh, Aitch, 28lb is 2 stone, so he's just over :)

gosh, that's a belter of a baby!

No, my five year old looks slim and normal. My 2.8 year old is fatter than my five year old but is only 4lb bigger than your DS.

I still can't believe that a baby can be that big. My ten year old dd is only 4 stone (ie double your DS)

DD was 26lbs at 26 weeks. Exclusively bf to that point and gaining 1lb a week for ages.

She's nearly 5 now. Slim, tall, muscular, not an ounce of spare fat.