Question about weight of breastfed baby

[thescrappyhomeschooler]

Dh came home from a friend's house last night and said I wouldn't recognize their 3 mo. old- he is now 19 lbs.

 

I haven't seen him since he was 2 days old, but he was over 9 lbs. when he was born.

 

Then, I started thinking- 19 lbs! That's enormous! I asked dh if he was sure, and he said yes, the ped told the parents the baby was off the top of the charts.

 

I know my next door neighbor's baby, who was also exclusively breast fed was 20 lbs. at 6 months. I also know that infants can vary greatly in size, but am I wrong in thinking a 19 lb. three month old is really huge?

[clarkacademy]

Mine were monsters! Well except my youngest who is just tiny. My 3 oldest were so fat we joked they had no necks. By the time they were about 1 and half they were all bean poles.

[Chris in VA]

My first was 8.2 at birth and 14 two weeks later...

Yes, the baby you mention is very big.

 

Maybe she's making cream instead of milk! LOL

Maybe she's nursing too much or using it to soothe instead of offering other options.

Maybe it's just the way that particular mom and baby work.

 

My son is totally normal sized now--he didn't gain much his 2nd year and slimmed right down as we went on.

[Ellie]

Maybe she's nursing too much or using it to soothe instead of offering other options.

FYI: There's no such thing as nursing too much, and of course I would hope she's nursing to soothe. :D

[thescrappyhomeschooler]

I'm just thinking about having to lug him around for several more months in a carrier or sling! Yikes! And if he keeps up at this rate, he'll outgrow the rear-facing infant car seat before he's even 6 months.

[DusksAngel]

My cousin's youngest weighed close to that at his 2 month appointment. :D Her boys chunk up at first but then lose it when they become mobile. Such cute little guys.

[dirty ethel rackham]

My first was that big. He was a big eater and started out at over 10 lbs. But, by the time he started to walk, he was downright skinny (but you wouldn't know by his face - he had the cutest chipmunk cheeks until puberty.) He is not a super skinny 18 year old (5'11" and barely 140 lbs of all muscle.)

[cindergretta]

FYI: There's no such thing as nursing too much, and of course I would hope she's nursing to soothe. :D

 

:iagree:

 

I doubt he will maintain that pace of growth. Many babies slow down significantly after 6 months, some by 4 months. :001_smile:

[dirty ethel rackham]

I'm just thinking about having to lug him around for several more months in a carrier or sling! Yikes! And if he keeps up at this rate, he'll outgrow the rear-facing infant car seat before he's even 6 months.

 

Yep, mine outgrew his by 3 months. He was too tall for it and could push with his legs against the back of the seat. We had to go with a convertible seat around then. And, yes, it was a load carrying around that baby. I loved my sling for that reason - my arms would get so tired. I didn't know any different, since he was my first.

[Mallorie]

My ds#2 was like that. He was 9lb7oz at birth and nursed like a champ. He never did stretch out, though. He's currently 11 y/o, 150 lbs with a size 12 mens shoe. I always joked that he was born with a steel spine, he was just 'dense', very heavy to carry. Doctors have never been concerned, they just laugh and say he will be a very big man. He's strong and healthy, eats well and exercises.

[Mommy_of_4]

Depends on the kid really. My friends two children were BF and well over 30lbs at a yr. They started out at birth 9ish lbs. My three children on the other hand were BF and are TINY. DS was my biggest at 17lbs at a yr. DD1 was 15lbs at a yr. DD2 is now 6 months old and only weighs 12lbs. They were all around the 7lb range when born. It all comes down to genetics.

[blondeviolin]

My littlest was 9lbs10oz at birth. At six months, he is only 16.5lbs.

 

BUT, it varies greatly between infants and children. :)

[snickelfritz]

Mine were like that and slimmed down once they crawled, even more when they walked.

 

I always found it humorous when I saw the rants about bf babies not being compared to formula charts. Mine, especially the 2nd, were off the top of the charts. And they started at 7 lbs 6 oz and 7 lbs 3 oz...so not big.

[jhschool]

My son was huge. He was 20 lb at 4 months.

 

Our stupid pediatrician told me I shouldn't be nursing

him more than 4 times a day!

 

As breastmilk was all our baby was eating I decided to

ignore said pediatrician's advice--I didn't feel comfortable

starving a baby to death!

 

Anyway, my husband is very tall (6' 3 '').

 

My son's legs were so fat someone asked me if he was deformed!

 

But, when he turned 4 he turned into a beanpole!

 

Now he goes through expanding sideways (very square) / expanding upwards (very thin).

 

DS is now 6' 2'' and about 175 lb. So, very tall, strong young man.

Perfect health thanks to God.

 

So, fat huge babies are perfectly fine if they are being

breastfed. (I would only worry if the fat baby was being given

corn syrup or something--but breastmilk? Perfectly good healthy food!)

[Zuzu822]

FYI: There's no such thing as nursing too much, and of course I would hope she's nursing to soothe. :D

 

:iagree:

 

I'm just thinking about having to lug him around for several more months in a carrier or sling! Yikes! And if he keeps up at this rate, he'll outgrow the rear-facing infant car seat before he's even 6 months.

 

We move our babies out by 4-5 months. They are long and chunky during the first few months! Usually 20 lbs. by four months, but all have topped out at 23 lbs. and 32 inches by a year and have continued to be fairly thin but very tall.

[butterflymommy]

FYI: There's no such thing as nursing too much, and of course I would hope she's nursing to soothe. :D

 

So true. I didn't know there was any other way to soothe a baby! :001_smile:

 

My DD was 7.2 lb at birth and is 12 lb at 8 weeks.

[Carol in Cal.]

The normal growth pattern for BF babies is very fast for the first few months and slow from then on, compared with bottle fed babies. The charts were made based on measurements when bottle feeding was much more popular, so they reflect the bottle fed pattern. But I hold that BF is more normal. Just not as well documented as such.:001_smile:

[thescrappyhomeschooler]

I guess I was so shocked because her other two weren't so ginormous right away. And I mostly breastfed my first (he had lots of issues, and then I had to go back into the hospital when he was 5 days old, so he didn't want to go back to the breast after a few days of bottles) and exclusively breastfed my second. I'm looking back at the baby books and mine were 13 and 15 lbs. at 3 months, so I guess 19 isn't that big. :D

[kathymuggle]

My now bean pole 16 year old was 20 pounds at 6 months - and 24 at 1 year. At 2 he was perhaps 27 pounds.

 

I have known a bunch of breastfed buddha babies - most lean out.

[meggie]

Yup, completely normal. I personally think there is nothing cuter than a fat baby. Pigby and Chuck were both ginormous. Both my midwife and pediatrician said it was wonderful how big they got; it's the greatest overall indicator of health. Digby was always a very tiny little peanut, so I think little tiny peanuts are the cutest too (so long as they are healthy and not starving). You know, all babies are extremely adorable no matter their size; that's just how God made them :D.

 

Even if your friend's baby outgrows the infant seat, he will probably slow down around six months. Once they start rolling and scooting and crawling, they don't gain as quickly. Baby girl Chuck only gained 6 ounces between her 6 and 9 month appointment. She went from 95th percentile for weight to 15th.

[justLisa]

FYI: There's no such thing as nursing too much, and of course I would hope she's nursing to soothe. :D

 

THIS.

 

I always carried my babies in a sling, or on my back from birth. They were on the heavier side but perfectly chubby IMO. I think the extra weight helped me shed the pounds faster ;)

[bluemongoose]

I have had 3 very different body types, but all 3 were breastfed babies.

 

DD: 6lbs 12oz at birth. Only slightly chunky by 4 mos. She topped out at 16lbs and then started to get really long and lean as she became mobile. She is now almost 7yo and is a long string bean of a child. We often get looks from the Pedi about her height being at the top of the chart and her weight at the very very bottom. She looks exactly like DH at that age, I am not worried at all! She is healthy.

 

DS1: 6lbs 15oz at birth. By 4 mos he was very chunky and was 20lbs. He also had a head size off the charts. Pedi wanted me to give him water in a bottle rather than BF him for some of the feedings. I refused as I do not feel an EBF baby needs a diet. He continued to be sturdy in build, but lost the baby chub as he lengthened. At almost 5yo, he is tall and very solid. He is by far my heaviest (muscle not fat) and strongest child. He takes after his grandfather who is 6'2" and build like a football player. New sensible Pedi smiles when he sees him and comments on how strong of a man he will be.

 

DS2: 7lbs 6oz at birth. By 4 mos he was only slightly chunky and not as long as my other 2 children. He stayed in the middle for both height and weight up until this year. He has done an extraordinary amount of growing this year and has caught up in height to where his brother was at 3yo. I think as he continues to grow (and lose his baby chub) he may be tall and lean like my DD.

 

All that to say, every kid is different and genetics do play a huge role. Also, I agree that BF babies, generally, do grow really fast at first and then lean out as they start to move around.

[Guest]

FYI: There's no such thing as nursing too much, and of course I would hope she's nursing to soothe. :D

 

:iagree:

[Sara in AZ]

I love chubby babies! My son was born at 36 weeks, 8.2 pounds (not a diabetes baby, either.) He gained 5 pounds in the first month, weighed 20 lbs. at 4 months and 30 lbs at a year. He was exclusively breastfed that entire year. Currently he is a 90 pound 6 year old. It's just his body type.

 

My third child weighed 9 lbs at birth, was also exclusively breastfed, but only made it to 19 lbs by a year. She is still a petite 3 year old.

 

#4 is another moose like her brother....10 months old and 25 pounds. I am so grateful for my slings and the mai tai wrap I have to put her on my back!!!

[gardenmom5]

yeah, it's big, but . . .

if she's feeding him 'normally', eventually he'll start to slow.

 

all five of mine were all around 25lbs when they were a year - even my boys who ranged from 9lbs 8oz - 10lbs 5oz. at birth.

[I.Dup.]

That's huge. I know some women just make really rich milk or something. I do not. :sleep: My 3 month old is only 11 pounds, all of mine have been VERY low on the growth chart while being breastfed.

[dirty ethel rackham]

FYI: There's no such thing as nursing too much, and of course I would hope she's nursing to soothe. :D

Amen!! Now if it were an older toddler/preschooler who had NO other coping mechanisms besides nursing, then we might be talking.

[Farrar]

Bring that mom some food! She had to make those calories!

[thescrappyhomeschooler]

Bring that mom some food! She had to make those calories!

 

:lol: I brought them food when she came home from the hospital, but I guess I'll have to take over some more! It will give me an excuse to go cuddle the pudge-ball!

[linguistmama]

I have several friends whose exclusively BF babies were huge at that age. Mine are petite and I did sometimes wonder how they could carry around that much baby. :) Thank goodness for convertible carseats! The 45lb rear facing weight limit seats are great.

[SunD]

That is how my babies are. I don't remember my 2 DDs exactly, but Little Man here on my lap is 12 weeks old and 16.2 pounds. He was over 8.5 pounds at birth. But he is just SOLID. Yep, it needs the caps! He does not look humongous. He's wearing 0-3 m size clothes and not busting out of them or anything. He's just ... solid. That's the only way to explain it.

 

If he follows their pattern, he will gain quickly up to about 20 pounds and then STOP. At that point they were rolling, crawling, and very soon after, walking ... any height they gain makes their bodies slim down.

 

DD2 is 23 pounds. I think she hit the 20 pound mark around 8 months, and all the crawling and pulling up she was doing stalled her then. When she started walking at 10 months it was more like running. She hasn't stopped since. She's fine. That was just her growth pattern, and it doesn't seem uncommon for BFed babies.

[DesertDweller]

My ds was 9lbs 2oz when he was born and 15lbs at his two month check-up. He was in the 95th percentile for a long time. He would nurse every two hours and would act like he was starving. It actually took a bit for my body to keep up with the demand.

 

Dd on the other hand was 7lbs 4oz and didn't even come close to weighing that much so quickly.

 

They grow at their own rate. I think it's just an individual thing. I do think chubby babies are cute, but they can be much harder on the back when you have to pick them up and carry them.

[kokotg]

My eight year old was 9 1/2 pounds when he was born and 20 pounds at 4 months (exclusively breastfed). He's always been tall, and he stayed....round for a good long while, but he's my skinniest kid now. Stays around the 90th percentile for height, and I've been buying him slim pants for the past couple of years now.

[Impish]

Well, my first was 9 lbs 6 oz when he was born, down to 9 lbs when we left the hospital 4 days later (c section).

 

A wk later, he was 10 lbs, 6 oz!

 

He became a very slim build child.

 

Diva was 9 lbs 1 oz at birth. She was 22 lbs at 6 mths. My mother kept harping on me that she was too fat, etc, so I asked my ped about it. He told me that anyone that thinks a 6 mth old needed a diet either needed a hobby or a good long look in the mirror! :lol: Since she was solely nursing, and on demand, he told me she was just fine. He also said it's a very cultural thing. Some cultures, if baby isn't chubby, they worry about their health, whereas other cultures prefer the long, lean look.

 

She didn't gain any weight from the time she was about 6-7 mths to about 18 mths, just grew in height.

[ChandlerMom]

WHO (World Health Organization) has separate charts for BF and FF babies. CDC still uses mixed charts that are dominated by FF babies. Dr Sears Baby book goes into this, even some Peds are ignorant of this.

 

In *general* BF babies put on the weight faster, then lean out sooner. No matter how pudgy they are as infants, they tend be be leaners kids and have much fewer weight problems later in life. And no, you can't nurse too often. It's a beautifully self-regulating system. :D

[ErinE]

My dd was a chubby baby. Born weighing 9 lbs, 2 oz (a week early) and she stayed high on the weight percentile until she was mobile. She's still 90%+ for her height.

 

I miss those days of bf; I could eat whatever I wanted....

[happypamama]

19 pounds at 3 months does sound on the large side, but I don't think it's necessarily a problem. My babies have been between 8 and almost 10 pounds at birth, and at 3 months, they were around 15 pounds. They grow really fast at first and then slow down in the second half of the first year, so they're around 21-23 at a year. All breastfed. (My first two outgrew the infant carseat at 5 and 6 months, by length, so we got a bigger infant seat for the two little boys. DS2 used that seat until 18 months, and I think DS3 will be around there as well.)

 

ETA: Around here, nursing is pretty much the soother of choice for everything. Hungry? Nurse. Bored? Nurse. Bonked yourself in the face while practicing random waving of hands? Nursing fixes that too. My babies learn pretty quickly how to suck so that they don't get a lot of milk unless they really want to, but they have strong sucking needs aside from thirst/hunger. (None of them have had pacifiers; DS2 liked to suck his thumb some, and DS3 still likes his fingers or thumb a lot, but mostly, it's the breast that they want.)

Edited November 29, 2011 by happypamama

[chepyl]

FYI: There's no such thing as nursing too much, and of course I would hope she's nursing to soothe. :D

 

:iagree:

 

My best friend and her SIL have huge babies! They were all in 18 month clothes at 6-9 months. Now, they are just tall and skinny.

[Mom-ninja.]

My friend's one year old was 35lbs. Then she stopped gaining weight and grew up instead. Now she's 10 and long and skinny.

 

Then there are my kids. At one they were all around 18 lbs.

[mommymilkies]

Each baby is different. A lot is genetics. My oldest was over 30 lbs. by the time she was one. She was HUGE-tall and "fat". She is now a tall thin 10 year old. She thinned when she started walking and she was bf. My youngest is only 18 lbs. at one year old and is tiny and petite like me when I was little. She is EBF.

[higginszoo]

My childhood best friend's dc were all like that. Big when they were born and then HUGE while exclusively breastfed (30 lbs-ish at a year). Once they got up and moving (sometimes on the older side of average, maybe because of their size), they thinned out, and some of them are now downright skinny.

[twoxcell]

My oldest ds was 20lbs at 6 months and oldest dd was 20lbs at 4 months old. They were both exclusively breast fed, and very tall also. Dd was quite the chub but she was 10.5 lbs at birth. She is very tall and fairly lean now. Dd has been in the 95-100 percentile her entire life for height and used to be for weight. Not sure on the weight now, she is not chubby at all now.

[TravelingChris]

I guess I am the odd ball here. I like little babies. I hope all my grandchildren (if I have any) will be littles like my own children were. All my kids were full term but they weighed 6lbs. 4oz, 6 lbs. 11 oz. and 6 lbs. 1 oz. None of them were 20 lbs by 12 months but they were too tall to be in a rear facing seat anymore. They were just small to start with and continued on that same chart percentage. Middle is to this day on that same chart percentage- always somewhere between 5-20%. Anyways it was a real blessing for me to have small children because it enabled me to carry them.

 

Of course, I am never rude when seeing a big baby. I just make some other remark like isn't he great at ____ or something of that ilk.

[twoxcell]

What a bizarre sentiment.:confused::001_huh:

 

I like babies. I dont like them more or less depending on their size. Mine were a variety of sizes.

 

There is noting wrong with a 19 lb bf'ed 3 month old, nor a 19 lb bf'ed 1 yr old. I had one of each and I loved them both quite a lot.

:iagree: My first two were large and my last two were above average at birth and then became small. I love small and big babies!;)

[LittleIzumi]

The Love was 9lbs at birth, and about 19 lbs at 4 months? Then he stayed around 20/21lbs for months, just growing loooooooonger and burning all his calories in being very mobile. My other two were pixie sticks and didn't reach 19lbs at a year!! But it's his normal. He's built like dh; his sisters are built like me.

[snickelfritz]

I guess I am the odd ball here. I like little babies. I hope all my grandchildren (if I have any) will be littles like my own children were. All my kids were full term but they weighed 6lbs. 4oz, 6 lbs. 11 oz. and 6 lbs. 1 oz. None of them were 20 lbs by 12 months but they were too tall to be in a rear facing seat anymore. They were just small to start with and continued on that same chart percentage. Middle is to this day on that same chart percentage- always somewhere between 5-20%. Anyways it was a real blessing for me to have small children because it enabled me to carry them.

 

Of course, I am never rude when seeing a big baby. I just make some other remark like isn't he great at ____ or something of that ilk.

 

Hmmm...Next time, I'll space out my bf sessions better. Or feed them bottles of water. Seeing as how I didn't purposefully make the last ones fat, I'm not sure what else to do.

 

I think you missed the purpose of the thread. It was that bf babies aren't necessarily tiny. I didn't see anyone saying they purposefully made their baby fat because they like it better.

[AvasMom]

FYI: There's no such thing as nursing too much, and of course I would hope she's nursing to soothe. :D

 

:iagree::iagree::iagree:

[beaners]

I have several friends whose exclusively BF babies were huge at that age. Mine are petite and I did sometimes wonder how they could carry around that much baby. :) Thank goodness for convertible carseats! The 45lb rear facing weight limit seats are great.

I agree! If we had room for three rear facing seats, my 4 year old would still be turned around.

 

WHO (World Health Organization) has separate charts for BF and FF babies. CDC still uses mixed charts that are dominated by FF babies. Dr Sears Baby book goes into this, even some Peds are ignorant of this.

 

In *general* BF babies put on the weight faster, then lean out sooner. No matter how pudgy they are as infants, they tend be be leaners kids and have much fewer weight problems later in life. And no, you can't nurse too often. It's a beautifully self-regulating system. :D

 

It seems like this is how things work here, except they never get too big in the beginning. It is just big compared to how large they are later on.

 

 

I guess I am the odd ball here. I like little babies. I hope all my grandchildren (if I have any) will be littles like my own children were. All my kids were full term but they weighed 6lbs. 4oz, 6 lbs. 11 oz. and 6 lbs. 1 oz. None of them were 20 lbs by 12 months but they were too tall to be in a rear facing seat anymore. They were just small to start with and continued on that same chart percentage. Middle is to this day on that same chart percentage- always somewhere between 5-20%. Anyways it was a real blessing for me to have small children because it enabled me to carry them.

 

Of course, I am never rude when seeing a big baby. I just make some other remark like isn't he great at ____ or something of that ilk.

 

It's been easier to carry my petite children, but sometimes it hurts a bit when people comment on how little they are. We have gone through some worry over their weight, and it brings up that concern when strangers mention it. I don't hold it against anyone for commenting, but it might be touchy for others too. I would rather carry a heavier baby than have sleepless nights over a failure to thrive diagnosis. :001_unsure:

[ElizaG]

FYI: There's no such thing as nursing too much, and of course I would hope she's nursing to soothe. :D

I'd have to respectfully disagree with this. I'm quite sure that one of mine nursed too much in the first couple of months. It isn't just that he was growing super fast -- he was on the same trajectory as the baby in the OP -- but that he was screaming and spitting up large amounts after feedings, especially later in the day. He also had stridor, a sort of loud breathing that sometimes goes along with reflux. In hindsight, something was bothering his tummy (hmm, maybe too much milk? :D) and he wanted to nurse more often than needed, for comfort. I tried lots of other soothing methods, but the little guy just seemed to want to eat. (And he still does. He's not overweight at all, but he once ate 8 slices of bread at a meal, LOL.)

 

Putting him on a 3- to 4-hour nursing schedule solved this problem. At the same time, his weight gain went from off the charts to the high end of the normal range. Not that such fast growth is necessarily a problem in itself, but in our case, it was part of the picture that shouldn't have been overlooked.

 

Meanwhile, the doctors and lactation specialists had all kinds of suggestions: strict elimination diets (minimally helpful), nursing on one side to reduce supply (ditto), a trial of hypoallergenic formula (completely useless), reflux medication and scopes under anesthesia (I drew the line at these). But none of them ever suggested putting this whopping great baby on a feeding schedule. Apparently that would be too risky, or "out there," or something. Because, you know, breastfed babies never overeat.

 

Whatever. I gave it a try, and it worked. :tongue_smilie:

 

At this point, I'm skeptical about all kinds of absolute statements about how nursing works. All mother-baby pairs are different, and expecting them to follow a textbook pattern can lead to confusion and unnecessary interventions. (For this reason, I refuse to speculate as to whether the OP's friend's baby is overfed, or just a big happy chunk. ;))

[missmoe]

My dd was 24 lbs at her 4 month check-up! She was a respectable 8 lbs 3 ozs when she was born. All breastmilk!

 

She is now that girl you wanted to be when you were a teenage girl! Tall, thin, with just the right curves!

 

My oldest was chunky as well, but my third was skinny (due to health problems). My last two were/are tall, but not really skinny or chunky at any point.