Question about weight of breastfed baby

[missmoe]

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.)

)

 

As a mama of at least two babies with reflux, I have to point out that often babies want to nurse to soothe the reflux pain. The nursing doesn't cause the reflux. Of course nursing to soothe the reflux can increase the reflux. It's a cycle. So most likely, your son would have had reflux whether you had nursed a lot or not. I don't want your experience to scare others away from nursing on demand or to comfort.

[Guest submarines]

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:

[Mommy22alyns]

Wow, neither of my girls were 19 lbs at one year of age! :001_huh:

[AndyJoy]

My DS was exclusively breastfed and gained weight really quickly and my dr. wasn't concerned in the least. He was a round butterball for a while! He's now 2 and not chubby. He's tall, dense, and strong. Many people mistake him for a 3-year-old.

 

Here are his stats:

 

birth: 7 lbs, 10 oz.

1 month: 11 lbs.

2 months: 17 lbs.

3 months: 22 lbs!!!!!!

1 year: 25 lbs.

2 years: 32 lbs.

[ElizaG]

As a mama of at least two babies with reflux, I have to point out that often babies want to nurse to soothe the reflux pain. The nursing doesn't cause the reflux.

 

Of course nursing to soothe the reflux can increase the reflux. It's a cycle. So most likely, your son would have had reflux whether you had nursed a lot or not.

See, there's another absolute statement (bolded). I agree that it's a cycle, but I don't think anyone knows what causes some babies to have problems with reflux in the first place. The underlying cause could well be different from one child to the next.

 

With a nursing mom who tends toward major oversupply, it seems quite possible that the baby's little stomach could just be overloaded from the beginning. See e.g. Oversupply Syndrome Colic. The author of that site doesn't recommend scheduled feedings -- and it's not something I'd do with a brand new baby. But if the baby is several weeks old and gaining weight very quickly, and the lactation specialist's advice (typically block feeding) doesn't seem to resolve the distress, then I would certainly try a 3-hour-ish schedule in preference to, say, an H2 blocker, proton pump inhibitor, or invasive medical tests. It seems like common sense to me. But I realize that others might disagree.

 

I don't want your experience to scare others away from nursing on demand or to comfort.

Maybe you didn't intend it this way, but this sounds like I'm not supposed to be honest about my experience because it's not PC or something. :001_huh: Frankly, it was a pretty awful thing to go through. I'm more concerned about possibly helping a family who might be going through the same thing, than about "letting the team down."

 

Nursing on demand, and comfort nursing, are the standard default settings for breastfeeding mothers. They've been taught by LLL and hospital lactation consultants for years. I'm not disputing their value, but I think there needs to be some recognition that they aren't always the answer to every problem.

 

My instincts told me that my baby was eating too much, and I should have listened to those instincts sooner, instead of giving so much weight to current trends. (Yes, trends. My feeling is that the categorical advice to always feed on demand is a reaction to previous bad advice at the other extreme. As the "parenting pendulum" swings, what was once mandatory is now forbidden, and vice versa. There doesn't seem to be much room for moderation in either case.)

Edited November 29, 2011 by Eleanor

[snickelfritz]

See, there's another absolute statement (bolded). I agree that it's a cycle, but I don't think anyone knows what causes some babies to have problems with reflux in the first place. The underlying cause could well be different from one child to the next.

 

(snip)

 

My instincts told me that my baby was eating too much, and I should have listened to those instincts sooner, instead of giving so much weight to current trends. (Yes, trends. My feeling is that the categorical advice to always feed on demand is a reaction to previous bad advice at the other extreme. As the "parenting pendulum" swings, what was once mandatory is now forbidden, and vice versa. There doesn't seem to be much room for moderation in either case.)

 

As someone who had over-supply issues (with, mostly, my second) and a FAST letdown, I agree. Pre-expressing and block nursing helped our issues. But there was no comfort nursing. My letdown was too much of a sprint and she had to work at keeping up. Because of the gulping, she was overly gassy. Feeding her too soon was bad for her....I tried that for a few days. :). We figured things out, she lost the loose stools and gassiness, and stayed a butterball until she crawled.

[BarbecueMom]

As someone who had over-supply issues (with, mostly, my second) and a FAST letdown, I agree. Pre-expressing and block nursing helped our issues. But there was no comfort nursing. My letdown was too much of a sprint and she had to work at keeping up. Because of the gulping, she was overly gassy. Feeding her too soon was bad for her....I tried that for a few days. :). We figured things out, she lost the loose stools and gassiness, and stayed a butterball until she crawled.

 

This is exactly what happened with my first son. He was and is still a very solid kid, but he had so many tummy issues early on from the massive amounts of foremilk. I ended up nursing him laying down on my back with him on my stomach facing down until he was about 5-6 months.

 

I'm not sure what happened with my second. Exact opposite. I had to literally immobilize the kid on my lap and force him to nurse. He didn't start eating willingly until he was 8 months or so.

[happyhomemaker25]

My HUGE diabetic baby weighed in at 7 pounds 1oz when she was born. (My OB was sure she was going to be huge even though my sugar was under great control after I found out I was pregnant at the 17w mark).

At 3m old she was pushing was only about 10 pounds. At almost 18m old she weighs between 19 and 20 pounds. People always tell me she's too tiny to be running around (she went from crawling to running overnight, I swear!!). My husband and I are not small people... he often jokes he's going to get a paternity test. :tongue_smilie:

Every baby is different I think.

While Lily is small she looks so amazingly healthy. She has little fat rolls and the biggest happiest grin EVER! She has her mommy's chubby cheeks so big the sono tech commented on them my whole last month. LOL

Edited November 30, 2011 by happyhomemaker25

[5 Hikers]

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?

 

My first son was HUGE! I breastfed only, but at our 2month check up he was 19lbs. At birth he was 9lb8oz, AND by the time we left the hospital (3days for c-section) he was 10lb4oz. 4 week checkup he was 14 lbs.

 

My next 2 weren't that big.

[missmoe]

 

Maybe you didn't intend it this way, but this sounds like I'm not supposed to be honest about my experience because it's not PC or something. )

 

I'm sorry it came across like that. I didn't mean to hurt your feelings or offend you.

[jennsmile]

My middle child was like that. He is weighs the same as his brother that is 3 years older. They have completely different builds and skill sets. My middle child is much more athletic. My doctor is fine with my sons as she recognizes they reflect different sides of our family but both are healthy.

[redsquirrel]

Both of my boys were breastfed exclusively and they are both in the 5th percentile. My eldest was 17 lbs at one year. I think the younger was about 19 lbs at 1 year of age. They both nursed a HUGE amount but never got fat. I had skinny babies, lol. No chubby cheeks and thighs for us :glare: They are growing into slim but muscular boys.

[mama2cntrykids]

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

LIKE!

[silliness7]

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.

 

5 of mine were this way. Fattest babies you ever saw with breastmilk only. Someone accused me of eating too many snicker bars. :glare: I did have a small one in there though. Don't know why. Genetics, I guess. And one that did not nurse who was neither very fat nor very lean. Weird.

[ElizaG]

I'm sorry it came across like that. I didn't mean to hurt your feelings or offend you.

It's okay. I appreciate that you don't want people to worry unnecessarily. (Though I tend to think that's just a fact of parenthood for most of us. :tongue_smilie:)

[Mommyof4ks]

My middle son was 18 lbs at his 4 mo. check up, so it does not seem odd. My dd was not 20lbs until 18 months, but she was only bfed for 7 months unlike my large guy who was bfed until 16 months.

[AdventureMoms]

Ha! My twins are over 30lbs (EACH) at 12mo. They have very little fat on them - no rolls, not much pudge, you can count their ribs when they stand up - they're just super tall too. They were supplemented due to low supply, but their growth "curve" is a stick straight line - no slowing down whatsoever. Yes they are harder to carry. However they have made me strong! I can carry 60+lbs of baby when I need to! Though I'm also grateful for strollers. I'm IMMENSELY grateful for high-weight-limit convertible carseats. The boys are both in 40lb seats and I hope that will get them to at least 2! (Actually I really hope it gets them to 3 or 4, but that may be too much to hope.) If they don't slow down they're going to max out the seats by 18mo though. Not sure what I'd do then, I can't imagine turning them so young.

 

My eldest just had to turn at 3yo and 40lb. She's my relatively small kid!

[HandmaidenofChrist]

That sounds like a big baby.

 

My last baby had some health issues and was very skinny @ 6weeks.

By 16 weeks, after making some changes and making him goatmilk formula, he thrived and weighed in at 16 pounds. By his first birthday he was 40 pounds.

His 2nd birthday, weighing in at 42 pounds, and his 3rd birthday, he weighed 42 pounds and began shooting up! Today he's a healthy 10yo, tall and full of lean muscle. ; )

 

Every child is different as they grow. This child will prove his unique growth pattern God has assigned him. :001_smile:

[mama2cntrykids]

I've had two babies on the bigger side and the other two were smaller. My second ds was big when he was born (9lb 7oz and 23.5 inches). When he was 5-6 months old, he literally had fat rolls. The rolls tanned (in the summer--he was/is a darker skinned white boy lol) and the insides of them were lighter (chubby baby). At a year, he was 28 lb and tall (don't remember how tall).

 

Now, this baby (my second dd--fourth child) isn't HUGE, but she's bigger than her older sis was at this age. At almost 6 months she's about 16 lb. She's also pretty darn chubby (she's on the shorter end).

 

My first ds (who is now almost 11 and 100 lbs/4'10") was 8 lb 9 oz when born and was a string bean from the go. He's just started bulking up in the last two years or so. He was actually chubby until recently when he hit a small growth spurt.

 

Annnnd there's my oldest dd. She was 7 lb when she was born and has been small ever since lol. She's 5 now and not even 40 lb.

 

They were/are all exclusively breastfed on-demand from birth, so it can vary greatly. I'd love to "chat" more, but baby is fussing!

[choirfarm]

Well, my oldest was 18 pounds at 4 months and still 18 pounds at 2 years. When he was entirely breast fead, he grew really fast. I mainly breastfead him until he was almost a year old. But he ended up being allergic to milk and peanut butter, so he basically had no fat in his diet. He ate plain meat and HATED veggies. ( He LOVES them now.)

 

My other two were not quite that big, but almost. My doctors always said that I had cream for milk.

[AndyJoy]

See, there's another absolute statement (bolded). I agree that it's a cycle, but I don't think anyone knows what causes some babies to have problems with reflux in the first place. The underlying cause could well be different from one child to the next.

 

With a nursing mom who tends toward major oversupply, it seems quite possible that the baby's little stomach could just be overloaded from the beginning. See e.g. Oversupply Syndrome Colic. The author of that site doesn't recommend scheduled feedings -- and it's not something I'd do with a brand new baby. But if the baby is several weeks old and gaining weight very quickly, and the lactation specialist's advice (typically block feeding) doesn't seem to resolve the distress, then I would certainly try a 3-hour-ish schedule in preference to, say, an H2 blocker, proton pump inhibitor, or invasive medical tests. It seems like common sense to me. But I realize that others might disagree.

 

Maybe you didn't intend it this way, but this sounds like I'm not supposed to be honest about my experience because it's not PC or something. :001_huh: Frankly, it was a pretty awful thing to go through. I'm more concerned about possibly helping a family who might be going through the same thing, than about "letting the team down."

 

Nursing on demand, and comfort nursing, are the standard default settings for breastfeeding mothers. They've been taught by LLL and hospital lactation consultants for years. I'm not disputing their value, but I think there needs to be some recognition that they aren't always the answer to every problem.

 

My instincts told me that my baby was eating too much, and I should have listened to those instincts sooner, instead of giving so much weight to current trends. (Yes, trends. My feeling is that the categorical advice to always feed on demand is a reaction to previous bad advice at the other extreme. As the "parenting pendulum" swings, what was once mandatory is now forbidden, and vice versa. There doesn't seem to be much room for moderation in either case.)

 

I wish more people knew about the possibility of oversupply! I've made it my personal mission to bring it up at ever LLL meeting I attend (probably to the annoyance of the regulars, lol!)

 

I discovered that our feeding issues for the first 4 months were due to oversupply thanks to reading LLL material online. I had TONS of milk but had no idea it wasn't normal. Their suggestion was to only nurse on one side per feeding, and if he wanted to nurse again in less than 2 hours, continue using that side. This solved it for us!

[Fleur de Lis]

Yep, it's pretty huge, but not unheard of :-)