Little scared - he's eating too much

Donna - posted on 01/28/2012

How is your baby now kumi? Are you feeling better?

Rachel - posted on 01/17/2012

I have a nephew with prader willi syndrome. I'm glad it was mentioned, but she's right - its very rare, andhas loads of other symptoms.

Your baby sounds like my first daughter. She is 8 now, and that girl can STILL pack the food away, but she is not overweight. I have a fast metabolism too, but I have a sweet tooth, and can get fat. My daughter is just as happy with three big plates of healthy food as she is with three big plates of unhealthy food, and so we don't portion control, and she is tall and strong and lean now. On the other hand, I've got one you couldn't pay to eat, and she is chronically sick with colds and low grade infections. All my kids get sick, but it just LINGERS with her. Eat healthy. Nurse on demand. And enjoy your robust child. And hang in there - I know that much nursing can be hard.

Laura Zoey - posted on 01/16/2012

Breastmilk is also fully digested in 20 minutes so if he wants to eat frequently then that's totally normal.

Nicola - posted on 01/15/2012

my son was very thin when he was born although average in weight 3.225kg and length he gained so much weight so quickly we called him the blow up baby doubled his birth weight by 6 weeks. he would feed 45 mins one side get burped feed 45mins the 2nd side get burped and sleep for 15mins then start again and in those 15mins you could watch his stomach go from fat rounded and full to flat and empty. he is ten now very tall for his age fit healthy and lean, he rarely gets sick and has no allergies even though his dad is allergic to lots of stuff. he had thinned out by the time he was 3 but has always been very tall for his age we think he just ate so much because he needed to catch up on growth he didn't achieve in utero.

Vivian - posted on 01/15/2012

You mentioned you thought your little I one had a "broken sensor". Although it is extremely rare, there is such a thing called Prader-Willi Syndrome where a person cannot sense when he is full. Since you said your child was strong he may not fit the typical signs but if you want to read up on it and ask about it the next time you see the pediatrician you can read up on it here: http://healthguide.howstuffworks.com/pra...



Sometimes too much research can drive you crazy though so dont overanalyze it! Likely he's just a happily growing normal baby. Are there big people in your family history? Perhaps its genetic that he's growing so rapidly. Also, are you eating healthy foods? If mom is eating fatty and non-nutritious empty calories, then it will also reflect in your breast milk. For now I'd just say feed on demand and let him nurse for comfort if that's what he seems to need. Good luck!

Laura Zoey - posted on 01/15/2012

And yes, please don't ask your doctor! They know little to nothing about breastfed babies and usually give horrid advise.

He's fine!

What is his weight pattern?

My son went from 8lbs to 10lbs in the first month

Then 10-14lbs from 1-2 months

Then 14-18lbs from 2-3 months!

18-20lbs 3-4months

And 20-22lbs 4-5 months. From there it slowed down nicely and as I said, skinny tall healthy toddler now :)

Oh and my son never had any formula.

Laura Zoey - posted on 01/15/2012

Breastfed babies won't get overweight. He's just doing what he needs.

Every baby is so different and some breastfed babies are 3% and some are over 100%!

My son went to 110% at 2 months and stayed that percentile for a few months" now he's a twiggy almost three year old at 60% totally healthy and fine.



Don't let ANY one tell you he's too big. He is eating breastmilk and that's exactly the best thing he could eat.

Tine - posted on 01/09/2012

If you are breastfeeding, just relax and enjoy your thriving son! Breastfed babies cannot be overfed, and they tend often to grow fast in the first 6 months. His growth will even out, and the fact that he is growing tells you that he is healthy!

Ignore the growth charts too, they are based on formula fed babies, and are largely meaningless - they are good for creating anxiety for no reason though ;-) !!

My 2 month old son put on a kilo and a half ) about 3 pounds) in his first 4 weeks! He is growing and thriving, and his growth is now starting to even out a bit. I'm just glad that he's getting such great nutrition from me, and you can relax and feel the same by the sound of it!

Breastfed babies also normally feed quite frequently for two reasons. Firstly, breastmilk is wonderfully digestible and they feel empty again sooner than on formula, which is hard to digest and causes digestive problems. Secondly, because frequent feeding stimulates more milk production.

Keep feeding him on demand (as he wants it) and enjoy how he is thriving.

Can I also suggest NOT asking your Dr for advice on this? There are not many doctors who know much about breastfeeding, and your son does NOT have a health problem. Doctors give some terrible advice on breastfeeding, advice which causes a lot of unneccesary problems.
If you want expert advice, call the La Leche League (Australian Breastfeeding Association in Australia) or a lactation consultant. Doctors do little or no training on breastfeeding, and are certainly not experts in this area.

Congratulations on your thriving son!!

*Fluffy Bunnies - posted on 01/08/2012

Totally normal as others have said. My first was always average in weight. My second started at 7 lbs 6 oz. and she got big very fast. She's almost 6 months old and is about 19 lbs. Breastfed babies tend to gain quickly once your milk comes in and then they level out when they become more mobile. No worries. He's fine.

Lise - posted on 01/08/2012

Well, i would rather give the real thing, so I've always let my dd nurse for comfort. It's how it's supposed to work. Plus, comfort nursing helps keep your supply.

Lise - posted on 01/08/2012

Just as a note about the "using you as a pacifier" comment - what do you think a pacifier is? It's a plastic nipple. Basically, the pacifier is a replacement for YOU.

Amy - posted on 01/08/2012

I agree with what the other ladies said. My daughter left the hospital weighing about 7 lbs., on her two day check up she had gained a lb., a week later she had gained 4 lbs., the doctor thought the nurses screwed up so he reweighed her himself and it was the same. For the first 6-8 months she was 90% in weight. At about 8 months she stopped gaining so much and has leveled out. At no point did my doctor tell me to stop feeding her, breastfed babies can't overeat, the only reason that bottlefed babies overeat is because the bottle just flows and they're forced to swallow.

Daniela - posted on 01/07/2012

By the way, my daughter would eat 30 minutes of one breast, take a 15 minute break and eat 30 minutes of the other breast. I can't remember how much time I had inbetween feeds, but it wasn't much. Some kids just wreck your head, lol.

Daniela - posted on 01/07/2012

My daughter had such an extraordinary growth as well, and only slowed down by the time she hit 18 months. Since then (she is 28 months old now) she's only gained an extra 1.5kg but shot up in height big time. We always had a feeling this would happen eventually. At 13 months one doctor was telling us that we had to watch what she was eating or she'd be heading for obesity - well, she had actually only started eating solids and still wasn't all that keen! She was off the chart for a while, but now is back on it with height and weight nicely matching (that's the chart for 4 year olds...). She is the size of a four to five year old and probably will grow more in length before she starts putting on more weight again. As an infant she was nursing CONSTANTLY. It was driving me mad, but clearly she knew what she needed for her body to grow in its own unique and slightly unusual way. I agree with the others - you can't overfeed a breastfed baby, and beware of doctor's advice when it comes to nursing. My own doctor was great, but I heard lots of stories where women were told stuff that was just plain wrong. Breastfeeding clearly works great for you, don't mess with it just because you have an unusually big kid. Good luck!

Celeste - posted on 01/07/2012

I agree with Lise, you cannot overfeed a baby at the breast. Totally normal baby behavior!

And, like Lise said, be careful with doctors' advice because they usually do not get proper breastfeeding training.

Lise - posted on 01/07/2012

You can't overfeed a baby from the breast. If you are exclusively nursing, your lo is getting what he needs. And your pedi may tell you otherwise - doctors do not get much education on human lactation. My dd gained over 10 pounds from 2 months old until 6 months old, and then barely gained ANY from 6 months to a year. Here's an example of weight history:
birth - 8.15
one month - 8
6 months - 8.16
year - 20
2 year - 26

He's taking in all that yummy milk while he's not mobile. Once he starts to move, he won't want to sit still so all those rolls he's gathering right now will keep him going. :)

Your milk will change with him - breast milk changes, unlike formula, so you'll never have to increase the quantity. Just nurse him when he wants.

Donna - posted on 01/07/2012

My 2yr old was the same he is now almost the size of a 4yr old.He is happy an healthy just huge! I couldn't keep up with his milk needs so he had to have supplementary bottles. We had the same sort of concerns but he is fine developmentally. Good luck!